Nerf War Etiquette (a.k.a. how not to piss everyone off at the wars)

The rules for 3/15 Deathmatch:
1. Each player has to be hit three times before they are eliminated from the round.
2. After each hit, they must point their gun into the sky to show everyone that they have been hit and count to 15. While they are counting, they must clear the combat area.
3. Once they reach a count of 15 and have removed themselves from the active combat area, they must shout "CLEAR!" and then they may return to the round.
4. A valid hit is any hit from a projectile onto any part of their body or gun. If their gun is hit, they are still out, with the exception of the Manta Ray. It is the only gun hit allowed since the gun was designed to also be a shield. Any other gun is considered an extension of the player’s body and is therefore valid as a target. Ground skipping darts and ricochets don't count.
5. Another valid hit is a close quarters hit, or tapping, in which the assailant takes someone out by tapping the barrel of their gun onto the person.
6. Once a player has been hit three times, they are eliminated from the round. They must clear the field and return to the staging area to wait for the current round to end.
GETTING HIT/HITTING SOMEONE

The most obvious thing that I have seen is people not admitting to being hit. I can understand that it is sometimes hard to tell if it was a glancing blow or the shooter was using an unmodified gun and the darts really have no force behind them, but we all work on an honor based system. If you are hit, fess up to it. I am not saying that everyone does this. I have shot at people that swear they weren’t shot because they were shot at by two people and they only heard and saw the one that hit the tree, but in the end they do take the hit. I have even allowed people that were hit that feel that it never happened to continue on in play. I’m not going to sweat it if I can’t absolutely confirm it. 

Now this goes for the shooters as well. Don’t say you got a hit when you didn’t. If you call hits you did not earn and are called on it more than three times we’re not only going to ignore you, but we may even gang up on you because of how annoying you are being. The honor system only works if people are honest.

CLEARING

The word says it all. You are clearing the area since you are not a valid target or shooter. If you are in the middle of a firefight and you are hit, you are supposed to walk away from the area until you are no longer a target or have a target in your sights, then you call “CLEAR!”. You are allowed to pick up ammo while clearing but while walking away from the activity. You do not:
1. Clear behind a tree or other obstacle in the combat area within the line of fire of the enemy.
2. Clear with a target in sight.
3. Keep your gun in the air to trick people, then shoot them when their guard is down.
4. Clear next to someone that is not on your team so you can tap them.
 
TAPPING OR GETTING TAPPED

This is such a simple rule, so of course people are abusing it. You can kill a member of the opposing team by tapping them physically with a ready-to-fire weapon. You are supposed to tap them and say that something, either “HIT!”, or “GOT YOU!”. You don’t just tap them and run away. You also don’t act like you are clearing, ask them if they are in, and then go for a tap kill. The tap kill is basically someone sneaking up on you and pulling the trigger, we are just nicer about it and don’t fire the shot at close range. If one combatant came in close to fire and the other one pulled the trigger in his defense, both soldiers would be hit. The same goes for the previously mentioned situation. He tapped me at the same time that I pulled the trigger, so we both had been hit.

One other thing that needs to be mentioned about tapping. In order to get a tap kill, your gun has to be primed and loaded! If you had no shot to fire normally or your gun wasn’t primed, then you also can’t get a hit up close. It’s common sense. Your gun needs to be locked and loaded if any hit is to count.

BEING ELIMINATED

You would think that this rule would be the easiest to follow, but that just isn’t the case. When you have been hit for the third time, you are to clear out the field and return to the staging area. If you are out completely, you go there. You are not supposed to stick around and help your teammates. Three hits means you are dead. Dead people can’t collect ammo or help their comrades. Dead people can’t throw away the enemy’s munitions. You are also not to block people’s shots, whether it is your own teams or the opposing team’s. You are also, supposed to point your gun up just like you would when clearing to show everyone to not shoot at you. We DO NOT want to have people asking each other if they are still in the round or not. If you are incapable of visually indicating that you are dead in some way then we will shoot first and ask questions later.

TIME OUTS

The playfield is small enough that everyone should be capable of hearing a timeout. Since we are playing in a public area time outs will need to be called in the event of outsider foot traffic. Or timeouts may be called in the event of injury to ensure the safety of everyone participating. Everyone within ear shot of the timeout should halt play and clear away from the opposing team.

PERMISSABLE WEAPONS, AMMUNITION, OR ACCESSORIES

We’re not picky, we’re just trying to play safe and not draw attention to ourselves or warrant the concerns or response of the residents or local authorities adjoining the play area. The following should have been left at home.
- Smoke bombs, fireworks, or anything else that makes a lot of noise or smoke.
- Any questionable weapons will be excluded from play on the basis of group consensus. It’s up to everyone you are shooting at whether they want it pointed in their general direction.
- Excluding foam Arrows or Missiles, Foam ammunition weighing more than 2 grams will simply not be allowed. Any dart weights or modification deemed unsafe by consensus will also not be permitted.

AMMENDMENTS OR ANY FINAL DECISIONS UPON THE INTERPRETATION OF ANY RULES ARE TO BE DECIDED BY CONSENSUS.