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Re: Age and Complexity

From: Tony Christney <acc@u...>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 18:53:26 -0800
Subject: Re: Age and Complexity

>> Paintball is not wargaming. It is a sport. We're trying very hard to
>> erase any warlike imagery, but for the general public guns+shooting
>> at each other equals war. Sigh...
>
>know that the paintball gun has different behaviours, you can't
>really be killed, and the tactics you learn in paintball might well
>be suicide in a real engagement. Now, some stuff you learn is useful
>too - take cover, aim, if you are exposed MOVE!, support each other,
>etc - is valid. Cover from a paintball might well be permeable to
>7.62N or 5.56N however..... so the Team Coach for West Point makes a
>point to bring these differences out.

Having only played paintball 3 times, I have to say that it is easily
the most exciting, fun, and frightening sport I have ever played.

My first time out I probably got hit as many times as I hit someone
else. I had some of the basics down, but tended to make poor
decisions about choosing terrain. I also spent too much time trying to
find a good place to set myself up in an impregnable position. It did
teach me that there is no such word as impregnable...

The second time out I did much much better. I kept moving all the time,
kept low and crouched, ran so hard I could hardly walk for days. My
cyclist friends and I just annihilated a team of guys in the Canadian
militia (weekend warriors I believe they are called...). In the first
battle I managed to take out 12 of the "enemy" (out of 20). This
continued for the first half of the day until I became a "marked man".
After that the other side spent about as much time looking for me as
they did trying to capture our flag ;).

The third time I spent far more time trying to coordinate efforts, and
realized why the military invests so much time in discipline.

Sorry about the ramble but it does tie in to wargaming. If you like
miniature battles and RPGs, you really should try paintballing
at least once. You won't regret it (except while trying to negotiate
stairs the following day - don't say I didn't warn you...).

Tony.

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