Читать книгу Paintball Digest - Richard Sapp - Страница 7

CHAPTER 4

GAMES LARGE

AND

GAMES SMALL

The Big Game

Everyone has heard of “The Big Game.” It’s 24 hours of fun with field generals and objectives and tanks and land mines and sometimes a huge player party the night before the event kicks off. To end the game on Sunday, sponsors will sometimes organize one final mass battle. Just you and 1000 of your closest friends in a massive one-hour shoot off. Wow!

Often a Big Game is just that, a long game of capture-the-flag with some structural elements of a scenario game thrown in (a castle or fort, for example, is a popular theme). Lots of action. Lots of paint in the air. Lots of players and a simple, easy-to-follow plot line. “Keep it simple, keep it fun and keep it moving” is the motivating principle behind a Big Game.

Because Big Games bring hundreds of players together, they are often organized in approximately the same manner as a scenario game without space aliens or communist spies or magicians. In a well-organized game, teams are divided into companies and action squads. Assignments are called in to the team’s commander or general and you win or lose depending on how many assignments your team accomplishes. Big Games are played over as much as 26 hours; people begin arriving on Friday, usually camp out Friday and Saturday nights (if they don’t have a Saturday night mission), and then head home on Sunday afternoon.

Big Games use almost all of the formats of small capture-the-flag games with several interesting twists:

1. Elimination is not final. You simply go to a time out location or “dead zone” and wait for the buzzer to resurrect you and send you back in the game. Usually the buzzer gets this done every half hour, so you will not have to sit twiddling your thumbs for very long. After all, there’s only so much goggle cleaning and gun squeegeeing you want to do when there’s real action just out the door!

2. Everyone relies somewhat on an Honor System to make the game work. When your squad is ambushed at night or there is a frenzy of activity, the referee may not always know and be able to rule on who gets hit and who does not. Everyone relies on each other to fess up and count themselves out when they get hit. After all, you will only be on the bench for half an hour. It’s not like you must sit out the rest of the game.

3. Typically, field owners will have hundreds or even thousands of dollars of door prizes to give away. At most scheduled breaks in the action – dinner and breakfast – there will be drawings and opportunities to win free stuff like shirts, paintballs and even donated markers .

4. The cost of a Big Game is twice what playing a day of recreational games normally runs. Figure you’ll spend $50 for registration and maybe another $90 for a case of paint. That’s expensive, but the field owner has certainly hired extra referees , solicited food vendors, purchased extra field insurance, bought a permit from the county and has medics (real medics, not role-players) on hand because some poor schmoe always gets his head banged or twists an ankle in the dark.

Blue team’s bunker is strategically placed to protect their headquarters in this big game. The red team will have to advance uphill on open ground in a firestorm of paint.

While The Big Game is the occasional star attraction, most playing fields regularly offer a variety of short, objective-based games. Having different types of games keeps you from becoming bored with doing the same thing time after time. Here is a sample of some of the games offered. It’s natural that you are going to enjoy some of them more than others. If you get asked to defend the flag bunker and you just hate the fact you can’t move around and be the aggressor, just hang on anyway and do your best. Games usually only last 10 minutes and there are probably players on your team who absolutely live to play a defensive game. Learn the techniques to win in every situation and you are well on your way to joining the elite ranks of paintball.

OPEN-FIELD GAMES

Let’s talk about recreational paintball here, not professional or tournament play. Speedball and hyperball are sort of a cross between the most serious paintball play and simply filling the air with paint.

According to Steve Cranmer in New Jersey, who has played for practically 20 years and has an arsenal of paintball markers (“If we’re ever attacked by paintball-playing space aliens,” Steve says, “they’re going to be in trouble at my place.”), true speedball is played on a soccer-size field. Both halves are laid out with the exact same pattern of obstacles and bunkers. Team flags are placed at the opposite ends of the field, next to the starting gate for the opposition. The idea is that at the whistle, squads sprint from opposite ends and race to see who can bring their flag home the fastest. Obviously, this is a fast, aggressive game and it is a game for lithe legs and light, fast bodies. Probably not a game for the dads.

You will often see players with special powers or magical properties in big games. The rules will always be very clear about how they play the game and when you can shoot at them.

“In speedball,” Steve says, “you get the proper angle on your opponent and lay down paint. Hyperball involves the same concept except with big field inflatables. In Hyperball, the proper angle sometimes lets you bounce balls off the inflatables and have them break on players hiding and shooting behind them.”

Open-field games include mostly handheld flag games such as Center Flag, Advance the Flag, Capture the Flag, Easter Egg Hunt, Speedball and Double/Triple Flag Relay. These games involve players positioned in equal opposing starting positions, and movement on the field is basically unrestricted. When you play one of these games, you have the most freedom to decide when and how you are going to approach the objective. Each player’s personal tendencies of attack or defense dictate how the game progresses.

An open field game with a specific objective means it will be well defended. This newbie better get the lead out or he’ll be painted like the Sunday comics.

Open-field games usually have a specific objective to draw you and your buddies into contact at key points. Having an objective or two (as opposed to simple elimination games) increases the likelihood that everybody is going to get involved in the game and not feel that they are simply wandering around lost or assigned to a task that is not important or fun. An objective helps the referees keep track of how the game is progressing, too, so they won’t accidentally end the game just before you make a break for the flag. An objective such as a flag makes it easier for referees to keep track of everyone because sooner or later you are going to gravitate toward it.

The safety briefing before every rec game. “Listen up, troops!” Whether you are a newbie or an experienced player, this is a time to really pay attention. Recall the rules and make sure you understand the boundaries and a field’s special conditions if you have not had time to walk it.

With the exception of speedball, these games usually run from 10 to 15 minutes, regardless of the number of people playing. This keeps players who are eliminated early from having to wait for a long time before they get to play again.

In Center Flag, a single flag is placed in the middle of the field. The object is for each team to capture this flag and advance it to the opponent’s starting location. If you get shot while you have the flag in your hand, you must place the flag openly on a nearby bunker or tree. If time expires before the objective is completed, the team that captured the flag first wins. If neither team has touched the flag, the game is a draw.

When you play Capture the Flag, each team begins with a flag of the opponent’s color hanging from in their starting location. The flag is hung or stood up by the referee (who is neutral) to ensure that it is plainly visible and accessible. The objective for each team is to attempt to shoot its way to the enemy’s starting position, seize their flag and return it to their own home base. While this is going on, your team members have to protect the flag at your base. If you get shot while holding a flag, you’re out and that flag is placed in plain sight on a nearby bunker or tree. Players on the opposing team may not touch the flag they are defending at any time during the game.

Advance the Flag is similar to Capture the Flag except that each team begins with its own flag and has to advance it to the opponent’s base. It’s an important distinction! Players holding the flag are NOT required to keep it visible, but if you get shot while you are holding the flag, you must place it openly on a nearby bunker or tree. You can’t touch the opposing team’s flag at any time.

You might want to keep a referee in sight. It won’t help your team if you plant the flag squarely in your enemy’s camp and there is no referee there to signal victory!

A Double Flag Relay actually involves four flags, two of each team’s color. One of each color flag is placed on central bunkers or at known locations. The objective is for your team to capture your own flags and return them to your base, but prevent the enemy team from doing likewise. Of course, you can’t touch the enemy team’s flags. (When the number of players exceeds 15 on each side or everyone is playing particularly aggressively, the head referee can opt to put out a third set of flags to ensure a prolonged and hard-fought game.)

Whatever game you play, the average recreational field will give you a lot of looks, bunkers in every shape and size and combination of materials. Maximize whatever cover they allow and watch for targets of opportunity.

The extra cost of a big game pays for special effects and structures. A lot of paint on the tower will make these defenders keep their heads down, but attackers will have to storm the fort at great risk to themselves.

The Easter Egg Hunt involves placing three or four different colored flags on the field before the game. Each color is given a designated point value and placed according to its value. For instance, the more points a flag is worth, the closer it is usually placed to the center of the field, while lesser-value flags are place closer to the team bases for easier capture. For example, four blue flags worth one point are placed two-to-a-side near each base. Four red flags worth two points each are placed two-to-aside, but closer to the center while two yellow flags worth three points each are placed on bunkers that are sure to be hotly contested near the center of the field.

If you capture a flag, you must return it to your base and place it visibly to be counted for points. Usually, the rules say you can only carry one flag at a time. Once a flag is captured, the player who picked it up is the one who has to return it. You can’t hand off a flag to another player. If you get shot while you’re holding a flag, that flag is out of play and you have to carry it off the field. And yes, you can capture flags from the enemy’s base and return them to your own base, but only one at a time.

You get into a game of Speedball usually when a limited number of players is available, say seven or less to a team. Typically, it is a fairly basic hunt-and-shoot elimination game within specific boundaries, the object being to put paint on all your opponents before they put paint on you. It’s fast and it’s easy, and played every now and then, it’s fun!

ATTACK-AND-DEFEND GAMES

Attack-and-Defend games include any game in which one team is confined to a limited defensive area and the other team must accomplish an offensive objective within that area. These games are lots of fun and help you learn teamwork, because each team has a clearly defined role and must adjust their play accordingly. Because there are only a limited number of games in this category – of course, you can switch roles, attacking one time and defending the next – you usually won’t start a day with an Attack-and-Defend game.

Attack the Fort is a fun, simple game and a lot of paint flies through the air in 10 minutes. One team is on defense and enters the fort or a large bunker while the attacking team starts at a location out of sight of the fort and far enough away to allow for any “roamers” to disperse. One player on the attacking team is given a flag tied to a nerf-ball. The objective is for the attackers to work their way to the fort and get the flag into the tower section of the fort, while the defending team tries to prevent this from happening. Safety is a concern in this game, because a lot of close range action is to be expected toward the end of the game, especially if the attackers rush the fort. So, watch out with Attack the Fort. You’re about to mix it up!

In Attack the Fort, the attacker’s flag may be handed off to another player at any time. So, if you get shot holding the flag, you remain on the field as a neutral player, perhaps with your hand and the flag in the air (try that for 5 to 10 minutes if you think you have a lot of stamina), until one of your teammates can take it from you. (This is actually quite practical because it prevents your flag from being dropped and lost.)

Defenders begin the game in the fort and must remain there for the duration of the game with the exception of a few designated as “roamers,” usually one or maybe two players each game. Roamers are the only players on the defending team allowed to move freely outside of the fort, although they too must begin the game inside the fort. If a roaming player is eliminated, that player may not be replaced. A roamer may return to the fort anytime though (as long as they are not hit), allowing another player to become a roamer.

In The Bunny Game the “bunny” is placed on the ground against the wall of a fort or bunker, plainly visible and not blocked. Neither team may touch or move the bunny during play, because the attacking team’s goal is to assassinate the bunny by shooting it in the lens of its goggles . For 10 minutes, the defending team tries to prevent the attackers from killing the bunny. The defenders are restricted in their movements around the bunny while the attacking team begins at its base. Attackers may use the full range of the field, while the defenders must remain close to the bunny for the length of the game.

Of course, calling it “The Bunny Game” doesn’t give it much of a macho image, but this game situation is very popular both among newbies and paintball veterans.

“Hit! Hit! I’m out!” When you’re hit, raise your marker over your head, shout out that you are hit and head for the nearest exit. In a big game, you won’t sit out very long.

MULTIPLE-LIFE GAMES

This category of games includes Domination, Predator and President, and they run in semi-open-field fashion but with each side being defined as either defending or attacking. Defenders are typically limited to an area inside which they must prevent the attacking team from accomplishing an objective (similar to The Bunny Game). Beyond normal field boundaries, the attacking team is not typically restricted in its movement.

In these games, attackers are granted an additional life. This means that when an attacking player is eliminated, he may return to base and then start again, but only one time. If the same player gets mushed again, then he’s out of that game permanently. Defenders only get one life. Sorry.

The attacking team obviously has an advantage because its members have multiple lives (essentially giving them double the players), but they are playing against the clock as well as their opponent. If time expires and the attacking team has not accomplished their objective, the defenders win the game. So, shoot fast, stay low and run hard!

Domination operates on a big field with three flag stations set to the defending team’s color. The attacking team has 10 minutes to capture all three flag stations around a field. To capture a flag station, the attacking team must lower the defender’s flag and raise its own. The attacking team’s flag must be at the top of the flagpole in order for the station to be considered captured. If a player is shot while raising the flag, the flag has to remain in the position it reached when the player was eliminated. Once a flag station is captured, the defending team may not recapture it. If eliminated, attacking players must return to their home base to tag up for their second life. If time expires and any flags are not completely captured, the defending team wins.

In playing President, one player on the attacking team is designated “the president” and is marked with a special armband. The defending team is restricted to a defensive zone less than half the size of the field and is allowed to set up within that area prior to the game. Attackers or aggressors begin out of range of the defenders. The objective is for the attackers to advance their president to a point within the defensive zone without the president being eliminated. The defending team must simply prevent this from happening in the allotted time.

For this game, just like in real life, the president only gets one life. If the president is eliminated, it’s all over. If any other attacking player is eliminated, he may tag up at the starting base for a second life.

Predator is unlike other games of this category as time should not be a constraint. Essentially, Predator involves the bulk of the players as humans (with armbands) against a small group of elites known as predators. Predators are allowed to position themselves secretly on the field (under the supervision of a referee) prior to a game.

In this game, the predators have two lives. If a predator is shot, he must tag up at base before returning to play. When a human is shot, that player must return to a different designated area, but then may remove his armband and continue playing as a predator (basically they switch teams). The game continues until all the predators have been eliminated or all the humans have become predators. The game of Predator is typically allowed an extended time limit (15 to 20 minutes instead of 10) because all players have multiple lives.

(Attention predators. Get ready to catch paint. Usually, a lot of paint. So be sure to stay very cool. And if you are the last human surrounded by predators, get low and get invisible or get ready to go home a different color!)

The sniper rises silently from the bushes wearing his Ghillie suit from Rancho Safari. He has pre-chambered a round and removed his hopper to reduce his silhouette. He sights through his scope. All he needs is one killing shot, perhaps two in quick succession, to take out a high-value target before disappearing into the brush.

THE PAINTBALL SNIPER

If paintball were only a fancy and expensive game of tag, it would not have wrapped so much of its personality into the sniper mystique. The one shot, one kill sniper. The lone gunman. The high plains drifter. Clint Eastwood, Tom Berenger watch out!

We believe that paintball is more than a game of tag. We believe that it is a way for players to expand their imagination to impossible situations and to become, for a brief time, more than they are in daily life as students and accountants, as kids with parents who boss them around or as parents with bills who boss them around. Maybe that is why the idea of being a sniper is so appealing.

One thing is certain. Wherever you go to play recreational paintball, whether it is to the famous EMR Paintball field’s biggest scenario game or just to your local field for a Saturday afternoon butt-kicking with your buddies, everybody understands (in a general way) and accepts someone who is a sniper.

This is the “Sniper Creed” from www.paintballzone.com, one of the Internet’s most informative sites about paintball snipers:

I am a Paintball Sniper

No paintball player is more professional than I. I am among the elite. I revel in the thrill of the game. I accept nothing less than victory.

A single shot is all I need. I will strive to remain technically and tactically proficient in my craft. I will know paintball and I will make myself available to others to provide help or advice if needed.

No one is more dedicated to the game than I. I take great pride in my position and will at all times conduct myself to bring credit to my sport.

I will take no action to bring disgrace upon my sport of paintball. Never shall I wipe paint or turn a blind eye if another should do likewise.

I will never forget that I am a professional . That I am the best of the best. A predator among prey. I am a paintball sniper. I am an army … of one.

The AM-4 Custom from Action Markers gives you the look and feel of a real military sniper with a low-profile 15-round feed tube and a collapsible butt stock.

SNIPER TACTICS

A paintball sniper has to move in the shadows and off the beaten track, but why waste your time and energy until you are nearing the objective? Move quickly at first, then you may want to slide away from any action, any group and ease off to the side to look for an alternate path. There is certainly no need to crawl when you don’t have to – getting down on your hands and knees isn’t at all easy when you are older than an infant – but instead, move casually. Slump or crouch. Slouch! Forget what your mom said about standing up straight.

SNIPER SCHOOL

(By Carson “Squeegie” Jenkins and courtesy of www.paintballzone.com)

The flag hung from the pole slightly peppered with spray. The mad push to take the fort and the most valued prize had proved futile so far, costing many players and several hundred rounds. As their base security peered through the walls of the bunker, all seemed clear.

Inching my way through the thick palmettos that have concealed my movement, I bring my marker up to take a quick look around. I am careful not to angle the scope into the sun so that it glares, and I stay low in the shade of the jungle foliage. Nearly stepping on me, a ref makes his way through the tangled maze of palm fronds and knee high grass.

As I scan the surrounding area, a pair of eyes beaming through a set of goggles catches my attention. His attention is drawn to his two teammates running perimeter defense. TOTAL COVER. When the guy who was hit turns around to stare in your direction, you want him to see absolutely nothing.

Even more important, though, is moving slowly without jerky head, hand and marker movements. Experienced LRPs (Long Range Patrols) from Viet Nam and big-game hunters know that you can get away with some movement if you are not directly in your quarry’s field of view or if there are not a dozen people searching for you. Your movements need to be controlled, silky smooth and not exaggerated.

Most humans have forgotten how to move stealthily through the woods and over the fields, if indeed we ever knew it. Watch where you put your feet and what branches and sticks are around you. Overhanging branches are a sure give-away. If you make an unexpected movement or a misstep, freeze. The chances are that if someone was watching and they notice movement, they will lose your spot if you don’t reinforce their suspicions. Sink to the ground, wait and watch. After a minute or two, you can resume movement or look for a place that will cover you from enemy fire while you scope out the situation.

The paintball sniper is a romantic figure. Stealthy. Alone. One shot, one kill.

When you are ready to fire, the first rule actually is to wait. Be patient. That’s not a misprint. Now you want to be even more patient than you have been moving into position. It is better to wait and take out a general or executive officer than it is one of the privates patrolling the boundary, because if you take out the leadership, the other side can become temporarily leaderless and directionless. temporarily leaderless and directionless. Look for people giving instructions, the person on the phone or pointing and then find a firing position with a field of fire that is unobstructed. It only takes a tiny twig to deflect a paintball, and if all you have to shoot at is a narrow slit in some bunker, your chance of making the shot is questionable unless you have practiced and can shoot with confidence.

Finally, remember that the other team will have snipers, too, maybe several. If they are smart, they will have flanking defenders who are well concealed and are looking for you. The hunter becomes the hunted. A riddle wrapped in an enigma. As a sniper, you are only equipped to take on one other individual at a time. You are thinking “one shot, one kill,” but they are going to light you up, fill the air with balls, and if that happens, you’re toast. If there are three or four and you are in their way and you decide to take out the point man, you’re toast. Shoot them in the back and you may take out several. Attack from the front and you will get one before you become … toast.

According to our friend Squeegee, firing your first round from a hidden position at the side or back of the competition takes a lot of discipline. You have to train your brain to fire only ONE SHOT. After that shot has landed, you want to reevaluate the area before you make the choice to fire again. With every round fired, you make it easier for the enemy to locate you. Take high percentage shots. Squeegee writes that you should fire only when you have a 90 percent chance of making a hit, but many experienced snipers talk about a 100 percent chance!

The average rec player contrasted with a well-dressed sniper behind him. Soft, absorbent, multi-layer camo breaks up your outline and helps you blend into your surroundings. Plus, if you are discovered by the enemy, this three-dimensional camo helps absorb the sting of a thousand balls of paint that will immediately be sizzling toward you.

And you don’t need to bunker players; they will bunker themselves. With the indiscriminate round coming in from a location no one can quite pinpoint, everyone thinks they are going to be the next target to be taken out. You are in their backyard. The little bunker that was keeping them safely in the game just minutes before suddenly becomes their coffin.

“All that fuss about one little paintball,” Squeegee says.

The Sportsman’s Guide offers a paintball Sniper Suit (YSPG2-68716) for just $69.97. This combat-ready suit comes fully assembled and covers your face, upper arms, head, chest and back for a whole lot of concealment for your money. The mesh area around your eyes allows you to wear it over your paintball goggles . This suit includes an extra pound of burlap in five colors so that you can tailor it to your exact environment and vegetation. Includes a fire retardant application and weighs just 3.5 pounds.

FREQUENTLY ASKED SNIPER QUESTIONS

Question: “Would an elevated firing position work for a sniper?”

Paintball Digest: According to our friends who are snipers, this works for a military sniper because he has a phenomenally accurate weapon and can shoot for hundreds of yards – maybe a mile – and for hunters because deer so rarely look up. But it isn’t a good idea in paintball because the higher you get the less cover there typically is, and once you are spotted, getting down without being shot all to hell will be a bit of a problem.

Plus, even our very best markers just aren’t all that accurate. To hit our targets, we need them to be close. Add in the problem of shooting down at an angle and the safety issue of falling and … well, most experienced snipers believe that being lower to the ground is infinitely better than being on top of something or even on a treestand (unless after one or two shots your objective is to be a human sacrifice).

Could this $600.00 MSRP Worr Games Flatline Auto-cocker be the ultimate sniper weapon? It’s a closed-bolt, pneumatic system with the curved Tippmann Flatline barrel that puts backspin on the ball for stability in flight. WGP equips it with a shroud on top so that you can sight along a straight plane.

Question: “Do they use snipers in tournaments or in competition?”

Paintball Digest: No. The emphasis in tournaments is to blast paint, run and gun. This runs 180 degrees opposite to the sniper philosophy of “one man, one shot.” Plus, competition is timed and snipers need plenty of time to work out their shtick.

Question: “Do snipers ever operate in teams?”

Paintball Digest: Yes, and this helps put some of the teamwork and fun of working with people back in the game for a sniper. You and your sniper accomplice will want to practice working together, practice communicating with hand signals, practice the leapfrog approach and retreat, and practice covering each other. This is fun and can be a deadly tactic to use on the opposition, but a two-person team (even a three-man team) is two or three times as much movement and possibility for error, too.

Question: “I’ve heard that some snipers always carry grenades. What do you think?”

Paintball Digest: That’s true, and it is an excellent idea. Tossing a grenade can help cover your escape after you shoot. Chances are that if you are on assignment in a scenario game, the target you are trying to take out will be of relatively greater game value than you are. Sorry, but it’s true. Get close enough to shoot their general and the people around him (or her!) will be surprised and ticked. You should expect to be hit right away (and they will call you names, too), but just in case you are not hit, toss a grenade to create maximum confusion and have your sniper partner (if any) distract the opposition with plenty of fire. You move out on your designated escape route.

Question: “Can I put a silencer on my marker?”

Paintball Digest: Yes, and we support almost any effort by a paintball sniper to remain silent and unobserved, but is not something we can advise you on since the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regulates silencers rather severely. You can imagine why. Almost anything that will silence a paintball marker will have noise reduction abilities on regular firearms. As we recall, silencers worked best at very short range and with small-bore weapons like 22-caliber centerfire pistols.

Question: “I have heard snipers referred to as ‘campers,’ implying that they don’t really do all that much. What’s the truth?”

Paintball Digest: The people who are talking about snipers this way have either not met a real one or were just taken out by one! We think the difference is that a “camper” is a player who “camps out” at a bunker and really doesn’t move much, just waits for the enemy to come to him to get involved in a shoot-out. A sniper is an active individual on the field who uses stealth and concealment to his advantage. A sniper is probably a very good paintball player who has found a role that he likes and finds challenging. A sniper is a person who has taken the “one shot, one kill” philosophy to heart rather than buying into the conventional wisdom that says the more paint you fling and the faster you shoot the better. In this sense, a sniper is to the average recreational player as a fly fisherman is to commercial fishermen or the bowhunter is to the rifleman. A bit more refined.