The realism of playing airsoft is what attracts so many people to the game. Many people find airsoft to be next to the real thing as far as gun battles go, involving replica spring-operated air-powered guns that fire pellets of 6mm or 8mm. They are available as handguns, rifles or even semi-automatics. The entertainment value is cracking, but secondary to many of those that regard it as a serious sport as opposed to just a game.
It could be argued that airsoft is the big boy's version of paintball, but the two have very significant differences, not the least of which is trust. Airsoft involves a lot of trust, stated as the 'honor system', where players are relying on the honesty of their opponents in admitting to being hit by a pellet. There is no visible marker as in paintball, and they leave no visible evidence of a hit.
Airsoft cannot be compared to paintball, and the entertainment value is significantly greater because the guns are more realistic, and perhaps because of this, clubs tend to construct more realistic 'battlegrounds'. In fact Military Simulation, known as "MilSim" enhances the realism of team-based airsoft games in which missions can be set along with fixed supplies of ammunition, rations and other items such as communications equipment and 'explosives'.
In many cases the realism of playing airsoft is further enhanced by using exact replicas of firearms, including their magazine capacity. The M16 STANAG magazine, for example, holds 30 rounds, and the airsoft equivalent of that will hold exactly 30 pellets. How realistic is that! The same is true of the other airsoft gun originals as diverse as the Colt revolver and the Heckler and Koch machine pistol. Each of these can be simulated in an airsoft version with the correct magazine capacity.
You can play with bolt action sniper rifles, a variety of air-operated machine guns and various designs of semi-automatic weapons. That is one of the attractions of airsoft: the ability to choose the weapon of your choice, even in some cases down to the actual make and model. It offers a great chance for ordinary people to experience the thrill of holding and firing one of the guns they have read so much about, even if only in a simulated environment.
This simulation in airsoft even goes to reconstructions of actual battlefields, and some groups fight out actual battles that have been fought from World War 1 onwards. Some insist on the original outcome while others tend to change history. However, these groups are rare, and the main activities of airsoft battles are of one group of people against another with realism nowhere in sight. To them, the entertainment value of airsoft is more important than whether they are being realistic or not.
This degree of realism of playing airsoft can be even further extended. Exercises are held using real vehicles such as simulated military trucks, and some can last as long as 5 or 6 days, and run in just the same way as genuine military exercises. MilSim, if carried out properly, will also involve each team wearing uniforms that will be authentic to the military brigade or regiment they represent, as opposed to other forms of airsoft where participants wear colored armbands or synthetically designed uniforms.
Going back to the trust aspect, it is the player's responsibility to call when they have been hit, although in many cases the pellets are so light that it is possible that they do not feel the hit. This multiplies trust, since participants then have an excuse for not calling, yet it rarely occurs. Those that participate in playing airsoft regularly understand that without the trust then there is no game.
The realism of playing airsoft, and even the entertainment value of playing airsoft, depends significantly on the integrity of those playing. There might be a great deal of animosity between teams and individuals, but all understand the consequences of cheating, and it rarely happens among serious airsoft players.
The realism can even extend to knives: when agreed, simply touching an opponent signifies a knifing, thus enabling you to claim a kill without shooting an opponent you have snuck up on at point-blank range. There are many rules that can be agreed according to the group you are playing with. The situation can be so realistic at times, that it is easy to forget that this is a game.
However, although it is great to be realistic, at others it's better to focus on the entertainment value of playing airsoft and just enjoy yourself without being subject to the rigors of military discipline that frequently comes with some of the more serious events. Airsoft can be played by a group of golfing buddies while on vacation, by businessmen as a 'team building exercise' or just by individuals joining a club for a bit of fun. It can also, however, appeal to ex-servicemen who are missing the excitement and want to prove to themselves that they have not lost it.
Whichever group you belong to, you are sure to thoroughly enjoy the realism of playing airsoft, even if you are just seeking it for its entertainment value.
