For some players, it’s all about the team. Showing up with the newest, best, fastest and best looking paintball guns and accessories is a big part of the excitement. In woodsball scenarios, realistic replica paintball rifles, camouflage uniforms, and tactical vests definitely add an element to the game that is appealing to many. This type of paintball appeals to active and ex-military, law enforcement and all the men who enjoyed playing ‘army’ as a child. Dressing up as a soldier and wearing fully authentic gear makes it possible to fully immerse yourself in the setting, greatly increasing the fun and intensity of the game. While all the cool gear is great for building interest, it’s the intricacies of woodsball that keep players wanting more. If you want to win, you’ll quickly discover that there’s a lot more to it than just accessories; woodsball is a game of strategy and skill.
Just like in speedball competition, your team will be beaten whenever the opposing team has a better strategy. Even if the skill level of your players is better, it will still be much more difficult for you to achieve your goals if you cannot achieve everything with a winning strategy. If you play the same course all the time, it’s easier to develop specific game plans that you can practice and get good at. Strategies include player movements, different attack plans and methods to get the opposing team to react and keep them on the defensive. When you play on a familiar course, you can incorporate aspects of the course into your strategy; for example, forcing the opposing team into an ambush or bottleneck trap. When you’re playing on a new course and you’re not familiar with the course layout, it’s very smart to arrive early and leave before you play so you can strategize as you go and prepare. If you don’t get a chance to do this, the minimum basic strategy you should have anyway is to organize your team so that players have specific roles to play. Once this is established, they can then react to each other and strategize on the fly if needed.
Playing on a course you have practiced on and considering your ‘home turf’ will give you obvious advantages. Regardless of this, you should be aware of the strategies your team has developed that can be used wherever you go. An example of this would be a maneuver called ‘flanking’. Flanking occurs when your team goes to both outer sides of the field and huddles together so your opponent has nowhere to go. This strategy is most effective when your team has more players than the other team. If your opponent has the same idea, flanking won’t work, but the idea is to be well-versed in certain moves like this so you can try it out on whatever course you play. Another move type strategy is ‘rushing’. Pressuring your opponents is effective in Capture the Flag type games. There are many ways to pressure your opponent and the exact way can depend on the layout of the field. The general idea is that most of your team will spread out and run towards the objective (flag, bunker, fort, etc.), overwhelming them with fire from all directions. Meanwhile, one or more of your team pursues the main objective while the opposing team deals with the rush of your players.
In most paintball games, moving towards the opposing team or a desired location is a necessary procedure. However, sometimes (but rarely) it is better to deliberately take a defensive stance on the field. This plan is most efficient when defending a fort or if your team is outnumbered. If the opposing team has 4 or 5 more opponents than you, sometimes it’s better to surprise them by hiding and then wait for them to reach your location. Going defensive will sometimes allow for a better view of your opponent’s movement, but this can also depend on the layout of the field. Keeping a view on your opponent will help prevent your team from getting outflanked or cornered. Defensive strategies do not mean staying in the same place throughout the game; moving is another key element to consider for woodsball. Staying on the move is important to maintain an advantageous position over your enemy, whether you’re playing offense or defense.
For most movement strategies to be effective, your team will need to have some type of communication procedure in place. Unlike speedball which is played on a smaller enclosed field, stage paintball is played on a much larger open field. Once the game starts, if your team has to split up, they’ll need a way to communicate with each other so they can work together to accomplish their mission. Without a good communication system, you will no longer be a team, but a loose band of people who go and do what they think is right at the moment. This is easy to beat by an opposing team that has a down system. Whether it’s a series of calls, messages broadcast back and forth by a specific player, or even a silent throat mic system, you’ll need some way to communicate with each other when you’re apart or scattered in different locations. Whenever possible, it is best if your communication system is silent so as not to attract the attention of your enemy. Walkie talkies and/or throat mic systems work best for woodsball games played on large fields (and make your game much more realistic too!).
While establishing a communication system with your teammates is crucial, the method you choose should not compromise stealth. In Woodsball, stealth is a key element that needs to be incorporated into your strategy. Stealth movement is key to getting a better position and surprising your opponents so they are not prepared for your attack. From silent communication to quiet markers and paintball gear, stealth should be a priority for as long as possible during a scenario game. If your enemy can’t see you, he can’t hit you. Camouflage clothing to help you blend in with your surroundings and remain invisible will keep you alive longer and allow you to hide better, even when cover is poor. For this to be most effective, the correct type of camouflage will be important. Obtaining information about your playing environment is a good strategy so that you can match the correct colors/camouflage patterns to the local wildlife/playfield background. If you’re playing in the fall, wear a reddish-brown camo. If you’re playing in the spring, wear a lighter green camo. If you play in the summer, use a darker greenish color and depending on your area, for the winter, use a white camo or a very dark camo, if it is not snowing.