Wolf Creek Paintball cranked out a successful one day scenario event based on Clear and Present Danger. Set in Colombia (a large South American country - not an island, contrary to popular opinion), this three ring circus had Colombian soldiers facing a Drug Cartel and the U.S. Special Forces in a sometimes confusing but always entertaining paintball throwdown.

Evidently scenario teams in the Mid-Atlantic region are a little slack on the registration tip. At the last minute the numbers for the game shot up from around 70 to well over 200, and for even the most seasoned producer this can cause some problems. The worst would be to run out of paint or air, and while that didn’t happen, they did run a little low on rounds, but no one got turned away empty handed. Barry, the field owner, did an admirable job of keeping the lines moving, and while the game started a little late, the delay wasn’t unexpected. If the field opens at 8:30, how are you going to get 200 people through registration, get them chronoed, give a briefing, and be ready to play by 10:00? The 10:45 start time impressed me enough, and aiming for 11:00 from the beginning probably would have been more realistic.

On the field, I got a chance to role-play, something I hadn’t expected going into the game. As it turns out, role-playing was integral to this event. Out of the gate I negotiated a treaty with the Colombian government to unite our forces against the American invaders, and unite we did, all over the other team. What I didn’t know was that Ferg was running around sowing the seeds of dissension, and as fast as I set up allegiances, he broke them down and turned the sides against each other. I have to admit, I couldn’t have done it better myself.

Seems like lately I end up by myself in the worst situations. My squad for this adventure, Temporary Team Tango Alpha2, had all the best intentions of using radio communications to coordinate movement, but some technical glitches combined with my eagerness to jump in the thick of things, and I’d turn around to find myself backed against a tapeline, last man standing against a marauding squad bent on base conquest. Going out in a blaze of glory can be fun, but the lumps on the side of my head are still tender. Thanks a lot Americans!

Overall, I liked Wolf Creek. The field owner is a genuinely good person, and the teams attracted to the event showed a strong sense of sportsmanship. Sure, the rules could have used some clarification, but I got the feeling that the producer and staff are open to an honest critique because they want to continue to grow and develop a solid reputation. I had refs telling me that I could and could not insert in various locations, and had I know that the final battle was headshots only (a bad idea that leads to painful overshooting), I would have been in there to the last. Wolf Creek has wonderful potential, and I got a kick out of the fact that the geographic center of North Carolina falls on a paintball field.

While I took plenty of pictures, Dorain from the Black Knights snapped some really excellent action shots. There are about four or five on his slide show that are magazine quality pictures.

No awards, but the Drug Cartel squeaked out a victory with a narrow margin of 50 points. Nice to be on the winning team, even though it doesn’t really matter. Despite falling on my face twice, I had a great time.