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Boffer weapons are our foray into the realm of armed combat. We create our own well-cushioned, safe forms of old-style weapons (preferably sword-like items) and then proceed to duel each other, or launch into a large melee attack... the possiblities depend only on you and your skills. It's a lot of fun, and good for the soul, to boot. Why? Because sometimes, you just have to hit something.

WEAPON SPECS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• To start, you'll need a good length of PVC pipe. For ordinary swords, you can get away with thinner PVC pipe. If you want to make a staff, or a weapon that's weighted at one end, then you'll want to use thicker pipe, to avoid bendy weapons.
• Next, wrap some high-impact foam or cushioning, like the padding available at U-Haul, around the pipe. You'll need several layers in order to create a weapon that is safe enough to fight with. You can purchase other special varieties of foam, but that could cost you more than you want to spend, and may not yield the same results.
• A 2-inch layer of foam should be attatched at the business end of the weapon. This should be foam without PVC pipe in the middle, so there isn't a hard surface on any part of the weapon that comes in contact with the opponent.
• Some people have been known to use a nylon layer over the duct tape to prevent sticking to skin or hair, but we generally do without it, and haven't had any problems yet.
• You may get blisters on your hands from wielding your weapon, so you may want to purchase a cheap pair of gloves to prevent blistering. Plain old work gloves work marvelously for this. Just make sure that it allows you to keep your grip on the weapon.
• In the realm of boffers, shields and armor are for wusses! ^_- You can make those things if you want, but you probably won't need it. The padding is sufficient enough to keep us all safe and in one piece.
• NUMBER ONE SAFETY RULE: If you wouldn't want to be hit with it, then don't fight with it! Test your weapon before taking it into a fight, make sure that it doesn't hurt too much on impact. And be sensible: try to think of other people's pain tolerance too.

FIGHTING RULES

• If you receive a direct hit to an arm or leg, then you are considered to have lost that limb. If you lose your sword arm, you must fight with your other arm. If you lose a leg, you must hop around on one foot. Act like you don't have the limb, because as far as the combat goes, you don't.
• If you lose two limbs, then you have been defeated.
• If you receive a direct hit to the body, you are defeated.
• NO HEAD SHOTS. Period.
• Be honourable: admit it when you've been hit. We'll all appreciate it.

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