Your First Big Game, Part 2

By Jamie Innes - August 10, 2006



Section 4: Organising meals

When planning meals, you should be thinking quick, easy to prepare, and simple. Remember;- just because your physical exhertion levels are higher over the weekend, this doesn't mean your dietary needs are radically changed. You still need all 3 basic components, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

What I am getting at here, is to give some forethough as to what food you are going to buy, as to avoid buying the wrong types of food to sustain you over a weekend. For example;- eating nothing but chocolate bars and drinking nothing but coca cola, and combining that with a whole day's physical exhertion (paintball), is ultimately going to make you dehydrated, agitated, and give you a headache.

You want to structure your meals according to 3 basic criteria...

1.  Things that can be eaten cold, without utensils, as snacks or makeshift meals
2.  Hot meals, eaten with utensils, that require cooking
3.  Fast food can of course be bought, but it's expensive, unhealthy, and impractical to rely on it. Some fields are 'way out in the sticks',  where the nearest dairy is a 15 minute drive away.

So, figure out foods you like for categories 1 and 2. And when you arrive at the city of the big game, do your shopping, or do it prior to travelling. Here are some hints and tips to get you started;-

• Fruit is an ideal snack. It provides energy, does not require refridgeration or heating, is relatively cheap, and is biodegradable.
• If you opt for purchasing bread, remember it stays fresh for 1 day, and by the second day, is stale, and only good for toast. Do not buy a lot of bread at once.
• Put together a utensils and cookware kit, which consists of knives, forks, cups, plates, bowls etc, and keep it all together. perhaps inside a plastic storage container. This is the stuff you will need to access when 'eating in'.
• Noodles and pasta are convenient hot meals. Just add hot water, and eat. However, since they are carbohydrate, they are not very filling, you also need protein.
• Purchase meat that will not become rotten in a short period of time (ie- salami, sausages). The rules for preserving meat are;- keep it cool, clean, covered. If you can't do all these things, then do as many as you can. Food poisoning is no joke. Meat needs to be preserved (or eaten) before bacteria count gets too high, as it is constantly degrading unless frozen at extremely low temperatures.

Section 5: Arriving at your accomodation

After purchasing food, sorting out accomodation should be the next thing you do. The worst thing you can do would be go to the field, play paintball, then go find your accomodation 8pm at night, in your camos, covered in dirt and paint... only to discover the reception is closed. Trust me, this sort of thing can and will happen if you don't organise things properly.

Find where you are staying. If you have prepared well, you will already know...

• The address of your accomodation
• Phone number
• Cost per night
• What facilities they have

And you will have already made a reservation. Now the next part of this is common sense, whether it's a backpackers, motel, lodge, or campsite... exerise considerable discretion whilst handling and moving paintball gear. If it's in a bag, no problem. But when you start assembling paintball guns for all to see, especially realistic looking ones... you just might end up with some little old lady calling the police, and within a matter of minutes, the AOS pays you a visit. Think I'm kidding? think again. Air guns and the general public don't mix. Keep your equipment out of sight.

Give yourself enough time to get the layout of the accomodation before you head off to the field. Particularly if it's a motorcamp or lodge type facility. Find out where all the toilets, showers, washing machines and kitchen are. This way you'll know incase certain facilities are closed/locked up at a certain time.



Section 6: Arriving at the field

After buying food, and checking into your accomodation (You may have needed to store some gear there, such as sleeping bag or clothes), head to the field. Do not arrive at the last minute. Be there as early as is practical. In some cases you will be able to 'walk the fields' before the games start, or alternatively... it may mean less waiting around if you get there before everybody else. Big games usually have a lot of players, but only a few organisers. And before the game, those organisers are busy doing the following...

• Filling people's tanks
• Selling people paint
• Taking registration money/details
• Giving out any items players need, ie- armbands, maps, ID cards
• Briefing players as to game rules and format

All this takes time. Do yourself a favour, get in early, get this stuff done, and then you can get your gear ready, and be ready to go at the drop of a hat. Oh, and yes... it'll happen, somebody ALWAYS holds things up. Things like...

• Chrono not working, broken or battery dead
• People's guns shooting hot, sometimes they don't know how to adjust them
• People's guns malfunction/don't fire, again... people not knowing how to operate and maintain them
• Not enough gas or paint, players held up while field op goes and raids the backup stash

Section 7: Playing the games

I could write a series of detailed essays on this section, since it encompasses everything... tactics, camouflage, fieldcraft, equipment, and so on. However, when the time comes to play the game... You should have already done your homework. Or if you haven't... you can do some of it while on the field. Here are the things I am talking about, in no particular order.

• The makeup of your team, and the other team. Look to see what sort of players are on each team. Are they speedballers? are they bushballers? are they novices? or do they have all-the-gear, perhaps suggesting they are very experienced?. Are some of them already organised into thier own squads or teams? Do some of them already have a battle plan they are discussing?

• Terrain. An essential component of playing at a new field, or a field you have not played at often, is knowing the terrain. Know the terrain, and you know the advantages. Either pre-game, or mid-game, study the field. Where can you see hills, depressions, solid cover, bunkers, soft cover... bushes and leaves, where could players be hiding? which boundaries would be easiest to flank? Be sure to study the field map if you are provided with one.

• Objectives. Pay attention during briefings as to what the objective actually is. Often at big games, there will be specific objective... attack the fort, defend the fort, capture a flag, find a hidden item. Big games are always more focused than standard capture the flag games. If you play the game as you normally would, instead of trying to achieve the objectives... you won't be playing to your potential.

• Do not go 'lone wolf' unless you are told to do so, or know from experience it is the best thing to do. Teamwork is more important than ever at a big game, people come to play... and they play to win. Find a player(s) you already know, or are comfortable working with, and function as a squad member, or squad leader.

Section 8: Packing up and heading home

So you reach the end of the games, and they are clearly over. Do not dawdle when it comes time to packing up your gear. Sometimes it may be getting dark, so you cannot see all your gear very well. Or you may forget to pack something if you leave it till the last minute. Pack away your gear soon after games have ceased, it also helps prevent equipment theft from dishonest players.

Do not worry about thoroughly cleaning your gear before packing it away. Sure, give the barrel a swab, and the mask a wipe, but comprehensive cleaning should be avoided until you get home, or back to your accomodation. Comprehensive cleaning requires time, and cleaning products... which you probably won't have with you at the field.

Do not leave litter at the field, or at the accomodation. Get a supermarket bag and gather together all the chip packets, apple cores, and 500 round paint bags... and dispose of them properly. Nothing is more infuriating to field ops and motel owners, than when people leave a lot of rubbish behind.

Lastly, be sure you have enough time for the drive home. Get home before it gets dark if possible. Or, if possible, stay another night if the drive is long, and the driver is tired. It always feels better driving home when refreshed, instead of being exhausted.