SPLATMANDU’S JUNE SCENARIO SUNDAY

RULES AND REGULATIONS

CODE OF CONDUCT: 1. I will not wipe paint.

2. I will follow the rules of the game and accept the referee’s decision as final.

3. I will treat every paint gun as if it  were loaded, and follow the rules of safe paint gun handling.

4. I will keep my mask on while a game is in progress.

5. I will not deliberately make aggressive physical contact with another person; I will be polite and respectful to others.

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INTO THE DARKNESS 2013 – JUNE SCENARIO OUTLINE

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ONE “BIG GAME” FIELD (boundaries are twined)

GAME TIME:   - 90 Minutes MAX game time­ -

BRIEFING STARTS AT 1:00pm. Those players who do not attend the briefing at 1:00pm will have to sit out of the game.

BLACK TEAM

   AND

RED TEAM:    Arm bands to be worn on both arms of each player. (Captain and Co-Captain to additionally wear team tunic.)

LIMITED

PAINT:   Players are limited to the amount of paint they can carry onto the field as follows:

         1 Hopper and 2 Pods: Full Loader Play.

Players who run out of paint can receive paint from a living teammate during game play. Players can also return to the NEUTRAL ZONE at any time to restock their paint/gas.

RULES:   Paint and/or equipment can be passed to a teammate by a living player. 

         “DEAD MEN” do not pass paint/guns, etc.

         “DEAD MEN” do not talk.

When a player is eliminated, the player must report to the NEUTRAL ZONE. While in the NEUTRAL ZONE, wipe off all paint from clothes/gun (so that you are not called out on old paint.) Re-supply paintballs/gas. Be prepared to re-chrono your gun.

RE-ENTRY:Players will be reinserted into the game directly from the NEUTRAL ZONE out either side of the Chrono alley. During REENTRY, players are not targets. During REENTRY, players cannot fire their gun until a safe distance from the NEUTRAL ZONE. AMY the NEUTRAL ZONE REFEREE will be available for questions.

* Since the RED team won the May post-game mini game, Captain John of the BLACK team must play without a gun/weapon for the first 30 minutes of the game. He is allowed to carry paint however.

BOMB RUN: Located at each Team’s HOME BASE is a BOMB. At the start of the game, teams must move their BOMB to the ARMING STATION located in SPLAT CITY.

HOME BASES* : Raccoon Corner - BLACK TEAM

              West Nile Pond - RED TEAM

* since John of the BLACK team won May’s scenario, he decided which side of the NEUTRAL ZONE to re-insert from, which also determined each team’s HOME BASE  

·        Each Captain must start the game with the BOMB and keep it until eliminated by the opposing team.

·        The BOMB must be placed in the ARMING STATION and the POLE LEVER must be showing your team color before the STATION timer starts.

·        Once a team has held the BOMB in the ARMING STATION for FIVE CONSECUTIVE MINUTES your BOMB will be armed by a referee.

·        The armed BOMB must then be planted at the opposing team’s HOME BASE with the POLE LEVER showing your team color to start the countdown timer.

·        The first team to blow up the other team’s HOME BASE by holding it for THREE CONSECUTIVE MINUTES is declared the winner (unless time runs out first).

·        If you are eliminated you must drop the BOMB.

·        You cannot touch (disturb/ adjust/ handle/ shift/ move/ pick up/ contact/ etc.) the other team’s bomb in any way.

NOTE: Once the BOMB is placed in either the ARMING STATION or opposing HOME BASE, time will continue to run unless the POLE LEVER is changed to the opposing team’s color

* AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE GAME A MINI GAME WILL BE HELD USING LIMITED NUMBERS: THE WINNING CAPTAIN OF THIS GAME WILL BE ABLE TO SET CERTAIN PARAMETERS FOR NEXT MONTH’S GAME

Ten years after the battle of Knights vs. Darkness, the newly-formed Black Knights have discovered a terrifying truth… the Darkness is planning another return, bringing with it the Evil Hordes to decimate the kingdom that they are still trying to rebuild. To stave off this enormous force, the Knights have found a way to attempt to stop the Hordes for good… by taking the battle to them - on their home turf.

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The air was thick with death and destruction after the last great battle between the Darkness and the Knights of the Painted Orb. The Oracle, the greatest ally to the Knights, had summoned all the strength she had to aid the Knights in their last-ditch effort to save their lands from the evil Hordes. She knew the only way to defeat the Gatekeeper was to take her own essence and combine with that of the Dragon’s Orb… the one object powerful enough to banish the Gatekeeper back to his vessel. Entrusted with the Golden Orb, Sir Eric of the Knights defeated the Gatekeeper by hurling the orb at the Demon, returning him to his prison. Sir Nate, the leader of the Knights, chose to sacrifice himself in exchange for the lives of his men and lands by disappearing into the forest with the Gatekeeper’s vessel, after charging his second in command, Sir John, to rule over the kingdom.

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Ten years have past since the invasion. Rebuilding the kingdom of the Knights has been difficult. Many Knights have since moved on, choosing to start new in different lands; forever changed by the horrible events of the past. Those that remained have been carefully studying the events leading up to the last attack, determined to never let themselves fall prey to the Darkness again. Sir John and the remaining Knights have realigned themselves with the Mystics, learning their secrets and forming a powerful alliance.

Symbolized by a Dragon protecting the Golden Orb, a new order of Knights was formed, those of the Black Knights. It was foretold by the Mystics that on the rising of the 13^th year, the Darkness would amass another great army to once again attempt to seize control of the lands, pillaging it of all resources and decimating all living souls in their path. The Knights know they are not strong enough to defeat the Darkness so soon. So much is still destroyed. There are few soldiers, and fewer resources.

After convening with the counsel, a Mystic known only as “the Designer” taught Sir John of the powers of the Portal Cube. Using its power along with the Designers’ protection, the Knights amassed a small force to venture into the Darkness to try and stop the evil Hordes before they have the resources to return.

Upon opening the Portal Cube, the Knights were thrust into a dark, desolate landscape. Very little vegetation, barren trees and dried earth surrounded them. Summoned by a great horn, the Designer dropped supplies and advanced weaponry from another world with exact precision across the forest floor at precise intervals, each signaled by another horn blast from the heavens. The landscape was so desolate; it seemed that the land was all but abandoned. Maybe the Hordes had moved on to other lands themselves…

After the second horn blast the Knights learned otherwise. Coming up from the earth itself, the evil Hordes arose like a thick smog, covering the forest floor and growing in intensity until battle erupted. Out of the smog emerged a man, or what appeared to be a man. The forest seemed to whisper his name as he approached… T. He walked without care, without thought, straight through battle lines, his cold, lifeless eyes staring down his enemy. The red-cloaked creature commanded the Hordes, systematically attacking the supply areas. Slowly at first, then more and more intensely. Many supplies were lost and even more lives. The Knights battled the Hordes, scrambling to unwrap and use whatever weapons the Designer had bestowed upon them.

Sir John unwrapped a crate labeled “Air Strike” and calling upon the Designer, other-worldly bombs fell from the skies, clearing the surrounding area of the Horde in a flash of light.  This allowed for valuable minutes to pass in order to collect more supplies. Another package was left, this time calling for a Freeze. At Sir John’s demand, the Designer froze the landscape solid, holding the creature known as T still in place.

During the onslaught, Knights quickly moved supplies and weaponry into piles, protecting them and pushing the Hordes back. It appeared that the Hordes were also stealing the supplies and pulling them underground before the Knights could seize them, but for what purpose? Then as the horn sounded for the ninth time, the Hordes were gone in a flash. Back underground.

The Knights collected their supplies, set up camp and set a perimeter for the night. A few soldiers were sent out to recon the area to see if they could discover where T and his Horde might have descended into. For tonight, all was quiet.

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The following morning, the few soldiers returned to the Knights with a recon update. They found a valley not far from camp that contained interesting temples and what appeared to be religious items. It was reported that near a twin-domed Cathedral was an Artifact protected by three force fields. A small number of the Horde could be seen slithering about in this area, but it did not appear to be too heavily fortified at this hour. The Artifact contained writing similar to that which was used years ago by the Hordes. From what the soldiers could see, although the Hordes did not touch the Artifact, they were seen communicating with it; almost as if it were a beacon or transmitter.  

If the Horde thought so much of this Artifact to protect it was they were, it must be worth having. Sir John and his Knights readied the rest of the soldiers for battle. Breaking his force into squads, Sir John gave the order to attack. Rounding a bend in the path, a lone creature stood in the forest, blocking their path. This gave the Knights pause – they had studied such a creature with the Mystics. If the legends were true, this creature was known as Poelossus. As soon as the Knights were in range, this creature unleashed a fury of bullets, wounding and killing several men before the Knights were able to return fire. In a flash Poelossus was gone. None were sure it was killed, although many claimed to have shot it.

The Knights regrouped and continued on, but something was amiss. Upon arriving to the Cathedral, the force field was disabled and the Artifact was missing. There were minimal Hordes in the area; almost as though they retreated back underground - or worse, were waiting to ambush. But how could that have happened so quickly? Were the Hordes tipped off to the attack? Then it became clearer… Up on the edge of the valley bowl was another Temple, covered in brush, disguised to the naked eye. Next to a large tree was T. He stood there, steely-eyed, glaring at the Knights. He was waiting, watching. One of the soldiers caught a glimpse of something more… T had the Artifact and was speaking to it. Before the soldier could audibly describe what he saw, T vanished.

This felt like a trap. Sir John assembled his Knights and formed a new plan of attack, this time aimed at the hidden Temple. Breaking into squads led by Sir Karl, Sir Joe, Sir Todd, and Sir Bill, the Knights systematically surrounded the Temple, eliminating all creatures in their wake. Sir John saw the resistance falling and yelled to his men, “They’re overextended!” and pushed his Knights up the hill to overtake the Temple.

Sir Joe began walking through the bodies of the fallen and ordered his men to “check the dead” for the Artifact. Moments later it was found underneath the body of one of the creatures. A soldier by the name of Sir Jarrod returned the Artifact to the Temple. Upon bringing it to the center of the room, the ground began to shake, causing Sir Jarrod to drop the Artifact. Prepared for the worst, the Knights quickly took up defensive positions amongst the crumbling walls. The Artifact began to glow, and then shot a white beam of light cutting through the canopy of the forest into the sky. The rumbling of the ground became more intense, and then began to collapse upon itself, crumbling and covering a cave-like tunnel in the lower levels of the Temple. In an instant the shaking stopped, the Artifact deactivated and all was silent.

Tucking the Artifact into his pack, Sir John ordered his remaining soldiers to check the rest of the temples in the area for much-needed supplies while he convened with the Designer to learn more about this mysterious Artifact.    

Another beautiful Spring day…. perfect for paintball! We started off by announcing our first four 110%-ers for the season. Thanks go out to Nate, Jen, Tony and Rod. Words cannot describe all you give to Splatmandu on a daily basis, year-round! Not many club members can say that…

On Saturday, Ray, Tommy and Tony took to work with chainsaws and strong backs to tackle the Mag Valley Bowl ahead of Sunday’s game. Although the three of them couldn’t get the entire field cleared, it is really coming together beautifully, and for the first time in I-don’t-know-how-many years, we have a “Pentagon” again! (FYI: All the downed trees in the area are now cut up and ready to be used for bunkers, so any spare time you might have, come on out and stack some sticks! The Mag Valley Bowl will thank you - and so will Ted and Kathy!)

For installment # 2 of the “Into The Darkness” Scenario, teams were quickly divided which put our numbers at roughly 29 on 32. Since Captain John and the Black team won April’s scenario, he won the right to decide which side of the Neutral Zone to start and reinsert, and he selected the Tippmann side of the Neutral Zone. Since Captain Tony and the Red team won the April post-game mini game, he was given the choice between “Attack or Defend” for May’s game - and he chose Defend, for the 60 minute max-time game.  

Red Team at Chateau with the force field enabled

For today’s scenario, the Red Team had to defend three flag pole levers outside of the Chateau. These levers signified a “force field” (with green tape to identify it) protecting the Artifact, located in the middle. If/when all three pole levers were turned to Black, the force field was considered “disabled” and either team could then touch the Artifact. The main goal for the Red Team: protect the Artifact from capture and protect their base, located at the edge of the Mag Valley Bowl.

The Red Team base (Pentagon)

The black team started the game at a distinct disadvantage, because even if they disabled all three pole levers (i.e. force field) at the Chateau ( poles worth 100 points each = 300 points total) and held the Artifact (worth 100 points), the Red Team could still win the game if they held their base, as it was worth 450 points to them, but to the Black team it was worth nothing. The only way Black could sweep the Red would be if they had the Artifact and placed it at the Red team’s base. This would negate the 450 points for Red, and end the game.

Also available this month and for the remainder of the season (except for BIG GAME XVII ) were the Bonuses earned by either team on Opening Day. They contained one of 6 different options. Neither Captain was privy to the Bonuses the other Captain had earned in April. The only stipulation was that if a Bonus was to be used in the game, it needed to be turned into the Game Designers (Nate or Jen) prior to the briefing so that teams could be made aware that a specific Bonus would be in use. This month we reminded each team that a “Scout” and a “Helicopter” would be in use. For descriptions of the Bonuses, click here.  

Red Team taking a gamble by turning the levers themselves, awarding Black 300 points

Off the break, the Red team took a risk…. they opted to GIVE the the Black team 300 points by turning all three pole levers at the Chateau to Black, but took the Artifact for themselves (100 points). Captain Tony ran into the Painted Forest  near their base with the Artifact, but soon handed it off to another Red player. The Red Team also used both the Scout and the Helicopter Bonuses. The Scout bonus was assigned to Poe - who started the game nearest the Hornet’s Nest boundary to try and eliminate as many Black players as possible off the break. While he got many, he was also promptly eliminated. The Helicopter was also used off the break, taking a squad of Red players and depositing them at the corner of the road nearest West Nile Pond to try and hold back the Black forces from wrapping the Red’s flank in the forest.

Black team (with Artifact in hand) is victorious!

The Red Team’s risk unfortunately didn’t pan out for them this day. With most of the Red forces battling in the Hornet’s Nest and scattered throughout the forest, there were not many players left to defend the Mag Valley base. With Black coming from all sides, led by Joe, Todd, Karl, Bill and John, the three players nearest the base were eliminated, leaving a clear path for the Black team to overtake the base. Since the person in possession of the artifact needed to drop it when shot, the Black team quickly scoured the field near the fort - as Joe said  “where the Red players were eliminated” -  and quickly found the Artifact and placed it at the base of the pole lever, which they turned Black to end the game. This was the shortest Scenario game in Splatmandu history, with a time of 19 minutes start to finish.

The Artifact

Unbeknownst to both Captains, the team that produced the Artifact at the conclusion of the game would be awarded another Captain’s Bonus. The value and importance of this Bonus is a secret… but it is very important! Since the Black Team won, John was awarded the bonus. Also, since he won the game, he once again gets to decide which side of the Neutral Zone his team launches and reinserts from for June’s scenario.

After the game was completed, a census was taken of those in the Neutral Zone as to what they would like to do next… run another small scenario, flip sides and run the same game again, or leave everyone to go play individual small games utilizing the rest of the fields. The third option was the majority, so before everyone broke off to play their own games, there was still the post-scenario mini game in the Hornet’s Nest to watch!

Each team needed to provide a three man squad, three empty guns and two pods of paint. This was a simple elimination/touch the rail game, but the twist was how to divide the paint! 3-2-1 GO, each three man squad broke out to cover, to then divvy up the two pods of paint. This was a quick but intense game. The victors were once again the Red Team, with Jerry of Red eliminating Todd of Black to win the game. It was great to watch and lots of encouragement was being shouted the entire game. Since Red won this game, the bonus was that now the Black Captain John must run the first 30 minutes of June’s 90 minute scenario without a gun/weapon! He can still carry paint though… 

We’d like to congratulate everyone on a wonderful, hard-fought game today. Special thanks to our refs : Ted, Nate, Natalie, and Amy. The extra help is always appreciated and makes these games so much smoother. And one more special thanks…. thank you to Holly. She created a beautiful replacement to our “Code of Conduct” sign for outside of the Neutral Zone. It looks great and we thank you for it!

Thanks Holly!

We will see you again next weekend! Remember canned goods for the Domestic Assault Shelter!

INTO THE DARKNESS 2013

SPLATMANDU’S MAY SCENARIO SUNDAY

RULES AND REGULATIONS

CODE OF CONDUCT: 1. I will not wipe paint.

2. I will follow the rules of the game and  accept the referee’s decision as final.

3. I will treat every paint gun as if it were loaded, and follow the rules of safe paint gun handling.

4. I will keep my mask on while a game is in progress.

5. I will not deliberately make aggressive physical contact with another person; I will be polite and respectful to others.

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INTO THE DARKNESS 2013 - MAY SCENARIO OUTLINE

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ONE “BIG GAME” FIELD (boundaries are marked)

GAME TIME:   - 60 Minutes MAX game ­-

BRIEFING STARTS AT 1:00pm. Those players who do not attend the briefing at 1:00pm will have to sit out of the game.

* AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE GAME A MINI GAME WILL BE HELD USING LIMITED NUMBERS: THE WINNING CAPTAIN OF THIS GAME WILL BE ABLE TO SET CERTAIN PARAMETERS FOR NEXT MONTH’S GAME

BLACK TEAM

   AND

RED TEAM:    Arm bands to be worn on both arms of each player.

(Captain and Co-Captain to additionally wear team tunic.)

LIMITED

PAINT:   Players are limited to the amount of paint they can carry onto the field as follows:

         1 Hopper and 2 Pods: Full Loader Play.

Players who run out of paint can receive paint from a living teammate during game play. Players can also return to the NEUTRAL ZONE at any time to restock their paint/air.

RULES:   Paint and/or equipment can be passed to a teammate by a living player. 

         “DEAD MEN” do not pass paint/guns, etc.

         “DEAD MEN” do not talk.

When a player is eliminated, the player must report to the NEUTRAL ZONE. While in the NEUTRAL ZONE, wipe off all paint from clothes/gun (so that you are not called out on old paint.) Re-supply paintballs/air. Be prepared to re-chrono your gun.

RE-ENTRY: Players will be reinserted into the game directly from the NEUTRAL ZONE out either side of the Chrono Alley. During REENTRY, players are not targets. During REENTRY, players cannot fire their gun until a safe distance from the NEUTRAL ZONE. The NEUTRAL ZONE REFEREE will be available for questions.

MISSION:

Located outside of the CHATEAU in the Painted Forest is an ARTIFACT belonging to the Horde (RED), protected by (3) POLE LEVERS, to signify a force field.

The RED TEAM must protect this ARTIFACT from capture. If all (3) POLE LEVERS are turned to BLACK, then the force field is disabled. Then (and only then) the ARTIFACT can be moved.

·        Once a POLE LEVER is turned to BLACK, that lever is disabled  - 100 points per LEVER showing Team Color

·        The ARTIFACT can only be moved/touched by either team once all (3) POLE LEVERS are disabled

  Possession of Artifact = 100 points at conclusion of game

·        ARTIFACT must be placed at the base of the POLE LEVER with the appropriate team color showing at the BASE located on the edge of the MAG VALLEY BOWL

POLE LEVER showing RED at BASE = 450 points

ARTIFACT at base of POLE LEVER showing BLACK - GAME OVER

Max game time is 60 minutes. If the BLACK TEAM completes all (3) Objectives prior to the 60 minutes elapsing, the GAME IS OVER.

OBJECTIVES:

RED TEAM (DEFEND):            BLACK TEAM (ATTACK):

1)Defend the (3) POLE                  1)Capture the (3) POLE

  LEVERS from the BLACK TEAM           LEVERS from the RED TEAM

2)Protect the ARTIFACT               2)Steal the ARTIFACT

3)Defend the RED BASE, located       3)Seize control of the RED

  on the edge of the MAG VALLEY        BASE, located on the

  BOWL (RED LEVER SHOWING)             edge of the MAG VALLEY

                                       BOWL (BLACK LEVER

                                       SHOWING)with ARTIFACT at

                                       base of LEVER – GAME OVER

“OBJECT IN HAND RULE”- Applies in this game. Hand-to-Hand passing only. If you are shot while in possession of the ARTIFACT, you must drop it immediately.

Today we kicked things off with installment # 1 of the “Into The Darkness” Scenario. Nate and Jen are taking the reins of Game Designer, so it should be exciting to see what they come up with this season. This year is a bit of a continuation of Scenarios of old, ten years old to be exact…. Knights vs. Darkness from 2003. In that year, Nate and Johnny were Knights and Rod and Tony were the Darkness. This time around, since Nate is designing the game, Johnny is now the Captain for the Knights (but this time as the Black Team) with Karl stepping up as his Co-Captain, and Tony is now the Captain of the Darkness (as the Red Team) reversing with Rod, who is now his Co-Captain. Teams were quickly divided using the method known as “what side do you want to play for” which put our teams roughly at 28 on 26. Captains flipped a coin to determine which side of the Neutral Zone each team launched from for both the break and the re-insertion for the 90 minute game.

Red Captain Tony wins coin flip and selects the Hornet's Nest side of the Neutral Zone for the start and to reinsert

Across the 24 acre property, three flag pole levers were placed in wooded locations marked with green tape to signify a Supply Zone. Starting with the initial horn, every ten minutes the Supply Zone would move to the next location - Mag Ridgeline, Smuggler’s Den, then Tippmann area - in the same rotation. If a team had control of the Supply Zone (i.e. flag pole lever your color and at least one team representative inside the green zone) for five consecutive readings, a Bonus envelope would be dropped in the circle. These bonuses were to be returned to the Captain. A Bonus contained one of 9 different options, three of which were available to use during this game and the others can be used for any game except for BIG GAME XVII. The bonuses were as follows, roughly described. ( * Indicates Bonuses available in this game only):

* Air Strike - Used to eliminate all players within a zone

* Double Points - One reading worth double points (i.e. 20 points)

* Freeze - Freezes the opposing Captain in the NZ for five minutes

Scout - One player may start the game at any location on the field of play

Start Point - Five players may start the game at any location on the field of play

Helicopter - Five players may travel to any point on the field of play at any time during the game

Machine Gunner - One player may carry unlimited paint/ammo

Wild Card - May select one of the following : Scout, Machine Gunner or Helicopter

Captain Bonus - Which is a secret (even to the Captains!)

Total points available for the game were 900 (or 910 with a “Double Points” Bonus used), divided up as 100 points per zone, and each zone was active 3 times, for a total of 300 points available for each zone.

Off the break, the Black team controlled the Mag Ridgeline zone exclusively by holding the Red team mostly in the Hornet’s Nest, earning all 100 points available and earning two Bonuses. When the double-horn sounded, the Red team held the first two readings at the Smuggler’s Den, then Black swept through and captured one reading for 10 points. Red quickly regrouped and flushed out the Black, earning the rest of the readings for the zone, totalling 90 points and earning one Bonus. When the Tippmann area zone was activated, Black had already secured the area, once again earning all 100 points available and earning two Bonuses. (For those keeping track: “Round One” score thus far was Black: 210 / Red: 90 )

When the horn sounded to activate the Mag Ridgeline zone again, this time Red was waiting, earning all 100 points available and gaining two Bonuses. When the zone moved to Smuggler’s Den, Black was ready and held the zone for all 100 points and gained two Bonuses. Then on to Tippmann area. Black also had this zone on lock-down. After getting the first two readings, no live Black players were within the zone for reading # 3, which caused a “Neutral” reading to occur. This was quickly rectified and for the remainder of the time Black had a representative within the zone, earning the team a total of 90 points and one Bonus. (“Round two” score was: Black: 190 / Red: 100 / Neutral: 10 )

The final round of zones is where things got even crazier. Captain Johnny of Black turned in the “Freeze” bonus to Natalie, the Neutral Zone referee. Shortly thereafter Captain Tony of Red was eliminated, and when he returned to the Neutral Zone, he was notified that he was ”froze” in the Neutral Zone for five minutes, not to be released again until 2:35pm. Not that this was really a punishment, he probably welcomed a short break! 

Red held the Mag Ridgeline zone when it was activated, earning the first three readings. Then Captain Johnny of Black - as a live player - presented to Ref Nate the “Air Strike” Bonus. Nate cleared the zone of the one player inside. Johnny flipped the lever and since he was still inside the zone, captured a reading worth 10 points. The area was surrounded by Red players, and I have to believe all were in disbelief or didn’t quite know what to do when this all occurred, as it took a few moments for the Red players around to register that Johnny must be eliminated. He eventually was, and Red controlled the next reading. The fighting was getting pretty intense at this time, so although the lever was Red, the players inside the zone moved out to cover, and for readings #6 and #7 the zone was considered “Neutral”. Red finally heeded the repeated referee warnings and got a body inside the zone for the final three readings, earning the Red team 70 points, with two Neutral readings.

When the zone moved to the Smuggler’s Den, Red had the zone and the hillside on lock-down, keeping Black at the Knight’s Tower and road, earning all 100 points for the zone and earning two Bonuses. For the final zone (Tippmann area) Black had the area secured. After the first four readings, an elimination moments before the fifth reading cost the Black team their fifth in a row, so the zone was scored “Neutral”. Red Captain Tony - as a live player - turned in the “Double Points” Bonus to Ref Kathy, but it could only be used if Red acquired the zone. Black did get another person inside the zone first and held for the final five readings. This earned Black a total of 90 points and a Bonus, and making the “Double Points” Bonus Tony turned in null and void. (“Round Three” score was: Black: 100/ Red: 170/ Neutral: 30) 

The Black Knights won the day

So if you were adding up the scores, that means the BLACK team won the day with a final score of 500 to 360, with 40 points not awarded.

Each team played very hard and although the zone reading numbers make it look subdued, I can assure you that was not the case! Each zone was highly contested throughout the game. Many great moves were made, a lot of people were throwing themselves at these zones to make sure the reading counted for their team. I even witnessed several amazing long ball shots, which is only possible in these early months of the season. A lot of belly-crawling up to the zones, intense fire fights and nail-biting “will someone be in the zone?” moments before a reading was to occur. Absolutely great game. Everyone played with Honor and no problems were reported.  

Although everyone was exhausted after the game, we still asked more of our players. After the conclusion of this game - and the rest of the games this season - we will be having a “Mini Game”. Each month will be different, but each mini game will determine something for the next month’s game. This month, we played a 4 on 4 in the Hornet’s Nest - kick the bucket/touch the rail elimination game, five minute game, one hopper only. The winner of this game would determine “attack or defend” for next month’s game.

The Red team came out with an early lead, eliminating two Black players, who returned to the rail and waited for a teammate to tag the red and black X bag at the center of the field. Wild Bill of Black valiantly made it and tagged in his teammates, but was shot after the tag, which returned him to the rail. Tony of Red then eliminated more of the Black team and touched the opposing rail, winning the game with about one minute to spare. Since Red won the game, Captain Tony selected “Defend” for May’s Scenario. Since the Black team won April’s Scenario, Captain Johnny gets to decide what direction of the Neutral Zone he wants for the break and reinsertion for May.

Once again, we’d like to congratulate everyone on a great game. It was fun to watch and I am hearing even more fun to play! Special thanks to all the refs of the game: Ted, Kathy, Nate, Natalie, Alex, Josh, and Stephanie. The extra help is always appreciated and makes these games so much smoother. We will see you again next weekend! Remember canned goods for the Domestic Assault Shelter!

This weekend the weather participated a little better! Today we focused on tree tops nearest the Bridge/Cottage area of the Painted Forest. Last time we really worked that section of the field was back in 2006 - by our foggy, collective recollections. Thanks go out to Tony, Ted, James, as well as our newest three Groundhogs - Kathy, Nate and Jen  - for dragging around some sticks today. 2013 Groundhog total is now at 8!