Family Fun with the Girls Nerf Rebelle

Our family enjoys fighting.  In fact, we revel in it.  Typically, it’s the girls versus the boys, but we’ve been known to switch sides at times.  Our main vice?  Nerf Battle wars!

Our family loves having Nerf blaster wars.  We have 5 blasters…but not all of them are Nerf.  The non-Nerf blasters don’t seem to work very well and their bullets don’t shoot out of our Nerf bullets.  What ends up happening is our kids get the Nerf guns and my husband and I are stuck with the non-Nerf guns shooting a few bullets and a lot of air (as many bullets don’t shoot out).  Nonetheless, we have a lot of fun.

The Family Battle Game

In our Nerf wars, we split up the girls versus the boys.  My daughter has a couple of Nerf Rebelle blasters, which are the fanciful white, pink, and purple blasters Nerf markets to girls.  The boys have various blue and yellow guns.  One team starts upstairs and the other team begins downstairs. Each team must hide a full size umbrella within their territory; it can’t be overly hidden, like in a cupboard or cabinet.  We play this game at night with all of the lights turned out.

Armed with our guns and a small LED flashlight, we begin the game.  If a person gets hit 3 times by a bullet, they need to go to the jail within their own territory.  To get out, a teammate must tag you.  This leaves the other teammate in a tough position – to go looking for the umbrella or save their teammate.  If the other team has two unjailed members, this can be tough.

The game ends when one teams finds the umbrella and brings it back safely to their own home base (without getting shot 3 times).

I cannot tell you how much fun this is for the whole family.  Your adrenaline certainly runs high, but the game helps us get some exercise as well as teaches the kids to take risks.  After all, if we all stood our ground and waited for the other team to run up the stairs to attack first, we might never finish the game.  As a team, we strategize and figure out how to barge upstairs (or downstairs) with the least amount of hits so we can begin looking for the umbrella.

Our Artillery

One of the worst feelings in this game is when a member from the other team attacks you and all you are doing is shooting air.  We have definitely found that investing in Nerf products and bullets is worth the extra money.  But even sometimes with the Nerf guns, we have trouble cranking up the next bullet time for the attack.

On a recent visit to Walmart, the kids and I were so excited to find the Nerf Rebelle Powerbelle Blaster.  It is an automatic blaster, big enough to hold 10 bullets and shoot them up to 75 feet!  Wow.  I have never seen one like this…even within the boys’ toys area.  My daughter was thrilled, my son was nervous.

My daughter couldn’t wait to get home and begin “shooting” practice.  Besides it’s ability to shoot 50+ feet, I noticed how good her aim was, as she could easily readjust her aim upon seeing where the last bullet fired to.

The Rebelle Powerbelle Blaster looks fanciful and powerful with it’s unique purple and pink designs on the white blaster.  Girls love the colors.  It also comes with 10 artistically decorated darts and a dart bag that can be hung over your shoulder.  My daughter has a bunch of gear from her various Rebelle blasters.  It’s cute to watch her prepare for battles as she fastens Rebelle gear to her waistline and puts on her Rebelle glasses.  It’s all about the accessories, you know?  🙂

A few warnings about the Rebelle Powerbelle Blaster:

• The bullets can hit hard, so ensure your child doesn’t shoot others at close range
• Wear protective glasses, they can prevent getting unintentionally shot in the eye
• The Nerf Rebelle Powerbelle Blaster comes with a sling to carry over the shoulder.  Use it, as the blaster can get heavy to carry and you don’t want to drop it (the plastic could break)
• Buy extra bullets…they disappear fast with this blaster!

Features:

• Nerf claims the blaster can fire up to 75 feet
• Comes with 10 bullets (exactly how many the blaster will load)
• Motorized blasting – just hold the trigger
• Comes with a dart bag (can hold around 20 bullets) you can sling on your shoulder with enclosed bandoleer strap

Pros:

• Easy to shoot, no pumping needed
• Automatic shooting helps to make aim more precise
• The included dart bag is helpful (if you buy extra bullets) to load your blaster in a hurry
• Shoots over 50 feet
• Is incredibly fun to shoot
• Perfect for firing back in a sneak attack

Cons:

• Takes 6 AA batteries!  Can be an expensive addiction! 🙂
• Has a loud motor – sneaking up on someone is hard, as they hear the motor churn
• A bit heavy and could break the plastic if dropped, use the attached strap
• The motor takes a second to warm up first and will keep shooting (if the trigger is pressed), even if you’re out of bullets (battery drain)

I found the Nerf Rebelle Powerbelle Blaster at Walmart for $34.96.  You can also find it a little cheaper at Walmart.com for $27.84 plus shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

Our whole family loves our Nerf battles.  The Nerf Rebelle blaster line was a fantastic brainchild from someone in marketing at Nerf.  It brings style, accessorization, and competitive force to girls that was previously missing with Nerf’s focus on the boy’s line.

As our family battle game requires darkness, we need to play at night.  Of course, this is when my husband and I are most exhausted.  Believe me when I tell you, most of the times the kids ask for a battle, it takes nearly everything I’ve got to get up and play.  But I must say, these family battles are creating memories that will last a long time.  It gives my husband and I the chance to teach the kids about strategy, anticipating opponent’s moves, and acting boldly (instead of fearfully) to go after your goals (in this case, the umbrella for the win).

These exhilarating games brings us closer as a family and once I get off the couch and into the game, I have an awesome time – every time I’m glad I did it.  Is it time for a new family tradition in your family?  Are you up to the fight?