War Is Hell! Paintball Scenario Game

War Is Hell!

Paintball Scenario Game

by Chad Ison

It was a brisk Sunday morning. The ground was damp from a rain that had fallen the night before. Everywhere you looked throughout the forest there were hundreds of people dressed in camouflage clothing mulling around preparing themselves for the day. The air was thick with anticipation of what lay ahead. There was going to be a battle soon - a battle between the gray army and red army. Nobody knew exactly how this conflict got started. The orders were simple; guard your fort from opposing forces and try to take as many bunkers as possible by the end of the day. Sure there would be casualties, but casualties are a part of war.

Men and women prepared their weapons, loading each one carefully. A few were packing their packs with grenades. This was going to be a full, frontal assault. The goal was to rush to the open field, take the bunkers and hold them. Word came from the gray general that the battle would begin at eleven-hundred hours.

I spoke to three guys dressed in ghille suits (special camouflage suits developed to conceal snipers). Their mission was to defend the fort from the opposing team; to hide and take their opponent out when the opportunity became available. One person told us his suit concealed him so well that he's had people walk within 20 feet of him and never knew what hit them. It was easy to see how these individuals could blend in with the environment and never be seen.

General Jack Thornhill motioned to his gray army troops and they slowly marched into the woods. It wasn't long before we stopped and waited for the signal to attack. Nobody knew who made the first move...one minute it was quiet, and the next, hundreds of people were running and screaming towards the open field. Shots were ringing out everywhere. As an observer I had never seen anything like it before. It was like a scene from "Braveheart" with both armies rushing head-on into each other and battling while they ran.

I ducked for cover behind a barricade in the opening and readied my camera to capture the action. Shots could be heard whizzing past my head. If I wasn't careful, I might be one of those unlucky ones to get hit and be put out of the action. All around me people were rushing to bunkers. Some crouched down and gave cover shots, while others dived into the bunker to gain control. One minute the gray army would control a bunker, then a red soldier would rush up, toss in a grenade and regain control. How this battle would end would be anyone's guess.

No, this wasn't a scene from "Saving Private Ryan" or "A Thin Red Line," but a scenario paintball game that was hosted by Conder's Paintball, Tippmann Pneumatics and South Carolina National Paintball. The battle was held at Conder's Paintball Field located about five miles outside Elizabethtown, KY.

Players of all ages (10 and up) and skill levels had a great day of fun and entertainment on Sunday, February 27. The staff of Extremz was on hand to capture the moment and talk with the individuals responsible for the event. During a break in the action, I spoke with Gary Sloan, the general for the red army and special event's director for Conder's Paintball. Gary told us that the game, which was called "The Battle for Argun Gorge," was a scenario game that utilized paintball markers (pump and semi-automatic) and paintball grenades. "The object of the game is to have fun," Gary said, "and maybe bragging rights for whichever team that wins at the end of the day."

Over 222 people signed up for the event and were divided evenly into two teams - the red army and gray army. Men and women of all skill levels, from beginner to professional, were on hand for the event. The battle was held on 120 acres of woods and open fields. The object of the game was to attack and gain control of eight flag stations. Soldiers would take control of a bunker or fort and raise their team's colored flag. The opposing team would try to force their opponent back, overtake the bunker and raise their flag. Flag stations were checked every 30 minutes - whoever was in control at the time of the check would gain points. The team with the highest points at the end of the day was the winner. Teams could also gain points from obtaining ammo boxes. However, some were booby-trapped. Points were also awarded for completing missions and for shooting high-ranking officers.

If you were shot, you walked off the field and waited for five members of your team to be eliminated and join you before going back into the action. The only steadfast rule was NO WIPING! If a player was caught wiping off the other team's paint shot, his name was written on a chalkboard and he was introduced to the entire audience as a "WIPER!"

Brad Stewart, an engineer for Tippmann Pneumatics, was on hand with his wife Roxane and 10-year-old daughter Ivy. All played in the game...the first half with the gray army and the second half with the red. Brad told us this was Ivy's first time for playing paintball in a big game. "She's played before, but she was a bit hesitant to play in a big game with so many paintballs flying," Brad said. "But she decided she was going to tough it out and she's been doing fine." Of course they were all sporting the Tippmann 98 with flatline barrels.

Brad brought a few toys along for people to see and for him to use occasionally. The best was the "Hell Hound" - a 4-wheel, caged, miniature buggy that had a built-in grenade launcher and fully automatic paintball gatlin gun. The vehicle held two people who could drive around and create all kinds of paintball destruction. Brad told us the gatlin gun was fed from a storage box built into the roof of the vehicle that held 6,000 rounds of paintballs. The gun fires 2,000 rounds per minute on slow speed and approximately 6,000 rounds per minute on fast. They didn't have the ammo box loaded because the field restricted any type of automatic weapon. However, Brad fired the unloaded gatlin gun for us, which brought quite a few people around when they heard the distinctive sound. It was quite impressive.

Two other toys he had were the Howitzer paint cannon and pneumatic paintball shotgun. The cannon, which looked like a mini-me version of the original cannon, fired a nine-inch shell loaded with paint high into the air and splattered upon impact. The shotgun fired shells loaded with twelve paintballs in each shot. Brad was the envy of everyone there when he brought these toys out to play.

"This event was very successful," said Dennis and Beverly Conder, co-owners of Conder's Paintball." "It's the largest number of people we've ever had for a game, but none of it would have been possible without the assistance of all the people that volunteered to help. They made it all come together and run so smoothly."

The volunteers assisted in registering players, selling paint, and as referees, cooks, food vendors, score keepers and much more. They all deserved a big round of applause.

Door prizes were drawn at the end of the day. Prizes included Tippmann paintball guns, flatline barrels, harnesses, T-shirts, paintballs, squeegees, kneepads and more.

As far as which team won? It depends on which team member you talk to. I don't know if anyone can really say for sure. The only thing I know is that they'll probably all be back again on April 2 when Conder's Paintball, Tippmann Pneumatics and South Carolina Paintball will be hosting another battle. And for me...I think next time I'll be right in the thick of the battle and let someone else take the pictures!

If you're interested in signing up for the April 2 event contact Conder's Paintball at (270)765-4517. Tell them you saw it in Extremz!