Steampunk Warfare: Building a Well-Reasoned Argument (with video!)
Professor William von Greenwald here from the airship S.S. Aggrogate, because everybody is a professor with a "van" or a "von" in their name aboard an airship when it comes to steampunk stuff. The aesthetic may be overused, but I think there's still some life left in the Victorian high technology pastiche yet! I told you a few days ago that I was working on something special with the Nerf Barrel Break IX-2, and here it is!
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare: Nerf Barrel Break IX-2
The Nerf Stampede doesn't come out for a few more weeks, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few new foam-firing contraptions from Hasbro. August has seen the release of three store-exclusive Nerf guns: the Alpha Trooper at Target, the Spectre at Wal-Mart, and the Barrel Break at Toys R Us.
The Alpha Trooper is a $20 pistol version of the Nerf Raider; it comes with an 18-shot drum magazine and you can "slamfire" by holding the trigger down and pumping the handle. If you don't want to drop $40 on a Raider, it's a nice answer to your rapid fire needs. The Spectre is a 5-shot revolver, similar to the Maverick but with one less chamber and more opportunities for customization. It comes with a barrel extension and a folding stock, meaning you can set it up just like the Recon.
And then there's the Barrel Break. It's a sawed-off, double-barreled, breech-loading Nerf shotgun. Basically, it's the least combat-useful of the three guns, but the most completely awesome.
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare Special: Nerf’s New York shindig and the new Stampede rifle
Hasbro has been hyping a mysterious new Nerf gun for months, cryptically talking about "9-9-10" as the release date but saying little else. Last night, at a bar in midtown Manhattan, the company finally showed off this new weapon, and it looks like the wait was worth it.
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare: Marshmallow Blasters
Foam darts aren't the only ammunition available in cube warfare. If you're willing to look for more unique things to fling at your coworkers, the folks at the Marshmallow Fun Company might have the weapons for you. They make marshmallow blasters of various shapes and sizes, from mini marshmallow-launching bows and arrows to jumbo marshmallow shotguns.
These guns are significantly more expensive than their foam-launching counterparts, but they pack surprising power into their pricey frames. I put the Bow and Mallow, Marshmallow Crossbow, and Marshmallow Blaster through their paces. Most guns are available in different colors and finishes, including the brand's standard red and blue color scheme, a camouflage finish, and a chromed "executive" finish.
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare: The Off-Brand Shell Game
No, this isn't a cautionary tale warning against buying non-Nerf products. On the contrary, this week we're highlighting a different brand of foam dart guns, which incorporates a really neat (albeit not particularly useful) feature into some of its guns.
Buzz Bee Toys makes an entire line of Nerf-like blasters, many of which are available at large retail chains like Target. Most are standard dart gun fare, but two rifles stand out for their sheer novelty. They use plastic shells to house the foam darts, and after firing, the guns can eject the shells like real rifles. The shells are universal, so you can use any brand of foam dart with them.
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare: The Wii-Nerf Connection
There are plenty of Zapper knock-offs on the market right now. The most well-recognized is the Nyko Perfect Shot, with its military pistol profile, but you can find everything from a Star Wars blaster shell to a Raving Rabbids-themed plunger gun for the Wiimote. None of these double as Nerf guns, though. Fortunately, there's another option.
Combine a light gun and a dart gun and you get the Nerf N-Strike Switch Shot EX-3. This single-shot pistol has a removable launching mechanism that can be switched out for a standard Wiimote. Just take the launcher off the gun, pop in the remote, and you have a very nice pistol-grip off-brand Wii Zapper.
Will GreenwaldCube 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.
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare: Accessorizing your gun
You might have noticed that most Nerf N-Strike guns have the same strange rails on their barrels. They aren't there for style; they're for mounting after-market accessories. Yes, Nerf makes an entire line of N-Strike accessories for your guns, and they range from totally useless to... slightly less useless.
Let's get one thing out of the way: scopes are pointless on a Nerf gun. They're too weak and unreliable to get any accurate performance. Still, they're fun to play with, and that's the entire point of playing with Nerf guns.
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare: Melee Weapons
You don't bring a knife to a gunfight, but you can always bring a sword to a Nerf fight. Foam darts are always fun, but there's just something unmistakably satisfying about hitting your friends with a padded stick.
You can use pretty much anything for melee cube warfare. Your weapons can be as cheap and simple as foam pool noodles, or as expensive and ornate as replica lightsabers and latex LARP swords. As long as it's rigid enough to keep its shape and soft enough to not hurt anyone, it can be a good melee weapon.
Will GreenwaldCube Warfare: The Big Guns
We started off with two relatively small guns. We moved on to slightly larger and more intimidating rifles. Now it's time to focus on the big boys of foam warfare. These are the heavy weapons, the squad machine guns and bazookas of cubicle domination. The Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 and Air Zone Punisher offer fully automatic spray-and-pray action, while the Nerf Titan (or Nerf N-Strike Unity System) offers a single huge missile.
While these stand as some of the most expensive foam guns at $40-50 each, they offer great utility and an undeniable "awesome" factor you don't get with most smaller weapons. The machine guns offer more reliable and powerful automatic fire than the Nerf Raider, while the Titan packs a bigger punch than the Longshot.
Will Greenwald
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