How Infinity Nado launchers spin a top — rack, gun, bow, sword and hatchet

The rack pull

The S7 rack launcher is a toothed bar and a pinion. Seat the Nado on the spindle, grip the housing in one hand, pull the rack straight through with the other. The teeth turn the spindle, the spindle spins the top, and at the end of the stroke the top releases.

It is the longest uninterrupted stroke on the floor, which is why it puts the most rotation into a top. It is also the one that punishes a crooked pull hardest: tilt the rack and the Infinity Nado leaves the spindle wobbling and dies in four seconds.

The gun trigger

The gun launcher wraps the same rack-and-pinion in a pistol grip. The stroke is shorter, the release is sharper, and a small hand can hold it steady without using both arms.

Experienced players use the gun for close launches into a busy arena, where getting the top on the floor fast matters more than squeezing out the last few revolutions. In a three-way battle it is the launcher that gets a second battle top down before the first collision.

The bow draw

The bow launcher is pulled with two hands like a crossbow. The body does the work rather than one wrist, which makes it the most repeatable launch for a younger player — the same draw gives the same spin almost every time.

It is also the slowest to reload, so in a long back-to-back session the bow player spends more time setting up than firing.

The sword draw

The sword launcher is the newest and the one that changed the line. The Nado clicks into the hilt, the scabbard is held in the off hand, and the blade is drawn out in one long motion through a gear train that multiplies every inch of the stroke.

That multiplication is the point: a sword draw puts noticeably more rotation into a top than a rack pull of the same effort, and it does it with a movement kids already understand. Deluxe versions add an LED core and a telescopic blade.

The motorized hatchet

The hatchet does the spinning for you. Batteries drive a motor, the motor winds the Infinity Nado up to speed in the head of the hatchet, and a release drops it into the arena already rotating.

It takes human error out of the launch entirely, which is either the best or the worst thing about it depending on who you ask at the table. Dragon series boxes are where you usually meet it.

Getting Infinity Nado spinning tops off cleanly

Hold the launcher level. Most dead launches are a tilted launcher, not a bad top — if the Nado leaves at an angle it lands on the edge of its tip and scrubs off rotation immediately.

Pull through, not to. Stopping the stroke early leaves rotation in the launcher instead of the top. Follow the motion all the way out and let the release happen on its own.

Launch into the slope. Dropping the top on the angled wall of the arena lets it run down into the centre with its spin intact, which beats dropping it flat in the middle every time.