Aerial Gunball

Ridiculous in concept, dangerous in execution and overall wasteful in resources. Why even wonder that so many find it greatly entertaining? Admiral Dashkov to a fellow officer

Execution

General concept

Two teams of airborne gunboats fight over a ball (which starts off in the middle of the field) and then try to score points by using tethering harpoon to haul the ball into the enemy gate. However, the ball, made from foam on the outside and a floating core at the centre, will get heavier and heavier the more harpoons are stuck in it, and the battle will move lower and lower. Once the ball touches the ground, the game is over.

General way of progressing the game

The game mostly revolves around the gunboats blocking each other off and firing harpoons at the ball, tethering it along on a rope towards the depositing area. Besides blocking, a team can fire coloured blanks at the enemy. Every time those hit, the struck gunboat has to go back to its gate (time-out) and only when it gets there can it once more rejoin the game. Cutting other ships' ropes to get the ball free and harpooning it themselves is how the ball changes hands.

Components and tools

To play a match of aerial gunball, the following components are needed:

• A sizeable airspace and airfield below, specially marked to show the size of the game field
• Two large gates, made airborne in some way (balloons, propellers, etc.)
• A total of 18 aerial gunboats, each equipped with special tethering harpoons and coloured blank shots
• Ground and aerial observation points for the judges
• The ball itself, made from foam on the outside and a floating core at the centre

Participants

Team composition

• Attacker - 5/9 boats; these are the chargers who with speed and manoeuvres try and hit the ball into the enemy gate
• Defender - 3/9 boats; there serve as additional protection for their team's gate, usually remaining at their side of the field
• Gatekeeper - 1/9 boats; the main defender of the gate, he is restricted to a very small semicircle bordering the gate

Judges

• Aerial - between 6 to 8; they observe the game from balloons and can use horns attached to them to stop the game
• Ground - between 10 to 12; they have their ground observation posts from which they can sound the horns to stop the game

Observance

There is one official tournament organized by the joint cooperation of two sport clubs - Oktavgradian Gunball League and the Kaiserliche Gunball Association, which takes place each summer during the second week. Besides, there are a few smaller competitions that don't have a regular schedule.

A chart showing the game field

There's something more to it than just hauling a ball to a designated place! You need planning, calculating every single move you make, understanding the enemy! It's like a damn war, I tell you. A player taking about the game