Thursday, March 1, 2012

Nerf should be a SOCIAL event!

So I know there's a lot of folks who are into Nerf modding and the hobby-side of these plastic blasters in general.  I can't blame them, as I'm a tinkerer at heart and modifications is just the name of the game when it comes to what I do here.  However, if there's one thing that I've seen and read a lot about in talking with my fellow Nerfers online is that there are folks who have all these blasters and epic collections but don't get out and actually play the game!  If I didn't have folks to shoot these foam darts at in a social setting, I don't think I'd be nearly as into this hobby as I am.

The common excuse I see is that "Nobody plays Nerf near me" and I don't think that statement could be less true.  Not only does this sport have TONS of fans out there, as evidenced merely by the Nerf Nation Facebook group, but it's not that hard to get folks into this even on a casual level.  Unless you live on a remote island in the middle of nowhere with no access or contact to the outside world (in which case, you probably can't read this blog), I don't really think there's an excuse to not be able to organize some kind of game to play with friends, family, or the kid who lives down the street that has a Titan missile with his name on it after he smashed your mailbox with a baseball bat.

So don't forget the social aspect of actually HAVING games with people when it comes to Nerf!  If you're already having games, be it NIC or just spur-of-the-moment Dorm battles, drop a comment about your stories on how you get folks together!  If you haven't done this, ask some questions and we'll get you flinging foam with your friends in no-time with some good ol' fashioned advice!

15 comments:

  1. i actually live on an island in the middle of nowhere (Hawaii). Not much people have Nerf wars on the island, I actually had a first nerf war last month and looking to do it monthly. Im slowly getting friends and family to play. I have one question, does any one have plans or ideas to building portable bunkers?

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    1. Portable Bunkers? I've seen folks build stuff like that out of plywood and give them foldable legs so they can fold out to be held up and fold back in so they can be transported easily. I've also seen people take PVC Pipe and make lightweight frames then cover them in sheets of cloth.

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    2. Hey! Something I've done is made a collection of barriers/mobile walls. They work great for open areas that have no trees or a lot of cover. I basically built PVC pipes into shapes, and cut tarps to fit the PVC. Some of them have legs to stabilize and stand on their own, others I use stakes in the ground and the pipes go over them to hold them steady. I have some that when you put them together, they make quite large barriers/bunkers. About 6 foot tall and 10 feet wide. With little cut out windows to shoot out of. Works great! So build one or two simple ones, and move on to bigger pieces. PVC and tarps are considerably cheap too! Just go to Home Depot or Lowes and get the supplies. I got my tarps dirt cheap at Big Lots.

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    3. Thanks guys, I was thinking PVC pipe, Ply wood would be great but I dont have a big car or truck, so i kinda need them to be compact. Gonna trying making some this weekend and see what I can come up with.

      Aloha!

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    4. Hey I'm coming to Hawaii soon... I nerf... Pause and Soloz1 nerf... :)

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  2. My biggest problem at first had to do with finding the people. I knew there were people around me that love nerf. With all the nerf I see in local online ads, there had to be tons of people. The one thing I am thinking about doing come this summer is just putting an ad up that is basically an invite to a nerf war at a specific place and time. I feel this will be one of the easiest ways of getting the word out for me.
    On a side note, I'm finally having an opportunity to have a nerf war. My wife is quitting her job, and even though they don't have any nerf weapons, I have tons (92 is the current count), and ammo enough to fully equip 60 of em. So tonight I'm doing a full on load out at her work, and we're gonna have a heck of a time.
    This will also be good as I will know the people who enjoy this little war will most likely enjoy coming to another one.

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    1. Sounds epic! Will you be covering any of the info (pictures, stories, etc) on Neo Creations? If not, can I share it here?

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    2. I will definitely be getting what video and photos I can. It's a small area that we have to work with. (Basically the inside of the restaurant she works in) but it's gonna be awesome, especially seeing so many darts flying around in such a small place.

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    3. Sounds great. Our first war we made it a potluck/bbq get together, so after we were done battling it out we would have a good old picnic.

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  3. I am one of those unfortunate fellows who did not cultivate devotion to this hobby until relatively late in the game. College life has been over for years; the days of having huge, available circles of friends are long gone. My depressingly adultish job swallows too much of my time and leaves me exhausted. That's all stinko for for maximizing Nerf output, whether it be online or in combat, and we've all got crap like that to wade through. Despite all this, however, organized combat still manages to occur almost weekly. My group recently lucked into gaining free access to about 1500 square feet of unfurnished play space just about any time we like. Configurable cardboard cover abounds. That has really been all it takes to make the suggestion of weekend Nerf irresistible to a growing contingent of devotees. Bazookafied is right about the breadth of folks willing to get into Nerf. Luck may be a factor here again, but my experience has been that if you get someone to play once, the hooks are in.

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  4. I've made the same observation about laser tag. A lot of the folks who are heavy into modding and building stuff, very rarely play with it. The best equipment sits on a shelf for 6 months at a time.

    For finding groups to play with, I find that meetup.com gives the best results. I personally don't have a wide social circle, but via meetup.com I've been able to organize huge games with very little effort.

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  5. I play HvZ with the guys at my church

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  6. I live in the middle east!!!!!!!!!

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  7. Remote island in the middle of nowhere?
    Yup, I'd say Australia qualifies. =P

    My group is really rather small (I think the highest turnout we've had was 12-14 people), which is probably because it consists of friends and friends of friends, so setting it up wasn't hard, "Hey guys, lets go to the local park and shoot each other!".

    What I'd like to see is the rules other people use in their games, because it's hell trying to find good ones online. As for my group, I hope to have the rules in the Google Doc soon, which I'll put a link to once I make it.

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