Anzio Camp

(Please note, we are in no way associated with Anzio Camp or First and Only Airsoft. Each review we leave our website is a genuine and honest opinion of our experience.)

Game type: battlesim/skirmish (open days)
Size: 112,000m (approximately)
Site limits: 345FPS (AEG), 400FPS (DMR), 500FPS (SNIPER)

The First Airsoft team visited Anzio Camp on the 22nd January 2022.

It's roughly 115 miles (2.5 hours) from our local airsoft site but, we decided to give it a try. We'd seen and heard good things about Anzio on YouTube and Facebook groups.

We thought, what the heck, must be worth the trip.

I'll start with the positives (there aren't many).

• The site itself is awesome. There's a great mix of woodland areas with buildings scattered throughout. You can find yourself clearing buildings with your team or, a more 'run and gun' approach trying to make it across open ground.
• Most players seemed friendly and accommodating of new players. There were a lot of hired guns on the day, split evenly over both the red and blue teams.
• The location itself is very easy to get to.

That's, unfortunately, about it for the positives.

The negatives (which I'll dig into a little bit more so there's a fair explanation).

• The marshalls.
• The gameplay rules.
• Hit taking.
• The objectives.

The marshaling was some of the worst I'd seen at an airsoft field to date. 

Game rules included:

• You can't full-auto if somebody is within 15ft of a building.
• You can't throw reusable grenades more than 2 body lengths (but fizzy grenades could be launched across rooms).
• If you're hit, you call for your medic and he/she can guard you whilst you count out loud for 20 seconds until you're back in the game.
• The surrender rule is optional. You don't have to take it. You can simply fire back at the player.
• If a grenade goes off within 15ft of you, you're dead. 

The marshalls were nice enough people but presented themselves as such an overbearing authority it was offputting. The safety briefing lasted roughly 20 minutes and, during this time, we were spoken to like children.

We were told not to talk or the briefing would stop. We were told that people who spoke during the briefing would be followed around for the entirety of the day until we did something wrong.

Their approach to delivering instructions was poor and their leniency on the field was next to none.

I (and the team) appreciate safety. We want people to go home without being injured. But there's being safe and then ruining the point of airsoft; which is to have fun.

For instance, reusable grenades aren't allowed to be used to clear stairways. A little weird but, forgivable. The next grenade rule is something I'm still confused about.

You cannot throw reusable grenades more than 2 body lengths. Keep in mind that reusable grenades (tremors or multi-bangs) are spherical and are 'thrown' at shin height.

The only possible way that grenade is hurting somebody is if a) they pick it up or b) they're wearing flip flops.

Nonetheless, that was the rule. 

Within the first 10 minutes of gameplay commencing, two things happened:

• Somebody from the opposing team catapulted through an open room and hosed us all with BBs using full-auto.
• Dan (from our team) used a grenade that hit the ground and rolled (without going off).

The gentleman who laced us all at point-blank range of full-auto was shouted at but ultimately allowed to continue.

Dan, on the other hand, had his grenade taken away from him until the end of the day. 

A grenade that rolled more than the allowed distance once it hit the floor should've been reconsidered.

Next, we have the game objectives and hit taking.

The site is quite big. If you've ever been, you'll know that running to and from a spawn point can end up being a small marathon over 6 hours.

This is what made some of the gameplay completely ridiculous.

Multiple objectives, spread over a huge site, never work. People group up in areas that prevent the game from moving smoothly.

Being allowed to respawn in the building you've just been shot in also makes no sense. We found that the objectives very quickly became redundant and it was an all-out team deathmatch for 6 hours.

Which, if you're new to the game, might be a lot of fun.

But for more experienced players who enjoy the thrill of objective-based matchmaking; it's not enjoyable.

Then, to top it off, there were complaints about people not taking their hits. Which is fair enough.

However... in most situations, marshalls deal with this like so:

'If we catch you cheating, you're out'. 

This is how the head marshall at Anzio Camp decided to deal with it:

'We've had multiple complaints about people not taking their hits. Because it's freezing today, people are wearing more layers than usual which means hits are sometimes not felt. So, if you don't feel it, hear it, or see it, but you don't call your hit, you're bounced from the game. We'll give you ten minutes to de-layer before we start our next game'.

Let me recap that for you.

If you didn't shout 'hit!' because you didn't hear, see or feel it - you're out of the game.

That's not a lie. That's not an embellishment. A lot of players questioned the logic but the marshalls stood firm on this ridiculous concept.

This is when we decided to call it a day (over an hour early).

Overall, the site was a huge disappointment for us.

If you're not concerned about using grenades or extremely confusing (and bendable) rules, then it might be worth the trip.

But for experienced players who enjoy a structured, fun, and well-run airsoft site, Anzio Camp, unfortunately, isn't it.

Again, this is our personal view. We don't want to dissuade you from visiting Anzio Camp. In fact, we encourage it. All of Anzio Camp's information is listed on this page for booking, prices and directions to the site. Give it a go and let us know what you think!