Manning : Your Reply
You are right Manning, there is no way you could have a definitive play-book as field designs vary from tournament to tournament but there are some set-plays that could be termed as ‘general’.
Micah seems to have missed the point completely because I think he hasn’t read the article you are referring to, so I will now hope to clarify a few things.
I am not saying that you can have set-plays nailed right down to a pre-set catalogue of moves that you could call up much like they do in American football but I am suggesting something that is not too far removed.
The nature of these plays is unlike chess moves or strategies because in paintball, at this stage of our development, we are really looking for this to be a one-shot deal.
In other words, whatever play we select, should be a significant determinant in ending the game whereas in chess and American football, it is more a series of plays that combine for a victory.
I am not saying that more than one play can’t be used but we are on the first rung of the evolutionary ladder here not half way up the damn thing.
The nature of the set-plays is not whether or not a snake should be taken just because an opposing player has dived headlong into it, my God, that sort of play has been going on since there were snakes on Sup’ Air fields and is nothing new so I don’t really know why Micah would even mention it, apples or no apples !!!
The set-plays I am advocating are more sophisticated than that, not much more I must add.
You have all seen a game where say, somebody like Avalanche or SC Ironmen play a game where they smash the living daylights out of their opponents with bunker moves all over the frikkin place.
Now these games when they happen are not orchestrated, they just happen like that sometimes in what looks like a series of set-plays.
They are not set-plays at all but by default they emulate them.
Now self-evidently, these bunker moves that at rare times are obviously achievable can be reproduced if practiced and refined and team’s do not have to wait for them to happen, they can make them happen if they recognise the significant components of that move and practice them time and again.
So far from taking some poor fool out of a snake, I am advocating a series of moves from multiple players with a select goal in mind.
Field design, although variable does conform to a few general rules, approximate same number of bunkers per field and if you think about it, approximately the same lay out.
After all, you have a small field with flanks, middle ground and back positions to cover, I mean, there ain’t that many variations on that limited theme you can perform.
That said, herein lies the tacticians dream as I mentioned in the article because, if he perseveres, he can practice a limited number of set-plays that have at their heart, opponent removal and acquisition of forward angles and bunkers as well as winning the game itself.
Remember, for the most part, if your set play can achieve a 3:2 (roughly) kill ratio (in a seven man) then the game is basically a done deal anyway.
So although the set play may well not have the end game in its design, it will undoubtedly predispose teams to finish quickly if and when the set play was successful.
The American football book of set-plays is comprehensive, we would have a book but it would be a general approach book and not too many pages in it at this stage !
I hope this has gone some way at least in reducing the confusion
Robbo