Thrive Outdoors NERF info and rules:
HONOR RULES
Cheating. This rule should go without saying, but it bears repeating: no cheating! Cheating ruins the fun and sport of the game for every player, so don’t cheat. You’re only cheating yourself out of a fun experience. You also run the risk of getting caught and losing your individual - and potentially - entire team's points.
Arguing. No arguing. Arguing about whether you were hit brings the game to stop and ruins the flow and fun for everyone. You came to take part in a Nerf war, not join a debate club. If someone is lying about having hit you, they’ll get theirs in the end.
SAFETY RULES
No intentional face shots.
Always wear eye protection during battle or when near the battlefield.
No physical contact with other players. No pushing or hitting. No wrestling weapons away from people.
When striking with a melee weapon, only tap the opponent. Melee weapons are clearly labeled and must be the only item in a player's hand while in use.
GENERAL RULES
Participants can use Nerf or similar make blasters only. No water guns or weapon types that fire anything other than foam-based ammunition. The game permits modified blasters, but none using CO2.
Players must mark their own blasters somehow before using them.
When a referee calls a timeout (indicated by blowing a whistle, stopping the battle sounds/music, or simply announcing a time out) stop firing immediately.
Do not throw or drop blasters.
You cannot grab a weapon/blaster out of someone's hand. Ever.
Do not leave unused blasters or weapons on the field.
Do not deliberately throw or shoot anything that is outside the boundaries.
You can loot participants that have been hit out of the game (in certain rule systems), but you cannot loot custom blasters. After the battle is over you must return all blasters.
After each round players must police the battlefield
Ammo and weapons are color-coded with bins and should always be placed in the correct bin at the end of use.
CHAOS INTEGRITY WARS (™) COMBAT RULES
Do not start the battle until the main whistle blows, the battle sounds begin, or the Marshall announces.
Players must start outside of the battlegrounds behind their side of play (off of the mats).
Players cannot start firing until they are fully on the mats (inside the battlegrounds).
Listen for the end-of-battle announcement (2 blows of the whistle, battle sounds stop, or the Marshal announces) and report to the assembly area on their side of the battlegrounds to record points.
Players lose one hit point for each hit (East and West Coast rules) or players earn a point for each opposing team player they hit (Thrive Outdoors Integrity Chaos rules).
East Coast Rules: Each player has five hit points. Once They are hit, they count down from 20 slowly with their blaster held up in the air. They may pick up ammo and walk around but are not allowed to fire and cannot be hit during this time. They count down the last five numbers loudly and say, “I’m in,” and then are back in the game. They must be behind their team’s border when this happens.
West Coast Rules: Each player has ten hit points. There is no 20-second invulnerability period, but if several darts from the same automatic blaster hit him at the same time, this only counts as one point.
Thrive Outdoors INTEGRITY Chaos Rules:
Each player has infinite hit points. When players are hit they must yell “hit”, raise their blaster above their heads, and leave the battlefield for a count of ten. They may rejoin combat after the count is done. They are not legal targets during this period and hits on them do not count for points. As soon as they step back into play they are legal targets again.
When a player hits a legal target it is their responsibility to mentally record that point. We suggest yelling out the number of each hit as it happens. IE, when a player hits their first target they would yell “One!”. On their next successful hit, they would yell “Two”. And so on… Some teams have enough players to use an extra as a “point-counter”.
Players who are hit do not need to leave the play of battle for the point to be counted. Sometimes people are unaware they were hit and there is no need to stop the contest. Just record the point and continue playing. If it becomes obvious people are ignoring hits on purpose they will be given zero points at the end of the round.
At the end of the round, Marshals will tally each individual team member's score to add to the total team score.
Marshals will be observing and anyone “padding” their numbers at the end will be given 0 points. If this occurs multiple times on a team that team will be given zero points for the round. This is how integrity-based rules work.
Marshals have the final say in scoring, rules, play, and timing. Arguing with a Marshall will only have negative results for your team. This play is - first and foremost - about fun and community. Please leave the rest at the door.
Integrity Chaos League (™) rules and guidelines:
Thrive Outdoors Nerf Chaos Leagues will run for 7 consecutive weeks in an 8-week block. The final week will be used as a make-up day for league cancellations due to weather or unforeseen instances. Friday evenings will be the primary league night but Wednesday afternoon and Saturday evenings may be used as overflow days.
The CHAOS League is designed to most accurately simulate a real battle. Nerf battles can never fully encapsulate what real battle is, but the rules and gameplay are designed specifically to work as closely as possible. We have also discovered that these rules allow for the most dynamic and fun play possible. Rules and item use can change often. other than for safety, the rules are not static. War is chaos, so expect the unexpected.
Scheduling:
Team schedules will be set 1 week prior to the league start date.
Each team will have the opportunity to play at least once per week.
Teams not registered one week prior to league start will be charged a late fee of $10 per player.
Scoring and bracket placement:
Scores will be tallied at the end of each round.
Each team will play a minimum of 2 rounds against the same team - switching sides of the battlefield after each. 2 or more rounds equals a match.
Match scores are cumulative from match to match and week to week.
The three teams with the highest scores at the end of the league session will be victors (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place respectively).
In the case of a tie, teams will be scheduled for a head to head 3 round match.
Gameplay:
The field of battle will be different every week. Sometimes players will have the ability to set up their own side and sometimes it will be pre-determined. And sometimes it will change mid-match.
Marshalls will announce battlefield rules each session.
Different Battlefield set-ups will have different rules and items available. These will be made known to players just prior to the start of their matches. This lends to being chaotic and challenging, but both teams are experiencing the same chaos.
A list of items and how they may be used is below:
Grenade - 6 sided foam cube. May be thrown onto the opponent's side to score points. Whatever side lands up denotes the number of points. “Dud” means zero, and the skull means total team. However many players are on the side the grenade lands must go off the battle for the 10 second count and that many points are added to the other team's score. Be careful, if the grenade bounces off of something and comes back onto the side where it was thrown, it does the same damage to that side. Also, if a player may catch the grenade and throw it back. If this happens it then counts against the original team. Once the grenade stops moving or crosses the centerline twice, it is no longer eligible to be thrown/returned.
Grenade launcher - Works the same as a grenade except is launched. The side of the cube that attaches to the launcher counts a “one” if it faces up at rest. Grenades launched by the launcher cannot be caught and returned but can “bounce back” off of something.
Rocket launcher - Foam rockets propelled by specific blasters. Rockets can take out a point drum, a point target, one wall/barrier, or a moving forcefield. If used against a person they only count for one point.
Automatic blasters (machine guns) - these will be issued by Marshalls and are stationary (can not be moved mid-round).
Nerf melee weapons - These consist of foam swords, bows & arrows, or other non-blaster foam weaponry. They will only be used in certain battlefields and cannot be swung at opponents heads (above the neck).
Point drums - These have specific point values on them and simulate an important part of the opponents base. Marshalls will give specific rules for use when applicable.
Point targets - Same as Point Drums but with he ability to gain more points.
Handheld shields - These items can block blaster darts, bounce back grenades, and be used as cover. They do not stop grenades launched by launchers or rockets. If hit by a rocket they are removed from play for the round and the player holding it is “hit”. The rules for shields can vary and will be announced at the start of each round.
Moving forcefields - These are large, clear wearable blow-up balls that typically stop all ammunition. When being worn by a player they must remain in motion. If not worn, they may remain in one spot. The rules for forcefields can vary and will be announced at the start of each round.
Important note: The rules for almost any item can vary and will be announced at the start of each round.