Pass a barn, then an old house and find a mock battlefield where strategy rules and the competition is colorful.
Fields of Fire, a full-service paintball and airsoft park, opened recently in Mystic. Owner Tom Vignato used to work in the hotel industry on the shoreline.
“Saturday mornings in the nice weather, you’d get families come down the elevator, saying, ‘What’s there to do around here?’” Vignato says.
In an effort to give them a new, active, trendy option, he transformed 50 acres of forest into a paintball course that brings the action and suspense of video games to life.
“The kids love it. They’d rather do this than sit on the couch,” says Vignato.
Some say paintball is the fastest growing extreme sport.
“UConn has one of the best college paintball programs in the country,” says Vignato, who puts a playful spin on the intense activity.
His signature game might just become the Red Sox/Yankees challenge.
“We built a replica of the Green Monster. The Yankee fans had to paint the Green Monster blue.”
Getting hit with a paintball stings, so be sure to wear long sleeves and pants. Fields of Fire supplies vests and face shields to be worn at all times on the course.
The park features walk-on play on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All other days are open to groups of eight or more. $22.00 covers cost of admission and equipment.
Check out the Fields of Fire website for more information.