The different types of Gel Blasters pitches
Before going into detail about the different styles of existing pitches, we will show in the introduction which are the different areas that we will find in each pitch. In fact, apart from the styles of this one, the court must be composed of certain zones (for some it will depend on the way of playing), here they are.
The different areas of a Gel Ball Blaster field
- Neutral Zone (or Safe Zone): This zone is generally common to all types of land. It is the zone that is generally the hinge between the pitch and the outside, it acts as a lock in which the players can store their belongings, projectiles, drinks... This zone is the only one in which the players can remove their protective equipment (goggles, masks...). In connection with the safety of the neutral zone, the Blasters must always be held down to avoid any risk of accident. Some even go so far as to prohibit gel blasters in this area.
- Respawn Zone: This zone will depend on the scenario you are going to play, it is directly derived from FPS type video games (first person shooter games) in which two teams compete and each has a reappearance point in case of elimination of a player. Each player, in general, in "team death match" for example, will after an elimination be able to regain this zone and return to the game. It will be necessary either only to join the zone to be again in the game or to join it and wait a few seconds, time fixed at the beginning of the game.
- Test area: This area is not necessarily integrated into the field itself, it is often on the periphery of the play areas. It is nevertheless important because it allows each player to come and check the correct operation of his gel blaster gun at any time, to make power, hop-up or aiming device adjustments...
- Playing area: The most important area is where the players compete against each other. It will inevitably be adapted to the chosen scenario and often to the environment in which the players evolve. It can be indoors or outdoors, large or small, and it is precisely this space that we will now focus on.
The different types of Gel Ball Blasters pitches
Forest:
First type of ground, quite classic, very often used by leisure bases such as Airsoft or Paintball.
Source: Youtube
These fields are generally used for leisure purposes. We will use natural obstacles (trees, earth banks...) to embellish the field, and complete it with artificial obstacles (pallets, wooden structures...). They are of different sizes depending on the leisure bases and their layout depends on the imagination of the landowners.
Speedball:
Speedball, inspired by Paintball, this mode of play is the most accessible mode of competition, we will generally use artificial obstacles (inflatable structures).
Source: Wikipedia
The specificity of these fields is that they are flat, small, provided with obstacles and generally symmetrical. They tend to be played in 5vs5 or 10vs10 play modes.
CQB (Close Quarters Battle):
The most immersive type of terrain, it is, as its name suggests, a terrain with narrow courses where you will quickly find yourself in contact with your opponent. They are very often made in disused buildings, for example, where the entire interior layout can be used as fixed obstacles.
Source: Inside CQB field in Ipswich.
This type of terrain is all the more relevant with gel guns because the power of the replicas adapts perfectly to the proximity between players that this type of space implies.
Life size:
One can also hear the term MISLIM (MILitary SIMulation) for this kind of field. Here it is a question of using large spaces to create complex scenarios, ranging from the reproduction of a military battle to a scenario from a video game or a literary work.
This type of terrain is generally used on a one-off basis, for example on a weekend.