"It was whilst playing lasertag in 2015 that the idea came to me. I told myself that it could be cool to do the same thing in nature, in the middle of the forest, instead of being confined in a dark room.”Passionate about paintball, that he had been playing between the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s before giving it up after the ban on being able to play freely in nature, Christophe Bruchez from Saxon, recently developed a new kind of fun, sporty and original game intended for all audiences. “I was an absolute fan of paintball, but, as soon as the markers started being considered as weapons, I changed my perspectives and became a follower of infrared technologies.”



No warlike connotation



As a trained computer scientist, Christophe admits to being a true geek. “It’s my passion. Everything in my house is connected, and I’m constantly reading up on new high tech products.” That’s why he had the idea of working with infrared technology, a painless ray of light, harmless and invisible to the naked eye, just like TV remotes, to develop IRTAG, contraction of IR, for infrared, and TAG, which means to mark or hit. “Eager to discard any warlike or military connotation, besides the shape of the phasers, I developed a system made for everyone, from 7 to 77 years old, and even more.”



Among the advantages of infrared, Christophe notes:
the effective range of up to 200 meters,
the absence of projectiles and thus waste or injuries,
IRTAG respects the environment, even though it’s played outdoors,
the safety, even for young players
the respect for all legislations

A family activity, as a father of three children, Christophe tested his first creations with his family. “My wife Sophie didn’t want any weapons in the house, but as soon as she saw and tested my phasers, she quickly got involved and now is the best ambassador.” Christophe created the new phasers from A to Z in his family home.

“I imagined and created a casing with all the components - vibrating cells, recharging port, battery, OLED screen, mother card, red dot sight, headband - at home.” It took him over three years of work, accomplished in his spare time, to come up with the new project, of which the brand IRTAG is now filed and protected. His wife takes care of the commercial service during the week in the French speaking part of Valais, Christophe has multiple franchise partners in Fribourg, Vaud-Neuchâtel and in Upper Valais.


Soon a club in Saxon


Even though it is possible to play indoors, IRTAG is especially intended to be played outdoors.To date the only marketing has been through word of mouth and it is already quite popular.

“ It has been up and running for two years for, birthdays, school class outings, bachelor parties, team building exercises, company or club outings, with huge success with all audiences.”  In order to introduce to a younger audience (8 to 15 yo), Christophe is going to start an IRTAG club in Saxon, the first of its kind in Switzerland : “All interested kids and teens will be able to test and practice diverse aiming techniques, camouflage, equipment and available games.”