First night game

[Mad-Al]

Howdy all!

Ive got my first night game coming up this weekend, ive got my torches mounted and batteries charged but have no idea what I'm in for....

Has anybody got any tips, tricks or experiences they'd like to share with a first time night skirmisher?

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Expect not to shoot anyone...

 

Seriously, the first night game I did I became seriously confused on my local site.  I later learned to have a tight beam on my rif light and a wide one on my head torch.  

[shadowfacex]

If it's a total blackout game, then it's going to be chaos and screaming (literally). That is, unless you got one of these 💷150 worth of NVGs that would give you tactical advantage.

 

If it's a semi-dark game, then expect to be confused and taking longer to id your targets properly, but it should be fun in low-light conditions, or even better with intermittent lighting. Flashlights are your best friend and your enemy, it's a double-edged sword, so use caution and deploy flashlight to confuse, illuminate, identify and eliminate.

 

Sounds more serious than it should be, as the only factor that really matters is how much shit you're going to get yourself into... the more the better (YMMV)!

[Guest DrAlexanderTobacco]

1 hour ago, Mad-Al said:

Howdy all!

Ive got my first night game coming up this weekend, ive got my torches mounted and batteries charged but have no idea what I'm in for....

Has anybody got any tips, tricks or experiences they'd like to share with a first time night skirmisher?

Move slowly. This will keep you quieter, which folk rely on at night a lot more to locate targets, and help you stay less visible to anyone painting an area with a torch or night vision. Even better if you stay still and only move once you've observed an area for a little bit. You will generally be louder at night as you stumble or push through branches, so try to keep stealth in mind.

 

From an offensive point of view, use your own hearing to try and locate people, AEGs/etc are pretty good for working out the rough area someone's in.

 

If you're going up against folk with night vision, a good strong torch has the potential to dazzle night vision just as much as the naked eye, depending on the equipment they're using, so if you get spotted it can be a good way to get to a more equal footing - at least you'll see your opponent!

 

Have fun!

[concretesnail]

I love night games, they are the best. Over the years I've never had the funds to have a set of nvgs, they are lottery win prezzie, but a few tips I found and things I've tried I'll pop below.

 

Move less and listen more. Your eyes only really work in one direction, ears work 360°.

 

Trim your kit, make sure you've got thing clipped where possible over velcro, it's really noisy when everything is quiet.

 

Red light filters, white light hampers you night eyes while red light effects it much much less and is less noticed by some nvg units. I use a filter on a leash so it can be knocked off if need.

 

Have fun.

 

[GeorgePlaysAirsoft]

get a headlight with a dim red light...then go to the woods, tonight, and walk/run/jog around to build up confidence moving around with limited vision.  life is an RPG - buff your "proprioception" stats. it won't stop you getting lost/disorientated but i think it will help on a step-by-step basis. try not to scare people walking dogs or whatever so if you see someone approaching turn your light on.

[Groot]

12 hours ago, Mad-Al said:

Howdy all!

Ive got my first night game coming up this weekend, ive got my torches mounted and batteries charged but have no idea what I'm in for....

Has anybody got any tips, tricks or experiences they'd like to share with a first time night skirmisher?

 

I am going to be brutally honest. 

Do not expect much.

 

In my personal opinion. Airsoft at night, unless you have gucci nods. It's shit.

Yeah you can sneak around for a bit and its fun enough if you are in a urban site that is actually well lit. So you can use the new shadows to go ninja. 

On sites where its just dark and you have to move by torch. Its generally really shit. 

In woodland, meh you will spend more time tripping over stuff or walking into shit than actually shooting.

THEN when you do actually try and shoot something. You cannot tell what is hitting what, unless you want tracers.
You will think you hit someone, you will be sure of it. You will get frustrated and then head back to bed for an early rise the following day.

Sorry.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Groot

[Adolf Hamster]

make sure your main torch has a simple on/off switch, or a hold switch.

 

the last thing you want is not to be able to turn your torch off in a hurry, it needs to be on-shoot-off

 

if you have spare torches, take them and hide them in trees/covering areas so you can keep a place lit safely. expect any torch you use for this purpose to get shot to shit and hastily re-angled (or possibly pocketed) by the other team.

 

expect on the attack to get lit up at point blank with no warning

 

if you use a tracer then expect every burst you fire to be met with return fire

 

expect anyone with decent nods (gen 2 or better) to be absolutely owning the place.

 

and expect it to be colder than you're used to.

 

 

in general night games can be pretty good fun if there's enough people of equal playing level, eg a well filled site of players without any decent nods can be pretty fun, especially on the defensive (which is biased at night even more than during the day)

[Tommikka]

56 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

 

if you have spare torches, take them and hide them in trees/covering areas so you can keep a place lit safely. expect any torch you use for this purpose to get shot to shit and hastily re-angled (or possibly pocketed) by the other team.

 

 

 

Glow sticks - cheap, available in bulk, ready to hang on branches and throwable 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Tommikka

[Druid799]

1 hour ago, Groot said:

 

I am going to be brutally honest. 

Do not expect much.

 

In my personal opinion. Airsoft at night, unless you have gucci nods. It's shit.

Yeah you can sneak around for a bit and its fun enough if you are in a urban site that is actually well lit. So you can use the new shadows to go ninja. 

On sites where its just dark and you have to move by torch. Its generally really shit. 

In woodland, meh you will spend more time tripping over stuff or walking into shit than actually shooting.

THEN when you do actually try and shoot something. You cannot tell what is hitting what, unless you want tracers.
You will think you hit someone, you will be sure of it. You will get frustrated and then head back to bed for an early rise the following day.

Sorry.

Unfortunately from experience I’d say @Grootis oh so spot on , you start off with great expectations of stealthily moving around darkened terrain like an SF god of war , silently taking out your enemy one by one or sneaking up on them all and taking them out with a perfectly coordinated strike but I’m afraid to say on the whole the reality is distinctly different to what you’d hopped for . 
Take a normal ‘run of the mill’ walk on game day multiple the lack of real following of the ‘game plan’ by oh I don’t know say 50 , then blind fold everyone taking part and then drop them all in a totally unknown area and your starting to approach the reality of an Airsoft night game ! 😳

its hard enough trying to function at night in a ‘combat training’ situation when it’s your daily job , stick a load of hyped up gung ho don’t take life too seriously Airsofters in the mix AND it’s all going to go to rat shit on a greased roller skate ! 🤦‍♂️ 
BUT if you go with an open mind not expecting too much you mite be lucky and have a few scary ‘gets the adrenaline running’ moments and bit of a giggle at someone else’s expense , because there’s nothing as funny as seeing your best mate OR a total geardo end up face down in a muddy puddle because they tripped over and went arse over tit in the darkness ! 🤣🤣

[Mad-Al]

Cheers all, sounds like my expectations are spot on.

I was in the cadets and have done my fair share of night exs so I'm not going in a complete novice and am familiar with stumbling atound in the dark not doing much.

Seems like it will be very much a case of getting out of it what i take in, i expect to get lost, fall over a few times and have a laugh I'm not in it for leet stealth kills.

Although I'm also expecting to get fed up and take off half an hour in ad getting picked off by people i cant see that are using nods is unlikely to be my idea of a good time!

[Adolf Hamster]

52 minutes ago, Tommikka said:

Glow sticks - cheap, available in bulk, ready to hang on branches and throwable 

 

a good idea, although sometimes directional light is handy for choke points.

[Groot]

44 minutes ago, Druid799 said:

Unfortunately from experience I’d say @Grootis oh so spot on , you start off with great expectations of stealthily moving around darkened terrain like an SF god of war , silently taking out your enemy one by one or sneaking up on them all and taking them out with a perfectly coordinated strike but I’m afraid to say on the whole the reality is distinctly different to what you’d hopped for . 
Take a normal ‘run of the mill’ walk on game day multiple the lack of real following of the ‘game plan’ by oh I don’t know say 50 , then blind fold everyone taking part and then drop them all in a totally unknown area and your starting to approach the reality of an Airsoft night game ! 😳

its hard enough trying to function at night in a ‘combat training’ situation when it’s your daily job , stick a load of hyped up gung ho don’t take life too seriously Airsofters in the mix AND it’s all going to go to rat shit on a greased roller skate ! 🤦‍♂️ 
BUT if you go with an open mind not expecting too much you mite be lucky and have a few scary ‘gets the adrenaline running’ moments and bit of a giggle at someone else’s expense , because there’s nothing as funny as seeing your best mate OR a total geardo end up face down in a muddy puddle because they tripped over and went arse over tit in the darkness ! 🤣🤣

Expectation



Reality

 

[Shamal]

Nite games are fun but very hard to get bearings and decide who is who.

It helps if you are familiar with the site but throw in a alien landscape and it's pot luck really. 

Even at the nae you can play all day on the Saturday and think, yep,I've got it nailed but come the night game it's a case of Fuck! Where am I? Lol.

 

Last night game there I  got three cracking kills with tracer and muzzle flash(spitfire).they shat themselves unfortunately they were my team😳

 

I find I have to keep asking marshalls which way is away?? Lol.

 

But still it's a great adrenalin rush when you can lay in wait for 20 mins in a bush,hidden and then crack off a couple and hear the yells lol.

 

Have fun👍

Edited October 27, 2021 by Shamal
Spelin

[Druid799]

40 minutes ago, Shamal said:

you can lay in wait for 20 mins in a bush,hidden and then crack of a couple and hear the yells lol.

 

Have fun👍

 

[Adolf Hamster]

4 hours ago, Groot said:

Expectation

Reality

 

you missed the blinding white light as someone lights up a 2 MegaLumen weapon light 6' away seconds before unloading half a mag......

[CrackCommandoUnit1972]

Doing simple stuff such as changing mags or getting stuff out your pouches suddenly become much more difficult. Practice doing simple stuff like that in the dark.

 

Make sure everything is bolted down or secured in pockets as if you drop it, its gone forever.

[Spartan09]

Only played two night games, and both were great fun.  First game i didnt get any kills, and i think i only got one kill in the second game, but i did manage to secure half of the objectives dotted around the area (6 flashing beacons...  i captured 3) and get them back to spawn..  

 

That said some things i found that might be useful..

 

1. Move slowly and pause often to survey the area before your next move. If your eyes have adjusted to the dark you might spot some movement.  Sound also carries further at night, so listen carefully

 

1a. Something i was told by an ex soldier...   when stationary and listening for sounds from the enemy, open your mouth.

 

Supposedly it helps equalise pressure between your mouth and youur ear and allows you to pick out sounds better. (He did explain more about the theory at the time, but it was a couple of years ago so i dont recall the details)

 

Personally i didnt notice much difference, but then again my hearing is shit at the best of times after years of listening to heavy metal,  so maybe it would help someone with less damaged hearing

 

2. Avoid any lit areas or people on your team using torches.  The longer you are in the dark, the better your eyes adjust to the dark and allow you some limited degree of vison

 

3. Limit the amount of kit you carry to minimise the chances of snagging or things rattling and giving your position away

 

4. (Echoing @CrackCommandoUnit1972 ) practice reloading etc in the dark as much as you can before the game.  This last one caught me out and i ended fumbling a reload which gave my position away, resulting in me being lit up...  first by torchlight, then by incoming fire from several enemies

Edited October 27, 2021 by Spartan09

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

1 hour ago, Spartan09 said:

when stationary and listening for sounds from the enemy, open your mouth.

 

 

If you read up on this topic its fascinating.  I was taught to slightly tilt my head also. 

 

The research behind somatosensory science is worth a read.  

[Adolf Hamster]

one thing i did forget- if you don't normally wear a helmet, a night game is a good time to do so, at least something on your head lest you accidentally walk into tree branches etc that you'd normally easily see in daytime.

[James111]

The military uses red light headlamps as well as red handheld flashlights. Although they can vary by design and specific features, the fundamental focus on a red light is the same. There are three reasons why the military uses red light for their flashlights: to preserve and improve night vision, to reduce a person’s light profile, and to send out signals.