AAR - OP: Broken Heart - Gunny's Warfare Center

[Umbra]

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I had some plans fall through for Saturday night that freed up my Sunday, allowing me to make some last minute driving arrangements to make it to Gunny's new field (thanks Tinker!). I've been starving for a change in pace from the usual local games, so I was excited to play on a new field that was focused on what I grew up with (woods).

It was a pretty cold day (stayed in the 30's) and there was still snow on the ground from the day before, so we definitely had a bit of mud. Despite the mud and cold, the sun was shining and everyone was in high spirits. The staging area was a gigantic barn with room for plenty of vendors and the check-in. Players were promptly rallied for the safety brief and corralled out the door to their respective start areas for separate scenario briefings. I was glad to see the refs didn't "wait" on every player to be ready to start the game.

The scenario was based around a cartel smuggling boxes of drugs across the boarder without the DEA team grabbing/stopping them. The DEA was not allowed to cross the boarder, but they could patrol and intercept the dropoffs. The cartel was forced to meet their contact in specific grid coordinates and could only exchange the drugs at those points. They had to give the contact one of each colored box (2 total) before they were given intel on the next meeting location. It was nice to play in a scenario that used a new and innovative flow; that doesn't happen much nowadays.

The cartel (green) ended up doing very well despite being made up mostly of the "inexperienced" crowd. I was very impressed with the sportsmanship and skill level of the younger kids out there, taking and making shots before I had a chance to even spot the targets. I saw a lot of new faces, which is another thing that doesn't happen very often anymore

The field itself played perfectly for the scenario. There was a good mix of different "thicknesses" in vegetation, having grassy fields, long grass clearings, pine tree forests, and your normal deciduous growth. The terrain had plenty of breaks in line of sight in the form of hills and trenches to allow for effective flanking and larger scale tactics. Another important aspect to point out is that there were no real "hills" that required a lot of energy to climb, so don't worry about tiring out like you might do at CDWC The field plays perfect for the 50-100 player average, but can be easily scaled by the scenario to account for smaller games. We will have to see how it plays with larger numbers, but since this was my first time out and I didn't see the entire field it's hard to make that judgement.

In the end, I got what I needed, a low-stress game with good players and good times. I'll be back again, and hopefully with more TAG members

Thanks to:
- Tinker and Carly for the ride and amazing hospitality
- Gunny for the opportunity to play at a new field
- The role players and refs for enhancing our game experience
- All the Cartel players that I talked to and fought along side with
- My equipment for not failing me

Pros:
- Unique scenario style
- Field played well
- Great attitudes
- New faces
- Grill for warmth

Cons:
- Lack of deadrags (nothing new, but making it a requirement can change that)
- Lack of radios (nothing new)
- Dust in staging area from wind (was a bit windy though, not sure what a good solution would be)
- Snow cause late start (again, out of our control)