Author: Blake the Airsoft Warrior

I was reading through some comments on the blog and I ran across a comment asking if it was possible to have an airsoft war with just a few players.  This got me to thinking about what is possible with just a few players and the lessons I have learned from small battles and backyard skirmishes.  In this post, I want to share some of those moments with you, and hopefully inspire you to take advantage of all the small battles you can have with just a couple of friends over.

Throwing Down the Gauntlet

In medieval times, when a knight “threw down the gauntlet” it was a challenge to other knights to fight him for honor and glory. Whoever picked up the gauntlet accepted the challenge, and a one on one battle began.  As ancient as this tradition is, small airsoft battles essentially do the same thing.  They challenge you to fight a single enemy (or two) in combat. They force you to think about that specific player’s airsoft skill, their tactics, and how they think. This personal challenge not only makes you a better player, but it allows you to learn from other players.  Often times the biggest lesson to be learned during a small skirmish is patience and timing.

One battle I was involved in was a simple 2 vs. 2 match in an open field with just a few trees on the edges.  This field was only a few hundred feed wide and a few hundred feet long. The center of the field was filled with waist-high grass. After each team lost a player to shots lobbed across the battlefield, I decided to go into stealth mode and circle for a flank, using just the tiny bit of natural cover available. This battle lasted an entire HOUR!  Yep, that’s right, an HOUR.  Because the enemy player also used stealth and circled the field hunting for me, we each went undetected.  At one point he started patrolling for me and we were less than 5 FEET from each other! In the end, I was able to secure a short burst of BBs on him after he decided to take a more straight forward approach and march through the field looking for me.  Just goes to show that even a small battle, when taken seriously, can teach you a lot about tactics and what you excel at as an airsofter.

Winning One Fight At A Time

Another thing that small battles taught me was focus can make a big difference in how you play. Small battles force you to think before you move or shoot. You have to consider what the result of your actions will be. You learn to fight with precision and focus during the fight at hand, rather than considering what everyone else on your team is up to.

Although one on one battles are not the best way to learn overall battlefield awareness, they do teach you much more about personal awareness. You learn to move with stealth, anticipate enemy moves, and control the in-the-moment-adrenaline. All of these skills make you a better player in large battles and will make you more effective at being a contributing team member.

Defeat Does Not Mean Failure

Nothing in airsoft seems to hurt more than losing to your friends or battle buddies (and believe me, I have lost my fair share of one vs. one games). But, this is a major learning opportunity.

I remember a one vs. one battle that did not go in my favor in any way, shape, or form. I was playing in unfamiliar territory against a stellar airsofter (you can check out Chief’s YouTube channel HERE), and I got pounded…. badly. Every fight seemed to end up with me in a position will zero cover and perfect firing lanes for him. But, I was able to walk away from that battle with a deeper appreciation for terrain knowledge and its effect on a battle. In that way, a loss turned into an amazing “ah-ha” moment for me as an airsofter.

So, the next time you have a few friends over, that the opportunity to do some good airsofting. Even with just a friend of two, you can learn so much about your personal airsofting style and ability, and also get a deeper appreciation for the battle buddies you play with.

Special thanks to Delta Charlie 7 for his comment that sparked the idea for this post. If you have a question about airsoft, or idea for an upcoming post, leave me a comment below!

One of the most satisfying moments in an airsoft game can be found through defending a well thought-out base. As you lay down suppressive fire on the enemy from a well protected position, you get the feeling of a special sort of superiority that can’t be found in any other situation on the field.

Bases can be constructed or found in many ways, and may not even be thought out ahead of time. I have had many instances where the certain configuration of cover and brush has lent itself to becoming an impromptu defensive base of operations during a game. I have taken advantage of these “natural bases” to give my team the edge on the field.

Sometimes my bases have been more planned out, but this doesn’t mean they were complicated facilities. During a game, I established a hasty base with a battle buddy using just some logs and a ghillie poncho that I had in my pack. Although it wasn’t the most tacticool or best laid out bases I have ever used, it accomplished its purpose to protect and camouflage us while we laid down fire on the enemy team.

(Gear Note: I highly recommend picking up a ghillie poncho if you get the chance. They are way faster to get on and off during a game and can be adapted to provide a temporary source of soft cover for camouflage or to hold gear like a net. Although not as stealthy as a full set of ghillie gear, the price and function is perfect for airsoft!)

Back to the primary purpose of this post, how to defend your base effectively. Below are my main tips for keeping your base as secure as possible and general tactics you should use while defending.

Get a Location with Cover

No matter the size of the base, or the amount of time you have to set it up, focus on finding a location that will give you maximum cover. Even if the base is established, move around it and get an idea of the shooting angles it will provide to both your team and the enemy. If possible, try to get a look at it from the enemy’s perspective. Sometime by simply looking at the outside of the base, you can find weak points to avoid or fortify.

While you are in the base, see if you can add cover or adjust the current cover to provide better defense and shooting angles. Tables, logs, and even brush laying around can all provide adequate cover to keep the BBs out of your base.

Set a Perimeter

Once you are in the base, get an idea for how far you can hit enemies, where they will be coming from, and what kind of defensive positions you have outside the base. By “thinking outside the base” you can find better locations that will provide “mini-bases” to hit the enemy from without letting them walk right up to the main base. By having a few team members in forward positions, they can provide better firepower and surprise the enemy. When the enemy begins to overwhelm them, they can fall back to the main base. This was a very common tactic for German machine gun operators in World War 2. They would slowly fall back from multiple firing positions, maintaining strong firepower and making the Allies fight for every foot of ground.

Know When To Leave

Not every fight can be won. Sometimes you have to give some ground to win the overall game. If your position is about to be overrun, use an escape route (preplanned if possible) to deny the enemy any satisfaction from putting you out of the game. Fall back, regroup, and fight the enemy on your own terms.

The good news is, if you need to recapture the base later, you now have significant knowledge about the base and can use that to make the offensive operation easier. 🙂

All in all, base defense will always be a tricky thing to pull off effectively. However, when done correctly, it is one of the best things in airsoft to experience.  Thank you so much to my faithful reader, Delta 1, for giving me the inspiration for this post through a message on the official Airsoft Warrior Facebook page. If any of you have an idea for a post, please feel free to share it with me either through the comments here on the blog or through any of my Airsoft Warrior social media!

Before I dive into this post, I want to define who is a “lone wolf” in airsoft?  For the purpose of this post, a lone wolf is a player that prefers to play alone on the field and is isolated from the normal team structure. Lone wolf players can range from those that picture themselves as the uber, lone sniper type seeking a stealth mission thrill, to those that simply find the time alone on the field to be the best way they play airsoft and have fun.  But if you play as a lone wolf, are you hurting your team and being selfish?  Should you be back with your team fighting on the front lines, rather than poking around in the back woods hoping to find an unsuspecting enemy to sneak up on?  Hopefully this post will answer those questions and provide some solutions to make you a better team player during those lone wolf adventures.

I will start by saying that I am a firm believer in players being committed to the team.  Most of the tactics post around the blog focus on how a player can be better involved with a team and complete team missions. I often try to play closely with my team. I include other players by asking them to join me on a push up the field or help me provide cover fire as the rest of the team captures the objective.  But there are times that I prefer to head out and see what I can accomplish all on my lonesome. Below are a few ways that a lone wolf player can still be involved in a team while playing with the airsoft style they enjoy most.

Tell The Team What You Are Doing

I know half the fun of being a lone warrior on the field is being invisible and no one having a clue where you are or what you are doing; but if you want to be a team player you need to communicate what you are doing to the team.  Communication is what teams thrive on.  By giving your battle buddies a heads up that you will be scouting the enemy lines and outflanking them, you end up with a win-win situation. Knowing that you are going to be sneaking behind enemy lines gives your team a moral boost and also keeps them from viewing you as “that guy” just hanging out by himself.

Communicating your plan to the team also prevents friendly fire.  I can’t count how many times I have taken aim on a player, or become very suspicion of what they were up to, before realizing it was a friendly teammate that had pushed too far up the field without me knowing.  Not only does it hurt them if I am forced to engage them as a target, but it also takes my focus off the real threat.  So please, give your team the respect they deserve and let them know you are going lone wolf if possible.

Have A Mission and Return Plan

Going lone wolf for no reason makes zero tactical sense.  Every move should have a mission, otherwise you don’t contribute anything to the team and can’t judge if you are even good at being a lone wolf airsofter.  The best success I have had as a lone wolf player have been when I took the time to decide what my mission was.  A simple goal such as outflanking the enemy team, finding their leader and taking him down, or even defending a key position that is off the path the rest of the team is taking will give you an edge.  If at all possible, align your plan with the overall mission of the scenario and do your part to make the mission a success.

In addition to having a primary mission, you should also consider how you plan to get back to friendly lines and rejoin the team.  Sometimes this issue sorts itself out when you get overwhelmed by attacking operators and are sent back to respawn, but never go into a battle without having at least some idea of how to make it back in one piece.

These are just a couple of ways that a lone wolf player can still be an important part of the team.  By being in communication with the team, everyone will benefit.  On a closing note, it is important to remember that even the best military snipers don’t hunt alone.  Their trusty spotter is right there to back them up and prove the point that two are better than one.