Aggrogate

Cube Warfare: Dart Tag, you’re it!

Cube warfare is fun, but it's not a particularly structured activity. All combat relies on the honor system, and skirmishes tend to devolve into a downpour of darts and nobody "winning" or "losing." Nerf is trying to change that with Dart Tag, a sub-series of Nerf products designed to provide some structure to dart duels. Instead of falling uselessly to the ground, Dart Tag darts stick to their target so points can be tallied.

Dart Tag uses three main components: Dart Tag darts, the Dart Tag vest, and Nerf guns. The darts are the key to Dart Tag because of their special tips. Instead of the suction cup or snub noses found on standard and clip system darts, Dart Tag darts have velcro tips, which let them stick to the Dart Tag vests.

The vests are plain sheets of foam rubber and felt you wear over your chest like an apron, giving opponents a nice big target to which their darts can stick. Sadly, they're a bit small for most adults. You can extend the vests with some sheets of felt, or you can just wear them high and fight as-is, like laser tag vests.

Nerf Dart Tag kits also come with orange-tinted sunglasses. They're completely useless outside of letting you look like a poor man's Bono, and are only in Dart Tag so Hasbro can cover its legal ass. After all, non-Dart Tag Nerf guns bear the standard "don't fire at peoples' faces" warning, and since Dart Tag is marketed specifically as a way to have Nerf duels with each other, the glasses let the company say, "Hey, we included eye protection." on the extremely rare chance a dart hits someone in the eye and does more than mildly irritate them.

Hasbro offers several all-in-one starter packs for Dart Tag.  The Strikefire, Capture-the-Flag, and Furyfire packs each include two guns, two vests, two sets of useless glasses, and two packs of Dart Tag darts. The guns, vests, and darts are colored either orange or green, so players can keep track of their guns and darts, and so larger Nerf fights can be easily split into teams.

Dart Tag darts work in any non-clip-loading Nerf gun, so players can bring their own Mavericks, Vulcans, and other guns. Nerf sells refill packs of Dart Tag darts, but if you want the vests you'll have to get one of the starter packs. You can also make your own vests with felt from any fabric shop and some scissors, since a fuzzy poncho won't look any more ridiculous than a tiny foam rubber apron.

The Strikefire pack is the simplest and least expensive way to get into Dart Tag. For $20, players get two simple "Strikefire" pistols and all the extras necessary to get into the game. It's not flashy, but it's functional and affordable.

The Capture-the-Flag pack features a plastic "flag" beacon and a pair of single-shot Nerf pistols along with all the standard Dart Tag accouterments. The beacon is a large yellow cylinder that can be used in several different games. In "flag" mode, the beacon lights up and makes noises when it's disturbed, letting everyone know who the flag carrier is. In "disarm" mode, the beacon counts down and must be "disarmed" by hitting the button without disturbing it before the timer runs out and it starts making noise.

The Strikefire pistols included in the Capture-the-Flag set are simple and satisfying, with nice heft and size, a Maverick-style slide, and space for four additional darts besides the barrel. An N-Strike accessory rail on the barrel, separate from the slide, lets players clip on tactical lights or sights. They're nice single-shot pistols, but they don't quite justify the Capture-the-Flag set's $35 price tag.

If you're willing to spend a fair bit more cash, the $45 Furyfire set offers a much more impressive pair of guns. The Furyfire gun is a 10-shot revolver with an under-barrel pump-action, making it feel like a cross between a Maverick and a shotgun. It's a big too big to reliably use one-handed, but as a mini-rifle the Furyfire is a great assault weapon. The Furyfire set also includes the same flag beacon found in the Capture-the-Flag set.

Nerf's Dart Tag sets are expensive, but they're great if you want to put some much-needed structure into your cube warfare. The Furyfire guns are great stand-along weapons (though they don't justify the $45 price tag), but the other sets are more useful for their extras than their guns. A few Strikefire sets and Dart Tag dart packs will give you enough darts and vests to go around the office, with plenty of loaner single-shot pistols for the players who don't yet have their own (non-clip-loading) guns.