Image:  Playing Field Map of Skirmish USA

What's your favorite game format?

Mine (was) 15 player tournament ball in the woods, using pump guns on 40 to 100 acres and a 45 to 60 minute game time - but that format is long gone.

Over the years we've had Top Gun (single player),
two player
three player
five player

seven player

ten player

twelve player

fifteen player

twenty player

Big Game/Scenario Game (hundreds of players)
Hybrid (UWL's tournament/scenario format)
Individuals vs an obstacle course
Games using boats

Games using bicycles
Games using "castles"
Televised games in mock cities (Disney)
Televised tournaments in a variety of settings and team sizes

Speedball
Hyperball

Arenaball

 
Why is that ancient format still my favorite, despite having played in virtually every type of game and format listed above?

It's difficult to explain to players who have no experience of a format that took place in the woods, using pump guns, stick feeds and 12 grams, on fields anywhere from 40 to 100 acres in size and a game length lasting from 40 minutes to an hour, but the appeal for me comes down to having a much wider range of tactical options for the simple reasons of more space, more time and more bodies.  The number and variety of possible game plans was nearly endless, and planning out games, sometimes complex ones, was something I greatly enjoyed and like to believe I was pretty good at.

I'd be happy to bore you with endless tales of paintball derring-do, but that's not the exercise here.  I've laid out what my favorite was - what's yours, and why?