In battle, students use water cannons and makeshift catapults -- and the losers sometimes spend the night in the dungeon. They get one phone call to let their parents know where they are: in jail at their teacher's house.
The teacher's troops usually emerge victorious, because as the Boom reminds kids: "The King always wins."
Boomer's two sons recall their father as a mix of Mr. Rogers and David Lynch. "My childhood was defined by all-night water battles, people sneaking around in the woods, alarms going off at all hours," said Alex Boomer, 49, an electrical contractor in Fortuna. "I thought it was normal until I got out in the real world."
