Tag: list

5 Tips to be a Gracious Nerf Game Host (Friday 5, well, it’s Friday somewhere still)

5 Tips to Being a Good Nerf Game Host
Vas The Stampede

Once again, I asked Hummer from the M.A.N.O (Milwaukee Area Wisconsin Nerf Out) Group for his thoughts on what it takes to be a good Nerf game host. A lot of games I’ve attended all started (for better or worse) from someone saying, “This day, this time, here are the rules…” and so on. Hummer’s held and attended his own fair share of Nerf blaster/Dart Tag games in a variety of settings, so if I have to bounce ideas off anyone, it’s him. The events he runs keep blasters minimally modded (if at all), using a community bin of store bought elite darts (no one really has to bring any, and a few other aspects that make the game accessible for first timers and folks who don’t heavily mod their blasters.
His system works for me, and the group he runs with.Whether you agree with his tips or not, that’s up to you.

  1. Have fun. You are playing with toy blasters, act like it.
  2. Don’t have a schedule. Play what your group wants to play.
  3. Don’t be afraid to try out new gametypes or variants of ones you already play.
  4. Downtime/resting is good to keep your players socialized and keeping their energy up throughout the day, but have the next game announced during that downtime & be ready to kick your players into action.
  5. Be the first one there/last one gone. Get there about 15 minutes early to get yourself setup/take a glance at the field for anything you don’t want to be there while you’re playing (Broken glass, sticks, Squirrels, ect.) And leave last and cleanup trash around the field, even if it isn’t yours. 

 #1 is my favorite out of this list, because at the end of the day we want to go to a Nerf enthusiast meetup and have fun, make some friends, and toss some foam around. It’s too easy to get caught up in group politics, ego, and competition (just like in anything) and forget why we picked up blasters in the first place. I will add a few other tips out of my own experience as well:

F2Addendums:

  • While you don’t want a schedule, a written list of gametypes to select from doesn’t hurt.
  • Duct tape. This rule should also apply to life.
  • Have a tool kit and extra batteries handy.
  • A method to divide people into teams quickly (a deck of cards, a handful of darts, flagging tape, whatever).
  • DO NOT FORGET TO HYDRATE.

Now get out there and Rule #1!

F2A Friday Five: 5 Toy Fair 2016 Blaster Favorites

Five Takeaways from Toy Fair 2016
VasTheStampede

note: there was so much great stuff at Toy Fair! The Five involved with this list are by no means representative of the whole experience.

Edit: previous version of the article incorrectly listed the company for RBS as Super Impact, that has been corrected as of 2/29.

1. Nerf – I’m cheating a bit here. (See the full gallery of images here) The Nerf booth had a ton of things that I felt will be huge in 2016. Heck, the Nerf brand in general is going HUGE in 2016 and beyond, from what I could tell. Even the Platinum Bow from Rebelle is a huge offering and regardless of it being Rebelle I intend to own one. Other blasters, like the BattleScout and the HyperFire, offer new twists on previous features, like the stripper clip (seen on the Magstrike and Powerclip, mainly) and a new camera, while the HyperFire has an increased Rate of Fire. The Nerf Rival Khaos is a ridiculous beast, and while the magazine compatibility is lacking, that is a seriously hilariously large blaster and magazine.

The Nerf blasters this year are incredibly eye catching, but with that comes a level of functionality in some blasters that may change the blaster landscape over the next year. Not just because the Tri-Strike makes most available ammo types usable in a single game play, or that the Hyperfire may arguably be the fastest Rate of Fire for a stock blaster to date, but because Nerf is showing confidence in its brand to try some crazy, oversized ideas. The Brainsaw is evidence the Zombie Strike line continues to produce some fun toys (yes, TOYS) while the Double-Dealer is another massive eye catching piece with its double mag setup. (The Double-Dealer was a non-functioning prototype when I was at the booth, so sadly no firing video. But the stock is in fact a magazine holder, if you haven’t see it yet.) My main concern though is the main blasters are going anywhere between $30 to $80, and to a family that can add up, even to an enthusiast collector. But the fans have wanted bigger and better, and this year, Nerf served that up in spades.

2. Buzz Bee gets “The Walking Dead” license

 In addition to continuing to offer a low cost alternative to Nerf, Buzz Bee has the license for “The Walking Dead”, which I can see a lot of people getting excited about. Especially the rifle at the bottom, which does not seem to use an ammo belt like the last rifle of this style I saw (not from Buzz Bee, I believe). It looks like the license is more for the comics than the TV show, but at this point it’s  still “Hey! The Walking Dead!” There were some other prototypes at the booth (a blaster reminiscent of the Magstrike/Powerclip, air powered and still very cool) but this is what really caught my eye and has gotta be one of the most telling things for me that Buzz Bee has some serious plans for the future and bears watching even more than before.

3. The Precision RBS system (from Super Impulse) –

This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been taken with a new type of blaster and ammo, but there was something so elegant about the Precision RBS system it deserves a callout here. These are rubber band shooters. And not some specialty rubber band ammo, but every day standard rubber bands (three different sizes) which makes getting the ammo easy in a pinch. The larger models have integrated ammo holders, an integrated second blaster, multiple round firing (and the RoF is semiauto, in case you’re curious). The guys who invented this really did their homework about rubber band shooters, and what players look for (even a separate firing mode) in general from a user standpoint, they really thought of a lot of things for this line. I look forward to seeing more from this blaster, that’s for sure.

4. Paper Shooters

Finally! After years of communication, I finally met the owners behind Paper Shooters, and they look ready to hit the American market. Now, these aren’t your typical blasters- it’s a model kit first (so there is some build time to invest) and a functional blaster second. These are some pretty pieces of kit when you’re done, judging by what I saw at their booth, and when you finally get the blaster built it’s very satisfying shooting them. The shell ejection, the pullback lever, it all feels very cool (for lack of a better term) when shooting them. Even moreso cause this is a blaster you build from the ground up with the kit, so it’s a very different offering from when you have a blaster and modify it, now it is your own you built from basically scratch.

5. K’Nex

K’Nex continues the K-Force line – now we have magazines, motors, and turrets to add into the mix. The beast pictured above is a custom build, but it’s three linked triggers to fire three darts at once. I used the initial kits and found the build times a little long, but I attribute that to my unfamiliarity with using K’Nex pieces. All the same, I am glad this line is still kicking because of the customizability it offers, and really want to sink my teeth into some custom builds this year.

Questions? Comments? Did you want to add anything? More galleries and more in-depth writeups to come, thanks for tuning in!

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Nerf new blaster release list (the story so far, via Reddit)

 A PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THE NEW BLASTER RELEASES UP TO ZOMBIESTRIKE (click this link).

Compiled by a few redditors, including Bobololo from the HvZ Forums & Mr. K of AFON this is a pretty good list of what’s coming out and how much it will cost.  They’re planning to update as necessary, but if you’re going to start setting aside $$$ or making a list to give to pertinent family members… this gives you an idea of what the amount you’re looking at is.

The comprehensive total?

Elite & Zombiestrike                   $276.89 
Rebelle Only                           $129.92 
All Blasters & Accessories             $406.81
All Blasters                           $322.87 
(In USD) 
 
Go check the link at the beginning of the article for the full 
breakdown.  I will say, keep in mind this doesn't total in the new 
paintjob Vortex blasters or any other redone color schemes, 
just new blasters. Enjoy!

Year in Review Highlights: Nerf (and other Toy Blasters) – 2012!

Oh man… what a year!  2012 was a pretty big time for toy blasters.  There was just so much that came out and so many things have happened, here we are again.

Some of my fave things:

– New York Toy Fair 2012

– The Nerf Hailfire Release Party (Thanks Nerf!)

 
– BATTLE OF THE AMAZONS

The Release of the Nerf N-Strike Elite:
– Retaliator
– Rampage
– Hailfire
– Triad
– Stryfe
– Strongarm
– Elit Reflex/Eliminator (Though I don’t believe it actually has a range increase)
– Elite Rayven
– Firestrike
– RoughCut 2×4
– Stockade (outside the U.S.)

RoughCut 2×4
Nerf Hailfire
Nerf Retaliator

Nerf Rampage
Nerf Strongarm and Firestrike
Nerf Elite Rayven and Stryfe
Nerf Triad
Nerf Eliminator
Nerf Stockade and 30 pack of darts

Nerf Dart Tag:
– Snapfire 8 (outside the U.S.)

Nerf Vortex:
– PYRAGON


– Diatron

Whew!  It’s been a busy year 🙂

Nevermind that Nerf revamped the Lazer Tag line:


Buzz Bee and Air Zone/Prime Time Toys had some respectable years with new releases of their own, but the most notable was probably the Range Master, an air blaster w/pump that got good ranges and gave some folks out there a non-springer option:

But it wasn’t just the year of the foam dart blasters, not at all.  Disposable ammo is part of the game now, past the Max Force spit wads and the first run of Xploderz water pellet blasters, there’s now also BlasterPro, “X2” series Xploderz, and Vapor.

BlasterPro

Xploderz

Vapor

This branch of the toy blaster tree will definitely bear some watching come 2013.  I got a feeling we’re in for a whole new level of innovation, between Nerf upping the ante with their increased ranges from the Elite/Vortex lines, now these new companies are going to have to show what they can do next.

Definitely not least, Zing Toys is out there with some great products as well.  Definitely keep an eye out for their Air Storm line:

Zcurve bow

ZX Crossbow

Zing Shot and Pop Rocketz

Zip Bak Bow
Z-Tek Crossbow

WHAT  A YEAR, HOLY CRAP.  SO MANY TOYS.

On that note… let’s not forget the fallen.  Gone, give or take some leftover stock on the shelves.  Safe to say these brands aren’t supported in their current forms anymore:

Max Force
Light Strike

BUT… while two brands dropped out (apparently)… one more has risen.  Yup, Launch N Attack

And a more local offering, Bumpa’s Blowguns!

And that, as they say, is that!  Sorry if I missed anything, but there’s only so much one can recall!  Have a great New Year, and see you in 2013!