Scenario games have been going on for four decades now. Some are massive with thousands of players in attendance, some with a few hundred enthusiasts. Most are full of missions, creative props, and special characters. Things can get complicated quick.. and while the overall winning or losing will ultimately never really matter outside of the big game world of paintball, it is absolutely worth playing.
Red vs Blue cuts to the chase however- no missions, no secrets to decode, no hidden props to find, no roles that only a handful of participants can use. Just one goal, for one day- capture and hold the flag, multiple flags in fact. And to do that you gotta play straight up, in-your-face paintball. Sounds easy enough right?
Now typically I’ d agree, but this event was different.. this year mother nature threw us a frozen curve-ball. Now this mid-winter game in the Carolinas has seen its fair share of chilly temperatures, more so back when it was held at Command Decisions War Games in the foothills of the Appalachians( famous for the Fulda Gap game). But since 2021, when RVB established its new home at Palmetto Hills Paintball in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the most inclement weather has been a little rain and / or dusting of sleet. That was until this January 31st, when the skies opened up and unleashed a“ 30 year” blizzard upon us! Holy frozen furry of hell! Helluva good time that is! Now I can bet some of you folks might look at paintball in the snow as just another year living in the north. But for us southerners, it was a rare and challenging treat.
There was one set back though. 2026 was primed to be the biggest game Red vs Blue has ever seen. 400 pre-registrations were sold out a full week ahead of time, and another 100 + walk-ons were expected on the day. But with the weather being what it was forecasted to be, only about 200 players braved the trip. Coming from as far south as Florida, west from Tennessee, and north from Kentucky, some even camped out onsite the evening before when skies were clear and you could still see grass on the ground. But overnight everything changed. Snow flurries started before sunrise and continued to intensify throughout the morning. By midday it was full on blizzard!.
034 paintball. media magazine