Airsoft is a game. That's it. Just a game. To be more specific, its an advanced game of "tag" or "cowboy's and Indians". To be even more specific, its much like a game of paintball, except its not as messy and doesn't hurt as much. The primary object is to have fun, followed by having fun in shooting at your buddies in a safe manner.

There's a few differences you'll find in airsoft compared to paintball. For starters, airsoft is more focused on realism. The "guns" look like the real thing compared to the average paintball marker. Second, rather than wearing jerseys, or brighter colors, airsofters prefer to use camoflage or tactical suits to better recreate a military or swat feel to the game. Third, games are usually more focused on military simulation (mil-sim) with set objectives as opposed to a faster "arena" type game. We've played games where the winning team fired less than 10 shots, and we've played larger games where one player could fire more than 10000 shots over 5 hours of play. Lastly, airsoft does not leave any discernable markings, so every player uses the honor system. If a player feels or hears themselves get hit, they call themselves out.


History

A nameless team, looking for a way to pass the winter months stumbled across airsoft as a paintball alternative. Soon, a group of 8 guys and gals were engaging in SWAT style games at a local community center (after drawing blinds and locking doors to ensure no interruptions of course). A year later, members of the team made contact with other airsoft enthusiasts in Regina and plans to expand were underway. In March of 2002, the Prairie Dogs of War Squad (PDW) was officially formed.

PDW initially made up of 7 players, and upon finding a paintball field willing to let airsoft players rent time, we started a trek into the outdoor games and never really looked back. With some help from players in Winnipeg, who were looking for a road trip, we started the outdoor season in May 2002, and ended up holding events every long weekend until September. We named these events "Operation: Stubblejumper" and enjoyed having our Winnipeg counterparts join us every month for a solid day of mil-sim. Our numbers grew from having 8 people at an event to over 20+. We had players from Regina, Moose Jaw, Estevan, Weyburn, and Saskatoon eventually congregating to engage in many skirmishes and mil-sim events.

Right now, our second home is at Paintball Paradise and we are also slowly working on developing a private field.

Currently, our roster is made up of over 28 people (3 inactive, 5 in reserve or on exchange). For the most part, we are a recreational team in that there is no set expectation for gear or attendance…just the willingness to come out, shoot some plastic at each other and have fun doing so. However, during the 2004 season, more players have developed a taste for military simulation or "mil-sim" games, where the focus is on re-creating battlefield situations and conditions. We try to accomodate all preferences now, with both fun skirmishes and more serious scenarios taking place every weekend.

 For more information about Airsoft in Regina or the PDW Squad, please contact Arnisador at arnisador@gmail.com