The Farm Skirms May 1st and 2nd

[Pacman]

You're not being rude...it's a legitimate question, and one I asked at first. Upon further consideration, I feel it is time to shift our paradigm...

Traditional skirms are hosted by individuals, or teams in the AP community. Someone gets permission to use a chunk of land out in the sticks, and off we go to play.

These skirms do not have any real predictability. What if I get up one morning and think..."Hmmm let's go play airsoft", and there is no skirm? I'm SOL.

The Farm is a business. They provide 22 acres, parking, a bathroom, drinks, ammo, and admin(s), or "game moderators" as they call them.

When you play at S4 Tactical, do you expect to play for free? No. Why? Because they are a business. Same with The Farm. Personally, I think $10 is pretty reasonable to play for the day whenever I want.

Having a dedicated, controlled field also helps to promote a positive image of airsoft.

My .02.

I would have to agree, as a former business owner I know the high cost of the insurance required to run an operation such as this. Add in the cost of porta-johns and you have expenses that the skirm in the woods does not have. I would also agree the initial cost will cause some people to avoid it and slow growth initially but I think if the positives seen at the sneak peek continue the business will be there. The other effect might be to keep the more serious players on the field. Nothing worse than showing up for a skirm with low turnout and having a mass exodus during a break. The one big advantage for us westside folks is also having an outdoor venue that we don't have to spend $15-$20 in gas to drive big miles for a game along with a admission on top of that.

[RBeran]

while i agree with you beran....ABT never ever charged more then $5 dollars for a full day of play. if you ever had a game there with a price point higher then five bucks, then it was run by SOTA, BSP, or AP.

regular skirms should be free or $5. ABT was open for over 2 years. they had lots of people show out, because the price was right for what they are offering.

if i go to the farm and shell out $10-25 bucks, and get gameplay that is less desired then standard well known promoters, then YAY, the farm got my buisness ONCE, and chances are i would probably never return. so it sounds like they are willing to kill thier buisness, by over extending thier model, and putting a seriuous stigma upon the field. so you are willing to risk field useage by the community, because you wanted more money.

and this community is visious, and can break you. if you f**k them over they will be very vocal about it.


what the owners need to see here, is that if they want the community to come out in full force and utilize this field, then need to spend alot more time introducing the field with as many lowcost games as possible this summer. or we will see the farm close due to lack of considerable participation.

as it stands now, i dont see any major promoters aproaching these guys anytime soon.


hope your game works out.

Good point...I never thought of that. Keeping the fees low to build credibility makes sense, and $5 has been the normal skirm fee, if there even was a fee.

I think part of the problem here is The Farm's use of the term "skirmish". Had they posted that they are open for business with open play starting at 10AM, and $10 being the price of admission, our community might react differently.

I agree with you 100%...bad press in the the AP community can make or break a business trying to get started. I for one hope these guys make it...it would be great to have another field to play, and one that is available on a regular basis. Only time will tell...

Not sure to what game you are referring...no formal game plans, only the possibility of going out to check it out.

[~Thunder~]

As a rookie to Airsoft it's probably not my place to speak on the matter, but i generally don't keep my mouth shut when i should anyway, so why break the trend now.

One of the primary reasons i picked up the Airsoft 'bug' is the pay-to-play fees. i have a hard time relating to a complaint of $10 for a full day of entertainment. Where else do you get that kind of bang for your buck?

So, while most of you may be acclimated to the $5 (or free) skirms, a noob like me walks in and sees $10-$25 and still thinks it's money well spent. Heck, the last time the wife and i went to a movie it was $50 with soda and popcorn, lol. This community does seem close knit, but especially fickle at times.

The Farm was a great field to play on IMHO...i have nearly no criticisms at all. $5, $10, $25...for a day of play...do as you will, but i'll be back regardeless & will continue to recommend it.

[Matt]

Damn. Shut up and stay on topic. If the cost is too much for you, how about just don't go?

[Strayz]

Yeah one thing I notice around here is that no one will even blink twice at spending 50$ on rail covers but phony pony all year long at field fees. /boggle

[Creature]

So far I have seen bickering about semantics, always a plus if you are trying to pass a bill on capitol hill, doesnt reallyhold water in the real world. I believe the term skirm is being used to differentiate from a large scale OP.

As far as credibility in the community goes, i know the guy who runs the farm and I assure you he has shot most everyone who actually plays and doesn't just type all day. His interest is to keep the doors open, unfortunately that requires money. He isn't making a profit off of this by any means, his interest is to have a well layed out, versatile, appropriate, dedicated field that is open for people to wake up and say "screw it i wanna play today" and have a place to do it.

To expect a dedicated field that is legally operated, to stay open, it requires that people climb out from behind their keyboards and go up, blast some plastic, check out the field and form an opinion from experience and not from stigma. Making an assumption that someone is going to trying to screw you out of 10$ once and then close down will becaome a self fulfilling prophecy of the field closing because people didnt show.

Strayz says it perfect: you'll spend tons of money on guns but not spend chump change to actually go and use it and contribute actively and knowledgeably to a field that wants to be around for a long time to come. And the reason this field wants to stick around is because the guy running it is about airsoft, not $.

Go up there, check it out- but dont knock it until you try it.

[dosSantos]

I would GLADLY pay $10 for all day. PTOC and CAGE were more expensive for all-day. Even S4 is $15 and even then you have to deal with the eleven-teen year-olds. I would try The Farm out at least a few times at $10.

[Filipp14]

I will come +1. Thats if I get a ride.

[Blackhawk]

Im going and not just because of my general principal of always disagreeing with Ka-Bar lol.

[Punk37]

I'm gonna try and make it out with +3-7 on sunday.

[nemo]

i will be there Sunday in regards to the admittances fee i will pay 10 a few times but if i feel its not worth it to me i wont go i am one of the ppl that have to pay 15 to 20 for gas so it adds up

[~Thunder~]

i will be there Sunday in regards to the admittances fee i will pay 10 a few times but if i feel its not worth it to me i wont go i am one of the ppl that have to pay 15 to 20 for gas so it adds up

Just a 'by the way' nemo...coming from Hillsboro, i had to jump on hwy26 for a bit, went pretty slow through the twisties, and still got there in 35 minutes. Unless you live in some far outskirt of Beaverton, or are driving a tractor, it should be a pretty cheap trip.

[nemo]

nemo
Location: beaverton wrote:

i will be there Sunday in regards to the admittances fee i will pay 10 a few times but if i feel its not worth it to me i wont go i am one of the ppl that have to pay 15 to 20 for gas so it adds up

orthunder17 wrote:

Just a 'by the way' nemo...coming from Hillsboro, i had to jump on hwy26 for a bit, went pretty slow through the twisties, and still got there in 35 minutes. Unless you live in some far outskirt of Beaverton, or are driving a tractor, it should be a pretty cheap trip.

nemo

i drive a van unless i can use my roommates car so ya 13 miles to the gallon the farm is about 40 miles so thats about 9 bucks one way so round trip and the 10 to play costs my about 30 bucks if i get the car its way less so it depends

[Chesty_01]

I am curious to know how the farm is 40 miles from Beaverton.

[Switch]

I just may be out there on Sunday.