A different kind of game...

My friend Broc works at his family business. They have this great big lot and facility in an industrial area of Portland, with a few warehouses and huge shop buildings. Two of the buildings are vacant, and the lot lends itself to hiding, sneaking around and - well, a different kind of organized (and safety-conscious) fun.

I didn't take the pics, I just lent my camera to another person who ran around trying not to get shot at, while I took an MP5 and defended the base.

By the way - and before anyone freaks out: While this looks hard-core, realistic and (if it was real) dangerous, it's actually a game/sport called Airsoft, and the people who play are quite safety-conscious and wear proper protective gear. The guns shoot lightweight, tiny plastic balls the size of a BB. Yes, they can hurt if shot too close, but a red welt is about the worst one can expect when wearing the proper protective gear - namely good eye protection. Safety is important, and it's what makes the game fun. You'll hear people calling "safety kill!" if they are too close to shoot safely, for example. Obviously, point-blank shots with plastic BB's will hurt, so everyone's quite careful and adheres to certain rules. Never play games like this without the proper safety gear - anyone who doesn't practice safe play is an idiot, and you should not include them. Trust me, having fun is good, but being cool and safe with others is much more important.

Ok, anyhow - here's some pictures of what we did last night:

Don't have any train cars available in your local industrial complex, a la Counter-Strike? That's okay, semi trucks are a good stand-in, and besides they have real horns and lights and other things that can throw people off. Plus, the trains are just over on the other side of the fence, so the crashing train sounds are there, even if the cars are not.

Flash photography makes these guys a little more visible than they actually are when you're playing. Imagine nighttime alley lighting and shop lights indoors being turned on and off by whoever happens to have control of the light switches at the time. You never really know when it will be dark or light.

Hard Core Dave. Camper, heh. 'Nuf said.

Cory checks the warehouse floor from behind cover. See the light switches? Cory's the master of lighting tactics.

The attacking team posed for a photo. All us defenders should have done the same. Doh! There was 12 or more of them and 8 of us on the defending team.

Three posers of us from the defending team: Dave, me and Cory. Dave and Cory were a little more effective than me - I got safety-killed around a doorway corner right at the beginning of the first game, and got one "kill" in the second game before I got exposed when the lights came on and I was in the clear. Dave got several, and Cory got a couple too.

That was fun. I discovered I definitely need to go and buy glasses (or contacts maybe) again (I broke my last pair and have not had them replaced because I am lazy that way). Gun sights just aren't as easy to see as they used to be!