One of the misconceptions involving paintball is that scenario games are sort of the "backwoods" version of paintball. You get a bunch of "good ol' boys" out in the back 40, and pretend to be some kind of warrior freak while running around screaming "Yee-HAW!" Well okay, some people do that. But for the most part it's not like that. A lot of time, energy, and effort go into scenario games on both the player and the producer's end. And in reality, it's really not all that different than a tournament.

You have a lot of dedicated people who travel all around the country to play the circuits. Teams like Blues Crew, Texas Rangers, 1st MG, and Evil Inc. carry the same weight in sce nario games as Dynasty and Naughty Dogs do in tournament circles. In scenario games, however, you may find yourself elbow to elbow with some of the most experienced play ers in the game at any given moment. So there's more than a little intimida tion factor when you step onto a field with all these guys. I've seen some pretty sharp tournament players vapor lock on a scenario field, more than a little overwhelmed with the experience.

So the goal of this article is to give you something to arm yourself with. I still hold that experience is your best guide, so you need to get out and do the games to really get into it. But here are a few things to start off with:

1) Come Prepared
When a world-class chef wants to make a meal, they don't just show up to the kitchen. They do a LOT of prep work. Everything from buying ingredients to pre-cutting to arranging the kitchen is all done in advance, so when they start cooking it all goes smoothly.

Take the advice I give you, and do your prep work LONG before you get to the field. Make sure you've done all the maintenance on your gear. Make sure you have all the tools you'll need to fix your gear. Make sure you've packed enough clothing to last. Everything you do before the game is one less thing to worry about when you're there.

You also should check your safety gear before you head out to the field. Don't expect that there will be a vendor on site that will have a goggle strap for you to buy. There might be, but you can't count on it. Check goggle lenses, check masks for cracks, check your bar rel socks to make sure they're not broken! You should be doing this anyway, but a few weeks before an event is a better time to find out you need new lenses than when you're on the chrono range and a ref tells you. And come to think of it, the chrono range is a bad place to find out your gun doesn't work either.

Do your prep work. Your gear will thank you for it.

2) Know the rules
Scenario games are big. So big in fact that they usually don't go over all the rules at the orientation briefing at the beginning of the day. Promoters expect all the players to be familiar with the specific rules before they show up to play. If there's any discrep ancy with the rules, they will bring it up at the briefing. But you're expected to know what's going on without their help.

Most of the larger scenario games adhere to the "General Scenario Rules of Play" (GSRP), which are available online. In fact, the Internet is the best resource for the rules of any given event. Most of the rules you already know, like when you're hit, you're out. But when they throw in goofy things like helicopters, tanks, spies and de molitions you really should know how they work in game mechanics.

If you don't know a rule, ask. This is especially true if you're not familiar with rules like how tanks are handled. Some events require a 20-foot "halo" around the tank so you can't ap proach. Some let you get right up to the tank and use it like a mobile bun ker. Ask someone before the game begins if you have any questions how they work.

To quote the last line of the GSRP: "If it's unclear; if it's not covered in orientation; if it's in a "gray" area; if it's not written in the GSRP, game-specific addendums, or on a game-specific card: It Does Not Exist. Ask the Event Director First!"

3) You're in a marathon, not a hundred-yard dash
Depending on the event, a scenario game can last 6 hours, 26 hours, or 48 hours if you're lucky. So on the word go it's not so im portant to gain ground and hold it the entire time. There are missions all day, literally. It's important to not lose sight of the fact that if you lose one mission, it's not the end of the world. Plus it's important to realize that the overall game is won and lost over a period of time.

Plus you should know that if you're hit, you're only out for a short period of time. You can get as much, or as little, gameplay in as you want. So if you're out in the first few seconds of the game, it's per fectly fine. You'll get back in. What this means is, literally, it usually doesn't hurt your team if you get taken out.

If you're used to recreational play or you're used to tournament play, you're probably used to the "one game" where you play hard for 5-10 minutes then take a breather. Scenario games don't stop be cause you're back in the parking lot getting a drink. I've seen firsthand teams losing a game because a large group of people had to stop playing to get more paint.

Also, understand that because of the large amounts of time, a lot can happen. All it takes is one guy in a ghillie suit to take a few hours to crawl behind your base to wreak havoc on your team. Just be cause you don't have the patience to do that does not mean some one else won't. I know a lot of people who live for the "three-hour crawl," and will perform recon the whole game, unseen. There are many aspects to the scenario game that you should try to learn.

Get the larger picture of what's going on, and take appropriate action. If you're in the last 90 minutes of the game, load up on air and paint so you can play hard for the last hour of the game. Don't as sume that you need to sit in the bunker you're in all day, as its importance will change as the day moves on. Which brings me to point 4.

4) Know the missions
Scenario games are scored by assign ing points for mission objectives. You can go out and shoot people all day and still lose the game on botched missions. Depending on the game, missions can come up every 15 to 30 minutes. There's always a mission going on.

If you don't know what the mission is, head back to your base and ask some one. If they don't know, you're beyond screwed, and you still need to find some one who does know. Sometimes they'll tell you that the mission has already gone out, but you can help the team by taking a secondary objective. That's better than nothing. Your team lives and dies on mis sion points. If you don't do the missions, you don't get the points.

Make sure you know what to do to have your mission scored. You need to know the exact wording to win the mis sion. If the mission is to put six people inside "Fire Base Fred," then you need to make sure six people are in that firebase. There should be referees near the objec tive, as they get cues as to where the action is going to be. Don't assume that just by doing the mission it's complete. Know what it takes to score it as well.

If the mission isn't complete until a referee confirms it, get a ref to confirm it.

5) Know what props are, and don't be a Prop-Stealin' Ho
Scenario games often have items that the players need to get to score points. These are called, appropriately enough, props. What these are changes with every game. In a post-apocalyptic scenario it might be "gas cans." In a haunted forest scenario, it might be "holy symbols." Props are an important aspect of the game.

Before the game the scenario producer or head ref will explain what these props are and how to get points or use them. Some times on the field, one mission will be to get a prop and bring it to a specific location. Other times you'll find props scattered on the field, and your general can use them for special weapons and attacks if you bring them back. It all depends on the scenario, and what's going on.

Knowing what a "generic" prop is and what a "specific" prop is can be important. In one game I was at, there were bags of "food" all over the field as generic props. Players could pick those up and bring them back to base to be used later to buy special attacks. However, there were also mission-specific props that were scattered on the field as well. A player was not allowed to pick these up un less they had a mission card stating they could take the prop for a specific mission. Picking one up without a mission card would be grounds for elimination

So why are the rules like this? It seems that there are certain people in the scenario community (and they know who they are) who will pick up anything that isn't nailed down if it looks like a prop, and bring it back to their base. The practice is loosely called being a Prop-Stealin' Ho, because it shuts down a good percentage of the missions. If the mission is "Go get the golden key" and the "ho" in question can do this immediately, it ruins a lot of fun for the other team. On the other hand, these people also steal props that the other team has to gain for missionpoints, and it really disrupts the flow ofthe game.

Good tactic? Probably. Good sportsmanship? Not really. There are better times to be a "bad sport", but it falls into
good gamesmanship.

6) Don't believe everything you see or hear
You ever seen the "World Series of Poker" on TV? Well they've got nothing really have a helicopter, they'll make a prop to represent one. That on liars in scenario games. I shouldn't guy walking around holding the stick with the cutout of the chopper say "liars," rather "actors." No, not on it? Yeah, he represents a helicopter. Here is where knowing the strong enough. Dirty rotten bastards? rules will help you out a lot. If you know what these things are sup No, they'd take that as a compliment. posed to look like, you can see it coming and take action.

Scenario games are not only about running and gunning. Scenarios also 8) Stick with people you know, and work as a team rely heavily on the mental aspect of the Paintball is still a team game. For the most part, "lone wolves" game. Not just tactics, but also the balls get their tails blown off when they run into a team. If you have a to fake out the other team. Let me give you an example.

At the last scenario game I went to, one team showed up with a bag full of props. The problem was that they were all faked, and didn't do anything in the mechanics of the game. But since the team brought so many, and flooded the field with these props, it convinced the other team that the prop was real. After a while, it became a bargaining tool to
get real props out of the other team, trading the fake props for them. The other team lost points because of this switch.

So a general rule to stick by is, if something doesn't feel right, or there's no card attached to a prop, it might be fake. On the same idea, everyone who claims to be on your team may actually not be. Some rules specifically say that if spies are in play, they must admit to being a spy if directly asked. So during one game, a player went to every person
on an insertion and asked "Are you a spy?" Nobody was, but it's not a bad idea.

7) Get used to the weird stuff
Tanks, helicopters, boats, demolished buildings… All of these things probably won't really physically exist on the field of play. So it's up to the producers to create something to represent them as best they can. Since most places won't really have a helicopter, they'll make a prop to represent one. That guy walking around holding the stick with the cutout of the chopper on it? Yeah, he represents a helicopter. Here is where knowing the rules will help you out a lot. If you know what these things are supposed to look like, you can see it coming and take action.

8) Stick with people you know, and work as a team
Paintball is still a team game. For the most part, "lone wolves" get their tails blown off when they run into a team. If you have a group of five people who can work together fairly well, five guns can decimate a group of individuals. The reason is that a team becomes greater than the individuals in it. Five players as a team can take on supe rior numbers and win. Even if you don't know everyone in your group, try to work together. They will, if you just get them to start talk ing. Communication alone can make a group of players more aggressive and more confident. Once they start to make the moves, they can be come almost unstoppable. Scenario games are as much social events as they are paintball games, so don't be afraid to make some new friends. And related to this, you might be the best tournament player in the world. But your one paintgun and 200-ball hopper is not a match for 200 real people coming at you at the same time. To say it again, I've seen talented tournament people vapor lock when there were a dozen or more guys in camo rushing them. A team that works together beats a group of individuals who happen to be on the same side. Always.

9) Stay healthy and hydrated
I said before that scenario games are long burners. You're not going to get back to the staging area or parking lot as much as you want to. So you should prepare to play all day with what you have. You didn't think that the vests we wear were intended to make us look like Special Forces guys, did you? No, it's because we're carrying everything we need to play, and a whole lot more.

A lot of scenario games put up netted-in areas so you can completely remove your goggles on the field of play. Knowing this, you can bring some things you normally wouldn't. I bring water, and a lot of it. I sweat, and dehydration will bring your day to a screeching halt if you're not careful. So my vest has a hydration pack in it, and the drinking end has a dirt-proof cap. I also like to bring along small snack items like energy bars, granola or peanuts. Don't laugh; instant energy on the field can make a difference. Don't bring candy; sugar isn't the best thing on a hot day. Not to mention melted chocolate is a beast to get out of your gear.

I also bring a small hand towel, a small bottle of water, and possibly a moist towelette for fast clean-ups on the field. They come in handy for those "eat a rack of ribs, then shoot someone" missions, too. Never can have enough of those in a game.

10) Relax!
Scenario games are not meant to be taken too seriously. The competition is fierce, yes, but it's not like a tournament. If they give away prizes it's to random people, not the winning team. So take it easy when you play. The best description I've gotten of a scenario game is that it's a camping trip with all your friends with some paintball thrown in. So enjoy yourself! If you're not smiling, something's very wrong.