We have random nerf gun fights breaking out at work on a regular basis. We started with the simple six-shooter dart guns, worked our way up to 40 round drums and recently things have escalated to Nerf balls (which are more powerful and more accurate).

Sides in a gun fight are usually along development team lines. Most of us work from home at least a few days a week. Sometimes one team will take advantage of this to massacre the reduced forces of the opponent. My coworker and I were the victims of one such massacre - our team lead was WFH, and we were caught eating lunch, without protective glasses or blasters within reach. We managed to get to our weapons, locked and loaded, within 30 seconds, but by then we were Swiss cheese. The opposing team leader filmed the whole thing with a GoPro on his motorcycle helmet. We managed to get revenge when he was off on a business trip though.

All of this has greatly reduced our team's productivity since we started splitting up into 1-2 of us writing code and 1-2 standing guard, depending on available manpower that day. We've also hit some innocent bystanders on their way to make coffee, and our local UN representative lodged an official complaint.

The two main teams who engage in this warfare (mine and another) have started recruiting proxies from other teams on our floor, and supplying them with arms. Those alliances are fragile and hard to manage. Sometimes they backstab, or just shoot us accidentally due to inadequate training.

Our nemesis has recently brought in a hired mercenary from the DevOps team that sits on the floor above ours.

Is this a common experience among tech workers? Any recommendations for upping our game?