Zombie Games stresses safety

While lifelong Cheney resident Dusty Rumsey's job at Airway Heights Corrections Center keeps him pretty busy, it's likely he'd rather spend his hours asking some people whether they wanted to "live or die."

Rumsey is the owner/operator of Zombie Games Paintball; a new paintball course located about 5-6 miles west of Cheney along State Route 904 at Beckley Lane. Rumsey, who has played the sport for 14 years and 12 years on the Beckley Lane course under a previous owner, opened Zombie Games Paintball one month ago.

Rumsey created Zombie Games because he saw a need for such a course in the Cheney-West Plains area. Courses are few, with two in Spokane and one between Reardan and Ford on Highway 231 miles from any town or city being the closest he knows of to Cheney.

"Here, you can play paintball and if you want to go get a burger after, you can go get a burger," Rumsey said.

Rumsey did a lot of the work himself to set up the course. The eight-and-a-half-acre field stretches all the way to the highway, but most of the action right now takes place in a wooded area beginning about 40-50 yards in from the road.

Natural-brush bunkers and stacked-tire hiding spots already existed, but Rumsey worked to build additional bunkers and brought in loading pallets to create low-lying buildings also used for cover.

According to information on its website, Zombie Games Paintball is a "restricted firing mode field." Markers are semi-automatic, pump and magazine feed rifles only - nothing fully automatic that can fire up to 50 balls per second.

"Here, it's only as fast as your finger can move," Rumsey said.

Each marker is pressurized using compressed air or CO2. Rumsey said he is phasing out the latter because of safety issues such as inconsistencies in pressurization, which sometimes can lead to firing balls faster and with more power than desired.

Compressed air, on the other hand, maintains the proper speed all the time, and is just as reliable in firing.

Each paintball marker is "chrono checked," meaning a device similar to a radar gun is attached to the muzzle and the weapon discharged to make sure it is firing at 280 feet per second or lower. Every player on the course is required to sign a waiver, and minors must have a waiver co-signed by an adult.

Each marker fires a standard .38 caliber paintball. Playing the sport requires mandatory safety gear to be worn, particularly protective headgear with eye shields.

Participants are welcome to bring their own gear, which can be expensive. For those wanting to play but not possessing gear, Rumsey has 17 markers and headgear available for rent at $15 each.

For those not familiar with the sport, paintball is essentially a more sophisticated version of the old "capture the flag" game. Different types of games include speedball, woods ball and scenario ball. Military-kill rules apply, Rumsey said, meaning a hit in the headgear or chest automatically disqualifies that player.

Rumsey also maintains a minimum shooting range of 20-25 feet, noting a paintball fired at 280 feet per second at 10 feet can hurt.

"If you get any closer, you do want to give them the chance to give up," he said. "Live or die. It makes the game more fun."

Rumsey hopes to keep the course open "until the snow is too deep" to play effectively and safely. The course is open for private games as well as open play on Saturdays, beginning at 9 a.m. In the future, Rumsey said he is looking at getting more "kid friendly" gear to enable children to play in a less intense atmosphere.

To get details about pricing and reservations, Zombie Games Paintball can be contacted at (509) 879-8344 or online at zombiegamespaintball.com.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].