June
2007
Giant Big Game
XII – June 3, 2007
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin in a
Futuristic Battle for Domination!
The morning broke to cloudy
skies and humid temperatures. Dew dripped off the tall grasses and
canvas tents that dotted the landscape. Players woke to the sounds of
more cars arriving, with the hissing of the air compressors waking up to
fill more tanks. The referee crew drove up and down the muddy roads on
golf carts to begin one of Wisconsin’s biggest paintball events: Giant
Big Game XII.
625 players, some from as far
away as Texas, collaborated to play the ongoing saga of a futuristic war
between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Splat Tag’s field is mere minutes away
from the two-state border outside of Hudson, Wisconsin. Nestled in the
middle of woodlands and state-owned property, this battlefield allows
players all sorts of terrain to conquer.
Each side brought an impressive
paintball tank to use during the game. The Red Army brought Lil’ Reb,
owned by Splat Tag in conjunction with the scenario team, the Minnesota
Rebels. The Blue Army debuted its own tank, courtesy of CC Military
Surplus and constructed from members of the Minnesota Militia Paintball
Team. This tank, the Land Shark, sports a menacing WWII-style shark face
paint job on the front, and a whopping 8,000 round hopper on the top of
the turret that feeds two Tippmann A-5s. Both tanks roll on tank treads
and can take just about any ground thrown at them.
Many vendors rolled in to take
part in the event as well. CC Military Surplus of Maplewood, MN had
their field store set up, as well as Python Paintball from Chicago,
Illinois, St. Croix Paintball of Hudson, Wisconsin, and Northern Command
Paintball even had a tent to sell their wares. Whatever a player might
need, want, or find forgotten at home was on hand there to buy for the
day. Friendly vendor staff was there to explain to scenario players the
latest in woodsball technology and innovation.
Generals Mike “Rags” Kaehler of
the Blue Army faced off with General Burt “Brutis” Peterson of the Red
Army in a quick overview meeting with the reffing staff and the owner,
Darrin Johnson. At 9:00 a.m. sharp, the go-ahead was delivered over the
referees’ radios signaling a start of the action. Both teams exploded
out of their netted insertion points and took off to secure the three
bases needed for points. While both sides raised their team flag colors
to the top many times over, it appeared that Red Army kept them raised
when the referees checked for point scoring.
By noon that day, it was
looking dismal for Blue Army. The tide was definitely in favor of the
Red Army. General Brutis was sending out wave after wave of soldiers to
keep the bases needed. At one point, General Rags and his first officer
watched as Red troops marched through the Blue Base from the comfort of
their secured bunker. However, General Rags was not to be defeated so
easily. His side had found out in the field three missile crates that
they humped back to the main base. Each crate would allow Rags to call
in a missile strike destroying a base for one half hour and everyone in
it.
After noon had passed, Yellow
Base was Rag’s main objective. He would keep pounding that base with his
missile strikes for most of the afternoon, letting his men rush in and
hold the base in between strikes. Scores and scores of Red soldiers were
eliminated once they would take the base. Blue would call in with the
situation and the count of enemy troops. Within minutes, the referee was
sending them back to their reinsertion point.
At 3:00 p.m., the last
objective was to hold the two towers in the open grass field. Named
Tippmann Tower and Evil Tower, these two autonomous towers would shoot
fully-automatic double-trouble A-5 markers at whichever side controlled
them. Initially it was Blue Army that held them, with Red Army advancing
in menacing numbers. General Rags still had plenty of Darrin Dollars to
purchase two Apache helicopters.
The two selected players, Matt
“Carpenter” McLaughlin and I were allowed to don PVC backpack
constructions on our backs, with pinwheels taped to the top antennas.
This allowed us to venture out onto the field nearly invulnerable from
attack. The only weapon that could bring us down would be a Nerf rocket
fired upon us, or a missile attack like the ones I described earlier.
With full air sources and heavy
paint pods weighing us down, we marched onto the field and opened fire.
Many Red soldiers were unaware of our capabilities, so they began to
fire at us. We were told that mere paintball markers would not eliminate
us, so we took the brunt of their firepower and laid down a ton of our
own. The confused players raised their markers in defeat, while the
lucky few who were still alive in the game scrambled back to the tree
line for protection.
The two of us alone held back
their entire army of 300+ ground troops for nearly an hour and a half.
Blue players kept supplying us with paint, and eventually their air
tanks. Lil’ Reb did its best to take us down with Nerf rocket volleys,
but each came up short or sailed harmlessly past us. The CC Military
“Land Shark” helped us out by laying down suppressive fire or traveling
out to us to refill our pods.
Eventually, we had to refill at
the M.A.S.H. unit that Rags had also purchased. This MASH unit was
located by Evil Tower. While the two of us were reloading and getting
new air tanks, the head referee rushed to the scene and notified all of
us that the MASH unit was destroyed, along with both our Apaches. Tired
and painted thoroughly, we walked off the field with smiles on our
faces. We had done enough damage.
Red Army was able to take
Tippmann Tower briefly, but General Rag’s army quickly took it back and
held it to the end of the day. The point scores, however, still favored
General Brutis of the Red Army, giving him the victory, but victory was
won by everyone that day that enjoyed Splat Tag’s scenario event.
Both generals will have their
name engraved on the large trophy, and will go down in the annals of
Splat Tag history. Both sides will remember this day as one of the
greatest games in the Midwest. Splat Tag also handed out many great
prizes, like Tippmann markers, cases of paint, and even free trips and
entry fees to Oklahoma D-Day the following weekend!
For Darrin Johnson, this was
one heck of a way to spend his birthday. For the 625 players that helped
make his day memorable, it was a chance of a lifetime to be a part of
the action. The battlefield sits quietly, as the fog of war has been
lifted for now. However, knowing the folks at Splat Tag in Hudson,
Wisconsin, that won’t last forever. Splat Tag offers monthly Jungle
Rumble events, Old School Classic 5-man team events, and yes, a fall
Giant Game where the action will come alive once more. If you’re ever in
the Midwest region, this is one event you will love to join in. Everyone
has fun, everyone plays a part in the action, and everyone welcomes you
at Minnesota and Wisconsin’s biggest event: the Splat Tag Giant Big
Game!
For more info about the Giant Big Game check out the web site
www.giantgame.com
MNpig.com News -
June 2007
See List of Upcoming Paintball Big Games
