The following is categorized as “IMHO” data, to be read if you are interested, discussed if you have nothing better to do, and acted upon if you give a rat’s ass. Arrived at Wise Guys 5:30 PM, spent two hours suiting up and getting paper work in order. Next scenario outing we should be able to expedite this a little bit.Scenarios We played three rounds of scenarios, each approximately 45 minutes to an hour long. Each scenario represented a “mission” with points awarded for successful completion. In addition to the specific objectives in each scenario, we also had an ongoing objective to capture the opposing base camp and raise our flag. Scenario one involved three “rescue” missions; with a lost wounded bunny somewhere out on the field. The Gorillas won the first, we (and by “we” I mean G-Man) took the second, and neither side took the third. The Gorillas got into our fort and raised their flag on the third scenario, which gave them an edge on points. Scenario two was nuke tube retrieval. The refs said they had buried and marked 6-dozen glow sticks for us to find and return to our fort. After much scampering about in the dark, we ended up with just under half what the Gorillas had, which put them in a definite lead position. We also lost our fort one more time. Last scenario was ammo dump retrieval, picking up scattered boxes about the field. The previous two scenarios we were split into three groups with resources devoted to getting into their fort, defending the fort, and completing the scenario mission. On this scenario we adjusted our tactics and went with two goals – defend the fort and retrieve ammo. When it was over we had 18 ammo boxes to there 2, and while they got into our fort, they didn’t take it. We also managed to squeak into their fort during the last three minutes of play and take their flag – an opportunity strike, totally unplanned. Overall points went to us and the Gorillas surrendered their team totem with dignity and honor. Wise Guys Good field, but there are some improvements that could be made. Red fort has a safety zone 20 feet from their fort, and red fort commands a strategic view of yellow fort’s safety zone. Players on the yellow team have to run a gauntlet past red fort to get back to yellow fort, or run away and around the entire field. There is also a solid bunker between the two safety zones that make for excellent cover for anybody who wants to sit and shoot people returning to play – this was recognized by the end of the second scenario and this areas was declared off limits. Additionally, some of the best cover for red fort’s flanking attacks to yellow fort is exposed to the yellow safety zone. Anybody attacking the yellow fort using these bunkers will have to watch their backs or get shot out by yellow players returning to play (see the reference to opportunity strikes above). Perhaps a single split safety zone located midway between the two forts, over by the pond, would be a more appropriate location for a safety zone. Lighting was an issue – not on the field, but in the safety zones where our gear was stashed. We found it rather difficult to locate gear in the dark after cleaning up and preparing to return to play. Gear The Ghostwalkers had decent gear, some Tippmans with flat lines, Spyders, good solid markers. The Gorillas had several Tippmans with response triggers and at least one Armortech. Additionally, the Gorillas had at least a few people with helmet radios. Their improved rate of fire and communications abilities certainly gave them advantage in some situations. Overall, I don’t believe gear was a major factor in the outcome of any scenario or overall results. Radio coms would be nice, we made some attempts with hand signals but it was too dark for them to be effective. Ventilated helmets – that would have been nice. The humidity was so high none of us could see half the time from lenses or glasses fogging up. The defog ammonia stuff only offered some assist. Tinted lenses also made for some interesting moments one it got dark. Personnel The Gorillas fielded 18 players to our 12. While they had numeric superiority, they had a much higher ratio of “newbies” than we did. Roughly 2/3 of our team had played together either as Ghostwalkers or as Klingons. From what I heard, the Gorillas had closer to 1/3 of their players with experience working together. I believe that had a significant impact on the overall outcome, as well as the turn around in the last scenario. The Gorillas seemed like a more youthful group, averaging perhaps 10 years younger than the average Ghostwalkers. Youth equals more energy and pliability. That may have been a factor, but not a big one. Additionally, we had a core group with military and/or law enforcement training. That also played a role in the overall outcome and our ability to shift strategies in mid play. We had several members capable of leading the team, and all were willing to take a leadership or follower role as needed – we improvised, adapted, and overcame. Even though I was delegated official team captain, Balragh, G-Man, and Reservoir Dog each took turns leading from within the fort. Once play started, individual teams broke up and reformed with somebody taking on leadership roles each time. Excellent chain of command revision – that made a big difference in the way things turned out. The Gorillas also had a different style of play. They were much more aggressive in their actions, focusing on an attack posture throughout the evening. This forced us into a defensive position and cost us points. This also played a critical part in their overall loss – their focus seemed to be on capturing the fort rather than meeting the objective. The points were in the objectives, not the fort. The entire side field by the pond was essentially unguarded by the red team, allowing us to accumulate virtually every box over there – limited token fire was met only at the start of the game, and none after the first few minutes. Ghostwalkers past experience has been primarily stalking each other through natural soft-cover wooded terrain. Transitioning to hard cover man-made “urban” settings cost us points, but not a significant amount; we adjusted accordingly and by the last match were playing better with what the field offered. I believe in the future we should be able to adapt to this type of surrounding with out any problems. Our previous experience has been shorter scenarios, with less activity over an extended period – it was a definite work out maintaining this level of play for 3 hours. My legs are still stiff, and even my toes hurt like hell the next day. Bragging Rights OK – I sucked during the first half of the evening, reacting to the red team rather than taking it to them. I spent so much time in the safety zone wiping paint off my ass the wife wanted to know if I was actually playing. After that I was only shot out one last time towards the end, and when I went back in I was channeling Van Dam. Took out three guys firing on yellow fort from flanking positions, opening up the red fort side entrance. Their backs were to the yellow teams safety zone – see previous comments on field layout. With nothing better to do, I went on into red fort where I found two guys blazing away at yellow fort, with their backs to me. Shot them in the back too. Finding myself all alone in red fort, I decided to raise our flag, but the damn thing came off the pole. I hustled out of the fort with their flag and, since I was experiencing a degree of friendly fire, dropped it on the barrier between the two forts. The whistle blew just as I was getting ready to make a run for yellow fort. Overall Both sides played hard and with the exception of a few discrepancies, played well. I believe most of the discrepancies came from two major factors, both dealing with experience. Basically neither team had played scenario matches before, and both teams had “raw” recruits and/or speedballers that are used to playing by somewhat different rules. That should not be a problem in future matches – we now know what to do early on before play starts. Future matches should run smoother, faster, with more playtimes. Looking forward to it. Update - 2006 The Gorillas we competed against during this game is a local Fort Worth based team, not the Houston team of the same name. The Fort Worth Gorillas have changed their name since this meeting, acquired sponsors, and is currently kicking some butt in various scenario games around the state. They have also taken a key position in Oklahoma D-Day games. Good work guys. B