Table of Contents
Introduction
For anyone who is looking for an easy to use and safe gadget to have fun, then a Nerf gun is a great option. All you need to do is practice a little to take good control of Nerf guns and you are ready to engage yourself in all-out Nerf wars.
The reason why Nerf gun is one of the favourite hobbies is that it is active, social, and exciting – all in one. One can enjoy Nerf hide-and-seek, Nerf freeze tag, Nerf captures the flag, and the classic Nerf war easily with fun.
What is a Nerf Gun?
The term Nerf Gun is used for a toy gun made by Hasbro. Nerf gun is used to fire foam balls, foam darts, and discs. The first Nerf blasters appeared in the late 1980s with the release of the Nerf Blast-a-Ball and the Arrowstorm. Nerf blasters are manufactured in various forms. Other guns that fire foam dart blasters are also considered as Nerf Blasters whether it has the Nerf brand name or not.
A package of Nerf blaster includes a set of mega darts or foam darts that fit in the chambers. You can purchase refill darts separately. Most of these blasters are compatible with different types of drafts that are available in the market. Elite darts are compatible with not only regular blasters but also works well with Magazine System blasters.
Nerf blaster accessories are supplied with certain blasters or available separately. These include ammunition attachments or holders that enhance the aesthetic or functional elements of Nerf blasters and some super soaker blasters.
How Does a Nerf Gun Work?
The Nerf gun is an important part of every toy collection. They are good for target practice and Nerf battles. The main parts of a Nerf gun include dart holder, cocking mechanism, piston, and a trigger to shoot darts. The trigger is connected to a spring so we can pull the trigger back but as soon as we let it go, the spring comes back to its original position. A part of the trigger is connected to a vertical slider that is also held up by a spring. When the trigger gets pulled, the vertical slider comes down.
The piston comes fitted inside a tube with a powerful spring. The piston is connected to the cocking mechanism which restricts the piston when you try to pull the trigger to create enough force. When we pull back the piston far enough, it engages with a vertical slider and hooks in a block. This all makes the Nerf gun loaded and ready to shoot. When we pull the trigger, the vertical slider comes down and releases the piston. This makes spring of the piston back into its place and forces the air inside the tube onto the dart to shoot.
Once the dart is fired, the cylinder rotates, and the next dart goes into place. Now you will be thinking about how it happens. The components which make this work include white rotating cam, the cam bar, and supporting plastic – all below the piston. When the piston comes out far enough, it latches on to the cam bar. While firing a dart, the cam bar comes forward and rotates the cam which in turn rotates the cylinder. The cam bar has a circular tip at the end which fits inside the grooves on the cam bar. As the bar goes back and forth, the tip slides right through the grooves.
Types of Nerf Guns
Below are some of the different types of Nerf guns available on the market with the top 3 best sellers for each types. They differ from each other in terms of design and types of bullets. They are:
N-Strike Elite
Zombie Strike
N-Strike
N-Strike Mega
Dart Tag
Alien Menace
Vortex
Modulus
Modulus Ghost Ops
N-Strike Elite Accustrike
N-Strike Mega Accustrike
Laser Ops Pro
Super Soaker
Rebelle
Doomlands
RIVAL
Micro Shots
Types of Nerf Bullets
We already mentioned that Nerf bullets are darts. There are different types of Nerf darts available in the market. Some of them come with the package but you can also buy other darts that are compatible with your Nerf gun. After extensive research, we have come up with 10 different types of Nerf darts that are:
Traditional
- Comes in a variety of designs
- Designed to be easy to shoot and travel long distances
Mega
- Due to their large size, they are significantly easier to find
- Much larger than traditional darts
High Impact Round
- They are spherical in shape
- Considered as being the hardest darts among other available darts
Suction
- They are similar to traditional darts. The only difference is a suction cup on their end that stick to surfaces easily
- The suction pump ensures enhanced performance
Glow in the Dark
- Easy to see when exposed to light
- An excellent choice for those who love to play in the dark
Message
- Comes with a message decoder and special pen
- After putting dart into decoder only then one can see what it is written
Micro
- Dates to time when Nerf guns were first released
- They also have a smaller suction cup but they are made from a foam; therefore, they are damaged easily
Whistler
- A small opening at the top makes whistling noise when the dart is released and flies through the air
- This adds a fun element of excitement of the game
Elite
- Due to the shorter tip plug, they can be used with a variety of different blasters and tend to shoot faster than other options
- They vary in both range and accuracy
Charmed
- Similar to traditional darts but have a wide colour scheme
- They are easier to find as compared to other choices
How Safe are Nerf Guns?
The company said its products had all gone through rigorous reviews and testing to ensure they were safe and fun to play with. The original Nerf guns do not cause any harm but some cheaper versions are also available in the market that can cause severe damage especially to the user’s eyes.
Fun Games to Play Using Nerf Guns
The best thing about Nerf guns is that you can enjoy various fun games. Let’s have a quick look:
Tin Can Challenge
Summon up anything such as tin cans or bottles on the table and ask the players to shoot them down. You can also give point tags to each tin or bottle with a marker or sticker and see who scores the highest in each round.
Capture the Flag
Make two teams and use different colour bands for each of them. Use a treasure box and hide it from the opposing team. Both teams have to find out the treasure by killing the members of the opposing team. The team that finds the treasure first wins the game.
Shoot the Sight Word
This is a fun game for kids who are learning new words at school. Use the same approach as the tin can challenge. After that, speak a work loudly and the kid has to knock that word down.
Pistol
Pistol is a fun fighting game. You can either play it individually or as a team. You can also set a target to reach so who reaches that target first wins the round. Another fun way is to mark a place as the destination so who reaches there, survives the round, and qualifies for the next one.
Protect the Baby
Use a toy baby instead of a human and the two or three players have to protect the baby from the assailants and escort it to an assigned safe place.
Freeze Tag
Freeze tag is always a fun game but the addition of Nerf guns makes it more interesting. If a person hits you with a dart, you are frozen and to be refrozen someone must hit you with a dart again.
Water Balloon Challenge
Place a balloon on a table and the see who can hit the balloon first. You can also toss balloon in the air and then the one who hits the balloon first wins the round.
Gladiator
Set up a gladiator with the Nerf gun at a high place and the competitor who does not have Nerf gun has to navigate an obstacle course while avoiding the Nerf darts.
Four Corners
Assign four corners as safe homes and the player who touches all those corners while avoiding the Nerf darts first wins the game.
Team Triage
Team Triage is simply a team game where both the teams fight with each other to win the battle.
Final Words
There is no doubt that the Nerf guns are fun to play with and provide great entertainment, but it is necessary to use original Nerf guns to avoid any severe damage. Hope you got what were you looking for. Now buy a one and enjoy playing.
Leave a Reply