Water War Scenario 1: Fenced In

[isoaker]

Fenced In

Scenario: You and your friends have gathered and are holding a semi-organized soakfest. Where there are no specific points or elimination rules, everyone is in agreement that honor and relative dryness are the keys to victory. In general, if one is being hit by a stream, one naturally takes a step back until out of range.

In this case, not only is this an organized soakfest, but also a defend-the-base sort of game. Your team made up of you plus three other members are to defend your base comprised of your friend's house's backyard area. The backyard is a 50' by 50' area that is fenced in by a 6' tall wooden fence. For sake of simplicity, the sides of the fence face West, East, and South. The house makes up most the North side. The main entrances to the backyard are on either side of the house on the North West and North East side of the area. However, despite the height of the fence, there is also the possibility that your opponents can find a way to go over the top. The fence, itself, is a wooden fence with 6" slats that cannot be directly seen through, though one can see through at an angle when up close.

The filling station is on the middle of the house wall, but it was agreed before the game began that the hose could not be used as a weapon.

You and your friends are armed with CPS1000/CPS2100 class weaponry as are your opponents. However, your opponents have a one man advantage, being a group of five (5) instead of your group of four.

You have been designated team captain for this game. The game duration was set at a quick 15 minutes such that multiple games could be played over the course of the afternoon. You and your teammates have filled your blasters and have 60 seconds to prepare before the opposing team begins the attack. What would you have you and your team do, if anything, to prepare for the attack?

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As is true with everything, there is no single perfect solution and there can be many great strategies. Different ideas could have varying likelihoods of success in reality. Your ideas and suggestions are desired. Post in your thoughts on this scenario!

This scenario will eventually become an article on iSoaker.com.

[Gold Hawk]

Have two people stand guard, while the other two fill as many refill bottles as they think will be enough, (I'm guessing not much, seeing as in most 15 minute wars I have fought in, I've only had to refill once). If the enemy troops haven't already reached your base, set up guards at each of the corners of the yard.

If I have interpreted this scenario correctly, we have 60 seconds to prepare, and then they come to find us. It really all depends on how fast you are and how long it takes them to reach you.

-Gold

[Rising Flood]

Hmm...
I'd have 2 guards positioned in such a way that they are unseen if the enemy enters the base. Then if an enemy came in they could jump out and drench him.
Then I'd send one guy to nab control of the hose. Even though, as Gold Hawk mentioned, there wouldn't be much need to refill because of the short time limit, I think it would still be good to control the hose, especially if the enemy has a few trigger-happy players on their side...Finally, I would be patrolling the area around the base. Originally I thought just going out on offense would be okay, but then I realized I might get surrounded. So I would kind of be a semi-offense--not venturing out too far but enough to spray any incoming foes.

[DX]

I am interpreting "You and your friends" as the skill level and experience of both sides. In that case, I'd prepare a defense against a rush either on the entrances and or the fence itself. I'd have one player at each entrance, against the fence and fully prone. The enemy will expect an ambush and will probably look for the proper angle on where the defender would be. Since streams recoil the enemy in this game, if my player tap-pumps from behind the angle, no one's rushing through that gap anytime soon [and he's not going to run out of water anytime soon]. If the enemy has his angle, he'd simply jump to the other side of the entrance and fire from the opposite. If the enemy uses their numbers to cover both angles, he' would have to drop back [though remaining in a diagonal, not directly open]. If I call in teammates, we can still hold. The enemy would be in the cover of the angles, but would be halted, since the defense would not need cover to prevent their coming through.

The one danger with a battle at an entrance to the backyard is one arm jumpers. That 6' fence isn't tall enough to stop jump shots and the weaponry in use couldn't be more perfect for that function. Luckily this is not one hit kill! Getting hit by an aimed jumper wouldn't be the end of the world here, but it's a threat that could break an otherwise workable defense. The only way to really defend against those with the smaller team numbers would be to keep the enemy away from the fence, obviously easier said than done. Their extra person can flank unless the defense can hold multiple people in check at the same time.

Fence-vaulting is the main danger. Still on the entrance scenario, if the enemy is halted and also cannot jump shoot, they will attempt to vault. If they know the defense is ready to blast them, they won't dare. In the case of a battle at one or both entrances, vaulting won't work unless done elsewhere. That will make the enemy easier to repel though, as 2 defenders can hold 3 or 2 can hold 2-3 at both.

So the real threat is fence-vaulting without going for the entrances. Just straight out vaulting by the entire enemy side. Back in the opening positions, 2 defenders are at the gaps, but 2 are also available. Those two, including probably myself, would run within and along the perimeter of the fence. RUN is the key word, for swift feet will confuse the enemy as to location of the defense and may give the impression that the defense is more capable of repelling than it would otherwise appear. Rapid motion will also reduce the threat of jump shots and make the enemy move to find safer-seeming areas to vault over. If they think someone's there ready to soak them mid-air, they won't take it. This is a highly fluid defense; if there is an entrance battle, support may be given and support may be shifted rapidly.

Alright so what if the enemy busts through one or both entrances and/or manages to vault? Well if one vaults without support, they are screwed. But let's say 3 of them vault over at once...then there's a problem...the key thing is to deal with it without breaking down the defenses entirely. If someone panics, the whole defense can fold. If everyone keeps their cool, maybe 2 or 3 enemies get in instead of 5, and maybe they can be fought 1-on-1 to a stalemate. It's one thing to make it in, it's quite another to overwhelm all the defenders. A contested base is just that, it isn't taken until the defense is clearly outsoaked. It ain't over 'till it's over!

Oh and I almost forgot, this ignored the hose and refilling. You shouldn't have to refill in 15 minutes. Though tap-pumping is uncommon in soakfests, the defense has an advantage if they can do it here. They can fight multiple people and keep entrances under near-constant fire. One must know when to tap-pump and when to unleash a wave. Entrance guards would be most likely to tap and/or wave, while jump shooters would be most likely to unload as much as possible [something both sides could exploit in later rounds].

[mr. dude]

I would have one person watching each entrance, one person by the hose to prevent opponents from refilling, and one person watching to see if anyone is sneaking behind the fence. The people watching the entrances should most likely only ever have to face one person at a time, unless the entrances are big enough to fit multiple opponents at once. Therefore, it would be a little tricky to get through there. Then there's someone ready to intercept assaults from over the fence. If all else fails, there's still someone with an unlimited water supply.

[HBWW]

The way the fence entrances are set have somewhat importance; if they're wide open, or if theres a "door". (and which side the door opens up is also another consideration)

Now, get some stuff to step up on (i.e. seats/benches) and have 2 defenders watching along the southern side of the yard (one to the east corner, one to the west corner). The other 2 should be around the entrances, and both groups should be keeping a sharp eye on when they come without being noticed. This fortress-like defense will prevent the assault from finding a way to jump the fence, while both places to station people provide good cover with the fence. The enemy can't even use the wall as cover. The entrance defenders may also want to get something to step up on so they can watch most of the action, and enemy entrance breechings can be minimalized.

Given the team has good coordination, the whole defense could organize an ambush to suddenly scare the enemy when they think they're safe behind the fence, though great care must be taken to avoid being noticed before the enemy gets within ambush range.

Now, some potential problems with this; if the enemy is able to stay concealed before attacking, they could go all the way up to the house walls and try to breech one or both of the entrances from there. If its just one entrance, the whole defense force needs to quickly concentrate together while being wary that another person or 2 could breech the other. (or get over the fence if they have ladders) If both entrances are breeched, the defense should split accordingly. This situation however, could present another problem; they could send the last person to jump over the fence while the defense teams are distracted, so it is imperative that everyone is wary and alert of the entire field at any given time.

If the assault suspects that the enemy is trying to sneak up, they could either have the 2 entrance guards camp the entrances, or (a more effective way to prevent a breeching) send some people out of the entrances to check up on possible locations for the enemy to sneak through. (though they cannot go too far otherwise a fast enemy can sneak in)

Refilling. First off, I would hope everyone is carrying water bottles and conserving their ammo as necessary. Once the defense starts running out of ammo, they need to be able to push the enemy back, then, one at a time, fill up at the hose.

One more thing, if the area is well prepared, there should be some .5L bottles, drill 2 holes into their sides (one near the top, one near the bottom, all holes pointing the same direction) and bury and cover them in the grass. (or, at least some sort of automated trap of some sort) Unfortunately, this can't be done in the 60 seconds prep time, but if prior preparation includes mines, they can have some effect on morale and slow the assault.

I could probably go on and on here, but I guess I'll stop. As with most scenerios, there are too many possibilities to list and consider.