Beijingers looking to have a blast on the weekend should set their sites on the Star Trooper Laser Tag center.

Here, the basement of Wangjing West Garden apartment building becomes a subterranean battleground for squads of weekend warriors aiming for fun with a laser gun.

"It's like real-life Star Wars," says vice general manager Mikael Widing, while his twin brother and partner Per Widing likens it to "dodge ball with laser beams".

After a succinct debriefing, combatants put on sensor-studded vests and war faces before arming themselves with semiautomatic laser guns. Once trained, locked and loaded, they invade the dimly lit 450-square-meter playing field, where they steal through the fog-machine induced haze to assume strategic positions behind the 150 some obstacles strewn throughout the course.

"You really get pumped up from the adrenaline while waiting for the other team to enter the arena," says Rikard Kristensson. The general manager at Centurion has become a regular Star Trooper after playing for a company outing.

Once the first shot is fired, he says, "The first feeling you get is 'run and hide'," and in the aftermath of the carnage, "you feel like you want to have a shower."

Players can choose from a variety of game options ranging from every-man-for-himself to teamed-up versions of capture the flag. Some game types provide a limited number of lives and ammunition, and require players who get hit to recharge their lives by standing under blue light beams at reenergizing stations.

Once hit, players' sensors deactivate for seven seconds, allowing them time to retreat to safety. However, their guns don't switch back on for 10 seconds, providing a three-second window for opportunistic opponents to take cheap shots.

"It's not a role playing game; you are who you are," Mikeal says. "But when you get a laser gun, you become a little bit more evil."

The Swedish twins founded the company with compensation checks provided by mobile phone maker Ericsson after it downsized. The pair of tech savvy engineers then applied their engineering know-how to developing a customized arsenal of high-tech, bilingual laser tag gear.

"If we can make mobile phones, we can make toys," Mikael says, pointing out that the guns and vests are essentially "glorified remote controls".

Games run for 15 minutes, and the first will cost each member of a group of four to 14 troopers 40 yuan, with subsequent games costing 30 per player. Groups can reserve the arena for 1,280 yuan per hour Tuesday through Friday.

The Widings stress that safety is par for the course. The first two rules of the game are "No running," and the lasers used are all class 1. For those who aren't total tech-dweebs, Mikael explains that this means: "You could spend all day staring into the laser. You'd get bored but nothing else."

But trigger-happy troopers agree that it's much more fun making opponents stare down the barrel of your gun before zapping them into next light year.

Basement of building 316, Wangjing West Garden, Chaoyang District. 6475-8329.

(China Daily 02/07/2007 page14)