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ENTER the darkness, raise your phaser, watch your back and think quick. Launceston laser taggers will enter the national stage at the laser game titles at Waverley's Zone 3 this week. Laser tag is an attack and defend game where players deactivate opponents by tagging them with ``phasers''. When a player is hit, their phaser is deactivated for a short period of time, preventing them from playing and scoring points. The 12 Launceston entrants will be competing against 140 players from Australia and New Zealand. First-time entrant Phill Aird, 27, of Launceston, started laser tagging in September last year as a recreational activity after work. He now enters the dark chambers of Zone 3 at least twice a week. ``You have to be pretty switched on,'' Mr Aird said. ``It is fast paced, exciting and can be pretty frustrating at times.'' Mr Aird said he enjoyed the sense of camaraderie that existed between his team. He said competing against the interstate laser taggers, who had been playing for up to 14 years, would be a ``massive highlight'' of the competition. Zone 3 site manager Joel Derrick, 23, said this was the first time the national competition would be held in Launceston. Mr Derrick said there would be two teams of six competing from Launceston, and competitions would also be held for teams of three, two, and solo entrants. He said the competition would be tough. The Laser Game titles begin this Friday, and will end on March 24.

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