How do I run a foam-dart birthday party?

Decide whether a foam-dart party suits your guests

Before you buy anything or send invitations, find out who will actually play. A foam-dart party only works if every player can use their blaster as the manufacturer intends and can follow a few firm rules. Planning for six-to-twelve-year-olds is a reasonable place to start, but it doesn't show that a particular blaster or game suits every child in that range.

Count your players carefully. The example on this page is for eight players. Decide whether the birthday child is one of those eight. If they aren't, add a full equipment set for them. If siblings or other children in the household will join in, add sets for each of them too. Adults who join the play also need glasses and must follow the same rules. Only add equipment for people you haven't already counted.

Before buying supplies, write down every player, whether their family has replied and whether they need a full equipment set. Add the birthday child, household members and adults only if they aren't already on the list. The party guest-list planner gives you a place to record this.

In the invitation, say that the party uses foam-dart blasters. Explain that any blaster a guest brings will be checked in, and include the start time, finish time and your plan if it rains. Ask families to talk to you before the day about anything that affects whether their child can take part.

Our printable invitation templates give you a starting format with an RSVP date, a way to reply and your party-day phone number. Add the foam-dart details yourself: the blaster check-in, start and finish times, the rain plan and the request to talk to you about anything affecting a child's participation.

Gather the equipment for eight players

The list below is for the eight-player example. Change the numbers to match your own player count. The plan uses one adult referee for every four players, so this example needs two referees. Treat that as a planning ratio. It doesn't make every setup suitable.

About a week before the party, test each blaster as its instructions describe. Check that the darts you buy fit your blasters.

• Eight main blasters and eight backup pocket blasters. Write each player's equipment number on both with a paint pen.
• 250 darts: put 25 in each of eight labelled zip bags (200 darts) and keep 50 in a separate reserve bag.
• Eight pairs of ANSI Z87.1 impact-rated glasses, one per player, plus two spares, in two sizes.
• Two flags, cones, boundary tape and four to six objects to hide behind, for the outdoor layout.
• Six paper plates with score rings drawn on them, and tape, for target practice.
• Two buckets for collecting darts, a tally board and markers.
• Tags and a check-in bin for blasters that guests bring.
• Eight water bottles labelled with names or equipment numbers. Keep them outside the playing area.

Check in the equipment, set the rules and split the teams

Set up one check-in table with the numbered blasters, dart bags and glasses. Write down which guest has which number. Fit each player's glasses before you give them a dart bag, and keep the bags closed until the rules have been explained.

Put any blaster a guest brings in the check-in bin until an adult has checked its manufacturer age guidance and confirmed that it hasn't been changed from how it was sold. Don't let anyone play with a modified blaster. An adult's check doesn't replace the manufacturer's instructions.

Read the four rules aloud: glasses on, aim below the neck, no point-blank shots, and going out of bounds means you're out. Also follow any extra rules in the blaster instructions. Explain that a referee can stop the game for any problem, not only when someone goes out of bounds.

Set up the playing area outdoors or indoors

Outdoor example: put two flags 30 feet apart at hip height, with cones every 10 feet along the boundary. These are the layout measurements for this example, not minimum safe distances. Use them only if your space and blaster instructions allow. Place four to six objects between the flags for players to hide behind, such as cardboard boxes or tipped-over patio chairs. Mark no-shoot zones around anything players must stay away from, such as a grill, garden beds, stairs or a neighbor's fence.

Before the first game, walk everyone around the boundary and the no-shoot zones. Show players where to go after they're tagged, where to wait and where to put their blaster down for a break. Keep the food and cake table outside the playing area.

The walkthrough is also a good time to mention a few household rules, such as which rooms are off limits, where to eat and where to leave belongings. Keep these separate from the blaster and game rules. Our page on simple house rules for a kids party has ideas.

Indoor alternative: use a cleared room only if it fits the group and your blaster instructions allow it. Remove breakables and lamps, close the doors and use sofa cushions for forts. Allow pump-action blasters only, make everyone walk instead of run, mark boundaries that suit the room and shorten games to five minutes. Don't try to fit the outdoor layout indoors. If the room doesn't work for dart play, switch to a seated game you've planned in advance.

Choose the games and plan the 90-minute party

Before each game, explain how to win, what happens when someone is tagged and when the game ends.

Capture the flag (7 minutes): each team tries to carry the other team's flag back across its own back line. A tagged player goes back to their team's line and waits 30 seconds before rejoining. If no flag has been returned when time runs out, call it a draw. Agree in advance what happens to a flag carried by a player who gets tagged. For example, the referee can put it back where it started.

Protect the president (7 minutes): one team has a president and three bodyguards, and the other team attacks. The president is out after three hits and each bodyguard after two. Tagged attackers return to their boundary and rejoin straight away. The attackers win if they get the president out, and the defenders win if time runs out first. If you play it again, choose a new president and swap roles.

Last blaster standing (5 minutes): say beforehand whether players are playing on their own or in teams. Tagged players are out for the rest of the game. One version moves the cones five feet inward every two minutes. Stop the game while you move them, or keep the boundaries where they are if the space or blaster instructions call for it. If more than one player or team is left when time runs out, call it a shared win. Players who are out can rest outside the playing area.

The schedule below is an example only. Add up to 90 minutes and adjust it to suit the group. Allow longer breaks between games if collecting darts or getting drinks takes more time.

Before you use this schedule, add the time for explaining rules, collecting darts, drinks, food and pickup. Also check whether your 90 minutes is guest time or the whole booking, including setup and cleanup. Our guide to whether 90 minutes is long enough can help you check.

Include guests who sit out

Some guests may not want to play, may need a break or may be too young to use the equipment. Have a calm area outside the playing area with drinks and a short seated game. Players who have been knocked out can rest there too. Younger siblings who can't use the blasters should have their own activity with an adult helping them, not a role in the dart games.

Let children step out without fuss. A drink and a quiet break can be enough before they choose whether to go back in.

Collect the darts and pack the favor bags

After each game, stop play and split the area into two search zones. In the example, the losing team searches its zone first and the winners search the second. If the game was a draw, give each team one zone. Put the darts you find into the buckets, count them and update the tally before handing them out again.

For the final search, keep sweeping until two searches in a row find nothing, and have an adult check under the deck or along hedges where it's safe to reach. Write down any darts still missing, because an empty search doesn't prove every dart has been found.

The suggested favor is each guest's glasses plus a labelled bag of ten darts. Tell families whether the glasses are going home with their child. Return borrowed blasters and blasters that guests brought to their owners.

Final checklist before the party

• Blaster age ratings and instructions checked against the youngest player
• Player count confirmed, including or adding the birthday child, siblings and adults who will play
• Glasses fitted for every player, with two spares
• Equipment numbered, guest assignments written down and dart bags filled
• Boundaries and no-shoot zones marked, and food kept outside the playing area
• Two referees arranged
• Indoor or seated rain plan ready
• Activity and adult helper arranged for guests who don't play
• Darts counted for favor bags before you promise ten each

Sources and further reading

• Foam-dart birthday party plan

Related questions

• Which party games work indoors without moving furniture?
• Which party games work in a backyard or outdoor space?
• How do I run fair team games and choose prizes?
• How can children of different ages play party games together?