What do you do when you're bored? When a trio of Australian friends, Hoss Siegel, Josh Spiegel and Ross Koger, found that they "had a severe lack of creativity in our lives" they decided to do something about it. Their solution: Get a bunch of friends together, build cardboard suits of armor and get into a Braveheart-style battle.

That was way back in 2002 and Boxwars, as it's come to be known, has exploded in popularity, featuring regular battles with ever-crazier constructions entering the fray. 

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Here's what this lunacy looks like in action:

There are only four rules in Boxwars:

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1. "There are No Winners, Only Losers."

"Boxwars is both art and destruction using the near perfect medium of cardboard. The point is to build something from cardboard, then destroy it, which destroys the point. The battlefield is a place of contradictions + borrowed originality which sets a perfect stage for war."

I love how this is a more accessible version of those Tibetan Sand Mandalas, where they create an elaborate artwork and then destroy it.

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2. "Common Sense."

"Don't do to someone what you wouldn't want done to yourself."

This, and Australian hardiness, is presumably how injuries are avoided.

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3. Only Recycled Cardboard Allowed.

It's fun…and eco-friendly!

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4. Kids Get the Armor Afterwards

While participants must be 18 or older, after a battle is concluded children from the audience swarm onto the battlefield to plunder. This fourth Boxwars rule states that "Warriors are requested to forfeit their armour (intact, damaged or destroyed) to any minor who desires it post battle. Kids are the next generation of warriors, and although they cannot participate until they are older, the flame is passed in this ritual of Boxwars."

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To that end, the group also regularly hosts workshops for kids, where they help them realize their own cardboard pieces.

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As for the adult armor, while some go all-out for their costumes…

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…others are a bit more ad-hoc:

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For some reason I think the Kleenex guy looks way scarier.

You can keep up with the Boxwars group and their events, and look through their photos, here.

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