INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Nerf wars are usually more fun in large, outdoor areas, such as parks and playgrounds, but if you have access to a large, indoor space or backyard, consider them as well. Make sure the location you select has the following features: The area should be clear of other people, especially young children. Restrooms should be available nearby. Water fountains and places to buy food are optional, but recommended. Cover for people to hide behind. Almost any location besides an open field will have this. You can also bring some barrels or even inflatable cover if you have a portable air compressor. Most Nerf wars are played in public spaces, and you may arrive to find the location already in use. Plan around this in advance by looking for a backup location within walking distance. Some public spaces can be reserved in advance through your local community center or school, but this is not always possible. If both locations are occupied, politely ask the people present when they will be done. Don't pressure them into leaving, and don't begin the Nerf war until they have left. Plan the Nerf war at least three weeks in advance, especially if you are trying to recruit new people. Choose a time slot about four hours long if you are holding a typical nerf war. If you are recruiting more than twenty people or planning for a special occasion, you might plan a longer Nerf war, but eight hours is an exhausting upper limit. Remember to include meal breaks if necessary. Allow at least half an hour if people are bringing their own lunches, and at least an hour if people plan to eat at restaurants or hold a potluck picnic. Pick a time to start wrapping up, at least fifteen minutes before the official end of the war. This lets everyone help gather darts and clean up together, and avoids irritating parents who don't want to wait around for this to happen. You can have a Nerf war with three or four players, but if you're doing all this planning in advance, you probably have a bigger event in mind. Start contacting your friends as far in advance as you can, and send out a reminder to people who haven't responded within a few days. If you'd like more players, you can try to recruit local players from the Nerf Internet Community, using websites such as NerfHaven. Be aware that Nerf players you find online may be used to a strict set of rules, and will often show up with modified Nerf guns and homemade ammo that can shoot farther and faster than regular Nerf darts. Make rules clear when you post online. Once you have enough people, let them all know the rules you'll be using in advance. There are many different rules you can use in a nerf war, but the important part is to announce them in advance so everyone is playing by the same rules. Here are a couple common sets of rules you could use: "West Coast rules": Each player has five "hit points". When someone is hit, he loses one hit point. He then counts down from 20 slowly with his gun held up in the air. He may pick up ammo and walk around, but is not allowed to fire and cannot be hit during this time. He counts down the last five numbers loudly and says "I'm in!", and is then back in the game. He leaves the game permanently if he is down to zero hit points. "East Coast rules": Each player has ten hit points, and loses one each time they are hit. There is no 20-second invulnerability period, but if several darts from the same automatic weapon hit you at the same time, this typically only counts as one hit. You leave the game once you are out of hit points. Eye protection is mandatory for every person present at a Nerf war. In addition, some Nerf weapons and ammo are often banned for safety reasons, or to make it fairer for all players. These vary from game to game, but here are some suggested rules to follow: All homemade weighted darts must have a tip covering the weight. Nerf guns that can shoot 130 feet (40 meters) or farther are banned. All ammo that contains sharp materials is banned, even if the point is hidden inside the ammo. Melee weapons such as swords or clubs must be made out of Nerf foam. (In some games, these are banned.) A Nerf war can last many hours, but usually, one game doesn't take nearly that long to finish. Read about different Nerf games below, and choose at least two or three to play in case the players get bored of one type and want some excitement. You don't need to figure out an order to play these in in advance. Sometimes it's best to see whether everyone is enjoying themselves, and suggest a switch to a new type of game once people seem bored.

SUMMARY: Choose a location. Choose a backup location nearby. Choose a date and time. Recruit Nerfers. Announce the rules you'll be using. Tell everyone about safety equipment and allowable weapons. Decide on one or more Nerf games.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The key to a successful flowchart is its readability. Make sure that your core concepts are simply stated, and that the progression from concept to concept is explained in simple steps. Make sure that you have a distinct end point for your chart planned. This will help make it easier to read. A standard flowchart breaks a process down by its key concepts and required actions. If you have multiple groups involved in the process outlined by the flowchart, a swimlane format can help show who needs to do what. Each flowchart step is placed in the "Lane" for the group responsible for completing the task (Marketing, Sales, HR, etc.). Swimlanes are typically formatted horizontally or vertically. The starting point is the top-left corner of the chart. Swimlanes can be difficult to design if you have multiple concepts that have to travel back and forth between departments. This will lead to muddled charts. Before you start designing your flowchart through software, draw it out on a scratch piece of paper. Place your starting concept at the top, and expand the chart out below it. Most flowcharts operate on a basic binary principle. At points in the process where variations occur, the reader is presented with a Yes or No question. The answer will guide the reader to the appropriate concept. Use different shapes to represent different types of concepts or decisions. Adding visual cues will help with readability and comprehension. If areas of your flowchart are becoming too dense, separate the subprocess into a new flowchart. Add a box as a reference to the subprocess in the original flowchart, and have the reader return to it when they get through the expanded section.

SUMMARY:
Write out your core concepts. Decide between a standard or swimlane format. Layout your flowchart. Separate complex processes.