Hey everyone!
Welcome back to the blog! In this blog post, we’re going to look at my top 5 sites of 2021! Now, this post causes outrage every year, so let me clarify something straight off the bat - these are MY personal favourite sites (yours probably will be different) that I have played in 2021 - meaning I have not played every site in the UK and nor am I proclaiming that they are the best sites in the country, but simply saying that these are the ones I have most enjoyed playing.
What I look at when deciding on where sites rank for me is: how well the site is laid out, quality of the games played, friendliness of staff, price, and facilities including lunch! The only thing that doesn’t come into it, is distance.
Number 5: Camp Sparta (Gangsta City)
Coming in at number 5 we have Camp Sparta! Whilst I haven’t played this on a normal game day (that is on my list for 2022), I have played this site 4 times for the Gangsta City events that are held here twice per year so we’ll look at the gaming area and facilities. It is a 31 Acre FIBUA site (formerly RAF Kirton in Lindsey) that has over 500 playable rooms, in-game vehicles and trucks.
Camp Sparta is an absolutely enormous airsoft site and offers varied gameplay from long-range engagements to absolutely savage CQB gameplay. The buildings are super fun to fight through and the staircases offer a challenge for even the keenest CQB player. My favourite area of the site is the truck yard which has a collection of HGVs and cars that you can fight around, it always offers some intense gameplay!
It has a full safe room, a cinema briefing room and toilets.
Check out their website for pricing/game days.
Check out the Gangsta City website for their events!
Number 4: Red Alert Paintball & Airsoft, Newbury
At number 4 for 2021, is a woodland site in Newbury in Berkshire, England called Red Alert Paintball and Airsoft.
Red Alert Paintball & Airsoft Newbury is a 35 Acre dual-purpose airsoft and paintball site that I first visited during its infancy. It has been awesome to see this site develop over the last couple of years! What I love the most about this site is that it has so many structures/points of interest that break up the woodland. There is plenty for players to battle on, around, and over including a bridge, a bomb dump, a fortress, the embassy which offers a taste of CQB and it even has cars all set in a challenging woodland environment.
The facilities on site are good - including an onsite shop, male and female toilets, and a great lunch menu. The staff were exceptionally welcoming, friendly and ran the games well. The games played were fun, engaging and we had a great day shooting with/at our friends!
A standard walk-on costs £27.50, which includes a freshly cooked lunch. Games are run every Sunday.
Number 3: UCAP Vendetta
At number 3, we have none other than UCAP Vendetta. This site is located in the former HMP Gloucester, right in the centre of Gloucester. It gives players the chance to play in a genuine Victorian prison, with the cells and landings as the backdrop. It has hundreds of rooms, corridors, cells, landings, outdoor streets, and compounds.
The site goes from dark and light and spans over multiple levels so it is hard to get bored here - there’s always a firefight around the corner.
It has a secure car park, a dedicated safe zone, proper toilets, and an onsite shop selling game day essentials and drinks/snacks. There is also usually a food van outside that sells burgers, chips, hot dogs, and slush puppies.
A standard walk-on costs £35 (does not include lunch) Games are run every fortnight on a Sunday.
Number 2: West Midlands Airsoft: HC2
The all-new High Command (HC2) from West Midlands Airsoft is such an improvement on the old High Command which I’ve always enjoyed (so much so I marshaled there for over 2 years!)
The gaming area has been completely rebuilt and is a mix of open and light areas, small dark spaces, and tight corridors, tunnels have been added and it has new lighting and smoke effects. Rather than being a space full of brown plywood structures, a lot of time and thought has gone into the aesthetics - from faux bricks to old wartime posters.
It also now has a huge safe zone that is comfortable and light/airy, has a new coffee shop that sells Tactical Coffee blends, and some wonderfully clean, working toilets!
There are midweek and weekend games at HC2 (check the website), starting at £20 walk-on for the midweek and £35 for the weekend shoot. On the weekends, lunch can be purchased for an extra £3. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of me in-game at HC2 but I have pulled some from their website to show you elements of the site.
Number 1: Warzone Paintball & Airsoft
At number 1 on my favourites list this year I have Warzone Paintball and Airsoft in Coventry! This site is a huge, outdoor site that is set on an old Delta Force Paintball site, so it has all of the old-themed Delta structures. There is so much to fight on, through, and over at Warzone including the fortress, the hospital, the castle, the saloon, the depot, embassy, the infamous Stargate, sniper towers, and tonnes more. It offers varied gameplay, from CQB in the structures and longer-range engagements.
My favourite area of the site is the depot, which is a two-story structure made from containers - no matter where you are on this structure, there’s always BBs ricocheting off every surface so it makes it an intense, fun, and slight pant-shitting experience.
As for facilities, it has a large outdoor safe zone that has covered benches/tables, fully working toilets, and an onsite shop that sells all the gameday essentials, drinks, and snacks. There is also an onsite tech who has saved my airsoft day from disaster a couple of times! The staff are really friendly and helpful and run their games with enthusiasm.
A standard walk-on is £30 (does not include lunch), and games are run every Sunday.
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