Attending WWII airsoft events

sorry stu you got in before me with your point.

All organisers have access to the private organiser's section of the forum (apart from new boys Pathfinder) and I most definitely won't be making this accessible to general user's of the forum. There is stuff in there not for public consumption and in any case, thrashing out dates has nothing to do with general forum users anyway. When a game is good to go and fully formed it is advertised on the face of the forum. Ideas, plans, aspirations are not.

Organisers must work out between themselves who gets what date. Those that don't engage or discuss will find themselves at a disadvantage. I've tried this year to arbitrate and found myself between a rock and a hard place. We have a full calendar yet still there is grumbling. No more, sort shit out between yourselves - you just have to talk to each other!

there's a few times I've had to "cut my cloth" and choose between games only to have the game I chose cancel. Clearly there's something not working and perhaps we should adopt a compromise in some of our game principles and expectations. After all, game time is game time fellas! Regardless.
I know the idea of limiting games was not popular but surely a cake divided into 6 gives a bigger share than divided into 10!? WW2 games are not getting enough of a portion to survive! If the calendar gave each organiser one slot (as proposed by Craig) a year, and this was evenly spaced, then perhaps some people would give the thought of being a red squirrel a chance? The mother of all invention (or self reinvention) is necessity!
But all said and done, prittle prattle on here does little but get backs up and potentially isolate people further. There needs to be a consensus on how we go forward or we risk it dying off from lack of direction as we all wander about in search of our own personal nirvana.

so get booked on to the Albany game you lot, put ya money where ya mouths are

There are more organisers than there are players, that is part of the problem! We would end up with twelve games organised by twelve organisers and still have 'too many' games.

There are three very different games later in the year, yet to be announced. Are you saying 'nope, no can do'. What would you be missing out on? Would a red squirrel go to a grey squirrel game if nothing else was available - of course not. And vice versa. Player choice is good. Players are the community, not organisers. Of course, organisers tend to forget they are players too and tend to be very insular, also diminishing the booking player base.

Anyhoo, too much talk of doom and gloom - there isn't a crisis yet. Pathfinder came in unintroduced to the player base and didn't make a great start on publicity and they are paying the price. Gunman tossed up a game and hasn't engaged with the players and is paying the price. Beyond that everything is going OK so far with some well attended games already run this year. Don't get this out of proportion chaps, just get booking...

Champion we're a sensitive bunch

I have to agree with CW that the organizers section need be hidden ,can you imagine the chaos if you announced dates and people had a chance to argue for a date change due to their ability to attend on that day ? no we the players just have to try and be flexible if we can with both finding the time and what games we choose to attend .i think it's easy from a player non organizer view to forget all the hard work done on our behalf by the game organizers and maybe reward them by trying a game they really want to do .

It's all a bit catch 22. People book onto certainties or less risky propositions to guarantee game time. So the people who do try the new, small or different games end up getting frustrated due to those games being cancelled due to low numbers. So when they book next time, they look for a certainty. Self fulfilling proficy. I'm sure I heard Darwanian mentioned. Sounds about the score

I am sure we have had this discussion before, and at the end of the day is a hobby not a job (part from Josh who makes his living running these things). So organisers will or won't organise games and players will or won't play them, there isn't some soviet style central committee to decide what games get run by whom and when.

wrt the 'difficult months' july/august seem to be the real problem ones, I think I've only ever managed one august game and never a july one although by a miraculous coincidence of diaries I can make the 34th game at the end of August. Some people don't have a lot of options about when they take holidays.

Winter games otoh are fabulous, some of the best games I've ever been to have been dec/jan/feb, yes you are taking a chance with the weather so probably best not to plan a 48 hour weekender for January, but they have the huge benefit of being cold so you don't end up being a sweat soaked rag after ten minutes and being able to play in a greatcoat all day is really rather fun.

Personally I am really not fussy what games are on, one dayers, weekenders, history-lite/heavy, low/high ammo, stitch counting/looks like, I really couldn't give a toss, I just want an opportunity to wear the kit outside at an event which is logistically practical without the expense of too much domestic credit. Wearing the kit outside is why I've started going to re-enactment events, so far I have to say a pretty poor substitute for WW2 airsoft although my rifle drill is now much better. But they have a published calendar, are generally only a relatively short drive and amazingly, are free to attend. I can see why there are so many re-enactors and so few of us.

So ultimately all we can really do is book on as many games as humanly possible to keep things going, or we'll all end up going to open days in WW2 kit, which is entertaining from time to time, but not quite the same thing.

btw for lovers of certainty, although they aren't on here, Josh publishes the timetable for his games a year in advance on the gunman forum, and the date and potential venue for the 'big autumn game' are there already.

Sorry, bit of a ramble.

Cheers
Martin

Part of the problem is chaps hold back from booking, keeping an eye on the booking list. If it is empty or there are no recognisable names they hold back longer. And longer. An especial problem is 'gang' culture where you find all or none of a group book on a game, and this has a huge impact, and is particularly felt when gangs disappear off the scene.

Time was when games booked out in days, full game price paid up front. This still happens (or at reasonable speed) with club-based games but independent organisers suffer the agonising wait as a viability cut-off date looms - will they book or won't they? The numbers are out there, plenty of them, the hard part is enthusing them enough to commit themselves. I don't have an answer except to say it wasn't always this way. I've never attended games as part of a group so it is a bit difficult for me to say why group members don't want game experiences outside of their peer group except to say being a 'free spirit' brings new experiences to every game and I'd hate to miss out on something just because fellow group members don't want/can't attend a game.

And just to say, game cancellation is unusual and there is always a reason. Poor player engagement, poor site choice, poor date choice, poor scenario choice - the list goes on. Ultimately it is unfair to 'blame' the players, if blame lies anywhere it is with the organisers, one way or another. Harsh? Yup. Particularly harsh on players who have booked precious holidays from work, it must be very annoying. I know it can be very difficult for some who have to plan for months ahead.

Yes, the group thing is a bit of an issue, I know several people who will only come to things if their pals can too. Human nature I guess and something we have to live with although I do try and gee them up to go to events.

Personally I'd rather go to an event on my own than miss one because my pals aren't going. Going on your own exposes you to the rich tapestry of life which is worthwhile in itself, but I appreciate it that isn't for everyone.

Cheers
Martin

CW may have a point with the group booking's , i'm part of a group but book separately, if i like a game i'm going and book as soon as i decide but that may not be the same for other's in my group or other group's .i tend to do allied at games where the other's don't want to go or do German at the games they do go to ,it kind of works in my favour in some way's . i'm not sure what we can do about this behaviour other than to mention that i have never been made to feel left out because i was on my own , in fact quite the opposite ,it's harder to meet people when you are in a group as you are harder to approach but on you'r own everybody is approachable ,it may not appear so but i'm quite shy in most situation's except WW2 airsoft and that's because i learnt how friendly people are .

well for me one of things i love doing in airsoft (all types ) is doing objectives etc as a squad , why we tend to often book for ww2 etc as a 34th squad when we can, as a good friendly squad can make a average day a good day, but we always happy to have any extras etc and we try to split ourselves up if needed.

But i don't ever feel that in the ww2 scene squads put together are much different its just you may not remember everyone's name but the attitude to work together is fantastic, i recently went to a nam game and expected the same high quality player and was very disappointed, some were great but lot of lone wolfing from time to time and hit taking at some points was a joke and some attitudes as well good day but could have been great

I found at all ww2 games of various types everyone friendly and helpful look how folks lend total strangers anything and everything without batting a eyelid i know there a bit of doom and gloom but there is also a lot we should be happy for

oh and

love ww2 airsoft more interesting than skirmish,problem I have is living in the deep south most games up north,so far this year have attended Foy and San Marino both in the south, looking forward to the Normandy event, don't mind travelling as far as Oxford area, distance becomes costly.and can only do day events,wish there was more events in the south but I understand organizers cannot please all.

I used to love walk ons at both my local sites but this holds little appeal for me anymore, just cant justify the time!

I really enjoy the WWII air soft I've experienced so far, the events are not every week, I can fit them around my kickboxing training and competitions not to mention real life "getting a day pass" to go out...and once the kits there, its not prohibitively expensive to play paying for ammo.

Think we're very lucky in this part of the midlands to have a regular, active group at a number of local sites with different terrain and pros and cons. I'd love to travel more but I just cant afford the time or the money.

Hi

I'm a long term reenactment geek, but now want to get into ww2 airsoft & it's looking like hooking up with you guys is the way to go. Sadly sold my kit to raise cash for a house move, but still have my TOP Mp40 in good working order(just couldn't part with it!) I used to portray 1st SS and even got to a couple of skirmishes with a ww2 theme back in Kent between reenactments.
Basically wondering-
Are there any groups/units to join within the ww2 airsoft community? Am considering US airborne or Wehrmacht squaddie (or maybe a French resistance load out)
I don't drive-would car share/fuel cost share be viable?
Cheers. Gav H

Hi

I'm a long term reenactment geek, but now want to get into ww2 airsoft & it's looking like hooking up with you guys is the way to go. Sadly sold my kit to raise cash for a house move, but still have my TOP Mp40 in good working order(just couldn't part with it!) I used to portray 1st SS and even got to a couple of skirmishes with a ww2 theme back in Kent between reenactments.
Basically wondering-
Are there any groups/units to join within the ww2 airsoft community? Am considering US airborne or Wehrmacht squaddie (or maybe a French resistance load out)
I don't drive-would car share/fuel cost share be viable?
Cheers. Gav H

willkommen Gav H

As far as groups go on the forum there a couple of groups who portray specific units but most of the groups are more regional. is Army Group South as in the title have members from across the South but members have both German and Allied kit, but the main thrust is German Kit.

Best advice just get to a game, don`t worry about kit there are usually lending threads on each game where people will lend kit and we are no Stitch Nazis

Civilian clothes of the era resistance troops are present in some games and they can really be fun to portray.

Our game in May The last stand has German Heer Inf, SS Panzer Grenadiers and Dutch resistance so come along

car share is an option espesially on long distance games as petrol is not cheap these days ,best to post up on the game thread to ask for car share ,groups exist ,some are local groups and others are not like the Alt hessen groupe is n online groupe who all go to the same games and try to look unified with uniform's for that game etc.

If you don't drive, my suggestion would be to start with an allied impression. This opens up the possibility of travelling by train.
Although I am currently unemployed and unable to make it to games, I have faced the same issues. What I did was travel in full gear by train. Simply find the nearest station to the game and ask if anyone can pick you up from there. Where there are several options, find the station with the best looking pub (this gives you somewhere to sit and wait).
I would imagine that German gear would not work well for train travel for a couple of reasons; the webbing is more complex and wearing a german uniform in public may get negative reactions. I have tried a few different uniforms and can report that British battledress gets a few funny looks, British airborne gear gets a few enquiries and Australian Service dress has the Lynx effect.
When it comes to guns, the Sten will fit in a British Large pack with just the end of the barrel sticking out. A rifle in valise case will not cause British Transport police to bat an eyelid if you are in a WW2 uniform. I have only been stopped by the police once, they just wanted to know what the uniform was.

If you don't drive, my suggestion would be to start with an allied impression. This opens up the possibility of travelling by train.
Although I am currently unemployed and unable to make it to games, I have faced the same issues. What I did was travel in full gear by train. Simply find the nearest station to the game and ask if anyone can pick you up from there. Where there are several options, find the station with the best looking pub (this gives you somewhere to sit and wait).
I would imagine that German gear would not work well for train travel for a couple of reasons; the webbing is more complex and wearing a german uniform in public may get negative reactions. I have tried a few different uniforms and can report that British battledress gets a few funny looks, British airborne gear gets a few enquiries and Australian Service dress has the Lynx effect.
When it comes to guns, the Sten will fit in a British Large pack with just the end of the barrel sticking out. A rifle in valise case will not cause British Transport police to bat an eyelid if you are in a WW2 uniform. I have only been stopped by the police once, they just wanted to know what the uniform was.

Funny thing about the British Battle dress. I went to a fancy dress party wearing mine and everyone thought I was wearing a German uniform!!

The issue I have, having been burned twice a good few years ago, is to do with numbers. On those occasions the fee was paid but the event was cancelled in one case due to not enough people signing up (no refund given) and a refund refused in the other case when it was requested due to it becoming clear beforehand that not enough people would be involved.

TLDR: if I see not enough people signed up for an event I'm not going to hand over money simply on a hope and a prayer. It would therefore make more sense for people to be added to a list as "intending" to attend, with a guarantee of a refund if an event falls flat on its face due to low numbers (non-bookings).

Ideally a list of intention with the fee paid at the door in cash.

That's my 2 cents worth.