Learn a handful of nerf war games with homemade nerf targets from household items! You can keep your kids busy for hours with this nerf activity.
Dart wars! What little kid doesn’t love a good nerf fight? You know how some toys are very age specific? Nerf guns and nerf wars never get old for any age (at least in my house it’s true)! The best thing about a good nerf fight is that it can keep the kids occupied outside OR inside (if momma allows it) for hours! Let me share some Nerf Gun Games with nerf targets from household items PLUS free printable nerf targets.
My kids favorite pastime is building forts, making pallets in front of the TV, and pretending that our home is a war zone while protecting it with nerf guns. Oh the messes they can make, LOL! It’s like that quote,
“Don’t mind the mess, we are making memories here.”
I can’t remember where that quote is from…but nevertheless, I’m about to show you how to create an even bigger mess. But with that mess will come lasting memories for you and more importantly your kiddos. Let’s be honest, any activity that can distract them from online games is a plus right?
Ready, aim, FIRE!
Let me show you a few household items that work great for nerf gun target practice and nerf gun wars.
Table of Contents
Nerf Targets from household items

Create nerf gun targets out of brown paper bags
The kids can really get creative with this one! Give them a bag and tell them to make a target out of anything they want!
When they are done creating their own DIY target, open the bag up and hang it around the house. Just make sure whatever is under the bag won’t get hurt if it gets hit with a nerf gun.


DIY nerf war targets out of disposable plates
Most people have a few paper plates lying around somewhere in the kitchen. This is probably the easiest way to make a DIY nerf target because it’s already a circle. Use a sharpie or something similar and create your own bullseye’s.

How to create a nerf war target out of a brown box
Here comes the kids favorite target. What is it about kids and wanting to create their own houses or forts?
Grab a brown box and cut it at the seam. Open it up and now you have a fun “shield” to hide behind. Decorate it as you like.

Below are a few free downloads that you can use to decorate your “fort” with. Just drag the images over to your desktop!
P.S. I printed these in black and white but the color would look great too!
Nerf War Target free printables for Nerf War Games


Here’s a little sneak peak of what the window looks like on the box. I put one on each side.

Nerf War Games and Games with Nerf Guns
- Protect the Baby – This game involves one or two players trying to protect a baby doll. The best way to play is to have the ‘baby protectors’ provide the baby with a safe “journey” from one point to the next without getting shot. If they get shot with a nerf bullet then they are out and the baby is turned over to the assailant.
- Nerf Gun Freeze Tag– This game is awesome even without the nerf guns! You need at least four people to play. Create two teams of at least two people each. Every person is a shooter. When you shoot a player from another team they are “frozen” until one of their team mates shoots them and “un freezes” them. When all the players on one of the teams become frozen, that’s when you can declare a winner.
- Hide and Seek Nerf War– Have an adult hide a few objects. Tell the players what the items are and they have to go hunt for them. Once a player has secured one of the objects, if they get hit by the opposing team player they have to give up one of those items to the other team player. Once a team has secured all the objects they win!
- Standoff- This is a good old western themed game where two players start by standing back to back. They both take the same amount of steps away from each other and at the same signal both turn around and start to shoot. Whoever hits their opponent the most times (they each have the same amount of ammo) wins. Note; once the players turn around they cannot move from that spot.
- Attack and Defend– This is a simple game involving two teams where each team has a specific “base” they have to defend. Their base is the safe spot where they can’t be shot. The point is to eliminate all the other teams players and take over their base.
All of these game rules can of course be altered a little to suit your party!





Happy Hunting friends!