GETTING “IN COUNTRY”... WHAT TO EXPECT!

IF YOU’VE BEEN SKIRMISHING FOR A WHILE NOW, OR YOU JUST FANCY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN YOUR “AIRSOFT LIFE” BUT THE THOUGHT OF A THEMED GAME WITH UNIFORM AND “WEAPON” REQUIREMENTS FILLS YOU WITH TREPIDATION THEN DON’T DESPAIR, AS WE ALL START SOMEWHERE! SO WHAT WILL YOU NEED FOR A NAMSOFT GAME, AND WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU ATTEND ONE? BILL GOT TOGETHER WITH JOSH, FROM GUNMAN AIRSOFT HERE IN THE UK, TO FIND OUT…

Yes, I have run NamSoft Games myself in the past, both on my own and with my old mate Jay and the support of our “OC16 Tan Hat Crew”, and had an absolute blast doing so; this is especially true of my time running games in Florida where the natural terrain very much worked in our favour in terms of “NamSoft” game immersion, and where we could visit the local Army/ Navy store to scour the “dollar bins” for cheap little nuggets of LBE as I mentioned in our loadout article! M16/M14 AEGs were increasingly easy and pretty cheap to find. Frank C, then at AIRSOFT GI, once sorted me a group order of TWENTY JG M16s, although the sheer breadth of weapons used in Vietnam provided many AEG choices too! Whilst most didn’t go the whole Nam hog, they certainly put a bit of an effort into their loadouts, and in the mangroves and palmetto’s of backwoods Florida “Tiger Stripe” was a BIG favourite!

We were also lucky enough to have a bunch of guys that REALLY enjoyed the OPFOR role (big shout out to Generallissimo Matticus and the PLA!), and ran classic AKs as a matter of choice in all games, so prepping them as NLF/ LASV or in some cases “main force NVA” or PAVN was a joy; they embraced the role fully and did sterling service, even going as far as including a bit of “acting” and a bugle in their kit-list to launch attacks! Many outlandish tales can I tell of our “Nam OPFOR”, but hit me up when you see me at a game or event for these, preferably by the campfire with an adult beverage in hand…

Bottom line is that it’s all too easy to put a NamSoft game together in terms of the kit and “the look” if you have some committed players, but what of the scenario, how will the game differ from the norm, and most-importantly, what makes it special?

I could go into this myself with some anecdotes from some of the absolutely spectacular NamSoft games that I’ve played myself over many years (another big shout to Mr Clancy and the

Dorking crew for possibly the VERY BEST “napalm strike” I’ve EVER seen in a game!), but I thought I’d dig a bit deeper and get some input from a long-standing NamSoft (among other themes!) game-runner that I respect hugely for doing things differently, and I approached Josh from GUNMAN AIRSOFT here in the UK with some questions; this is what he had to tell me…

AA: So, Josh, first off thanks for being involved in out “Summer Special 2024”! Please could you introduce yourself, and to set the scene please tell everyone about what you do at GUNMAN in more general terms.

GA: Hi Bill, thanks for including us. So, I’ve been running events since 1994, and all have been very story-driven, role-play enthused and hopefully fun for all. Gunman was born in 2002, made limited in

2003 and has been an incredible journey. We are a professional airsoft company that strives to encourage the best game-play we can. We run every aspect and theme of airsoft from your humble skirmish game to all the Sims, FilmSim being our theme-events style.

AA: Moving things onto our theme for this issue, please could you explain what excited you about running your ongoing series of NamSoft games specifically? What motivated you to kick things off?

GA: Well, honestly, Nam is utterly steered by the guys that want to play it. People watch Nam movies, or come from a historical element or just love the kit and all bring it to the field. It’s a very pretty game, with some photo’s actually mistaken for historical ones. With FIlmSim, we want guys to try to transport themselves and everyone else to the theme being played, and we use the FilmSim ideology to achieve this; if it’s good enough for a movie, its good enough for us. That way, it makes things more accessible to guys that don’t have Nam specific loadouts. We are quite strict on the guns, with no modern RIS systems, but to get the bums on seats and make a game viable, you do need to try and help out, so we offer a ton of FREE loan kit and period rental guns!

AA: Probably one of the most important questions for players transitioning from regular skirmish days to NamSoft is indeed “What kit will I need?”; as a game-runner what are your expectations when it comes to uniforms and equipment?

GA: I can’t speak for the other Nam-game organisers, but we do have that ton of free loan kit. Players need to look the part to help with the immersion of the scenario, so no one can just turn up in modern kit to play, so we help put with that. Army and Navy/surplus shops are still full of old green trousers and shirts; you can buy kit from many sources and if you really want to you can go for the full load out via the re-enactment retailers.

AA: We’ve given a selection of AEGs and GBBs that are suitable for NamSoft throughout this issue, so same question really, do you want players to attend with “period-correct weapons”, and are there alternatives that are appropriate?

GA: They do need something that doesn’t break the immersion; a standard M4A1 would be ok if

“HONESTLY, NAM IS UTTERLY STEERED BY THE GUYS THAT WANT TO PLAY IT. PEOPLE WATCH NAM MOVIES, OR COME FROM A HISTORICAL ELEMENT OR JUST LOVE THE KIT AND ALL BRING IT TO THE FIELD. IT’S A VERY PRETTY GAME, WITH SOME PHOTO’S ACTUALLY MISTAKEN FOR HISTORICAL ONES” that’s what you have, as long as all the “tacticool” elements are removed, and we do allow AK74Us if guys have them, as long as they aren’t the more modern versions. It’s another reason we haul a ton of M16s and AK47s around with us for guys to rent, but if you’re into Nam, you buy Nam in the end.

AA: So, I’ve put together a basic set of “grunt kit”, I’ve bought myself a CYMA M16 and a bunch of shorty mags, and I’m ready to hit a NamSoft game; what should I expect? A day? A weekend? A structured scenario?

GA: We run weekend games with socials in the evening and camping over both nights if required. We do have very limited day-only tickets, as guys travel a long way to play theme games and if everyone buggers off Saturday, the Sunday game is affected. They are always heavily themed and structured to that theme with objectives in keeping with the game.

AA: I’ve done a few full-day BattleSims, will I need a different “mindset” for NamSoft games?

GA: No idea, I’ve never played a BattleSim, haha, although if that’s a game that’s all day, with objectives and a loadout requirements for the teams, medic rules and command structure, not a lot. We do ask guys to try to be a bit more role-play in the game though, to think out of the box as the story can change with consequences to decisions made. The games best reward is in moments you are watching as much as ones you’re in.

AA: That is SO true! What of the NamSoft Community? Will I be able to get support from other like-minded players to move things forward for me? Are there places I can find out more about kit and weapons, online groups perhaps that will help me and not get all “stitch-bitch” on my ass?

GA: The community is a bit all over the place at the moment to be honest; the loss of the annual “In Country” event has been a blow, as many guys went there to catch up and talk “The Nam”. Now it’s all over the different social media platforms. It’s sad that forums don’t get used much anymore as they were a very good way to communicate stuff going on in my opinion; I would love to see a new influx of players join us in the tall grass and get their Nam on though!

AA: Josh, thanks so much for being a part of this Special “Nam” Issue, and I hope that the information provided here will help many players wanting to take the jump into something a bit more “themed and historical”… it is a jump, but if players understand that the requirements are actually minimal and the storylines can be much more immersive (and FUN!) it may just be that we see this area of airsoft growing again… offering free loan kit also goes a long way to helping players get involved in something a little different!

Before we wrap up completely I have one final question for you; where do you see NamSoft, and indeed themed-games as a whole heading in the future?

GA: Themed games have always been niche, with the biggest games being around the 120-player mark. It’s still a very loved game and the smaller numbers in the 70s are still amazing (in fact better in some ways). Themed airsoft just needs more exposure, but it will always be smaller than other game styles. With support like this and the continued running of events by the few themed-game companies still operating, there will always be somewhere for guys to play silly bugger in the woods dressed in period kit… AMEN TO THAT!!!

Amen indeed! Once again, my sincere thanks to Josh for stepping up and taking the time to talk about an area of airsoft that I know we both love, and my sincere thanks to Oz Plummer and the members of the GUNMAN NAM Facebook group for images!

If you’re interested in finding out about NamSoft Games with GUNMAN then be sure to keep an eye on their social media pages, and head on over to https:// gunmanairsoft.co.uk for even more information! AA

SUPPORT LIKE THIS AND THE CONTINUED RUNNING OF EVENTS BY THE FEW THEMED-GAME COMPANIES STILL OPERATING, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEWHERE FOR GUYS TO PLAY SILLY BUGGER IN THE WOODS DRESSED IN PERIOD KIT… AMEN TO THAT!!!”