Funny Toys
Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth
Photon was a laser tag game back in the 80's. As I remember, there was also a TV show, and a series of novels based on the game—surely scintillating reads. It's tag line was "The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth". See also 80's.
Comments
I asked for Laser Tag for Christmas one year and was disappointed to get Photon instead. I rember it as being the Gobot to Laser Tag's Transformer.
Tyler on November 8, 2007
Laser Tag did have cooler guns, but Photon had more gear (i.e. helmets with "protective glass") thus making Photon cooler to me as a 5-year-old
frank on November 15, 2007
Tyler is right! it was like gobots! haha wow. but the helmet rocked !! too bad i was the only one in my hood with it. :(
Sphinx on January 13, 2008
I don't think it was particularly funny, although I did not have the toy as a child. Many people did not realize that this was simply the toy version of the system used in the first ever "laser tag" arenas. Actually, Photon was Photon. The other more popular toy was just a toy. Photon arenas were the first and best. All the later arenas and systems were, in my opinion, pale in comparison. But this is about the toy. I acquired a set for collectors purposes recently. While I dislike the annoying sound generated by firing the gun and the cheaper plastic of the helmets, the toys were good replicas of the professional "pods" and helmets of the original. The helmets in the real arena game along with the unique soundtrack, well designed arenas with light show and fog, added to the otherworldliness of the experience compared to the generic blacklit cheap and interchangable bunkers and walls found in the vest-only systems that arose since. Not seeing human faces, but rather red and green helmets with flashing lights all played a part in creating a sci-fi atmosphere to which the running around and blasting your enemy was secondary. Photon pre-dates the Lazer Tag toy. The toy version of Photon seems like more of an afterthought from the company that invented the concept of laser tag.
basestar on March 25, 2008
I agree with the last comment. Photon was Wayyyyy better than laser tag. I played in the arenas and to this day, there is nothing that even compares to them.....30 years later. Laser tag was lame!
Steve on July 20, 2011
I played in the virginia beach arena twice a week... we had several skill levels for league play. I enjoyed the equipment and the play fields. I always thought I was fun that the players had renamed the area of the field. Like alley in the back of the field became suicide ally. Fhe bunkers became hell holes. Anywho, I miss the game and I made a lot of friends that I still have today.. even though I took us a few months to stop calling each other by our in game monikers.
badwhiskey on October 20, 2011