Riftairsoft . Com 2x game sites

[Baddbaz]

I have played at their new Oxfordshire site twice now and have been massively impressed by everything at this site

The site is owned and run by tony an amazing guy who has an infectious enthusiasm for everything to do with Airsoft having been a long time player before deciding to open his own sites

This is a family run affair with his wife hazel and daughters participating in the running of it and also a friendly bunch of regulars

The marshalling is exceptionally good as are the briefings and safety aspects

The owner and marshals also make it v v clear that non hit taking and courtesy are the main agendas at their sites

The new Oxford site is on old dissused mod land and is a mixture of woodland ( 11 acres ) and buildings including a central courtyard area

The site also has many underground bunkers , buildings , mg nests , trenches etc

The games and gameplay / missions are very well thought out and organised resulting in probably the best gameplay I have yet witnessed on any site I have been to

Also on site is a food / burger van ( family run ) a large covered safe zone , a toilet / bathroom block , small shop and camping area

This site has revived my faith and interest in Airsoft , I have never met a nicer bunch of fellow airsofters with so much enthusiasm for the sport and the site is always improving each time I visit

They also have their own players forum with membership and discounts for regular players

I highly reccomend this site to anyone who wishes to visit as it is now my no skirmish venue

The Cambridge site is next on my list of sites to visit and if it is anything like the Oxford site I will go out of my way to play both sites

Tony has basically learned from his experience with other sites and put into motion all the best parts and got rid of all the bad things that annoy everyone who plays Airsoft

A genuine no holds barred 10 out of 10 for this site and the family marshals and regulars who really welcome fellow airsofters to play here

And it's still being improved !!

How Airsoft sites should be run !

[Baddbaz]

Have now become a rift Airsoft member , this site is still the best run site I have encountered and membership is growing massively as obviously a lot of players think so as well . Definite 10 out of 10

[FTZ-WildeCard]

Have to echo this somewhat -- found the guys at Rift to be some of the nicest I've met in Airsoft. I've only been up to the Comms 3 site -- but that is perhaps some of the lushest forest I have played in. Proper bricks and mortar ruins are all over the site. No pallet walls that may be found at some sites..  

 

The games run about an hour long, and in contrast to most sites I have been to where the games are 30 mins, 15 mins each way -- this format seems to work. I think part of this is because the whole site is in play each game... but there are pre-set objectives each time the teams are sent out. In each team staging area there is a large map of the site and teams are encouraged to discuss battle plans before the matches even begin. This helps a lot with the pacing and helps prevent even new players going out there without a clue as to what is going on.

 

In contrast to sites that run longer games (for example Sandpit which does a morning and an afternoon game only) I find that the hour long scenarios work better. There is still a reason to be fairly quick, but you aren't then running out of ammo too fast and you aren't using up all your energy in one game.

 

Rules wise, I like a lot of what I see -- a common sense approach is taken to the day. Auto fire is allowed at all ranges, the main restriction is that full auto can only be used for 2 second bursts by riflemen, and 4 seconds by support gunners. Seems pretty straight forward to me and in practice this is just about right. It is also enforced as I witnessed several times and this keeps moving well.

 

Roving photographers are on site. On the day I went there were perhaps 3 cameras moving around each scenario -- all photos are published for the benefit of the players. A very nice touch.

 

If anything, I really have to praise the food -- while the walk on fee does not include food or drink, the burger van on site is THE best I have eaten at and for a very modest price. Forget frankfurters in burger buns, a la the Mall -- you can get proper burgers in buns, which in my experience are always cooked to perfection.

 

Downsides, from London is it a fair old drive -- but well worth it. I really hope that Tony and the team expand RIFT and pick up an urban site as I would love them to bring their unique touch to that style of site. Additionally, car parking can be very tight. These two points are quite minor but I'd recommend a visit up to RIFT Comms 3 to anyone.