General Rules

Recommended Nerf War Rules

Group Specific Rules

There are some rules that each Nerf club will need to decide on for themselves depending on the style of game they want to play. Here are somethings I suggest you think about:

Figure out who has the final say on a disagreement about whether someone got hit.

It's just part of the game that sometimes there will be disagreements between players on whether someone was tagged. This means it's important to have a clear rule for how disagreements will be settled. While sometimes disagreements may be the result of cheaters it can often be an honest mistake. I know I've had plenty of times where my adrenaline was pumping and I either didn't feel the hit or the dart hit a piece of my gear. I would say when in doubt call yourself out.
One of your main goals should be to foster an environment where players call themselves out and to be accepting of the fact that even if they didn't feel a tag someone might call them out. While some places may be able to have a referee many may not. It's never fun to force someone to act as a referee because players can't self-regulate themselves.
Within my club, we've implemented the rule that if a player says they tagged you then you are out and there is no argument. In our rule, we even added that if you say the phrase "No you didn't" then you are automatically out. We do emphasize the importance of actually seeing the dart tag the player not just assuming there was no way you could have missed. If an issue regularly arises then a moderator or someone in charge can be asked to step in.

Depending on your field setup you will need to establish rules for jumping over or climbing on bunkers

If jumping over and climbing on bunkers can be done in a safe manner, than allowing players the option can add a fun element to the game play. For safety reasons I tend to not allow either of them but it is very field dependent.

Determine what types of ammo are allowed

It is fairly common for a club to provide the ammo in order to prevent unsafe ammo from being used and reduce the issue of dividing up ammo at the end of the game. Just as an example some groups ban the use of FVJs (fully vinyl jackets)/ FVNs which are a hard tipped dart. Also banning any modified darts is usually a good idea. I've heard stories of people adding washers or tacks to their darts but hope that no one would ever consider using them on people. One example of modified ammo that you might not think of is paint. Out of Darts painted his rival ammo only to find out that the paint flaked off and gunked up his flywheel blaster.
A club might not always be able to afford to provide the ammo, especially when first starting up. It's a good idea to make recommendations for what brand ammo to purchase and then verify what people are using is safe.

Set a dart velocity limit (FPS)

Velocity is the common measurement that groups use to determine whether a blaster is safe to use. The fps can be checked using a chronograph. If your group doesn't own a chronograph then you'll need to make a judgment on how you are going to regulate this. It can be as simple as limiting the games to stock blasters or having a good understanding of what the modification does to the fps of the blaster. It's quite likely that you could find a YouTube video with a similar modification. For reference, most stock blasters shoot less than 100 fps although Dart Zone Pro series can shoot much higher even when just stock so having a limit is a good idea. If you have really close engagement distances then you will probably want to go with a lower FPS while large engagement distances might allow for a higher FPS. Our group usually has close engagement distances so we use a 130 fps limit.

Decide on whether blaster hits and friendly fire count

This is really up to your group's preference but should be decided on before starting. Things to consider is what to do about blaster mounted shields. It can also sometimes be hard to tell when your blaster gets hit. For our group, we don't count either a blaster hit or friendly fire. We do make the point that it's only active blasters that don't count i.e. if you have a secondary blaster in a holster that still counts as getting hit.

Create rules for shields and melee weapons.

It's fairly common to limit the type of blaster a player can use when carrying a shield, such as only allowing pistols (less than 9 rounds with an internal magazine), springers, or melee weapons. The blaster you are limited too may also depend on the size of your shield for instance a small shield (2 ft diameter) might allow any of the blasters mentioned previously while a full-body shield might only allow for melee weapons. It is always good to make sure that whatever shields being used are safe.
Also set rules about whether you can make contact with other players using your shield. Often you won't want to make contact with other players for safety reasons.
A lot of groups also make special rules for how to destroy shields with things like rockets or socks/grenades. When a shield is destroyed it is no longer usable during the round. Some groups also say that mega darts penetrate a shield causing the player to go respawn although they don't destroy the shield.
You'll need to decide on whether people can create holes in the shield to shoot through and whether the shield can be worn or must be carried.
Also, consider what you will allow as melee/ throwable weapons. The best example of this I've found is the PaNNC (Pacific Northwest Nerf Club) Rules.

Decide what signifies that a player has respawned

Making a clear distinction for when someone is back in the game helps eliminate possible arguments. An easy example is to require players to yell "RESPAWN" when they are back in play. One benefit of requiring this is it allows players to finish their count down but continue reloading before getting back into the game.

Other General Rules

Basic Rules Anchor

Be respectful. It’s only a game.

This is often called the "Don't be a Jerk Rule". Whatever you want to call it, it's important that players understand that the way we act towards each other has a strong influence on how enjoyable the experience is. Nobody wants to play with someone who is belittling, bullying, or constantly angry. This is really just a game and good sportsmanship is important.

Everyone helps clean up ammo

It's actually surprising how difficult this is for some people to understand. It's really just common courtesy to help clean up ammo and when everyone helps it means you get to play more. You help shoot it you should help pick it up.

Use common sense

This is just one of those catch-all rules that hopefully remind people that it is not worth doing something that could hurt themselves or someone else. This includes doing things that could get you banned from playing Nerf at your location such as pointing blasters at non-players, not cleaning up after yourself, etc.

Before touching someone's gear ask for permission

In general, most adults know this without it being said but if you allow younger players they often need a reminder. It's just common courtesy.

Everyone should have eye protection

Safety is important. Eye protection is so simple and everyone should have it. It's probably worth investing in some extra pairs to make sure if someone forgets they can still play. I've found that full face masks tend to fog up and people stop wearing them so I don't usually suggest them. However, some people may prefer full face masks even at lower FPS limits which is perfectly acceptable. Depending on your FPS limit, dart type, etc. you might need to dictate the use of a full face mask.
Basically, make sure whatever protection you’re using is safe for the equipment being played with.

Don't move bunkers

I would say you almost never want people to move bunkers during the game. It is a safety concern but can also unbalance the game thus giving one team an unfair advantage. Usually, I set up my fields in a specific way to avoid having one location too overpowered.

Ricochets don't count

I don't really know anyone that counts ricochets and most people won’t have an issue with this.

Players shouldn't discuss what's going on if they haven't spawned back in

Again this is one of those common courtesy things. It's never fun to be working on completing an objective only to have an enemy player you just tagged out alert their teammates to your presence.