[mnycsbob]

I'm curious to know what are the best ways to keep players coming back and excited to play woodsball?

[Delmarva Paintball]

Just a few quick ideas...

Convenience or coolness, you must have something about your field that they can't find in grandpas woods or anywhere else.

Don't get confused and add low cost into the mix. Nobody plays paintball because it is cheap. Focus on making it fun. People will pay ridiculous amounts of money for fun.

A gigantic part of making it fun is your staff. Hire good people and pay them real wages. Any goofball can ref a game but what you want is outgoing people that will make sure everyone is having fun.

Woodsball players are not looking for speedball fields in the woods. Repeat that last line because it is crazy important. Design and construct cool bunkers. Have a theme. Hire a carpenter if you can't do it yourself but don't settle for plywood stuck on pallets or a field full of rejected junk. Barrels are ok but boring unless you do something different with them. Oh yeah... PAINT THE DAMN BUNKERS!

I have no idea how fields can get away with not putting real tables and chairs in the staging area. A few cable spools sitting around won't do. Buy some nice picnic tables and have enough for all your players to have a spot. Better yet put them under some cover.

Change up the games. Have different objectives built into the fields. Use props. It gets pretty boring playing elimination for the millionth time.

[Rob @ Ninja PB]

i'm hearing theme fields are the way to go. Forts, trenches, bunkers made from sandbags, helicopter/tank/truck shells, or anything mil-sim or realistic-looking. It seems like some of my customers are opting to build new fields based on fields in video games such as Call of Duty. They feel the kids and adults that play these games can relate more to these types of fields and appeal more to them.

just some things i've been hearing from some of my customers.

[Darth_balls]

Make sure you have bunkers and things that people can hide behind that are taller than 3-4 feet. Not everyone is 14 or in fantastic shape and want to be on their knees all day.

What I'm pretty much saying... try to design your fields for everyone, from the young to the older crowd so that everyone can "find a spot".

[Japy]

Make sure you have a mixture of "bunkers" as well as just paths in the brush. That way people who love sneaking around in the brush are given the opportunity to do so, but the guys whod rather not crawl around in thick brush can play too.

[lopez17]

www.warplay.com

They have the best woodsball fields I've been to. They used quality products (including structures made from concrete) in the construction and have theme layouts of historical battles/scenarios that lead to several interesting ways of playing the field.

The variations in the field allow for different attack/defend scenarios, action for players who want a more speedball type of experience in the woods as well as woods and strategy for people more inclined in that direction. For example, Warplay's "Bridge too far" field has natural choke points and bunkers that funnel you to a bridge. Can't get across without going over the bridge. It leads to interesting strategy and yet at the same time the "funnel" is wide enough that it doesn't cause congestion and extensive amounts of up front play.

The key is to have a theme in mind before you build, utilize quality materials that add to the ambiance and theme, and execute in a way that's successful. One field I played at had a creek that ran through the middle of it. Houses/structures on both sides. It enabled a wide variety of play and accomodated a variety of skill levels.

[IrockanEGO]

Dont prune the field. I hate woodsball fields that are run down with zero foliage. Woodsball is most fun when there is atleast moderate foliage on the ground. The more foliage=the better. If your field lacks it then I would put down some fertilizer and just let weeds grow.

Also make cool pieces of cover. If the trees are still too young for adequate cover then make original bunkers out of whatever. I have seen old ww2 style jeeps that are half sunk into the ground, or one of those little plastic kids play houses and players were actually going in and defending from there, or a schoolbus. I think it would be sweet to see like bombed out little brick houses with like a big hole in a few walls like a tank round went through it or something.

Check the free section of craigslist. There is always free brick, cinderblocks, barrels, wood, fill dirt and stone, etc. to make some cool stuff

[mnycsbob]

Originally Posted by Delmarva Paintball

Just a few quick ideas...

Convenience or coolness, you must have something about your field that they can't find in grandpas woods or anywhere else.

Don't get confused and add low cost into the mix. Nobody plays paintball because it is cheap. Focus on making it fun. People will pay ridiculous amounts of money for fun.

A gigantic part of making it fun is your staff. Hire good people and pay them real wages. Any goofball can ref a game but what you want is outgoing people that will make sure everyone is having fun.

Woodsball players are not looking for speedball fields in the woods. Repeat that last line because it is crazy important. Design and construct cool bunkers. Have a theme. Hire a carpenter if you can't do it yourself but don't settle for plywood stuck on pallets or a field full of rejected junk. Barrels are ok but boring unless you do something different with them. Oh yeah... PAINT THE DAMN BUNKERS!

I have no idea how fields can get away with not putting real tables and chairs in the staging area. A few cable spools sitting around won't do. Buy some nice picnic tables and have enough for all your players to have a spot. Better yet put them under some cover.

Change up the games. Have different objectives built into the fields. Use props. It gets pretty boring playing elimination for the millionth time.

Great advise I'll take it all and use it thanks

[mnycsbob]

Originally Posted by Rob @ Ninja PB

i'm hearing theme fields are the way to go. Forts, trenches, bunkers made from sandbags, helicopter/tank/truck shells, or anything mil-sim or realistic-looking. It seems like some of my customers are opting to build new fields based on fields in video games such as Call of Duty. They feel the kids and adults that play these games can relate more to these types of fields and appeal more to them.

just some things i've been hearing from some of my customers.

This is great thank you

[mnycsbob]

Originally Posted by IrockanEGO

Dont prune the field. I hate woodsball fields that are run down with zero foliage. Woodsball is most fun when there is atleast moderate foliage on the ground. The more foliage=the better. If your field lacks it then I would put down some fertilizer and just let weeds grow.

Also make cool pieces of cover. If the trees are still too young for adequate cover then make original bunkers out of whatever. I have seen old ww2 style jeeps that are half sunk into the ground, or one of those little plastic kids play houses and players were actually going in and defending from there, or a schoolbus. I think it would be sweet to see like bombed out little brick houses with like a big hole in a few walls like a tank round went through it or something.

Check the free section of craigslist. There is always free brick, cinderblocks, barrels, wood, fill dirt and stone, etc. to make some cool stuff

Ok. We do cut trails on the less dense field and we have a very dense mountain laural field that we cut tunnels through with machetes Thank you

[mnycsbob]

Originally Posted by lopez17

www.warplay.com

They have the best woodsball fields I've been to. They used quality products (including structures made from concrete) in the construction and have theme layouts of historical battles/scenarios that lead to several interesting ways of playing the field.

The variations in the field allow for different attack/defend scenarios, action for players who want a more speedball type of experience in the woods as well as woods and strategy for people more inclined in that direction. For example, Warplay's "Bridge too far" field has natural choke points and bunkers that funnel you to a bridge. Can't get across without going over the bridge. It leads to interesting strategy and yet at the same time the "funnel" is wide enough that it doesn't cause congestion and extensive amounts of up front play.

The key is to have a theme in mind before you build, utilize quality materials that add to the ambiance and theme, and execute in a way that's successful. One field I played at had a creek that ran through the middle of it. Houses/structures on both sides. It enabled a wide variety of play and accomodated a variety of skill levels.

great advise from everyone can't wait to start putting this into play Thanks again everyone

[mnycsbob]

I didn't expect as quick of a response as what you guys gave sorry I didn't respond back sooner..Great to know if I have questions I know where to come for professional answers Thanks again everyone
Bob. EVP

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eagle-...05501666240370

[sal briguglio]

I will offer the best advice I can....talk to YOUR customers about what they would love to have at YOUR field. What works for some places doesn't always work somewhere else. Also, be creative with what you build/design.

Some of our regular woodsball players love dense, natural woods; others prefer some "open" areas and less dense underbrush. Some like natural bunkers like built up logs; others REALLY like our two-story castles and towers. Try to accomodate both groups.

Design and build what YOUR customers want and you will keep them as customers.

[mnycsbob]

Thanks Sal I appreciate the advise
I have surveyed my customers and they all seem to come to the same consensus.. Don't change anything just build a bigger customer base. We put all natural bunkers on the less dense field then added a few forts and some more bridges after some customer suggestions and everyone really enjoys it.As far as the more dense field it's very thick mountain laural you can't see the sky when you're in there We call it the jungle warfare people really like it

[lopez17]

Sounds like you're off to a good start. If you're in Tyrone, hopefully you can pull some players from State College and Johnstown/Altoona your way.

[zachpnnc]

for the love of god kill any poisonous plants in the woods i hate playing at fields that dont search the woods atleast monthly for poison ivy

[mnycsbob]

Originally Posted by lopez17

Sounds like you're off to a good start. If you're in Tyrone, hopefully you can pull some players from State College and Johnstown/Altoona your way.

Thanks Lopez17 Most of our business has been from State college. We aren't really getting anyone from Altoona or johnstown yet but we're still pretty new we just opened in April so we're hoping folks start noticing us pretty soon

[mnycsbob]

Originally Posted by zachpnnc

for the love of god kill any poisonous plants in the woods i hate playing at fields that dont search the woods atleast monthly for poison ivy

Got it Zachpnnc We're out in the field every day looking for things that might not make someones day

[lopez17]

Originally Posted by mnycsbob

Thanks Lopez17 Most of our business has been from State college. We aren't really getting anyone from Altoona or johnstown yet but we're still pretty new we just opened in April so we're hoping folks start noticing us pretty soon

Knowing how dead that area is from a Paintball perspective, I think you guys would pull a lot of players in with minimal adverstising. Hell you have UPJ and lots of kids in that area. Good luck!

[cubzwin162]

A great way to net in players/gain popularity is to have BYOP days.

Once a month, every two weeks, doesn't matter. For the first few months, you should try to get as many bodies in the park and gain some traction in the local paintball community.

[mnycsbob]

Originally Posted by lopez17

Knowing how dead that area is from a Paintball perspective, I think you guys would pull a lot of players in with minimal adverstising. Hell you have UPJ and lots of kids in that area. Good luck!

Very true, not a lot of competition in the area. We are in a good location too being surrounded by colleges,