Most of these game types are balanced towards the war including two teams. You can always add more teams for a diverse and challenging addition to the battle. Rules can be tweaked as you practice and gain experience.
For all games make a “shot” zone for each team side by side in the middle of the battlefield area. If you have hired our coloured cones, make a square box measuring around 3×3 meters in each colour. If any player is hit, they must go to the “shot” zone for 5 seconds. They can only re-join the battle once they have left the zone.
- Attack and defend. This simple match mode requires one group of players to defend a pre-specified base or point, while the other team tries to capture it. Usually, this game type comes with a time limit, giving an added thrill to players who are required to rush to the finish. If the defending team continues to defend the point until the time runs out, they win. If the attacking team captures the point and is holding it while time expires, they win.
- Capture the flag. Capture the flag gives an extra goal for players. Each team is given a coloured flag, which is placed on their side of the field. The goal is to defend their own flag while also attempting to capture and steal the enemy’s flag. The first team to capture the other team’s flag a certain number of times (typically once) is the team to win.
- Hostage. This is an extremely thrilling match option for those who want to take their Nerf wars to the next level. Each team is given an unarmed player to play the hostage, who will be hidden at the enemy’s base. The opposing team must successfully rescue their hostage within a certain time limit to win. The hostage cannot move until one of the friendly players taps them with their hand.
- Team Deathmatch. Deathmatch is one of the most popular – if not the most popular – forms of Nerf wars. This is a standard combat match, where players must simply tag out the enemy team and take them down before they are taken down themselves. Each team has a certain number of tags, or “deaths”, until they are out for good. The last team to have any remaining players wins the match.
- Hide and seek. This is another popular Nerf war variant. In hide and seek, one team is given a head-start to go and hide. This match is best achieved in an urban or wooded area. The opposing team, also known as the “seekers”, must find all the enemy team members and tag them in order to get them out. The hiding team also can tag out the seeking team as well. The team with the last untagged person remaining wins the match.
- Control points. Like “attack and defend”, the control points Nerf war match adds a dynamic challenge to the game. There are a pre-determined number of points set out among the field, and the teams must fight each other to take control of these points. To capture a point, a player must stand next to the point and count to a certain number, typically 10 or 15, in order to capture it. If the player counts to the number without being attacked or tagged, they are then able to switch the control point’s colours with their own team’s colours. The first team to capture the other team’s home base wins the challenge.
- Assassin. In an assassin game, each team designates one player as the “target”, who is only allowed to carry a single shot blaster. That player’s team acts as the guards, with the other team becoming the assassins. Guards can take hits for the target as the assassins attempt to destroy them. After a certain amount of time, the target can escape, thus ending the game.
- Hunger Games. Much like the best-selling book, this tame has players split into two teams. All weapons and ammo must go in a pile in the centre of the playing field. Everyone starts out standing an equal distance away from each other and from the pile. When the game signals its start, players must rush to collect their weapons in this all-out brawl.
- Civil War. In a Civil War, only single-shot blasters are allowed. Both teams start out in a position that faces each other when the game starts. They must stand in a straight line as they face each other. When the game begins, they must fight Civil War-style. If a player is hit in the arm, they cannot use that arm. If they lose both of their arms or legs, they must move on their knees, or they “die” for the remainder of the game.
- Humans vs. Zombies. In a human vs. zombies match, one team becomes the humans, who are armed with Nerf weapons, while the other team becomes the zombies, who are not allowed to wield any weapons at all. Humans who are touched by zombies become zombies. The humans win if all zombies are destroyed, and the zombies win if all humans are turned into zombies.
- Anarchy. Anarchy is one of the oldest Nerf war game types still in play. The game is played with multiple teams of two people each, who fight to determine the last team standing. Players die with a single hit in this game.
- Hunter. This is a solo-based Nerf war game. One player becomes the “hunter”, armed with just a blaster. The other players in the game must avoid being tagged or hit by the hunter. As soon as another player becomes tagged by the hunter, they become the hunter themselves. Whoever can go the longest without being tagged is the winner.
- Regicide. This popular Nerf war game is based off of the match type from the Halo video game series. One player on each side becomes the “king”, who is given a large blaster and a unique identification badge to wear. Whoever tags out the other team’s king first wins.
- Deathmatch. This is another solo-based Nerf game. This is a full-on battle, with no unique rules or specially designated players. The last person standing wins.
- Alliance. In an alliance match, a non-player is responsible for hiding all equipment. Players are then sent to find and pick up the equipment. During the game, players are encouraged to form alliances with each other. These alliances cannot be broken or betrayed, or else the player is out. The maximum number of players in a single alliance is three players. An alliance can only break if the members are the last one standing. The last player alive wins.
- Standoff. A standoff is a good old-fashioned Western-themed match. Players can only wield single-shot blasters. All players are assigned a spot to stand, and they cannot move from this spot. The blasters start out on empty, and when the game begins, they must do one of three things: “Fire”, which requires taking a single shot at an opponent, “Block”, in which the player crosses their arms over their chest and are protected from hits, or “Reload”, which allows the player to reload after taking a shot. They must reload before taking another shot. Every time a player is eliminated, the players move closer to each other. The last one standing wins.
- Duel. Players are assigned a spot to stand in. After the game begins, the players must remain on their spots. They can duck, jump, and more, but they cannot move from their assigned spot. Once they are hit or run out of ammo, they count as out and must be eliminated. Whoever has the greatest number of tags, once all players are out, is the winner.
