History Of Woodsball Tactics

The history of Woodsball tactics plays an important role in the development of this outdoor paintball game. Inspired by the short story, "The Most Dangerous Game", Woodsball was conceived to recreate the scenario in which two or more people engage in stalking and being stalked, like the hunter and his human pray in the short story. Woodsball tactics at this point corresponded to those hunters use, relying on groundcover and stealth to close in on their pray unnoticed.

Five years after the conception of this unique outdoor game, the first Woodsball game was played in New Hampshire, England. Woodsball tactics were slightly different than the one-on-one scenario of a hunter and pray. This time, the game was enacted with two teams of six men. For weapons, each member carried a Nel-spot 007 pistol, which ranchers and farmers would use to mark livestock and trees. The object of the game was the capture of a flag through stealth tactics in a wooded terrain.

The marked change in Woodsball tactics between the original conception of the game and its eventual realization marked a new stage in the history of Woodsball tactics. Very quickly the game grew in popularity, which only increased when one of the game’s inventors established the National Survival Game Company and began selling Woodsball paintball guns, goggles and paint.

The history of Woodsball tactics evolved again when other companies like Tippmann and PMI began manufacturing more evolved Woodsball products. Now in addition to stealth, a player could gain the upper hand with better Woodsball equipment. The old Nel-spot 007 pistol underwent two much needed improvements. A front-mounted pump was added to make cocking the pistol easier, and the original 12-gram CO₂  cartridge was provided with a larger air tank, known among Woodsball tacticians as “constant air”.

Today’s Woodsball tactics have pushed the game to new levels. Modeled on elite commando military training like U.S. Rangers or British S.A.S, Woodsball tactics require a player to move through the woods without being seen. Players must try to stay out of open ground and keep low when they do.

Additional Woodsball tactics teach players to move slowly and precisely, planning every step before taking it with direct focus on the ground below. Knowing that dirt is quieter than leaves, for example, will enable a player to move through trees and undergrowth with limited noise.

A higher level Woodsball tactic challenges players to always find the shortest route, but also the smartest route, between two point. This fluidity of choices makes the game completely unpredictable as each player may chart his own stealthy advance.

Auditory Woodsball tactics also add an edge to the game. Listening for the direction in which shots are heard will tell a player where others are located. It is also a good time to move quickly without being overheard, for other players will concentrate on listening to the sound of shots instead of rustles through undergrowth.

Finally, for advanced players, a Woodsball tactic that focuses on the manner of walking can muffle the motions of a player even more. Replacing normal gait, a player should rest his heel and the outside of his foot first, then ever so slowly roll the foot down on the sole to complete the step.

Practice and perfection of these Woodsball tactics allows players to move through woodlands undetected. Add to this the concealment of camouflaged clothing and facial paint, and players can achieve the stealthy invisibility elite soldiers are famed for.