Just got back from the 2 day Big Game at Paintball Sam's in WI. This was my first (and unfortunately last) Big Game at PB Sam's and have never been to the field before. So this was a whole new experience for me.

The driveway needed some filling in for the massive potholes but I'm sure many places are like this, so no big deal. The parking area was average sized but for big events, it looks like they make use of the speedball fields for parking. They had a concession area, paint/rental gun/air building, and a vendor selling various hard and soft goods. Wished they had picnic tables, though. Staging out of your car really sucks, especially if you didn't bring a chair to sit down in between games.

Saturday had the most amount of people there. There were probably close to 150 people, I'd guess. It wasn't huge but enough for the fields. The fields were pretty dense and thick, which was both good and bad. It was great because it gave you lots of places to hide for cover, setup ambushes, make flanking maneuvers unseen, etc. The flipside of the coin is that it was so thick, that you pretty much had to stick to paths that already existed. You couldn't make a shortcut anywhere without causing a lot of noise. This also made it possible for you to walk right into a trap without a lot of options, depending on your location.

The size of the fields were pretty big, too. The main area had lots of area to utilize and take multiple paths. They had another field which had a village of huts, a large ridge, and a pathway between ponds. That was pretty cool to play on because it was diverse. They also had a field that was part bush and speedball. That was different and intense. All of the buildings and huts needed to be worked on and cleaned up. Maintenance wasn't the best on them.

The paint was Formula 13 paint, which was pretty good. The seems were almost non-existant but you would get a dimple every now and then. The fill was pink but they weren't vividly bright and faded away after a little bit into the fabric. That was great considering some pink paint will stain badly. The shell was pink and green and was thin but not fragile. They charged quite a bit for the paint ($85 a case) and that's preregistering. IMO, that's outrageously high. Otherwise the paint was pretty good.

The owners and refs were really nice but I think the refs needed a little bit more training/experience. I'll explain on that one later.

I didn't pay attention too much to the rental equipment as I had all my own stuff but I believe they were using automags.

They were filling up to 4500 psi at their air station. That's nice considering not all places have that as an option and only fill to 3000.

The rules were a bit different. If people got shot from the elbow/knee on down or in the gun, it was considered a wound and you could call for a medic or go out. Anything else was considered a kill and you had to leave the field. It was a welcome change up.

The part I didn't really like is that people were allowed to say they were on the opposing team. For example, if blue team comes into contact with white team, blue can say they are white, wait for white to come out, and then light them up. Its a clever tactic when it works but by the end of the day, nobody was trusting anyone they saw and a lot of friendly fire was occurring. Rather than playing honorably, it allowed people to be devious. I played along with the rules and adapted to it. The only complaining I heard about it is that people would accidentally shoot a teammate or get shot by one. It was ok but I would much rather people have to say which team they are on.

The refs needed a little bit more training, IMO. The rules were gone over in the orientation and one of them stated that their armbands (colored non-adhesive tape) was to be on the left arm between the elbow and shoulder and could not be covered up. The refs, however, did not enforce this rule very much and people were allowed to put it wherever they wanted or even hide it. It really made it hard to identify players.

There was also an isolated incident with the refs but I thought it was a serious mistake. Coming back from the front line near a ridge, I was heading backwards towards our base to find another path to flank the line I was previously at. On the way back, I saw some players on my left headed in the same direction and some of them had their guns up with barrel condoms on. I didn't pay attention to the rest of them because I assumed they were all out. At that point, I came under fire and immediately began returning fire and running sideways for cover. Not watching where I was going, I ran into a 2" thick tree that stopped me in my tracks and I got 2 butt shots taking me out. It was probably hilarious for anyone watching it. As I'm walking out, I asked the guys with their guns still up if they were out. They stated that they were just coming in (mid-game) and were looking for the base. The problem is that during this situation, the was a ref and a cameraman filming a scenario team that arrived that day. The refs were not only allowing people to come into a game half-way through, but also allowed a squad to travel with them and use them as a decoy or cover. They should have known better and either not allowed them to play in the first place, or to tell one group to stop and let the other travel separately.

The last thing that I didn't like was the refs didn't chrono people before they headed back into a game. They chrono'd once for the day and that was it. Some people were getting big welts from people using Co2 as the day went on or people cranking up their guns after they went back to their cars to work on their guns.

Sunday had a little bit of rain but it wasn't too hard to play in.

Gripes aside, it was a fun event. Really great place for field maneuvers, stalking, and ambushes. Everyone was friendly and helpful and had a good time. I would recommend Paintball Sam's to others and will most likely play there again for future events.    

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