3. Inside your packet will be a basic field or situation map that gives you an idea of the relative locations of objects on the field.
In a well-managed game, when the generals are really up to the task (and it can go both ways, unfortunately), players are divided into teams of several hundred people each. Each side or team has a headquarters or base of operations that consists of a command post and usually some other assorted buildings. Trenches, bunkers and special obstacles may surround these buildings.
Skirmish USA Paintball Park in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, hosts a D-Day Europe re-creation in July 2003, paintball style. At the horn, Allied players storm out of simulated Higgins boats and assault the German cliffs and trenches. With more than a thousand players involved, action is super hot and paint fills the air for more than 24 hours.
Before any scenario game, the field owners and producers brief players on safety, game rules, special effects and especially play at night when the rules often change.
Sides are organized into multiple task teams, five- to 10-player hit squads, each with a leader whose job is to communicate with the team’s ultimate commander. The ultimate commander is conveniently referred to as “the general.” Depending on the size of his force, the general will likely have a command staff to help motivate and direct the various squads. Typically the general will have an executive officer (XO) and several company commanders. Squad leaders receive their missions through this chain of command and then direct their squads as needed to accomplish assigned missions.
Most events begin Saturday by noon. So, Saturday morning you prep your gear, buy your paint and get ready to get your bang on! Just before the game officially kicks off, there is always a player briefing to review safety, game rules, and the game’s theme. In addition, special role players are introduced and everyone is briefed on the powers these players have. At this last minute get-together, you will meet the opposing generals and referees , too. When the starting horn blares, it’s Game On!
Play Begins
When a coded mission is called in to your general, get ready. A radio operator will decode the message before the general must begin making decisions. He consults with his staff, and if he accepts it or decides that it is feasible, he then assigns the mission to a squad. Given the nature of scenario play, you can assume that a squad of enemy players is probably being dispatched to attempt the same mission or even an intersecting mission, at about the same time. The scenario director, who is responsible for the unfolding plot line, calls in missions regularly throughout the game.
A mission can be as simple and straight-forward as sending all available players to storm the enemy base. Or, a mission can be as specific as giving Company A, Platoon C 30 minutes to capture Hill 66 and find the treasure that is buried there.
Missions are given point values and, ultimately, points are how the game is won or lost. Teams can only increase their points by accomplishing these assigned tasks. Obviously, the more missions you complete successfully, the better the chance that your side will win. Taking or successfully defending a bunker, for instance, may require at least 20 players to start and at least one of them must be at that location within 30 minutes. This mission could be assigned 10 or perhaps 100 points, depending on its strategic value in the game. If the mission is completed successfully, points are awarded to the aggressor team. The players who are most focused on accomplishing missions are usually the ones who win.
While missions are being run by both groups of players, any special characters are running missions of their own. These are also worth points. And spies for both sides are trying their best to add unexpected complexities to the game. Of course, both sides need to stay alert and defend their prospective base camps from attack.
The general receives a mission from game control.
In scenario games , there is often a chance to capture another player. In fact, if that member of the enemy team is a spy, he could actually be setting you up so that he can plant false information. The “no shooting at close range” rule applies, and if you suddenly find yourself in position to shoot someone at close range, you can offer him the capture/shoot option and he must answer immediately. If he chooses “shoot,” he is out until the next resurrection. (You do not actually pull the trigger on anyone at close range!) If he chooses “capture,” he is out for 15 minutes. In a capture, he puts his gun on “safe” and follows you to your base for interrogation. Typically then, a referee will help you release your captive at a safe distance.
According to Wayne Dollack of Wayne’s World Paintball in Ocala, Florida, the man often referred to as the “father of paintball scenario games,” you may never physically touch a captive (or any other player) at any time.
The beauty of the scenario set-up is that both sides are “multi-tasking.” Some squads are out on attack missions while others must be kept at hand for defense and special assignments. The task for the command staff is to keep track of everyone and manage the team’s resources.
This may leave a hundred or more team players between missions. Use the time between missions to get paint off, fill the hopper, squeegee your barrel, check your gear or take a catnap. Some of the time, you will be in a defensive position somewhere on the periphery of your team’s territory, because the other side will be trying to penetrate your team’s defensive perimeter, put you out of the game and accomplish their goals, too.
Most events run until chow time. At five or six o’clock they take a one- to two-hour break for food and rest. There are usually prize giveaways and drawings at this time, but you should get off your feet and even take a catnap if you can, because you won’t get much sleep during the night. And drink plenty of fluids.
Once night play begins after the dinner break, some of the rules change. Most events have you chronograph your markers down from the daytime 280 fps to 250 fps or even less. The reason is that at night, shooting action is often much closer than when you can see clearly during the day. On most fields, grenades or mortars are not allowed at night and most events count any hit, whether it breaks paint or not, as a valid elimination hit. Missions continue in the darkness along with the task of defending your command and protecting your general from assassination. These days, it is the rare event that continues play all the way through the night, though. Games generally suspend activity between midnight and at least 3:00 A.M. Most players have come to have a good time and by the early morning hours, everyone is worn out. It’s time for players to return to their campsite and get some shuteye.
Night play is especially exciting, though. There are the standard dangers of falling on a poison punji stake and dying an agonizing death alone and in the dark (just kidding!) or getting whacked by a tree limb, but just distinguishing your team members from your opponents is the hard … and exciting … part. Someone in your squad will need a flashlight with good batteries.
Most teams devise secret passwords and responses for night missions or practice an audible but secret drill. “Pittsburgh!” someone will call out in the dark. The obvious answer can be “Pirates” or “Steelers.” Answering correctly will mean the difference between a face full of paint and a welcoming pat on the back. Working with a partner makes this especially fun if one person does the challenging and the second person prepares to cut loose immediately if the response is wrong.
Regardless of whether the game was temporarily halted during the night due to lack of players on the field or even if some hard-core players continue the game until daybreak Sunday morning, most events schedule a breakfast break sometime