Dean “Cuda†Allen, Brandon “BT†Robertson and Karl “Jackson†Koleck make up one of the most powerful teams of game producers you will ever find in paintball. Known as Mission Masters; in the Western Pennsylvania area you can’t talk about scenario paintball without mentioning these guys. They have hosted every type of mission based game you can think of, from Resident Evil to the most recent being Star Wars. The games are based on timed games, ranging from twenty to thirty minutes usually. Teams face off with specific tasks that need to be completed to get points. They have established teams from all over Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia that make it out to their games regularly.
At a typical game you will see well known teams, props galore and tanks. Mission Masters paintball combines the best of scenario paintball and capture the flag resulting in the most thrilling games for everyone. The games are designed to operate with both large and small groups of players with any level of skill from beginner to experienced player. Most important to the producers is to keep the game intense and to have the players band together to work at a goal. You do not have to be a scenario player to belong to a team and enjoy the fun. Mission paintball is designed for everyone and you can participate as much or as little in the way of missions as you like. The game is designed to promote teamwork, challenges, intense action and most of all memories that will last a lifetime!
What you can expect to find at Mission Master game you ask? Eight mission paintball games, each team will be briefed with the storyline and their respective objectives prior to hitting the field for each mission; this way ensures each player is aware of what is going on. Not just a few people as you can have with some scenarios. You will find props, lots of props. Most of these will be portable and some are only usable by special characters. The use of props give mission games some level of realism, not to mention many different ways to score valuable points for your team while shooting up the other team. Special characters are roles that are used but not so much to make the game lopsided, and are always filled by volunteers. You can be of any skill level or background. In Mission Masters games special characters are players that can at times be the only person to be able to perform specific tasks, thus requiring effective team work, demolitions experts and medics are generic examples of special characters used in some games with no role playing required.
Since each game has a time limit you have teams moving instead of camping all day. You do not have an hour or all day to complete missions. The result is intense action with players moving to all areas of the field in rapid fashion. Eliminations count as players shot must leave the field of play to wait for the next mission. There are no reinserts after the first five minutes of each round. In Mission Master games you will not find generals or commanders as all participants are encouraged to operate equally as a team. No specific preferences are given to anyone on or off the field. 
The mission based games offer players a break between games so no one gets tired, using timed games give players the needed breaks you can sometimes not get during long days of scenario play.
Dean produces big games because they are more approachable to a broader audience. You can find speedball players, scenario players and pro paintball players at events across the globe. With the more popular, mainstream themes being hosted it is a great way to get away from the everyday hum drum in our lives. Playing in a Mission Masters game is a great way to escape reality. Dean has been playing this game since the mid 1980’s, when the game was still called “Survival Games†and everyone played with CO2 powered bolt action pistols and lab goggles. He has played on and off through the years which eventually turned into his vision for Mission Masters. He purchased his first non-rental marker in 2004 which was a Tippmann A-5 which he still owns to this day. Of course he has taken his marker and tricked it out as many players do.
Mission Masters has been around for the last 5 years with fans from all walks of life playing in their games. The ages range from the very young to well over fifty. The model for the game and the success of Mission Masters can be traced to using popular themes from movies, video games and history. It is nothing short of a blast to play in these types of games.
I have been to many of these games hosted at Three Rivers Paintball park with good memories of each and every event. I always seem to end up running with a pack of new players, probably since I am the slowest guy on my team due to knee injuries. In these games the new players will get right into the action, not like the typical newbies you run across that shoot from sixty yards away from the action hoping to hit someone. Dean “Cuda†Allen and his partners in crime will be right out there on the field with you when they can be. Taking objective after objective and elimination is what they do. The love of the game expressed by Mission Masters is evident, if you ever have the chance to play a game with these guys you will understand what I am talking about.
Check out www.MissionMasters.com for future events. I will be at Dead Space in October of this year if anyone wants to play with or against me.
By Paul Forcier
