I prefer to use the whiffle bat at the sword. My brother and I used to take metal garbage can lids (used as shields) and whiffle bats (the swords) and hold "gladitorial games" in our backyard. We did this through our early 20's, which freaked out my wife when she saw it for the first time in 1989.

Why settle for video games when one can draw real blood from a sibling