 Star Wars Jedi Challenges is a new augmented reality gaming system created by Lenovo and Disney. For around $200, you get a phone-powered Lenovo Mirage Air headset, a lightsaber controller, and a light-up beacon. You download a free Jedi Challenges Android or iOS app, and then slide your phone into an adjustable tray. Mirrors reflect the phone's display in front of your eyes, so it looks like a hologram. Cameras on the headset track your beacon and lightsaber, creating a cheap and simple motion control system. The app opens a fictional Jedi archive that trains you to become a Padawan, a knight, and eventually a master. The Mirage's images look like transparent overlays, not solid objects, especially in a well-lit room. Like most AR headsets, its field of view is small and boxy. It was good at matching a virtual lightsaber blade to my controller, but I had to recenter it a lot. The tracking performance was okay in both bright and dark spaces, but it was never great. Jedi Challenges offers three game modes with several hours of material. You can play holo-chess matches or try a real-time strategy game based on the Star Wars universe. But as you might have guessed from the controller, lightsaber fighting is the main attraction. The game pits you against waves of droids and stormtroopers, and then puts you in one-on-one duels with Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, and other Star Wars villains. Lines tell you where to block and dodge, and you have to get in the right defensive position and then retaliate. You get power-ups by fighting increasingly tough versions of these duels, which can be pretty challenging. You can even work up a sweat playing. Unfortunately, it's really not fun to set up. The app has a long startup tutorial, the Bluetooth pairing can be finicky, and you have to plug the phone in with a tiny, easy-to-lose cable. You have to keep the headset and lightsaber charged via USB, and keep an eye on your phone battery. It's reasonable for a sophisticated toy, but it's not something you can just pick up and put on. Also, the mirage? It's just heavy and badly balanced. I kept worrying it would fall off when I dodged and ducked, and it was only fun for short sessions before getting uncomfortable. The lightsaber fights were absolutely worth it. But after the novelty had worn off, the other games were just harder and less fun than they'd be on a mobile AR app. If the Mirage were an open platform, it could be a fun, super low-budget AR headset. But for now, it's an expensive gaming device with one really fun experience, and a lot of rough edges. You'll have to decide whether it's worth overlooking that to get a little taste of the force. Oh god, I'm...
 Star Wars Jedi Challenges is a new augmented reality gaming system created by Lenovo and
 Disney.
 For around $200, you get a phone-powered Lenovo Mirage Air headset, a lightsaber controller,
 and a light-up beacon.
 You download a free Jedi Challenges Android or iOS app, and then slide your phone into
 an adjustable tray.
 Mirrors reflect the phone's display in front of your eyes, so it looks like a hologram.
 Cameras on the headset track your beacon and lightsaber, creating a cheap and simple motion
 control system.
 The app opens a fictional Jedi archive that trains you to become a Padawan, a knight,
 and eventually a master.
 The Mirage's images look like transparent overlays, not solid objects, especially in
 a well-lit room.
 Like most AR headsets, its field of view is small and boxy.
 It was good at matching a virtual lightsaber blade to my controller, but I had to recenter
 it a lot.
 The tracking performance was okay in both bright and dark spaces, but it was never great.
 Jedi Challenges offers three game modes with several hours of material.
 You can play holo-chess matches or try a real-time strategy game based on the Star Wars universe.
 But as you might have guessed from the controller, lightsaber fighting is the main attraction.
 The game pits you against waves of droids and stormtroopers, and then puts you in one-on-one
 duels with Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, and other Star Wars villains.
 Lines tell you where to block and dodge, and you have to get in the right defensive position
 and then retaliate.
 You get power-ups by fighting increasingly tough versions of these duels, which can be
 pretty challenging.
 You can even work up a sweat playing.
 Unfortunately, it's really not fun to set up.
 The app has a long startup tutorial, the Bluetooth pairing can be finicky, and you have to plug
 the phone in with a tiny, easy-to-lose cable.
 You have to keep the headset and lightsaber charged via USB, and keep an eye on your phone
 battery.
 It's reasonable for a sophisticated toy, but it's not something you can just pick up and
 put on.
 Also, the mirage?
 It's just heavy and badly balanced.
 I kept worrying it would fall off when I dodged and ducked, and it was only fun for short
 sessions before getting uncomfortable.
 The lightsaber fights were absolutely worth it.
 But after the novelty had worn off, the other games were just harder and less fun than they'd
 be on a mobile AR app.
 If the Mirage were an open platform, it could be a fun, super low-budget AR headset.
 But for now, it's an expensive gaming device with one really fun experience, and a lot
 of rough edges.
 You'll have to decide whether it's worth overlooking that to get a little taste of the force.
 Oh god, I'm...