There was a solid few months during my childhood when all I could think about was getting my hands on a lightsaber. They were just so awesome. While my dreams of a lightsaber will probably never come true, we just came across a Kickstarter Campaign that offers a nice alternative: Sabertron.
Essentially, Sabertron is laser tag with foam swords. With Sabertron, users are able to have epic sword battles, without any major injury risk, while the sword itself keeps score of the fight. The swords use a pretty ingenious technology to keep track of hits:
Sabertron employs an accelerometer to detect when the sword has impacted another object. Wireless communication allows the swords to distinguish between the impact of another sword, versus another player. It’s similar to the technology inside your smart phone. Only, inside a foam sword. Which is better than a smart phone. Because it’s a sword.1
Further, the Sabertron swords use an LED light strip to indicate a player’s health. Each hit takes away from the player’s health. Currently, there are five game options, but the team has plans to implement new technology to enable massive, multiplayer battles. The current game modes are:
ONE HIT TO WIN IT
Self explanatory. Land one successful body hit, and you win.
COUNTDOWN
Land three hits to win.
METERED DAMAGE
The stronger the blow, the more damage your opponent takes.
ETERNAL STRUGGLE
Identical to Countdown, only you can earn health back over the passage of time, or by blocking several blows.
HOPELESS
The name says it all. Identical to Eternal Struggle, only you can earn health back more quickly, and with even fewer blocks. Also, the lower your health gets, the less damage you’ll take.2
While sadly, no, Sabertron is not a lightsaber. However, it may be the next best thing. Currently, you can pre-order two of the low end models for $99, or go all the way up to $199 for two of the top of the line models, with plenty of options in-between. For more info, check out the Sabertron Kickstarter Page, and have a look at their campaign video below:
