(A player 'zapping' a teammate would lose a massive amount of score and be automatically 'zapped' himself.) One feature of the game was that no player could be 'zapped' more than three consecutive times by the same player. Players lost points for being shot ('zapped' in game terminology) or by shooting teammates. Players gained points for shooting other players and for shooting the enemy team's base. Dramatic music, strobe effects, and smoke machines were used in the arena during games to enhance play. Photon players joined either a red or green team (solo games were not an option), and played in an arena. Also, in Photon, players were allowed to roam at will through the entire playing field rather than be restricted to team-specific zones. (Shots from observation deck guns did not affect the game in any way at most arenas.) This contrasted sharply with competing laser-tag centers, whose fields were small, single-level, composed of clusters of free-standing painted cardboard barriers, and typically contained no observation area of any sort. The arenas featured multiple levels, catwalks, mazes, and an observation deck from which people not participating could cheer their friends in the game, or get target practice by shooting players from special token-operated emplacements. While primitive compared to technology today, entailing wearing 18 pounds of battery packs and equipment, Photon was one of the first video game-like experiences that one could play in the real world. It opened on Jbut on September 9, 2008, after less than 9 weeks, lack of business revenue forced the center to cease operations. In 2007, a new Photon center was constructed in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

In 1989, lack of financing and loss of franchise revenue forced the corporation to sell off its assets and cease operations. īy 1987, 70 franchise licenses had been sold and 45 arenas were operating. Both companies were very successful in the Christmas shopping season of 1986. The home units were introduced in 1986, as were the Lazer Tag brand units of competitor Worlds of Wonder. The architect for Photon was J.C Collins. The first franchisee opened in Toronto in June 1985. In 1982, research and development started in earnest, and the first Photon center in Dallas, Texas opened in March 1984.

George Carter III claimed to have had the idea for Photon while watching Star Wars when it premiered in 1977.

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