WARNING: This is a long Review as I mixed in a bunch of of a game overview as well. Sorry I had alot to say.

This past weekend, myself, and my CO Ryan Olson attended PB Explosion for their first big game, A Black ops themed game . It was also our first time at this new field. The old Santas Village was a place we had both been, so it was a bit odd to come back and see many of the things we remembered. I had been to Santa’s village a few times and I wasn’t quite as familiar with it, but Ryan was able to pick out every tiny detail, and gave a running commentary on all the features. This was both slightly strange, and extremely fun. The first thing that struck me as I was parking my car was there were some real good woods.  This was one of my fears. From the Pictures on Pbbomb.com its hard to tell whether the woods you see are in play.  But There are plenty of woods for those of us who are very pro Woods! The Next thing that struck me was that all of the Theme fields were VERY well built, Sturdy well placed bunkers and buildings of the Code black, World at War and Mutiny Fields are the first things you see from the parking lot.

 After that quick look, Ryan and I went into the main building, which is a circle around the indoor speedball field. The proshop, registration, and concession area are right next to each other. Registration was easy and quick, then on to the proshop to buy the paint. Between both I spent 105$ day of. For me that is an acceptable price to pay.(There is also a bar in there, though at 19 I can’t really be too excited about it.) After that Ryan and I went round the indoor field to the chrono and the outdoor staging area. Another thing that struck  me was how central the staging area is. Since this is a smaller field there is a lot less walking to get to all the important things. Between chrono and air fill is no more than 50 feet from the middle of the staging area. And this outside staging area has a beautiful view of the Nam Field.  The only real issue I had with the field off the bat is their policy of no off field food or drink. On a hot day like Sunday saying I have to buy each bottle of gatorade and water when I had already brought both really didn’t make sense. Confidentially I used my secret stash of drinks, though I bought my lunch there.

Once I had gotten my gear in order, Ryan and I waited for the safety briefing. Supposedly the game was supposed to start AT 9:00 AM, however it was closer to 10 when the safety briefing kicked off. Ryan and I were playing for the American side for Alex Granias from CPD, against Rob Leary from Ninja PB for the Russians. The Game was put on by  the Midwest Airsoft Guerillas (http://midwestairsoftguerr​illas.com/) And I have to say that for a first game it was amazing! It was well coordinated, even, and the missions were put out at a good time. The Americans started out at the Code Black field, while the Russians started out behind the Nam field.

The first mission was a control mission. As a medic I was partnered with the MonStars to take The Armory, (The castle with the red flag at the edge of turmoil) We were able to take and hold the castle, however we had much trouble trying to break past the oil rigs, and eventually we were pushed off the castle to the tree line. I have to say that while the refs were available for paint checks and such, they did seem to cluster somewhat. at one point I had something like 6 refs behind me.  I wish I had been able to see more of the fights than I did, but mostly that first half of the day was all on the left flank for me. I also missed out on hearing any of the missions with the exception of the first missions of both halves of the day. 

at 12:00PM I ran out of paint and energy, so I went back to the staging area to hydrate and refill. By 12:30 Lunch break was called. At this point the air conditioned building was a blessing. And I don’t know what was going on with the pizza, but someone had to have put some *Ahem* questionable things in it. It was altogether too damned good. By around 2:00 PM everyone was in position to begin the craziness again. We kicked off with a defend mission. The Russians were given an air cannon “mortar” that they were to use to destroy specific buildings. While the Americans were to defend against those launchers, and if possible appropriate them for some wholesome destruction.

 I never saw these mortars in action, mostly because after bouncing around the line looking for a place without another medic in it, I ended up guarding the Cargo Ship, as it was one of the buildings needed to be defended. this was about 5 minutes before the mission was to come due, and if no one was controlling the ship, we wouldn’t get the 50 points. I knew this, so I decided to earn those 50 points. After that I moved over to the Bio-hazard field doing battle between the beginning of Nam’s ravine and the end of the Bio-hazard field. There I stayed for the rest of the day healing people and getting shot at (and occasionally shot out). Eventually the Americans pushed the Russians back to their base, and were camping the respawn, before we were pushed back by the refs. Then certain Russians used some secret mission prop to remove their armbands and infiltrate the american base and relieved us of our mission book and all the leftover American ID cards. The day ended around 4:30-5:00 with a point tie between the American forces and Russian forces… some tried to break that tie with Rock Paper Scissors, but as we all know the UN doesn’t recognize Rock Paper Scissors as a legitimate tie breaker. So we ended the day in a deadlock. Overall I was very impressed with both the game and the Field. I even heard tell that there is a Tippmann double trouble hooked up in a tower out there, all it needs is paint to fire and it is ready to go.  ( I never saw it with my own eyes… if I had I wouldn’t have been able to leave willingly)

 I would give the Field an 8/10  rating and the game about a 9/10.

Field: The amenities available to the player are phenomenal, there is even a netted area on the field with bathrooms, sinks, and water! A bar, good concessions,  air conditioned buildings with staging areas, somewhat shady outdoor staging areas, close air fills (with at least 6 fill stations for 45k air and another 6 for 3k) a chrono station on a walkway 15 ft above the Nam field. There was also a water spray for cooling down, near the old RC boat pool. And the theme fields and the woods are top notch. The only issues with the field I had was the rule about off field beverages, and the transitions between the theme fields. there were some gaps between the fields that required some bunkers to help the flow. However that is an issue that could only be resolved after a game was played to get the feel for how the field would function in its entirety.

Game: This was a very well run game, not too complex, easy to follow missions. good timing and communication between the game producer and the refs. The only issue I had with it was the Armbands were those ribbons instead of duct tape, it played against the Americans when the de-armbanded Russians infiltrated, because it was so easy to lose the armbands!  I also wished to have heard that there may have been stealthy type stuff going on, but overall it was a very enjoyable game. Though it was the first game I have ever heard of being a tie. Ever. I have no idea how it happened, but hey it was still a blast.

My Final Word, AWESOME. Would I come back for another game, even in this hellish heat? Yes!

This is Meat, Tiredly signing out. Peace!