It was a steamy hot day on July 12th when General Roger Savage and his team of mercenary soldiers returned to Isla da la Gran Gecko to again face the wrath of the Velociraptors and the big T-Rex.  General Savage (played again this year by the famous Roger Speak) pushed his men time after time into the jungle to search for dinosaur eggs, fuel for the helicopter and various other items needed to generate more money for future expeditions.  The Velociraptor lizards in the woods did what Velociraptors do… they ate players for lunch.  Many players had an encounter with the big T-Rex and some made friends with the monster.  Others just turned and ran in terror which always made the beast chase after them and kill them.  As is customary and expected on Isla de la Gran Gecko there was a few afternoon showers that helped cool things off some.  At the end of the day General Savage had earned enough money to fund another expedition next year to the Island.  You can plan on attending Jurassic Lark III sometime next summer and get to know the Velociraptors and T-Rex (we hear he is going to have his family with him next year) and all the other characters and have one great day playing non-stop paintball.  All proceeds from this game will go into the construction on the field for upcoming 24 Hour Games.  Please come out and help us build bunkers on future work days and enjoy your efforts and see the enjoyment of others when they play in the bunkers you helped build.

     To celebrate Cullman's German heritage and our annual festival of Oktoberfest,  I have been trying to think of an important battle from WWII that would be suitable to the woodlands of N. Alabama and closely emulate the forest of southern Germany at the same time.  The terrain of the Hürtgen Forest is characterized by plunging valleys that carve through broad plateaus.  Hürtgen Forest's deep valleys are thickly wooded , the forest's rough terrain starkly contrasts with that of the adjoining Rhine Valley. Roads in the forest are few, winding, and narrow.  The Battle For Hürtgen Forest was the longest continuous battle in WWII lasting almost five months and costing the US 1st Army over 33,000 lives.  It has been called an Allied "defeat of the first magnitude".  When the battle opened, General Hans Schmidt, the 275th Division Commander, controlled 25 pieces of motorized artillery (9 105mm, 6 150mm, and 10 122mm howitzers) plus had within his sector another 106 field pieces ranging in size from 88mm to 210mm, for at total of 131 tubes of artillery.  During this particular time in the war the German army was well stocked with ammunitions.
     Who will win this "battle" at Mt. Doom is anyone's guess but we will do it all within 6 hours.  The German's hold the high ground with long range artillery capable of ripping through the trees and blowing up everything in a 50 foot circle.  The German general will toss a marker onto a grid map of the Doom playing fields to indicate where his cannon shells explode and refs in the area will eliminate all US troops in the blast zone.  If the Americans are lucky they will overtake the artillery and destroy the bunker.  If the German's are lucky they will continuously destroy Allied troops with artillery and up close combat. 
     If you would like to get a storyline on this scenario game go and rent the DVD movie, When Trumpets Fade.  Please be advised, this is not a easy to watch movie nor one for younger viewers but a movie that will surely give you a renewed appreciation of our WWII veterans who fought in battles such as this and survived.  This will become an annual game on Mt. Doom celebrating Octoberfest yearly and you can be in on this first ever game in it's raw origins.