No matter how hard we try, their will always be controveries in nerf. It's your war, you control it. Make sure everyone understands that and agrees with you being the one to make the close calls.
2. Keep the rules simple.

By keeping the rules simple and effective you can have alot more fun during the war, and also have much happier nerfers throughout the war.
3. Mix it up.

NOBODY WANTS TO PLAY THE SAME GAME ALL DAY. Mix it up. Instead of basic primary-sidearmm 2 hit kill wars, have some pistol wars, CTF, one-hit-kill, and maybe even some fort wars if you have the facilities.
4. Food and Bathrooms.

If you don't have food and bathrooms either very nearby or onsite your war will fall apart very, very quickly. If you don't want to have food onsite make sure there are some who can drive so that you can go pick up food at a fast food place or maybe even a diner if everyone wants a brake.
5. Keep teams even.

If you know that A and B players are really good, but C and D players are newbs, you wouldn't want to put A and B on a team and C and D on another. Keep the teams even so that everyone gets to win. This helps with the fun level and also makes it so people don't want to leave early.
6. Bring some Extras.

If you have any nerf guns and ammo outside of what your using, BRING THEM. Some people may have guns break, others may not have any guns, and still other may run out of ammo. This is a very important step.
7. Assholes=The Boot.

Speaking from expierience, if there is a little kid or even an older kid who is causing trouble. Boot him. Either sit him out for a few games or just tell him to leave. Obviously if he doesn't have transportation you can't tell him to leave. Just a note, booting people out of nerf battle can be good and bad at the same time. You have to be careful it doesn't cause any serious problems.
8. Set up all the rules.

When you make rules for a game, make all the rules you possibly think should be in the battle. So if you don't want H2H, you better put it in or your going to regret it when you get stabbed in the back with a toilet paper roll.
9. Keep bases even.

Even though this is less important, it still has to be remembered. Don't make bases unfair. This will cause alot of controversy when some of the more expierienced ones complain about this, especially if you keep the best base for yourself.
10. Keep it fun.

ITS A NERF BATTLE. Keep it lighthearted. Remember, it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it matters when everybody has fun winning OR losing.

Article by Steven Roughton.