Foam 101

Core power terms

• FPS (Feet Per Second): How fast a dart leaves the barrel; the default way players describe how “hot” a blaster is shooting.
• Joules / energy cap: A power limit expressed as energy instead of speed, often used when dart weights vary so different ammo types can be compared fairly.
• Cap (FPS / joule cap): The maximum allowed power for a given game or class that your blaster must stay under to be field‑legal.

Blaster roles

• Primary: Your main blaster for a game or event, usually the largest or most capable platform in your loadout.
• Secondary / sidearm: A smaller backup blaster, typically carried in a holster, used when the primary is empty, jammed, or awkward for close quarters.
• Loaner / backup: Extra blaster kept on hand for new players, emergencies, or as a spare if something breaks mid‑event.

Blaster types

• Springer (spring‑powered): A blaster where you manually prime a spring and the spring pushes air to fire the dart; valued for simple internals and consistent performance.
• Flywheel (flywheeler): A blaster that uses electric motors to spin two wheels; the dart is pushed between them and flung out, enabling semi‑auto or full‑auto fire at the cost of batteries and more maintenance.
• Air‑powered / tanked: A design where you pump air into a tank and release it in one shot; more common in older models and custom builds than in current retail lines.

Ammo formats

• Full‑length dart: Classic “Nerf‑sized” foam dart that most stock blasters are designed around, widely available and common in casual play.
• Half‑length dart (short dart): Shorter dart format heavily used in modern hobby and competitive blasters, often paired with tighter barrels and higher FPS tuning.

Event types and game styles

• Backyard / casual war: Informal games with friends or family, rules agreed on at the start, typically using stock or lightly modded blasters.
• NIC war: Organized meetup run by the Nerf Internet Community, usually featuring higher‑power customs or hobby blasters, written rules, and chrono checks.
• Superstock: Events focused on modded but still recognizable “blaster‑shaped” gear, with defined FPS limits and standard rubber‑tipped darts.
• HvZ (Humans vs Zombies): Large‑area or campus game where humans use blasters and throwables to survive missions while zombies tag by touch to convert new zombies.
• Team Deathmatch (TDM): Two teams trading tags in short rounds; win condition is usually most eliminations or last team standing.
• Free‑for‑all (FFA): Everyone versus everyone, often played as last player standing or short timed rounds.
• Capture the Flag (CTF): Teams attempt to steal and return one or more flags to their own base while staying within hit and respawn rules.
• Objective / mission game: Any scenario built around tasks such as holding zones, escorting a VIP, pushing a payload, or defending/attacking a base.

Safety shorthand

• Eye‑pro: Impact‑rated eye protection (glasses or goggles) worn during play to prevent darts from striking bare eyes.
• Bright, clearly toy‑colored blasters: Blasters kept in obviously toy‑like colors (bright shells, orange tips) rather than realistic paint schemes, to reduce the risk of someone in public mistaking them for real firearms.