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    DarkLight

    Darklight chest piece donated by Zone Laser Tag
    Darklight phaser donated by Zone Laser Tag
    Darklight V3 pack with antenna on back donated by Zone Laser Tag
    Darklight battery charger donated by Zone Laser Tag
    Darklight pictures from Stockholm - trade show acquisition
    Darklight poster - trade show acquisition

    Founded By: Jimmy Haycraft

    Originated:  October 6, 1992

    Personnel of Note:
    Jimmy Haycraft – Founder and President
    Chris Strode – Technical Manager
    Arthur Haycraft – Sales and Marketing Manager
    Julian White – Manufacturer
    Jeff Tyndall – Electronics and Software Design (former, no longer with the company)
    Peter Davies – Director (former, no longer with the company)

    First Location: The Enigma Zone – Lincoln, UK

    Equipment Overview: DarkLight features six spherical sensors known as “BLOBs” on their leather vests. Up to four teams are able to play as the sensors can create red, blue, green and yellow colors for game play. The connected phaser also features a BLOB sensor on the front and an LCD screen on the back which displays information during the game including player rank, lives and ammo available. A player must use two hands in order to use the phaser. Darklight also produced an interactive game device called a Game Enhancement Module (or GEM) that could function as a base, energizer or mine and provide a player with enhanced in-game features.

    Historical Synopsis: 

    Jimmy Haycraft was inspired to create a laser tag system after having paid a visit to a Laser Quest location. DarkLight Systems Ltd. was established on October 6, 1992 and incorporated in Lincoln, UK with their first and second locations opening in Antwerp and Amsterdam, Holland respectively in December of 1992. Improvements were made to the radio and LCD screen, which allowed for real-time scoring when the DarkLight V2 was introduced in January of 1993 and used at the first UK Darklight location called “The Enigma Zone” in Lincoln, UK. A unique feature of this location was the placement of a GEM on the ceiling above a ball pit, as a player would have to wade into the ball pit in order to tag this GEM.

    Darklight V3 was introduced in June of 1997 with a fabric vest and removable battery along with the introduction of a yellow shoulder hit indicator. Later that year the first DarkLight arena in the United States opened in Columbia, MD in October of 1997, owned by Randall Briggs, who went on to open a total of five locations, all operating with the DarkLight equipment. In 2008 the International Laser Tag Association honored Briggs with the first Golden Phaser Award, honoring him as operator of the year.

    Dark Light Developments Limited was incorporated as a new company on April 21, 1998. This took place in Gloucestershire, UK. The following year Peter Davies and Simon Willetts resigned from DarkLight Systems Ltd on April 5, 1999. The liquidation process for DarkLight Systems Ltd. began with a meeting on May 17, 1999 (as posted in the Gazette).

    A unique joint marketing partnership between Dark Light Developments Limited and Actual Reality began on September 14, 1999 (according to an Actual Reality press release), permitting Actual Reality to sell and market DarkLight products in the USA and Canada, although there were no deals resulting from this partnership arrangement. The partnership between the two companies ended on March 15, 2000 (as previously noted on lasertag.org).

    Dark Light Systems Limited was dissolved with a final dissolution notice being sent on February 26, 2002. However, Dark Light Developments Limited remains a currently active laser tag manufacturer. Later that year DarkLight’s V5 equipment was released in September of 2002 with some new features including on-rack charging capabilities, sensor BLOBs as hit indicators and remote diagnostics. Since then, DarkLight has released V7 with a newly designed phaser style.