Beginner's Guide to Paintball at Fort Ouest

Hi,

I'm Dan, Fort Ouest's Owner since 2005 and I've been playing since the 90's. I'll be writing some posts here to help new players start playing, in case they play against more experienced players at our park.

With the following tips, you could easily outsmart and outmaneuver more experienced players even on your first game day!

And with the coupons or deals you can get from us, you'll be the "man of the hour" and impress your friends with all the deals you'll get from us at restaurants, activities and bars in the Mont-Tremblant area.

Preparing for the big day :

• A good night's sleep before coming to play is always a good thing.
• Wear comfy clothes and shoes or boots adapted to the weather, if paintball residue ends up on your clothes, no worries, just wash them on the same day you played here.
• Try not to wear jeans, paintballs tend to pinch a little more if you wear that type of fabric.
• Eat something light before you play, don't eat something heavy like pasta!

Game Day tips :

• RELAX, seriously, kids as young as 10 years old play this game.
• No alcohol or drugs while you're playing
• Respect other players, even if it's your best buddies bachelor party. It might be funny for you to shoot your opponent point blanc, but just remember you're not here to hurt each other.
• Hydrate when you can between games, if it's a hot day. We have a large selection of drinks on the premises, like different types of popular pops, juices, water bottles, Powerade, even Perrier...
• Never talk about your strategies in front of your opponents.
• Make sure no one is eaves-dropping as you plan your strategies.
• When crossing the field towards your starting point, quickly scope out the good spots. Don't make it too obvious, you don't want to give away your plans to your opponents.
• Communication between teammates is good strategy.
• Tuck in your elbows when you are shooting, make yourself the smallest target. First you'll draw less attention and secondly you'll be harder to hit.
• Don't be a "whack a mole", yeah, you know that game you've been playing at the country fare? When that mole keeps on popping its head at the same spot over and over, you eventually hit it, right? So the same thing applies to paintball, if you're always looking out of the right side of the same wall over and over... well you can figure it out, you'll be hit eventually.
• MOVE around, don't be a camper. There's a campground next door, Camping l'Escapade, the got decent prices, if you're interested!
• Did you know that moving targets are harder to hit?
• There's one thing I try not to do, is "let" my opponents surround me. So if I'm mobile, even if I'm outnumbered on the field, I have more chances to make it, if I can outmaneuver them.
• Use surrounding noises around you to your advantage.
• If sneaking up to freeze a player, when stepping start with your toes, then the ball of our foot and then the heal. You'll make less noise and increase your chances of success. Also watch where you walk.
• Bring enough of ammunition on the field, players use anywhere from 50 to 400 or more balls per game.
• Make sure your compressed air bottle is filled up before the game. Our rental markers (paintball guns) use 48/3000 bottles. So if your bottle shows 1.5 or 1500, it might be a good idea to fill it up before playing.
• Our rental bottles usually have an autonomy of 300 to 400 shots. So if in a game you run out of ammunition, stop shooting. First you're going to need air for the next game and secondly it's not good for the markers (paintball guns) to dry fire.
• When a marker (paintball gun) is shooting a paintball it makes a different sound as one that isn't shooting anything. Believe me, experienced players will rush you and either freeze you or scare the living daylights out of you.
• If you use a smoke grenade or if someone else uses one, use it to your advantage... Don't just stand there, MOVE... if they can't see you, now's the time to MOVE!
• Change your strategies after each game, there's nothing more predictable than a player that does the same play game after game.
• If you play in the evening or night, use the light, the shadows, surrounding noises to your advantage. And watch out, we got motion sensor lights!!

After the game :

• Time to hand in the rental equipment in a nice orderly way at the counter where you first received it. Our staff greatly appreciates it!!!
• Stretch... oh yes... when was it the last time you crawled on the ground and ran like crazy? So don't forget to stretch and relax. Or you're going to wake up the next day with soar muscles you didn't know existed.

Either at Fort Ouest or at a local restaurant or pub :

• Time to sit around a table with your buddies and drink a cold one or two. We have a large selection of cold drinks, such as pop, water bottles, Perrier, Powerade... but we also have some 341ml bottled beers and some local 500ml bottled brewed beers, other types of alcoholic beverages and hard liquor.
• Talk about your day's adventures and endeavours & you might be lucky and see the day's pictures on one of our large screen inside? Ask us about how you can get our copies of pictures.
• We got food too on site, hot-dogs, burgers, fries, poutine, homemade wonton soup, spring rolls,... If we know ahead of time, we can arrange an awesome meal for ou and your group!
• Ask about our coupons or guest list deals with restaurants and bars in the area... we can hook you up at the following nightclubs : Café d'Époque, P'Tit Caribou, Lounge Jackalope & Cabaret La Boom and at the following restaurants : Mad Grill. We can also get ou discounts at Héli-Trembant, imagine arriving to our field by helicopter? You know, I like to offer my clients a good time on and off our fields.

The above ideas, suggestions and tips don't all need to be followed to the letter, just remember to have fun, play safe and enjoy your day or evening with us!

Are you ready to take on the world of paintball?

Cheers,

- Dan
Fort Ouest owner since 2005