2013 and CiA

Well, we are back, both slimmer and more focussed. Amazing what diets and spectacles can do.

We have taken a step back and reassessed where we want to be and what sort of games we want to run. There are more organisers now so players won't be starved of games if we don't run three of four games a year and this relieves us of a bit of self-imposed pressure. And want to put the fun back into organising events rather than create monumental ball-aches! So this means we can concentrate on creating events that are both challenging and different and certainly well away from the 'shooting BBs at each other in woods' type. Creating games that stick in the memory is what we are after.

The first thing you will see on the game threads is this statement that reiterates player's collective responsibility to make events work.

This event is a WW2 Airsoft community event. That is to say it is organised by a small group of players who have given up their time to make something happen. The key component is you, the WW2 airsoft player. Your contribution both in sharing the costs of running the event and giving up your own time is contributing to the experience of your fellow players. You are not paying to be entertained for a weekend and you don't have a right to play as you please (off-piste, cheating, win-at-all-costs etc). There are no marshals, there is no need, no one wants to let their fellow players down and we are responsible for not just ourselves but others too.

Comrades in Arms events are not airsoft skirmishes, quite the opposite. Within the bounds of a fun and safe weekend they are concerned with getting into the mindset of a WW2 soldier - getting frustrated, disillusioned, exhilarated and elated in equal measure. Winning or losing each have a fascination, each brings its own slant to the experience. Following orders and objectives, keeping alive, looking after your comrades are very much to the fore. It is the experience to remember that we are looking for - something to look back on and say, "wow, that was amazing". It's a shared experience and it only happens if we are all working together - welcome to Comrades in Arms.

Secondly, we have dropped the CiA membership card thing - it was a bit of an admin chore and also put pressure on us to run events! If you attend a game then you are welcome to have a card if you would like one but we won't be posting them and when they are gone they are gone. And they don't give you any special privileges now, they are just a keepsake. As a consequence this CiA forum section is now open to all forum users, not just card holders.