English
Delta Operations sounds like military, tactics, action and so much more. This is exactly what the provider PlayPaintball.de offers on site on its approx. 2000m 2 facility . Anyone who is a guest at Delta Operations for the first time will quickly notice the difference to a normal visit to a paintball facility. It is not for nothing that the operator advertises with the slogan "Paintball 2.0".
Stacked ammunition crates, gloomy arena flair and a menacing, approximately two-meter-tall action figure awaiting visitors as soon as they enter the building, which is reminiscent of computer games such as Call of Duty . After you have climbed the stairs to the upper floor of the old factory building, you stand at the registration desk. Here, too, everything is optically kept in the theme. While the big screen on the wall is playing a training video from the field, in which beefy guys in SWAT gear storm a room, the equipment is hanging on the wall behind the counter for everyone to see.
We recognize deceptively real handguns of the Walther PPQ type in the Cal. 43 RAM and assault rifle replica from Heckler & Koch as well as a few models of the proven MagFed paintball marker Tippmann TMC in Cal. 50 versions. At the latest, the layman will notice what he has gotten himself into here, namely a good dose of adrenaline – the so-called "Paintball 2.0".
Niklas is waiting for us behind the counter, he is the on-site manager and gives us a brief introduction to the procedure and the equipment. Again, this part doesn't really differ from a visit to other pitches. As a participant, you will not be overwhelmed in any way, but you will still have a completely new experience.
After we have dealt with the equipment and the various weapon models available, we are led further in the direction of the playing field. But it's not starting yet.
Delta Operations isn't just about shooting and a last man standing game. The concept is much more of an interactive three-hour action-adventure in which you have to complete missions as part of a special unit or their counter-part. The aim is to act effectively as a group according to an action plan that has been worked out independently in advance. That's why Niklas first of all leads us to the so-called "deployment briefing". We go through a gate made of ammo boxes and take a seat in front of a flip chart with a map of the field. Niklas tells us the goal of the first mission. It's about a training mission in which we should get to know our weapons and equipment. After a short briefing and clarification of all open questions, we receive our marching orders in the direction of the playing field entrance.
In front of us is a compact game scenario that is strongly reminiscent of an office floor in a high-rise building. The individual rooms are staged with great detail for a paintball field and have desks, chairs, shelves, windows with curtains and special furnishings that will be decisive for the later mission content. The instructor guides us through the corridors on a set path. Now it's time to keep your eyes open and be vigilant. Our only information is that this is a training mission and we are supposed to shoot red metal discs about 20 cm in size as soon as they appear. It only takes a few meters and a red disc appears – a shot breaks, direct hit, target eliminated. This is how each participant goes through the course once before we meet again together in the operations center.
The instructor warns, “Guys, this is getting serious. Pull yourself together!”. Of course, a bit of drumming and a rough tone are part of the show and the concept of Delta Operations. But if you don't know something like this, you'll be under adrenaline again. The new mission sounds tricky. An unknown group has stormed the bank building in the back zone of the field and is clearing out the safe. Our goal is to apprehend the gang within 5 minutes. Time is of the essence, so we grab our gear, reload our weapons and head towards the field entrance with our SWAT unit…
Of course we don't want to reveal the entire concept to you at this point, but as you can see, Delta Operations is really a completely new and, above all, different experience than the previous paintball fields. In the course of your visit , a total of 7 missions await you over a period of 3 hours, which are divided as follows: 1 x introductory mission and 3 x missions with role reversal, i.e. you play each mission twice, but always from a different perspective. The basic price (from 59.90 euros per person) includes all equipment and ammunition. There are no further costs. But if you would like to spice up your Delta Operations adventure a little, or if you are on site for the second time, you have the option of making the games new and varied again and again with fee-based upgrades such as ballistic vests, improved weapons, more ammunition or a protective shield design.
Anyone who, as a newcomer, stormed the bank with his 7-round handgun in the first game might want to go through the same mission again with a Heckler & Koch Type 416 assault rifle and a whopping 20 rounds of ammunition. In any case, the bad guys in the other team look sparingly out of the laundry when you come around the corner with the Ballermann.
Our conclusion: This is definitely not for wimps, but we had a lot of fun and it is an exciting, new experience that we will not soon forget.
If you feel like trying out a different kind of paintball or are interested in the Delta Operations concept itself, then just take a look at the guys' website and get more information. We wish you a lot of fun and adrenaline!
