Bring your fantasy lightsaber battles to real life with a pair of foam swords that wirelessly mark the score and drain health with every successful hit. February 3, 2014 9:39 AM PST Prepare for battle. (Credit: LevelUp) Remember those telescoping toy lightsabers? You used to do battle with your siblings or friends, but nobody could ever agree on who actually won the fight. There won't be room to argue if you're using Sabertron foam swords from Kickstarter. The glowing swords each have a health meter above the hilt, marked by strips of green, yellow, and red LED lights. When the swords strike blade-to-blade, they make a clashing sound. When the sword hits anywhere else, like on your opponent's arm, the health meter goes down. Run out of health and you lose the match. An accelerometer in each sword logs the hits. The prototypes may look a little chunky, but the final model will look more like a sleek lightsaber, with a medieval knight-style sword also on offer. Right now, the swords can keep track of two players, but the project's creators are working on a multiplayer melee game that will involve chest-mounted health displays. A pair of basic medieval-style swords goes for a $99 pledge. You can move up to a pair with color-changing blades for $199. There are a selection of different game modes that require varying degrees of strikes to win, upping the difficulty level for some modes and giving players options to keep the game from getting stale. The appeal of the Sabertron is obvious. Anybody who ever reenacted the Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader battle will want to give these a try. LARPers will also find a lot to love, especially with the medieval swords. It's one game that's pretty much guaranteed to get you off your gaming couch. Use the foam, Luke.
Bring your fantasy lightsaber battles to real life with a pair of foam swords that wirelessly mark the score and drain health with every successful hit.
Prepare for battle.
(Credit: LevelUp)
Remember those telescoping toy lightsabers? You used to do battle with your siblings or friends, but nobody could ever agree on who actually won the fight. There won't be room to argue if you're using Sabertron foam swords from Kickstarter.
The glowing swords each have a health meter above the hilt, marked by strips of green, yellow, and red LED lights. When the swords strike blade-to-blade, they make a clashing sound. When the sword hits anywhere else, like on your opponent's arm, the health meter goes down. Run out of health and you lose the match.
An accelerometer in each sword logs the hits. The prototypes may look a little chunky, but the final model will look more like a sleek lightsaber, with a medieval knight-style sword also on offer. Right now, the swords can keep track of two players, but the project's creators are working on a multiplayer melee game that will involve chest-mounted health displays.
A pair of basic medieval-style swords goes for a $99 pledge. You can move up to a pair with color-changing blades for $199. There are a selection of different game modes that require varying degrees of strikes to win, upping the difficulty level for some modes and giving players options to keep the game from getting stale.
The appeal of the Sabertron is obvious. Anybody who ever reenacted the Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader battle will want to give these a try. LARPers will also find a lot to love, especially with the medieval swords. It's one game that's pretty much guaranteed to get you off your gaming couch. Use the foam, Luke.
