Archery Tag

[pendell]

So this is Evidently a thing now . There's also one near me in Raleigh .

Does anyone have any experience with this? Was it fun? Anything to watch out for. I'm almost afraid to show this to my spouse, who is a real Katniss Everdeen fan ...

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Knaight]

It's pretty fun - I was working a mobile ropes course at an event which also had a different event company running archery tag a few weeks ago (they operate out of Dallas Fort Worth somewhere), and we spent some of our breaks on each others equipment. It's sort of like SCA, Dagorhir, or LARP archery battles, but with inflatable terrain and far inferior bows.

[Tvtyrant]

So this is Evidently a thing now . There's also one near me in Raleigh .

Does anyone have any experience with this? Was it fun? Anything to watch out for. I'm almost afraid to show this to my spouse, who is a real Katniss Everdeen fan ...

Respectfully,

Brian P.

Seems like you could just do it in the woods. Grab some little kid bows and tennis ball arrows like SCA/Whalebone and goggles for cheap. My friends and I used to do that when we were kids, the biggest problem was falling into bushes or bee's nests.

This type of bow. Super cheap to play, we taped the length of the shafts so they wouldn't stab someone if they splintered and put tennis balls on the ends.

[Knaight]

Seems like you could just do it in the woods. Grab some little kid bows and tennis ball arrows like SCA/Whalebone and goggles for cheap. My friends and I used to do that when we were kids, the biggest problem was falling into bushes or bee's nests.

Archery tag arrows are actually pretty cheap - arguably better than tennis ball arrows in terms of cost. The part that's harder to replicate are the massive 30 vs. 30 matches.

[Tvtyrant]

Archery tag arrows are actually pretty cheap - arguably better than tennis ball arrows in terms of cost. The part that's harder to replicate are the massive 30 vs. 30 matches.

That is fair, I more meant you don't have to pay to play at a location.

Also fair. We had a huge group of kids when I was a child, with a core group of 7 and an expanded group of up to 30 if we played at our elementary after school. I don't suppose that is as common for adults.

[Serpentine]

Some people at the LARP I was going to have started a business running Dodgebow. I haven't had a chance to go yet, but it looks like a lot of fun.
They supply their bows and padded arrows, and offer training before the game starts.

[Brother Oni]

From looking at the video in the opening link, these are 10-15lb draw bows? I may be missing something, but couldn't you just throw the arrow faster and further than those bows?

[Serpentine]

From looking at the video in the opening link, these are 10-15lb draw bows? I may be missing something, but couldn't you just throw the arrow faster and further than those bows?

Dodgebow uses 15lb bows, according to their website. I think that's the same as the LARPs use, and they can get some distance on them. Safety (and therefore insurance costs) will be a pretty big issue.

[Goaty14]

From looking at the video in the opening link, these are 10-15lb draw bows? I may be missing something, but couldn't you just throw the arrow faster and further than those bows?

I don't know myself if you could, but how would oneself ensure that the "pointy" end hit the enemy if thrown in such a manner? Having a big bulb at the one end appears to be significantly hampering.

[Knaight]

From looking at the video in the opening link, these are 10-15lb draw bows? I may be missing something, but couldn't you just throw the arrow faster and further than those bows?

Faster and further? Probably. More precisely? Not so much; these arrows are terribly weighted for throwing.

It's also pretty much besides the point. Hitting people with a ball in dodgeball is obviously less effective at removing them from a team than punching them in the face, but that doesn't make dodgeball (or basically any sport that isn't boxing or hockey) bad. Archery Tag is a similar thing.

[Brother Oni]

I don't know myself if you could, but how would oneself ensure that the "pointy" end hit the enemy if thrown in such a manner? Having a big bulb at the one end appears to be significantly hampering.

Faster and further? Probably. More precisely? Not so much; these arrows are terribly weighted for throwing.

Same principle as lawn darts or plumbata - hold it directly behind the bulb and throw it, using the shaft and fletching for stabilisation, rather than propel it from the nock. That said...

It's also pretty much besides the point. Hitting people with a ball in dodgeball is obviously less effective at removing them from a team than punching them in the face, but that doesn't make dodgeball (or basically any sport that isn't boxing or hockey) bad. Archery Tag is a similar thing.

Fair enough.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Although "dart wars" sounds pretty cool in its own right...

(One thing that low power bows will do is level the playing field a bit. Everyone has the same draw strength, and there's less of an advantage to the many people who regularly participate in any kind of sport where you throw something.)

[Knaight]

Same principle as lawn darts or plumbata - hold it directly behind the bulb and throw it, using the shaft and fletching for stabilisation, rather than propel it from the nock. That said...

Lawn darts and plumbata have very different dimensions than arrows for several good reasons, and when you add in the large foam head this just doesn't work that well. The shaft is too thin and wobbly,