Nerf TablePros, Demo and Review! (available now)

Nerf TablePros – Table top sports for a decent price and a retro feel

Thanks to Nerf for the sample! From their Spring 2017 Sample Box – they included a Nerf TablePros set. It’s a mostly papercraft construction kit, give or take a couple of pieces (in the case of the basketball set, there’s a connector and the basketball hoop that are plastic). There are three different types for now; the basketball set shown, the soccer set, and the football (American) set. With the basketball set, you bounce/throw the ball into the hoop. Soccer and Football involve flicking the ball into the net/in between the field goal posts.

These are a bit of a throwback as well. I remember some other tabletop sets where the basketball would launch off a catapult which this kind of reminds me of except you bounce your shots in. This lends itself well to trick shot setups, or some quick time killing H-O-R-S-E, maybe something else? It’s a quick set up, easy to store, and a good bit of fun trying to make the foal on such a small target. For $10 (or less, depending on where you shop) you aren’t at a loss at getting these for yourself or a gift. Would I recommend this as a travel game, for a car ride or some other mode of transportation? Not so much, too many loose pieces (like the ball). But for a board game that could easily engross a few people for awhile, I can definitely see this fitting the bill. Thanks again to Nerf for the sample! (Opinions do remain my own.)

Nation Vs Zombies Game Highlight: Chris’s Last Stand

Chris The Human Fends off Zombie Horde so others may live at Nation Vs Zombies 2016

Chris, a player from Ohio, opted to hold off the encroaching zombie horde during Nation vs Zombies, in what I like to call pulling a “Boromir” (I’m sure other people do it too, but that’s not important). This, is his story.

I was fortunate enough to record this, and moments like THIS are why I sometimes have to step back and carry the camera, not the blaster. Tough job, someone’s gotta do it. I still have the main video to work on, so more highlights to come!

Nation Vs Zombies: where 400-500 blaster/undead enthusiasts got together and had a good time of it. Next year: Athens, Ohio.

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Nerf Des Plaines II – REVISITED (Illinois Tournament)

Nerf Tournament in Des Plaines, Illinois (thanks, Des Plaines Park District!)
By: Vas The Stampede

Last year, the Des Plaines Park District hosted a Nerf Tournament. Darts were fired, and fun was had. The fun was so plentiful they went for a second go recently as well! From the looks of it, there were about 30 (24 in the group shot below) who showed up to play, that’s up from the (roughly) 17 in last year’s group photo. Given that this is one of the few (if not only, at least as far as I know) park districts near me that uses Nerf/toy blasters as part of its programming, this is progress. (Niles, Morton Grove, Glenview, I’m looking at you.)

Here are (some of) the pics from 2014 – the day started off with some free skirmishes for the teams to get warmed up, then into round robin and eventually the knockout round.

The Des Plaines Park District set up the whole event-

The game of the day was Capture the Flag – teams would hide their flag somewhere on their half of the field, then search out the flag of the other team. If a player was tagged with a dart (and only a dart) they had to run back to their end of the field, count to 5, and jump back into play. A team only needed the other team’s flag to win, if their flag was moved they just had to hustle the other team’s flag back to their own base before their flag reached the other side. If a flag carrier was tagged with a dart they would drop the flag and it was to stay where it landed, a team could not move their flag back to base.

A little different was teams could only use ammo they brought into the game at the start; reloading from darts off the field was not allowed (probably to speed up the game, as teams would end up putting up strong defenses and reloading magazines. Even in a 5 minute round, this got a little slow.) If a player was hit, they were to pick up ONE dart from the ground and drop it into a bucket at their base. If there was no flag capture by the end of the 5 minute limit, whichever team had the most darts (meaning their players were tagged more) lost the game. Eye protection was mandatory, and players supplied their own ammo. Obstacles were provided by the park district, along with some loaner blasters when necessary.

Here’s the gallery:

https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf

Interesting note, I didn’t see any off-brand blasters. Whether it was the marketing or just preference of the players, I’m not sure. The blasters were stock (from what I could tell, and mods weren’t allowed anyway) but from talking to some of the players were definitely aware of the larger community, yet here they were doing work on the field laughing and playing with stock blasters.

The players range from 6-14 (maybe? I hadn’t really asked) but the kids came to play. Park staff acted as referees through each game and resolved any disputes and rules questions, and things went through pretty smoothly. The whole event took about 4 hours to complete from briefing to awards.

The kids definitely came to play, they were hustling, talking strategy, scouting other teams, all hallmarks of really wanting be competitive and put on a good show during each game. Admittedly, the games I played in the past at other meetups are a little less competitive so it was refreshing to see Nerf through the eyes of a more competitive mindsetthan I normally see. (Ask me about “Cannonball” sometime to get a feel for how I Nerf.)

I provided a little tech support (and some photographic coverage) but ultimately these kids may be the ones to pick up the hobby and continue to demonstrate that yes, blasters are still a valid toy market! Thanks again to the Des Plaines Park District for letting me be a part of this event and hope to see some of these faces again next year!

BREAKING NEWS: NERF TEK STRIKE STORMSHIELD (New York Toy Fair)

Nerf Tek Strike! Stormshield & App from Eyespy Toys Uses Bluetooth Tech to score hits, track power ups, and more. First shown at New York Toy Fair!

Say Hello to… Nerf Tek Strike. A shield/LCD readout attachment for your tactical rail on Nerf blasters to track hits/scoring, and apparently upgrade weapons/darts. I saw this during Day 1 of New York Toy Fair, and I was really intrigued. There was a prototype available, but these folks are on a good track to figuring out a new way to play. More details after the break.

What sorcery is this? RFID signals, bluetooth connectivity (the demo I saw was running off an iPod’s bluetooth) smart darts (darts specific for this game style, a pack of 10 for $9.99 for instance). (edit) However, a smart device is NOT NECESSARY to play. You can also see hits/lives on the LCD readout of the device that faces you.

Have an EXCLUSIVE gallery –

https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf

It’s still in the early stages of functioning, but from what I could see they have some great plans. It incorporates the natural habit of a player to pick up their opponent’s ammo (using the smart darts) and then firing them back. If the darts hit the shield, you score a point. If the opponent tries to be cute and hold their blaster downward, they time out and lose a life (at least that was one measure that is in the works.) To calibrate the darts to your signal, swipe them over your screen to affix them so they hit and score on your opponents.

Does not need a device in the cradle to operate. A device is necessary to act as a “base” or home for the game, but it would not have to be placed in the cradle. The model I saw had its base unit kept in a cabinet nearby.

This system is still very new, but it’s a very intriguing idea. While it would require purchasing new specific darts, I think there’s a definite place for this type of game, especially if it leads to being able to track hits without using velcro. In an FPS, you run forward and around with your barrel pointed forward, right? Maybe the same principle could be conceptualized here. I myself have a lot of nerf darts already, but being able to track hits and have power ups (like increased damage, and… some other settings I can’t mention but they’re thinking of) may just be worth the cost of a few extra darts, and maybe even if my friends and I split a few
packs.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the developments of this system, but it is a licensed Nerf (meaning, with their blessing) product, they’re working with Nerf on how it works, and there is some serious thought going into the mechanics. I do have a video of successfully tracking hits using the screen, but I have get home first to edit it (my main computer is at home.)

My blog post and the pictures don’t really do this system justice and it’s really very early to say anything definite, but I’m excited for the promise of what it might mean for playing Nerf Tag and the cool people I met talking about it trying to bring this to fruition. Yes, you need to get new darts. But, it could be for a very good reason 🙂

What do you think? Is the idea of a Nerf-developed app/tag tracking device interesting for you, whether you play stock, modded, or HvZ?

Nerf Vortex Revonix 360 – Taking a Look (Review)

Imagine if you will, a time back in February.

I saw this:

Recorded this:

Tried again during this: (start at 0:33)

and FINALLY, recorded these:

So after a long journey that started at New York Toy Fair 2013 to July 2013 I finally saw a full production Nerf Vortex Revonix 360.

STATISTICS:

Nerf Vortex Revonix 360

Available Fall 2013
Approx. $39.99
Integrated drum

30 Disc capacity

Range: 70’ish
Slam Fire
Includes:

Revonix 360 x 1
30 XLR Vortex discs

And there you go. The Nerf Vortex Revonix 360. So what of it?

Well, I like it. I was a big fan of the Nerf Vortex Pyragon when it came out, mainly because of the level of firepower it packed. Sure, the reliance on magazines is a sticking point for me in protracted Nerf games, but the slam fire was smooth, it looked good, and felt comfortable with a Nerf Super Soaker Lightning Storm stock. And the Revonix? Worth the cost. A big blaster (almost reminiscent of a grenade launcher, honestly) good range, and comfy to use, especially with a stock.

BUT, it takes a little getting to know. First thing, as Adult Fans of Nerf likes to say, the thing is a blaster you can reload on the run, like the Dart Tag blasters that have integrated mags (Quick 16, Speedload 6 come to mind). And the reload takes some practice at first but if you can manage it, you’ve got something good here. I always appreciate a loadout where I am boiled down to a player with a pouch full of ammo and a blaster by my side (anyone see what I did there?) One must be familiar with the feel of their blaster to keep loading while running around, while also keeping your eyes on the field. It’s good to know where the magwell is by feel, and turrets, and so on. Those brief seconds you spend looking down could get you tagged. I was able to work it out with the Dart Tag blasters, I’ll have to do the same here with a little more field time. Initially, it feels easy to fumble discs or slow down to search for the loading points (especially since the mag drum freely spins around) but just keep at it if you want this to be a primary for you.

As one of the videos above shows, the Nerf Vortex Revonix 360 loads through a divot on the left or right side of the blaster, and pumping the handle primes the blaster to fire. Holding the trigger down while pumping the handle activates Slam Fire. Needless to say, that’s basic nerf knowledge, I think. But eventually you too will go “click click bamf!” when you light up your opponents. Maybe. Ultimately, the slam fire on the Pyragon felt just a bit smoother than the slam fire mode on the Revonix but I think part of that is the new mechanism (this loads discs vertically and pushes discs into position, the Pyragon discs were already horizontal and didn’t need any additional adjustment from the drum mag or the firing mechanism.) However, that is practically splitting hairs. Both blasters send out a bunch of ammo REALLY FAST, and a cloud of discs can be a scary sight during a game. Maybe even scarier than a cloud of darts.

Should the blaster get jammed, there’s a disc release and the jam door (both pictured) I believe Mr. K at AFON pointed out this is the first/only Vortex blaster to have one(?):

As for the range, I was hitting 50′ – 70′ with discs. Not unexpected, considering that is the deal with Vortex line, hitting high distances. The only caveat here is the accuracy (as with most things Nerf and maybe especially Vortex) may lack a bit. The videos above show how hard it is to hit a reliably accurate point the farther you are from the target, and that’s even more noticeable with the frisbee styled vortex ammo. Not to say I haven’t had success with this blaster, but it adds a little bit more of a challenge. However, that is also a Vortex blaster’s strength to some degree, the unpredictability when trying to avoid a hit. A duck or sidestep that would normally get you out of the way ends up sending you into the path of a disc.

That craziness is part of the reason I really like the Vortex line.

The paintjob is striking, for sure. While the Vortex line has a new deco for 2013, all flame-styled in a way.

And it works for me. I honestly very rarely go “WHOA” on a blaster’s paintjob but this does look cool all the same. The main body is very vibrant with the white and orange accents, and the grey just works with it in my opinion.

So for $39.99, is it worth the purchase? If you prefer having the full 40 shots from a Pyragon, and prefer to not reload one at a time (even on the run) then you might not get a lot out of this blaster. I find the reloading mechanism unique enough that when I am on the field and hurriedly running around collecting my ammo to reload, (if the round is still going) it is MUCH faster to just load a turret than load a mag, and slam it in. Granted, you can carry smaller mags if you’re using a Pyragon but then that’s still additional weight you have in your loadout as opposed to just a pouch/pocket full of discs. So, player, know thyself. The performance was on par with the Pyragon though not as smooth on slam fire, and reloading without additional magazines is nice. This being Vortex discs you might have accuracy questions, but the ammo output just might compensate (Spray & Pray, my friends.)

If you like your Vortex blasters those are probably the best selling points about it. Hopefully, I’ve been helpful in making a decision. If you have questions, feel free to shoot them my way, and good game!

Tek Recon goes to E3! Press Release received!

“TEK RECON: E3 BOUND AND BRINGING LIVE ACTION ONLINE GAMING TO LIFE!

FOLLOWING A VERY EXCITING KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED NEW GAMES TO BE SAMPLED FOR THE FIRST TIME AT E3 JUNE 11-13 IN LOS ANGELES

TORONTO, May 21, 2013 – TEK RECON, one of the most anticipated new product launches of 2013 will be available for demonstration and sampling by fans and consumers for the first time at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, California June 11-13, 2013.

E3 will immediately follow a crowd funding campaign hosted on Kickstarter that began May 9th. The response to TEK RECON from gamers, tech enthusiasts, and blaster fans has been exceptional as backers and players from all over the world have reached out to provide valuable feedback, insight and support. The campaign is currently more than 50% funded and tracking to exceed the kickstarter goal of $50,000.

Gamers, adventure seekers and fans of technology, get off the couch and into the game as we need your help to create a revolutionary new way to connect and play! TEK RECON Blasters feature a first of its kind design with real trigger action, authentic recoil and specially designed reusable “NRG Rounds”.

To optimize the battle and team experience TEK RECON developed a free “Live Action Online Gaming” app to enhance blaster battles. Simply connect your mobile device to the blaster to bring video game styled play to life through mobile and GPS technology. The free TEK RECON App will be available for iOS and Android devices, enhancing real battle experience through an interactive heads up display, live chat, vision modes, and more.

“Bringing TEK RECON to market is the most ambitious and exciting launch in our company history,” stated Brad Pedersen CEO of TEK RECON Inc. “Two years ago we set out on a mission to bring video games, online connectivity and social interactive play together through innovation and great product design. The outcome, TEK RECON has come to life and created a phenomenal play experience that has exceeded our expectations.”

The time is now to be one of the first to experience Live Action Online Gaming and change the way you play. For more information on this product and the KICKSTARTER campaign please visit TekRecon.com.

Take a live look at the Tek Recon Blasters during the E3 2013 Show in Los Angeles, CA at Booth #5636 in the West Hall.”

And the buzz just keeps on going for Tek Recon! From Toy Fair now to E3… who knows what’s next?

REVIEW: Skylanders Giants – Trigger Happy’s Dart Blaster from Mega Bloks!

Mega Bloks were awesome enough to send along a couple of samples from Toy Fair – Trigger Happy’s Blaster and Ignitor’s Flame Sword.

Trigger Happy’s Dart Blaster


Ignitor’s Flame Sword (size comparison to a Nerf Marauder)

What wonderful intellectual property are these devices for destruction from? The Skylanders Giants game, where a player uses a figure on a platform to connect to the video gaming device of their choice and play that character IN THE GAME.

Now, my past experience with licensed blasters is not very positive. At all. The Jango Fett blasters I have weren’t anything special, nor were the clone trooper dart blasters I picked up. On top of that, this is Mega Bloks’s first foray into making roleplay toys, so I was a little curious how these would stack up against past experience.

Thankfully, the stats spoke for themselves:

STATS:

Price: Approx. $14.99 depending on the store
Range: Anywhere from 30′-40′ (with darts NOT the ones included. The darts it comes with decreased the range to about just under 30′)
Ammo: Foam darts with a hard plastic, thin tip
Ammo Capacity: 6 darts before reloading

Darts that come with the blaster

Versus Nerf Elite Streamlines and current Dart Tag darts

Shot of the chamber

Air restrictors inside (and no, the cylinder does not pop out to reload.)

Annnnd the video:

So how did I like it? Sure, it was similar to Nerf Maverick but in a case like this it’s the aesthetics that are important because of the licensing. Folks who love the game (or have kids who love the game) are going to like this, as well as anyone (like me) who likes a gold-colored blaster (I played A LOT of Goldeneye on the N64). The cylinder not popping out was a surprise, but the side divots are nice touch to get around that. As you can see in the video, the divots don’t line up with the chambers on the cylinder. It would be nice if the holes had lined up WITH The divots, instead of trying to load the darts in on an angle, but the blaster would look a little odd and a little less symmetrical. I get that. The lack of a trigger guard bothers the showman in me as I can’t spin the blaster on a finger. But, that’s a nitpick.

Unfortunately, the included darts don’t do the blaster any justice. They drop the range and the heads are unforgiving if they did hit their target. Granted, a toy like this isn’t INTENDED to be shot at others, but things happen and I would have liked to see suction cups or something softer at the heads of the darts, if anything so the blaster would hit the ranges it does with regular Nerf ammo.

And the ranges are THE most surprising thing about this blaster. Once I loaded proper darts it got comparable range and performance to any Maverick I had (Strongarm doesn’t count, it’s internals are ahead of the Maverick curve but I had to include it for argument’s sake.) I was pleasantly surprised to say the least!

After being burned so much with licensed blasters in the past, I would take this into any stock blaster game as a good sidearm confidently. Per the usual rules around here, I won’t be modding this so I won’t write about possibilities.

Ultimately, I think it works as a sidearm if you’re into stock blaster games and the golden aesthetics remind me of sneaking around in my video game days. It’s not exactly the Golden Gun, but it’s closest I’ve gotten 🙂 Skylanders fans might get a kick out of the blaster as well, as the license is HUGE and the game is really popular. Trigger Happy looks like a fun character to play as well (judging from the videos, maybe an actual Skylanders player can sound off on him) so if you’re hurting for a unique looking sidearm or want to live the adventure with Spyro and friends, pick this up.

These are only the beginning too, at Toy Fair there was plenty more on the way, as shown below:

’til next time, chummers! Got a question? Post below.

(Non-Nerf) It Came From Toy Fair – interview with Saban re: Power Rangers and a new Digimon??

Crossposted from another blog I keep!

“Hi there, it’s been a good long time since I put anything here (my duties Nerf-wise at Foam From Above keep me busy) but I have some particularly awesome news to share here and well, everywhere.

So, the past 3 years now I’ve flown to the New York Toy Fair (mostly on blaster business, but I do other random geekery there too, such as Power Rangers) and was invited to interview Saban executives on Power Rangers and the news of a new series from Digimon (long story, it’s answered in the questions). Being an eternal fan of the Dragonzord and Agumon, well, I had to take the chance! I was thrilled to even have been on the list that got this blast. Follow me, fellow Digi-destined and Rangers.

I was initially going to do an interview there, but storms and scheduling had other plans. As it stood, I ended up doing an over email interview courtesy of their VP of Toys and Hardlines. What follows is a direct copy-paste of my questions and the answers. You’ll also see a number of questions that I solicited from the fanbase via twitter (@vasthestampede, that’s me!) so hopefully you all will dig what I found out.
(Saban answers are in BOLD)
[[MORE]]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions. I’ve been a big fan of
Power Rangers since Season 1 (and even through the Disney years) and Digimon as well. Needless to
say, I was excited to learn that Saban had regained MMPR, compounded with news of a new Digimon series.

First off, I thoroughly enjoyed Super Samurai, and was a bit teary eyed to see it end. What can you
tell us about the direction that the Power Rangers line is going in, merchandising and marketing wise?
I feel that with seeing t-shirts and hoodies at Hot Topic (I have a red ranger hoodie and green ranger t-
shirt myself) there’s a renaissance of sorts when it comes to Power Rangers.

You are definitely right. There are many Power Rangers fans just like you who have been loyal and followed the Power Rangers closely for the past 20 years. We always make sure to cater to that audience of “super fans” with collectible items like limited edition action figures, DVD box sets and throwback products like the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers line at Hot Topic. In fact, new items just became available on April 1 in stores and online! Be sure to check them out in-store and at www.hottopic.com.
There’s lots of product coming out this year to celebrate the 20th Anniversary, and much of that you will get to see unveiled at Comic-Con. Plus there is a whole line of Power Rangers
Megaforce for the “super fan” and brand-new Power Rangers fan alike. We are lucky to have such a large audience from kids to adult, going 20 years strong!

With some of the die-cast toys and figures I’ve seen, there’s a definite gear towards the collectors in the U.S. (hello, Legacy Morpher) when back in the 90s I don’t think quite the same level of merchandise was out there, at least in the U.S. Did Saban grow with their fans?

Absolutely, yes. For many of the reasons listed above. We have fans from age 2 all the way to age 40 at this point, since the show has been around for 20 years. With a continuous growing fanbase, there is constantly a need to adapt and grow with the fans, so that’s what we aim to do with the products as well.

What can you tell us about how far into the future you planned your Power Rangers shows? I
understand there’s still so much out there work from:)

Without giving too much information away, we plan a year or so in advance.

People have been mentioning the Legacy morphers are awful hard to find right now, to the point of physical altercations trying to get them. Is this something Saban or Bandai needs to address?

We’re thrilled that the Legacy Morphers are such a hot item, but never intend to make it difficult for fans to purchase them. Toys R Us will have them back on shelves by mid-May.

Onto Digimon! I’m excited. The movie was fantastic, and I followed the show up to Frontiers, then lost track of it. What can you tell us about the new series? Figures? Cards? Are we talking a whole new multimedia push for Digimon? When will all this break? Will we see the show first, then the toys and games?

In February, we announced the new animated series, Digimon Fusion (the sixth installment of the hugely successful Digimon franchise), which will air on Nickelodeon later this year. Digimon Fusion will take today’s tech-savvy kids inside an adventure-packed digital world, where the heroes’ courage is matched only by the fusion of their teamwork, loyalty and humor.
The series features all-new Digimon action and
excitement following Mikey, a human boy, who is transported into the digital realm and must team up with his new “Digimon” or “Digital Monster” friends before their world is deleted once and for all. New fusion powers allow Digimon to combine and fuse their abilities to create endless battle possibilities. The series will be distributed internationally (outside of Asia) by MarVista Entertainment.

As far as the consumer product line goes, nothing has been announced yet so you will just have to wait and see!

How did Saban reach the conclusion to pick up Digimon? Not that I’m complaining.

The Digimon franchise was brought to the U.S. in 1999 by Haim Saban’s Fox Family Worldwide. It was a no-brainer to bring the franchise to Saban Brands last September and keep it “in the family.” It was an exciting addition for us and a perfect property to help grow our entertainment brand portfolio.

The trends I’ve been seeing (for a couple of years now) are ways to make the toys “combat” each other, whether with a card system or something else. Power Rangers kind of has this, will Digimon
have a combat system? This is also assuming there will be a new string of Digimon toys.

We are still in the planning phases of development of licensed products that will help bring the show to life, so more to come on that.

Digimon has a strong following, and I do run into people who get misty-eyed remembering the original series. Can you comment if there is a collector’s side of the house, to maybe get a die-cast angemon or something to that effect?

Again, we are still in planning phases of development so we cannot confirm anything at this time.

SPEED ROUND:

I wouldn’t even have this opportunity without the fanbase, so I corralled some questions from twitter to bring them along for the ride. I understand if some of the answers are farther down the line for the
year, and entirely expectant that you can’t comment on some of these questions.

When will the Megaforce line will hit Latin America?

We have yet to announce a date.

How many sets and boosters are planned in the new Power Rangers Collectible Card Game? Support
for the 2 years of the show?

The Collectible Card Game will continue through the two years of the show and beyond. The card game
includes rangers and villains from the entire 20 years of history.

Are there plans to release the sentai series shiken in the U.S., and will there be a same release with jp
gosei great?

Again, apologies, but we cannot comment at this time.

When can we see planned releases of the Anniversary toy line (power morpher, Japanese Import
Zords, etc)?

Along with our licensing partners, we showcased a great assortment of Power Rangers Anniversary toys during the American International Toy Fair in February. New Power Rangers Megaforce products were on display for the all-new season, as well as some items inspired by the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series to commemorate the 20th anniversary year. All products are expected to hit shelves throughout the year. Fans will get to see more unveilings at San Diego International Comic-Con as well.

Will we see the release of the Lauren Red Ranger figure in edition to the UK version already out?

She was released in November 2012 in the U.S. as a chase figure.

Any plans to extend the anniversary line into the 2014 season of Megaforce?

We cannot confirm at this time.

Can you disclose anything about the Mystery Ranger release in America, or Ranger Keys? Will we see
those brought over?