Late nights and early mornings are what it takes to survive Highlands High School’s annual Dart Wars, a tradition that has been going strong since 2014. Teams race through neighborhoods, stage sneak attacks, and fire foam darts in dramatic ambushes.
To sign up, students have to form a team of four to five other players and pay $20 per team. This action-packed game is not affiliated with Highlands; however, it is an event that brings students together in a fun, competitive environment where teamwork, strategy, and quick thinking are key.
“I wanted to join Dart Wars because I think it’s a fun opportunity to participate in a school event and form relationships with people you may not have met before,” Dart Wars participant Maddie Barlow (11) said.
Senior Sully Wiswell has been the Dart Wars commissioner for the past two years. He is responsible for everything, including collecting each team’s money, making a bracket, providing rules, and keeping track of team kills on the social media page.
“There wasn’t going to be a Dart Wars game last year. However, after countless times of the Class of 2023 asking me to be the commissioner, I decided to say yes,” head Dart Wars commissioner Sully Wiswell (12) said.
The Highlands Dart Wars game lasts from early April to May, and over 250 students participate, forming around 64 teams. Each team gets to come up with a name that reflects a mix of pride and humor. Some team names this year include BBD, 6 ‘7 Dart Dart, Loaded Diaper, and Danell’s Divas.
“The name that my team and I chose is ‘Loaded Diaper’ because it is unique, and once we get a kill, we can celebrate by saying that we loaded their diaper,” Dart Wars participant Mia Perron (11) said.
To keep the game fair and safe, Wiswell has enforced rules to ensure friendly competition. Some of these rules include the immunity window and house invites.
Immunity Window: Before and after any school event, students have a 15-minute immunity period during which they can’t shoot anyone, and no one can shoot them.
House invited- participants cannot shoot someone inside of their own home/opponent’s home unless they are let in by someone and/or live there. Any illegal way of getting inside someone’s home will result in disqualification.
“I mostly have to trust my gut. I know the rules and try to enforce them the best I can, but a lot of times, if there’s no clear evidence, it comes down to a coin flip,” Wiswell said. “It’s more up to the players to keep things fair and make sure the game runs smoothly than it is up to me.”
To access the team lists, brackets, and rules, Wiswell has created an Instagram page where participants can view all of this content. Additionally, after every kill, he posts an Instagram story featuring the player who “killed” their opponent. This allows everyone participating to see who’s in the lead and scope out the competition.
“I made Instagram so everyone can stay updated on skills, rules, and who’s still in the game,” Wiswell said.
The reigning Dart Wars champions from the 2024 season are out for a repeat to defend their title. Their team consists of highly competitive seniors, including Adam Wallace (12), Craig Miller (12), Evan Wallace (12), Harrison Gamble (12), and Joe Subach (12).
“Coming back as champions feels more exciting for us than most other teams because if we win this year, I think we’ll be the first-ever team to go back-to-back,” Subach said.
This fun, friendly competition is a great way to motivate juniors and seniors by building school spirit, encouraging teamwork, and creating lasting memories during the final stretch of the school year. As of April 16th, 32 teams are remaining.
“It’s just a fun way to bring people together and make some memories,” Dart War participant Liam Jennings (11) said.
