Tazer Tag

Watch the build video!

I've always thought laser tag was fun but that it lacked a feeling of urgency because there was no real feedback. By adding dog shock collars that electrocute the player when shot, the gameplay becomes much more thrilling.

Part of my inspiration for this project comes a video by Michael Reeves, who made his own "Tazer Tag" game. I actually think that my design is better because the circuitry and modifications made to the kits are more efficient and lower profile.

In his version, Reeves used a TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) for the electrocution. I found these to be too costly and unnecessary because it requires adhesive pads stuck to the player. I went with dog shock collars because they are easily removable and would be easier to integrate with the laser tag kits.

When I received the laser tag kits, I opened them up and spent time understanding how they work and planning my modifications. I gained a better understanding of circuit board components and layouts as well as how to modify them without causing damage.

My design harnesses the electrical signal from a vibration motor in the chest piece that is activated when the player is hit. With the help of a relay, I use this signal to mimic pressing one of the buttons on the dog shock collar remote, sending the signal to the collar to shock the player.

While it sounds relatively simple on paper, this design took hours of meticulous work on the circuit boards and wires to complete. By trying to fit all the modifications into the original housing, the size of components and the lengths of wires had to be carefully considered to fit the constraints.