Every Child Wins A Prize - A Winning Formula

Every Child Wins A Prize - A Winning Formula For Building Your Laser Tag Business

While some may not agree with the "every child wins a prize" concept, creating an environment where your gamers feel like winners is important.

It is a vital element in creating happy memories for laser tag gamers. 

The Battlefield Sports philosophy is "every game, every gamer". In order words we believe creating the best possible experience for all players.

In a standard public session (i.e. a session where lots of gamers from different groups all play together to compete in mock battles) is 2 hours in duration.

During the session we run 4 x 15 minute missions. This is usually 2 x "Domination" games (also called "Capture & Hold" game) next play 2 x "Capture The Flag" games. To find out how to run these battle missions, download the free Battlefield TAG Basic Games Handbook, click here. 

We usually run with Team Red vs Team Blue.

This way at least 50% of the group wins each round.

Update Regarding Battle Royale Games

The only exception to this rule of thumb is the “Battle Royale LIVE” game. With the popularity of FORTNITE and PUBG we sometimes play a Battle Royale style game. Basically, the field of play starts out quiet large and has the game goes on the field of play shrinks so the players are drawn into close quarters combat. Even with this winner-takes-all survival type game we play in squads or duos as well as every gamer for themselves!

Battle Royale is usually played as a duos or trios free-for-all. However, even with Battle Royale you can set up the game-play to run in squads. That way at least two or three players or a team of players will win that round. If we do do a free for all, it is the very last game and only once.

If after the first round one team, say Team Red, is thrashed we will subtly tweak the system so Team B is handicapped. If they were thrashed in the second rounds then we do more than a subtle tweak!! Game two should be as close as possible. Not enough advantage to win but get them close to the line. Especially with little kids, they run out of morale fast. The gamers are not aware of this (and neither are the parents!). Our goal is that each team will win at least one round by the end of the four games. 

While it doesn't happen 100% of the time, we endeavor, if Team Red has won the first 3 rounds, then Team Blue (at least) will win the last game. Say you're running a four game session. At the end of game 1, assess the groups. If the game was close, leave the teams as they are. If not, then you should start using the Game Adjustments on your controller. With the Battlefield ROYALE theme, there are many ways to adjust the game. The most important is Damage Adjustment. To lessen the amount of damage players are inflicting (stronger team) go below 100. Start with 90, then 80, then 70, etc. For the other team, increase their damage: 110, 120, 130 etc. You want to keep adjusting the game until you have the teams roughly even over the course of the next two games. If by the end of the third game, the weaker team still hasn't won, give them as much advantages as needed to get them a win. This could be as significant as 50% vs 200% and adjusting the hit rate to 0.1 vs 2.00!

The game adjustment menu allows for quick changes the players don't physically see you making. It's important to note that some clued in players will notice significant differences, such as the 2.00 hit rate. However, it is better to get the team a win, even if they realise they've been put on "easy mode".

For some groups, you can even start a team on a stronger emulation, such as a Common Assault Rifle. This can happen when the team division is clearly not even but it cannot be easily corrected (groups may not want to split up). Let the players know this adjustment as been made, to make the game fairer.

How Do You Ensure That Every Child Wins A Prize

The SATR laser tag system enables the Battlefield Operator to subtly adjust the players' gaming gun settings using the Master Controller. This is a judgement call.

Here's the scenario you are planning to play 2 x Domination & 2 x Death Match. Say you are running an outdoor forest game and everybody starts with 5HP Standard Difficulty. After the first 2 Domination Games Team Red has won both rounds. With a zap of the Master Controller you switch Team Red to 5HP Hard Mode, you will also need to set the health back to 5HP because the default hit point in hard mode is 3HP.

If that doesn't work then you can switch the loosing team (Team B) onto 5HP Easy Mode for the last round.

In the scenario where you plan to play 2 x Domination & 2 x Rush because Rush is always played twice it is best if Team Red has won one and Team B has won one round. In other words, they have both won one Domination each. Rush is then the decider.

So if Team Red has lost the first Domination round then switch Team B onto 5HP Hard before starting round 2. If it is clear that despite this, Team Red is still losing the second round of Domination, then subtle switch Team Red over to 5HP Easy -- you can do this during the game play.

If Team Red has still lost. Then we would during the interval then you can re-organize the make-up of the team players. So you can also reallocate some players from Team B over to Team Red. This should even up the skill levels of the gamers.

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What we do at laser tag is an entertainment, not a sport.