By Michael “Tinker” Bell
Winter is coming! Yes winter came early to Bear Claw Paintball in Fayetteville, TN at the end of October. Millennium Paintball Productions returned for the third installment of Game of Thrones – To Build an Empire. This time, it was the House of Baratheon lead by Gary “Pap” Winn of the Bounty Hunters and the House Lannisters lead by Mario Maresco of Nitro.
Weeks before the game ever began, swords were rattled, promises made to triumph over one’s enemies, and alliances were formed for the coming battle. Game of Thrones is no small feat put on by MPP and hosted by Bear Claw Paintball; both of which put weeks into planning this game and others. This game was the third in a line of games for Game of Thrones. Ben Torricelli has taken all the houses and other groups mentioned in the Game of Thrones series and placed them in a play off bracket to see who wins the Iron Throne and leads the other Houses in Westeros.
Friday night before the game saw many players pitching their tents and devoting their teams to the House Baratheon or the House Lannisters. During this time, players met as old friends to share stories of pass games, introduce new players, their son and daughters who would be playing their first scenario game. There is no better place to feel at home and brings one’s kids then Bear Claw Paintball. Friday night is also the time to sample some tasty foods from some of the teams. As usual, Black Karma had their master chef, Sarcasm, create the now famous cobblers for everyone to enjoy and hang out. By everyone’s comments, the pineapple cobbler was the best for this weekend. But sadly the cold of the night took over, and players slowly made it back to their camps to try and sleep because “Winter is coming.” The next day’s game was on everyone’s minds.
As the cold night air gave way to a sunny Saturday morning, players began to rise and prepare for the battle that would take place that day. The Howell Community was on hand for the hearty breakfast and tasty lunch and dinners. Referees opened the chrono station, paint was ready to be picked up, game plans were made and the players’ meeting was held. During the players’ meeting, Phantom Regiment present a special sportsman award to everyone’s favorite cow – Robert ‘Milkshake’ McEntyre. Now all that was left was the staging for the invasion of the House of Baratheon’ s territory by the Lannisters.
The game would start with the House of Baratheon defending the kingdom from the invasion by the House Lannisters. Pap wanted the Lannisters to hear the House Baratheon’s motto “Ours is the fury” as they tried to get of the beach in their invasion attempt. The Lannisters would be invading the field through the funeral pyres that were set up for the night invasion. Could the pyres been an omen for the opening battle? The opening battle was planned to be an hour and 20 minutes, but to allow enough time for the battle to swing one way or another. This did not happen as plan. Lannisters could not get a foot hold past the tree line and the opening battle was called a few minutes early so that players could re-air and get more paintball. As the day wore on, more paint slung, more missions were run with a few given the comment “you’re out of your mind” for those that were thought to be impossible. Even though the Lannisters, did not do well on the landing, they soon were catching up and pasting the House Baratheon in points. Throughout the day points swung from one house to the other until the dinner break with the House Lannister leading.
After the dinner break, the funeral pyres were lit and while the fires slowly started to grow the House Baratheon prepared for their invasion of the Lannister’s territory. As the fire grew in size, the invasion began. Wave after wave of Baratheon’s men stormed the beach through the flames of the funeral fires, and finally made it into the woods. With time running out on the night mission, the Mario and the House Lannister held most of the objectives.
Sunday morning came with a heavy fog blanketing the field with no clue as to when it would burn off. The House of Baratheon awoke to find they were behind by 500 points, the players were determined to reclaim those points and pull ahead. As Howell Community provide the breakfast of champions, players chrono’ed, purchased more paint, and came up with a plan for the day. From the very start, missions came and went while the fog slowly burned off. Each mission completed by each side was fought long and hard over. A time ran down, the final battle would determine the winner of this game. The House Lannister went into the final battle leading in the points, and never looked back. The day ended with the field hearing the roar of the House of Lannister.
The next Game of Thrones game will be in October 2015 and will see the House Targaryen vs. the Freemen. This game will be the last of the first round and then starts the second round to the goal of the Iron Throne. How will the alliances form for this game? Will we see past enemies come together for a chance at the throne? Will we see treachery as the throne gets closer? Want to find out? Come to the October 2015 game. See www.bearclawpaintball.net for more information. For more information on MPP’s games, go to www.mppgames.com.
Bear Claw’s next paintball game is a player appreciation game on December 12-13. The name of the game is Area 51 3/8 – Agents of Paint vs. The Blue Fungus. That’s right, every si-fi movie and television show all rolled into one game spanning two days. This game is also a Toys-for-Tots game. For more information, see Bear Claw’s website.
House of Baratheon – General’s Awards
Exec. Officers:
- Craig Sherer – 502nd SOG
- Chip Hudson – CCP
- Daniel Staton – Trueballers
- Paul Lyle – Bounty Hunters
The King’s Hand:
- Jay ‘Shadow Fox’ Jordan – Grim Reapers
Best Referee:
- Peanut
M.V. Player:
- Caleb ‘The Joker’ – CCP
- Tristen – CCP
- Shawn Rhodes – 502nd SOG
M.V. Team:
- 502nd SOG
- CCP
- Trueballers
Sportsmanship:
- Legacy
- Michael Fisher – Raw Dawgs
- Conglomerate
General Special Services
Grim Reapers
Arclight
SAS
Most Formidable Opponent:
- Black Karma
House Lannister- General’s Awards
Exec. Officers:
- Sarcasm – Black Karma
- Tony ‘Bull’ Meserole – Phantom Regiment
- Branden ‘Maverick’ Smith – 5×5
The King’s Hand:
- Niko Maresco
Best Referee:
- Captain Morgan
- Gage
M.V. Player:
- Bone Face
- Mintor
- Blajion
- Wesley Mercer – Phantom Regiment
M.V. Team:
- Black Karma
- 5×5
- Alpha Q
Sportsmanship:
- Daniel Staton – Trueballers
- Night Guys – SOG
- Jay ‘Shadow Fox’ Jordan – Grim Reapers
General’s Special Service:
- John Mikolajcik
- Sean Gallager
- Empire Army
Most Formidable Opponent – 502nd SOG
