Star Shooters, Glow Tag, and Glow Pirates Review

Just because it’s getting dark outside doesn’t mean playtime has to stop. With new Starlux Games outdoor games, kids can keep playing thanks to light-up game pieces. (The games can also be adapted for indoor use.) 

StarShooters comes with a light-up basketball and 10 ways to play. First, you’ll use the included pump to inflate the basketball, and then you’ll use the included USB charger to charge it up. Then you’re ready to play a variety of different games, including a glow version of HORSE and Around the “Glowbe”, where players take turns shooting from each light-up marker only advancing to the next marker if they make the shot. Six light-up markers are included. This game is for one to 12 players ages 5 and up.

Glow Tag is a light-up version of Tag. It comes with four blue bracelets, four green bracelets, all required batteries, and 12 game options. Kids can simply wear the bracelets as a fun glow effect while playing classic Tag, or they can choose from one of the game options. For instance, players only turn on their bracelet if they get tagged and become a zombie. You can play this game with two to 12 players ages 5 and up.

The third game is Glow Pirates, which seems to be an update of its Glow Battle game and reminds us a little of Capture the Flag. Whether playing inside or outside, you’ll need to divide the play area into “Land” and “Sea”. The “Sea” is the pirate territory. You’ll use the four red lights to mark an outline of a 10-foot by 10-foot square in the Land’s center. This game is going to require a bit of space. Divide players into two teams: Pirates get the red swords and Soldiers get the blue swords. These swords are made of foam and are supposed to offer 100-percent painless hits. Pirates take their starting position in the Sea and can even hide if they want. Meanwhile, the Soldiers place the glowing gems five feet apart from each other within the Land area. The object of the game for the Soldiers is to protect the gems and eliminate the Pirates. The Pirate objective is to get the gems into the sea without getting hit. If a Soldier gets hit, they go to the Hospital and stay there for a count of 10. But if a Pirate gets hit, they go to the Hospital and stay there until the game ends, which occurs when all the gems are in the sea, or all pirates are defeated, or if it’s been 10 minutes (or whatever length of time you’ve agreed on has passed). In the case of time running out, the Pirates win if there are more free Pirates than remaining gems. Once you’ve got the core gameplay mastered, you can play with one of three add-ons or you can add in game cards for a more advanced game. It comes with three soldier swords that glow blue, three pirate swords that glow red, eight glow gems, four hospital markers, four Smugglers cards, and four Merchants cards. You can play the game with four to 12 players ages 8 and up.