Hi all, Budgie in Japan here.
Thought I'd share the game styles people play up here and the way its run. Any thoughts or questions welcome.
Guns:1 - FPS legal limit is low; 97mps (under 400fps) for all guns, including snipers and pistols. Makes sniping almost irrelevant, though I've been tagged by some.
2 - Gun crime almost nonexistent, so laws are relaxed: anyone over 18 can own one. Can't take them out in public of course. Can't fire in your back yard (unless you're on a farm or something where nobody can see you. the idea seems to be to protect people from stray shots or the alarm of seeing an armed individual).
3 - full auto okay.
4 - ultra hi-caps okay. Wish they weren't.
Clubs: There are some loose regional 'associations' and informal teams but no governing body.
Fields: Some are rented by informal club organizers or run by small business owners. The one nearest me (in Hokkaido) is a nice patch of forest which is used as a snowmobile park in winter, a quad bike course in summer and airsoft field most Sundays from June-October. Cost is about $15 bucks a day or $30 with rental gear. I usually get a discount because my mate works there in winter and it's considered cool to have a couple of foreigners floating around.
Bear warnings sometimes close it in the spring, the odd snake can be seen slithering away before too many people start stomping around, and giant hornets buzz around all summer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_giant_hornetReal treat.
Players: I have identified several types:
1 - Mall ninjas. By far the most common. head to toe multicam or A-Tacs. Green A-Tacs is a great match for the Japanese bush. Favor HK416s, Masadas, SCARs and M249 Paras. They like those little special forces helmets and Go-pros and stuff. Mall ninjas have a tendency to be 'zombies' (use that term in NZ?) that is, they spent so much on their gear they don't really want to be knocked out in the first 5 mins. They usually arrive with a car full of guns and change several times over the day.
2 - Cosplayers. Always a handful. One guy relularly turns up in a suit and tie - and it can be over thirty degrees and humid in summer - some as other silly characters from Japanese comics.
3 - Reenactors. These guys like to dress up in period gear. Seen Desert storm, Mogadishu, WWII SS or Airborne loadouts. One guy has a full Vietnam kit. You can see the effort they put into authenticity. You'd think they're like mall ninjas but they're usually good sports. Couple of guys are real JSDF so they have free camo and pouches, cheeky buggers.
4 - casual: me and a few of my mates, and one group I know that plays at a different field. Oddballs who love their guuurns, but otherwise wear mismatched and comfy gear. I usually wear a pair of 'safariflage' cargo shorts, a brown polo shirt, a generic green cap, a chest rig a dude gave me, and my trusty old wooden AK. That's about it. Others use rental gear or bring their girls along.
Play styles:Not a lot of teamwork, I'm sad to report. Teams are usually divided up on the day at the start into yellow and red (armbands). Can be anywhere from ten a side to thirty or more if there's an airsoft store sponsored event. Most people make little 'squads' with their mates but there's no real direction. A lot of guys like to go and have their own private war. I'd like to see more organization. Some teams coordinate properly and work together, but they're usually high-pride mall ninjas and as such tend towards zombieism (that is blatantly not calling hits)
High-caps are universal: one place I played had a 'real caps' day and it was fun, but turnout was low. That place also has a low-cap only blanket rule. But my local? spam, spam, spam.
Game types:
Usually there's a marshal on some lookout, high ground or roaming. The one we have is working for the place as its a business, so he's pretty good about reminding people to call hits and so on.
1 - Timed CTF. Usually 15-20 mins so you get lots of games over the day. Dead is off the field, you'll get plenty of chances later. You only have to reach and touch the enemy flag, not take it away.
2 - Timed domination: 10-15 mins. The marshal puts a soup can on a drum or crate in the middle of the field. Half is painted red, half yellow. The object is to turn your team's color up and hold the ground for the duration. If your color is still up at the end, your team wins. Respawn at base when shot. Very intense game, with lots of dying and running back and forth; middle ground constantly under fire, so usually we do two games after lunch and go back to CTF.
3 - Defend: one team sets up around a central obstacle - there's a wooden bunker in our case. They guard (but do not occupy it) Other team has to fight their way up and get inside the bunker. 10-15 mins.
4 - VIP or VIO for 'object'. Played this once at a different field. Each team has to pick up and haul back a heavy plastic tool crate (usually takes one man at each end to carry it). Naturally middle ground is a spam fest. This is where the lack of attention to teamwork really bites. Having proper coordination would really make a difference.
Conclusion:That's the roundup. I will say that apart from the domination games, the field is very quiet. This is because of a lack of coordination and teamwork. Everyone thinks talking will give their position away. But a coordinated squad will be constantly shouting back and forth and directing one another to the objective. On the rare occasions I see such a noisy bunch they usually overrun the opposition. Again though, hard to say if it was better teamwork or cheating. My buddy is from the US and he always flips out when people don't call their hits. I'm always calming him down, because, you know, can't be helped. That's the marshal's job. Some teams/players are honest, some aren't, even if they're already very good at the game.
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