Rant: Tribute to the sucker and whistler dart

Gratuitous TMNT placement:P

Nerf’s bid to ‘streamline’ (hehe) their new Elite series darts was a great idea; one ammo type to rule them all per se. Whether it be a clip system blaster like the Stryfe and Retaliator, to a revolver style like the Strong arm or a single shot like the Fire Strike, all Elite series blasters now use one single type of dart. Which is awesome.

That all being said, I would like to take a small moment to pay tribute to the darts of old- those that were the preferred options for the casual nerfer. I am talking of the suction cap “micro darts” and the whistling “sonic micro darts”:)

When it comes to office desktop warfare (unless you’re in a casual dress environment such as an IT area) it’s pretty rare to see large clip system dart blasters. Clip system blasters just stand out too much and are considered a little too full on for most offices- even the most liberal of supervisors will still suggest you put them away when the big cheeses come around for their monthly walk throughs.

What you do often see though, are single shot blasters. My first memories of office wars were via a four pack of Nerf ‘Eliminators’- (basically the precursor to the Reflex IX-1) that were distributed and rotated around 9 desks along with a packet of suction cap "micro darts" that we bought ( the darts the Eliminator set came with got lost within the first hour of play)  Warfare was always quite stealthy and unexpected and to this day I can still say there’s not a whole lot that gives me more satisfaction in the workplace than the sweet “chock” noise of landing a perfectly lined suction cap round, missing the unsuspecting target’s ear by inches and having it firmly stick to the front of their LCD monitor. (Normally followed by a huge expletive and maybe the odd literal knee jerk into their desk cabinet).  It’s such an aggressive move to pull off out of the blue too and basically tells your target “you never know when I’m going to take you out” or “next time I won’t miss” and maybe just “bahaahahahaa”.

Photo courtesy of Shawn Campbell via Flickr

This was equally as effective on the home front, landing your shot against a 55” flat screen TV or the front of your fridge while your partner stands in front of it…

Suction cap darts are basically the equivalent of an arrow landing at the feet of an enemy army in historical piece tv shows/movies. Nerf darts especially will stick to almost any smooth surface, even for a few seconds and just enough for someone to wet themselves in shock:P They are also a lot of fun to shoot at the ceiling and make bets on how long it will take for each dart to finally fall.

I also pay tribute to the “Sonic Micro dart” or better off known as Whistlers, which in their own right had their place in office warfare. The were the ideal ammo of choice as a long range tilted shot from one side of the floor to the other that basically gave warning to all those around us that “foam be shed!”. Many an afternoon would be spent typing away on my PC only to hear the high pitched almost turbo sounding noise pierced the air and quickly reaching for my own blaster, only to turn around too late and feel the dart smack me firmly in the chest. Rather than the stealthy nature of the sucker dart, this whistler declared it was coming for you way in advance..

Not one to come in between the way of progress, I understand and welcome the Elite series dart, but I think back at many of my Nerfing memories and a lot of it did revolve around the ol' suction cap darts and whistlers.  Lemme hear your stories and tributes to the suction cap or whistler dart.. for they may no longer be officially available, they will always be remembered:P