It all started with a simple question. But first, some backstory! 😀 I was brainstorming what to get Jeff for his eighth birthday. The I came across this K’Nex dart gun (aff. link).
I loved that you had to build the dart gun before you could start playing. It gave more of a purpose besides just shooting. And Jeff really likes K’Nex. But, I wasn’t sure if he could build them himself.
So I asked Bryan if he’d help Jeffrey build it. Bryan took one look at the image on my phone and gave me a definite answer, “Only if you buy me one too!”
That sounded fair. So I added a second style of K’Nex Blaster to my Amazon cart. When Jeff’s birthday arrived, he loved them!
He and Bryan quickly built them, and started firing. It wasn’t long until the other kids were eagerly squealing and running to collect the darts.
Sort of Fragile
They all wanted a turn. Except the K’Nex Blasters style dart gun are sort of fragile. They can easily break into pieces if the shooter isn’t careful.
And they were hard for the younger kids to pull back to cock.
So Bryan and I started brainstorming.
We researched the best Nerf guns for youngsters. And we bought some different kinds. With some darts. And some more darts.
Large Family Fun: Dart Gun Style
Now almost everyone in our family has a dart gun. We’ve played several different styles of war, trying to ensure that the games are something the little ones can get in on without getting hurt.
Here are three of our favorites:
1. Capture the Flag
We divide into teams, divvying up the bigs and littles as evenly as we can. Then we turn the coffee table so it divides our big living room and dining room into two halves.
Each team gets a piece of colored paper, and hides it in plain site. The goal is for the other team to cross enemy lines, grab the flag, and get back to their home territory.
What happens if you get hit with a dart while you’re on the enemy’s land?
Well, you either have to give up your ammo or go to their holding area (we’ve played both ways). Then you have to get back to your own side–without the flag.
If you go the holding area, you can only be freed when someone from your own team hits you with a dart.
This has been a fun game to work on strategy and teamwork. You can’t really win it playing solo!
2. Most Darts Win
This one is what we play if we just have few minutes. We each get six darts. Then we set the timer for three minutes and start firing.
The person with the most darts when the timer beeps is the winner.
3. Just for Fun
This one usually starts when Bryan gets home from work and picks up a dart gun. Then everyone just has a blast playing.
The little ones grab darts and bring them to Daddy. Or one of their siblings. It’s really cute to watch everyone asking little Brynna to give them her darts.
Simon has figured out how to shoot this style of Nerf gun. At only 3, I wasn’t sure if he’d be able to really do it. But he surprised me!
Pickup Together
Part of playing together is picking up together. We have to search high and low for all of the darts so Owen can’t eat any.
If any of the tips pop off a dart, we just use the hot glue gun to attach it again. So we collect the pieces and put them in a gallon Ziploc bag until next time.
Do you enjoy dart guns in your family?
We avoided dart guns for years. But now that we have them, we’ve realized it’s a great way to have fun as a family. I’m looking forward to building many memories with our battles!
Do you play with dart guns? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, it won’t cost you anymore, but I’ll receive a small commission. Thank you in advance!
