Rule Zero...

Alright, the next war is less than a week away, so it’s time for me to climb up on my soapbox for a few minutes. We have been having increasing issues with poor sportsmanship and people not following the rules, particularly (but by no means exclusively!) amongst our younger players. Simple things like “Don’t touch stuff that doesn’t belong to you”, “take your hits”, and “pick up darts between rounds” are being ignored. It’s gotten to the point where people have stopped showing up because cheating and poor sportsmanship has ruined the game for them. This is not ok.

Mike and I started NoBACoN for us. We put in a ton of work to organize these events because we want to share our love of foam-flinging weaponry, and our love of the community of enthusiasts that we’ve found because of it (that’s you!) If we can’t enjoy the fruits of our labor because we’re too busy trying to enforce the simplest of rules, then it’s no longer fun for us. If it’s no fun for us, then there’s no point in us continuing to put in this time and effort.

Nerf blasters are a kid’s toy, so of course last thing we want to do is set an age limit. However, we are not babysitters, so from now on anyone 10 or under MUST be accompanied by an adult. Your children must be mature enough to understand that this is an organized, competitive team event, not a free-for-all, and they must be able to work as part of a team, listen, and follow instructions.

We don’t have the time (or the desire) to “keep an eye” on problem players, or to repeatedly reprimand rule-breakers, so we will begin a new policy of giving one warning before we send someone home for the day. We all make mistakes, but as long as we all follow Rule 0 this shouldn’t be a problem.

Overall, I am very proud of what we’ve created here. The Bay Area has what is probably the largest and most active Nerf community in the world, and we are lucky enough to be a big part of it. Let’s work to keep it this awesome!

Cheers, Nerf Herders,

Jake “the foambrewer” Lake