I don't know if this will help anyone, but I might as well post it. These are the official rules used by Waterbridge and the Ridgewood Militia for this 2007 season. We originally had a "manual" of sorts, but trimmed it down to 30 rules that could easily be fitted to one page and be passed around. This is a copy and paste version, so it might look strangely formatted:

Water Wars 2007 Season Official Rules

Section I: Powers of Founders

1.1 Team founders have unrestricted and unregulated power to make decisions for their respective teams. Commanders who are not founders do not have this power.

1.2 Founders have the final say by joint-agreement in determining contested hits.

1.3 At least one founder from each team must be present in order for a battle to count as a ranked war.

1.4 Only founders may edit team rosters, claim lists, accept/reject prospective members, set battlefield boundaries, change battlefields, set war dates/times, change war dates/times, and edit the rules. Additional powers are not denied.

1.5 At least one founder from each team must meet at either team’s starting location before a war may officially begin. No kills count until this contact is made. After this initial meeting, time must be allotted for a founder to return to their respective team.

Section II: Honor Code and Behavior

2.l All players must declare truthfully when they have been hit. Lying may result in a kill penalty against their team.

2.2 A time out may only be called for a medical emergency, kill dispute, or dangerous change in weather [such as an incoming thunderstorm]. Verbal agreement and/or one whistle blast may be used to pause game play for a dispute. Three whistle blasts may be used to pause game play for an emergency. A minor cut and the like are not sufficient to pass as an emergency. Game play only resumes upon Founder agreement.

2.3 A player is vulnerable to be hit at all times from the official start time to the official end time of a war. Hitting a player while refilling is perfectly legal. A player who falls can be hit unless they have an injury requiring a time out.

2.4 No player is allowed to inflict physical harm upon another player, such as pushing their gun out of the way when shooting. Wars-related verbal taunting is allowed.

Section III: Standard One Hit Scores [OHS]

3.1 A direct hit to the shirt counts as 1 kill/point.

3.2 Splatter damage roughly the size of a player’s fist to the shirt counts as 1 kill/point.

3.3 Players have infinite lives. When killed, the re-spawn period is 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, the player must clearly indicate that they are back in.

3.4 Re-spawns must occur behind friendly lines. A player may not re-spawn in an area held by an enemy.

3.5 Enemies must give re-spawning players a few hundred feet for breathing room and may not attack them right away.

3.6 Enemies can ignore 3.5 if there is still fighting taking place in the vicinity. It is up to the re-spawning player to move away from an area of active combat.

3.7 If a whole team is wiped out, they may take a free refill from any area behind their current position and/or territory they currently control.

3.8 Water on the shirt from a leaking gun does not count as a kill. Water from fording does not count as a kill either. Honor is used to distinguish in this matter.

3.9 Accidental friendly fire counts as a kill against the team involved. Intentional friendly fire does not count. Shooting yourself [suicide] counts as –1 kill/point against your team, but not as an enemy kill/point.

3.10 A kill made outside the designated out of bounds lines [OB lines] does not count. Kills made before the official start, end, and during time outs also don’t count.

3.11 The team with the highest amount of points at the official end time wins a ranked war. Ties are allowed. Skirmishes are not ranked.

Section IV: Possessions

4.1 Possessions of any player may be raided during a battle, but must be returned at the end. Items not related to combat [such as phones, cameras, etc.] must be left alone unless a player has permission to move them. Food and drinks of any kind count as battle-related items and are fair game.

4.2 By taking anything, players agree to assume any and all damages resulting from their use of the possessions. Keep in mind that some water guns may have a market value of over $150. Single-use items, such as filled water balloons and drinks, do not have to be returned or replaced.

4.3 Anything placed in a supply cache is fair game for either team. Responsibility for caches is waived.

Section V: Weaponry and General Regulations

5.1 There are no weapon bans. If it can shoot water, it can be used. Founders by joint decision may impose restrictions on certain forms of weaponry if some aspects of their use are potentially dangerous.

5.2 Water balloon launchers must be shot at an angle [~ 30 degrees], regardless of range and pressure. It is acceptable to reduce the angle when shooting uphill.

5.3 Water cannons cannot be shot at a target from within ~20ft, regardless of the water/air ratio and pressure. There is no angle restriction. A water cannon must be tested against an actual volunteer before use in battle.

5.4 Shields are illegal. Anything mobile that blocks fire on the shirt is considered a shield, except guns and backpacks.

5.5 Fortifications existing before a battle begins may only be dismantled by combat fire/bombardment.

5.6 Refills may be taken at any location at any time from any water source. Players may carry and cache as much water as they like.

5.7 Players may carry and cache as many guns as they like.

That's a pretty good rule set. I think, however, it still is a little long that others may be intimidated (though it's really not that long for those wanting loads of details). It would, of course, make a good template for an official WaterWarfare.com rule set with a little tweaking.

Mind if I took this set and tried my hands at tweaking it, then getting other member feedback on the tweaked version?

B)

Sure - you might need to tweak it a lot. Many of these rules seem unnecessary, but they have been developed over time to stop old problems from coming back. It is also funny that our [rather serious] teams are able to operate on such a short and simple [IMO] set. Rule numbers 1.1 and 1.4 have really cut down on fluff. Then again, these rules were made for teams that know each other well and have spared for many years. It is not the best example, but it is one of few examples of a fully functional rules set used in real life.

I'm glad to hear and do believe these rules work well for your group. The type of rule set I have in mind would have a fair amount of flexibility in it, per se, that game organizers would have to fill in based on common sense. My present belief is that an abridged version (or a practical version) of a longer rule set would be better at getting new people to try things out. A full rule set should also be available to fill in specific details for "tournament" or "official" games. Take sports like baseball. Need the basic rules like three strikes and you're out available so people can organize local games. Then there's the MLB rules that define things down to allowable wood types for the bats and number of stitches on regulation baseballs.

This may take awhile as I've got a lot on my plate, but it's something I will work on bit by bit. Of course, I hope others also try coming up with their own shorter/functional rule set, too. More ideas from more people will help us come up with a more optimal set.

B)

Nice rule set! the S.W.A.T's rule list is quite similar except for all the rules on founders and a few minor differences.