"Gunslingers: The Wild West"
Saturday,
April 29, 2006 began with a crisp spring morning yielding a
perfect seventy-degree spring day with clear blue skies - perfect
for "Gunslingers: The Wild West," Mission Paintball
event. Everything at Three Rivers Paintball of Freedom, PA,
was ready for a "Wild West" day. The only thing missing
was a set of swinging bar room doors into the Pro Shop. The
playing field was complete with a stagecoach, Boot Hill, two
gold mines, and a gallows-equipped jail. Other interesting playing
areas included the Lone Star Saloon, A Wells Fargo Bank, and
the Bar-X-Bar Ranch. The player pavilions were decorated with
field maps, wanted posters, and some Dodge City history. The
"Road Kill-Café" was set up to serve hot food,
snacks, and cold beverages for the day. The "Good, The
Bad, and The Ugly Theme" could be heard in the distance,
somewhere in the middle of the wooded playing field.
Guests began
to arrive, some sporting themed hats and clothing to boost the
overall experience. It was the first Mission Paintball event
of 2006, and excited fans were ready for action. The game started
with a showdown in front of the Gallows Jail. One player was
elected from each team to participate. At the signal, these
players would turn and pick up their marker and fire a single
shot at their opponent about thirty yards away. A hit would
earn their team bonus points - too bad they both missed!
The real
action was underway as the Outlaws tried to acquire a gold mine
map from Boot Hill, while the Sheriffs were seeking to escort
three Pony Express riders to an outpost. Oh, and by the way,
the Pony Express Riders were given stick horses to ride and
canvas mail bags to carry. It was a stalemate as both teams
used the same strategy to "run the sidelines." Only
the Outlaws scored for eliminating one of the Pony Express Riders.
The next
mission was a race to the gold mines. The Outlaws formed a strategy
to flank the Sheriffs from behind once the race was on. But
the Sheriffs had a better idea. They moved their whole team
downfield and sent their fastest runners first, arriving at
both gold mines before the Outlaws. The Outlaws did, however,
force the opposition away before all the damage was done. They
were able to salvage only four gold nuggets while the lawmen
recovered sixteen.
Now it was
time for a good ol' fashioned stagecoach holdup. The Outlaws
arrived at the stagecoach first, and lightened its load by escaping
with two crates of gold and a crate of TNT. The other part of
this mission was to round up escaped horses. The Outlaws nabbed
five of eight horses for a nice addition to their score. Unfortunately,
the Sheriffs turned up empty-handed this round.
What's a
western without a jail break? Well, in this case there were
three to choose from. Trouble for the Sheriffs was they wouldn't
know which one would be the primary target. They needed to split
their defensive forces and determine the target jail when the
action was underway. Those sneaky Outlaws would have the upper
hand for strategy here. They spread across the field giving
no hint to the Sheriffs for which Jail to fortify. Despite the
odds, the law put up a good line of defense. In the last remaining
minutes of the mission, a trail of smoke revealed the Outlaws'
successful jail breach. They were unable to break the other
two jails protected by the stiff defense of the law. At the
half, the Sheriffs had earned only a third of points that the
Outlaws stole away. The second half was going to be interesting.
After the
mid-day break, and a belly full of "road kill" from
the Road Kill Café, play resumed with both teams bounty
hunting for fugitives. Both teams succeeded and returned their
fugitive to a jail earning points. The Outlaws reached the Gallows
Jail first and lynched a Sheriff but were unable to hold their
ground for the duration of time. The law swept in for the remaining
moments and promptly removed the Sheriff and lynched an Outlaw.
Don't worry - these weren't actual lynchings - only dummies
were used!
"What
about a wild west bank robbery?," you ask. Now we're talkin'.
The Outlaws staged a diversion by holding three dance hall girls
captive at the Lone Star Saloon. The Sheriffs were not fooled
and maintained a strong defensive arc around the Wells Fargo
Bank. The firefight was intense across the width of the field
as the Outlaws tried to force their way into the Bank. The efforts
of the law saved the Bank while the dance hall girls were at
the mercy of the bandits and lawless drifters. They were ugly
anyway - dummies with Halloween masks served as the girls. Reckon
it might be different if the Mission Masters Girls were there
instead.
Okay, there's
only one kind of western robbery left - TRAINS! There were two
trains, er… vans… for lack of actually having trains
on the playing field. One would be hauling gold while the other
was hauling supplies. Neither team knew which was which when
the mission started. There were some great firefights over these
trains, but again, the law was able to prevent the bandits from
getting any booty. Now the Sheriffs score surpassed the Outlaws
by a mere twenty-seven points. The final mission was at hand
with thirty points up for grabs. And there were bonus points
to be gained as well.
The final
mission was titled "Get Outta Dodge." Simply put,
the Outlaws had to defend their hideout, "Robber's Roost,"
from the law who threatened to run them out of Dodge City. If
their flag was captured it was game over - Sheriffs win - even
bonus points wouldn't help. The hideout was situated in a valley
oriented with the width of the field and a narrow creek meandered
through the bottom. In the center of the ridge top was the Lone
Star Saloon and each side boundary included a ravine leading
into the valley. The Sheriffs assaulted the valley from this
ridge. It was a great battle to behold indeed! The battles got
more extreme as the teams clashed. Doctors were busy patching
up the wounded with their limited number of "aid bandages,"
which I'm sure they ran out of before half the mission was over.
In the end, the Sheriffs succeeded in breaching Robbers Roost,
but did not capture the flag. The final score: Outlaws 129,
and Sheriffs 126 - a cliffhanger until the end! Prizes and giveaways
following the event included paintball gear, cases of paintballs,
western DVD's, tee shirts and straw cowboy hats. Yippe-ki-yay!
~ Dean "CUDA"
Allen
