Because Everyone Loves
A Good Origin Story...

The year was 1992. Some people were jumping to Kris Kross. Some were playing “Achy Breaky Heart” from their low-budget car audio system far too loudly. Meanwhile, Slim was celebrating his seventh year playing paintball while working at The Supply Depot army/navy/paintball store during the week, and at the Strategy Plus paintball field on the weekends.

While Strategy Plus was the biggest field in the state, it was always a little behind the times when it came to rental equipment. In 1992 the field was still offering Nel-Spot 007s as a rental option for what they called “Stock Games”. Anyone opting to play in the stock games had to play using what is now known as “stock-class” equipment - manually-operated, horizontally-fed and powered by a single 12-gram. It should be noted that most of the Nel-Spot 007 rentals were from when the field first opened in 1983. Almost 10 years old, pitted barrels, rusty internals, broken plastic grips but still functioning. For the most part.

Strategy Plus also offered what they called “Comp Games” - short for competition games. The comp game rentals were a combination of Razorbacks, Trracers and one or two other Nelson variants. While mechanical semis were abundantly sold and brought to the field for walk-on play in the comp games, none were available to rent from Strategy at that time. As mentioned, they were truly behind the times. Some might even say… “cheap”.

Given that many who played at Strategy had been playing there for years, there were still quite a few people signing up for the stock games. Slim was one of those players who still enjoyed stock play, and opted to upgrade his old Nel-Spot to a new CCI stock-class Phantoms that year because Strategy was still running stock games.

1992 - Slim’s Wild West Fun Feud

While working at The Supply Depot, Slim came up with the idea to host a big stock-class event at Strategy Plus, but with an old western theme. Players were encouraged to show up in costume. There would be missions to achieve like robbing the gold depository and storming the bad guys hideout. At the end of the day there was a quick draw contest with trophies.

With the support of Jim Iulo (Strategy Plus field owner), Tom Ghee (Supply Depot manager and Strategy Plus Field Manager) and Charlie Gulisano (Supply Depot fixture and newly-minted T.A.C. member) “Slim’s Wild West Fun Feud” took place on November 15th 1992. If the old rumors are to be believed… everyone had a blast.

Stock-Class Events Reboot…

2003 - 2010, The Renegade Years
While the events held in ‘92 and ‘93 were a success, significant life changes prevented Slim from hosting another event for eleven more years. During that time, Slim continued to play, but became increasingly disenfranchised with the fighting, cheating and poor sportsmanship that had become rampant in mainstream paintball. Instead, he opted to play in stock-class only games with his old teammates.

Fortunately, there were quite a few old timers willing to play stock-class, and the purchase of new home provided Slim with the opportunity to host renegade games in his own back yard. He began hosting his biannual events - one in the Spring and one in the Fall - in 2003. The early events were hosted under the name “Tactical Assault Command” or “TAC”. TAC was the name of the team Slim has been a member of since 1986, and as many of his old team mates represented the bulk of who was attending his games, the name seemed appropriate at the time.

2011 - Present, The Biggest International All Stock-Class Games Ever!
Due to an increase in interest, as well as liability concerns, Slim made the decision to transition his events from his renegade field to legitimate commercial fields in 2011. The first spring game was held that year at Extreme Paintball in Waterbury, CT with about 25 players in attendance - at least half of which came from out of state. The event was a success and the initiative to host even bigger games was created.

In the Fall of 2011 Slim moved his events to Strategy Plus in East Hampton, CT. The playing fields at Strategy were much larger and the field owner agreed to allow overnight camping with a bonfire the night before the event. Strategy Plus also allowed attendees to bring their own paint (BYOP) - which was welcome news for stock-class players - many of which were using old school markers with larger inner diameter bores.

The early Spring events were known simply as “Spring Games”, and then as “Cinco de Mayo” games, as the event was often held around the 5th of May. In 2013 the Fall Games were renamed “Stocktoberfest” as the dates coincided with the German Oktoberfest celebration in Munich. Some players opted to really get into the spirit of the Cinco de Mayo and Stocktoberfest events by bringing food, libations and even apparel that matched those themes.

Strategy Plus closed at the end of the 2013 season, so in 2014 Slim moved his events to Airsports Paintball in Ludlow, MA. Airsports also allowed overnight camping, BYOP, and allowed Slim to invite a BBQ “Pit Master” with a towed smoker to provide lunch for the players. The “Spring Stock Classic” name was adopted that year, and was also the first year that was billed as “USA vs. Canada” due to interest from some Canadian players to attend. The owner of Airsports, Russ Adams, became a huge proponent of the stock-class events, and always provided top notch staff and well-run games. It was at Airsports where the Slim’s events really started to gain popularity. At the 2016 Spring Stock Classic there were a record number of 97 players in attendance.

Airports closed at the end of the 2016 season, so the events were moved once again - this time to Albany Paintball Experience (A.P.E.) in Nassau, NY. Unfortunately, after a dispute with the field owner of A.P.E. in the Spring of 2018, Slim opted to move his events a fifth time to Adventure Games in Weare, NH.

Ultimately, this latest change in venues has proven to be a blessing in disguise. Adventure Games (AG) is owned and operated by Aric Lantiegne. Aric is a true professional who is deeply passionate about paintball, and who understand the value of preserving the original spirit of the game.

As with all of Slim’s past events, AG provides overnight camping with a bon fire, professional referees, outstanding playing fields and BYOP for the games on Sunday.

In 2019 Slim expanded his events to span the entire weekend. Both the Spring Stock Classic and Stoctoberfest are now two day events with themed stock-class games on Saturday and traditional capture-the-flag games on Sunday. Camping is available from Friday through Sunday night. The “big” camp out is still held on Saturday night, and now includes FREE laser tag games for attendees - a new feature which Adventure Games added in 2019.

In the Spring of 2021, AG added “Snack Shot” - an on-site catering company that provides a high-quality menu, as well as beer and wine (for those who are done playing for the day). They also expanded their parking lot and camping areas so there is no shortage of room there now.

At this point you’re probably thinking… “Good gravy! How could a stock-class event be any more awesome than this?” The answer is: It can’t. The fact that AG is within a few miles of where the very first game of paintball was played in 1981 makes the venue even more awesome!

If you’ve never experienced a true stock-class event, then these are the ones you want to attend. The skill, sportsmanship and camaraderie of the participants is unparalleled - as is the amount of fun you will have.

Do yourself a favor and don’t miss out on these old school shenanigans. It’s the way paintball was originally meant to be played!

The events today…

Slim’s Spring Stock Classic and Slim’s Stocktoberfest are open to anyone who has their own stock-class equipment, and who enjoys the challenge and sportsmanship of stock-class play.

As mentioned, they are both two-day events held over a weekend with the ability to camp out overnight on the Friday prior to the event, as well as on Saturday night. The camp out on Saturday night features FREE laser tag, a bon fire, a large communal grill, and the coveted “10pm Stock-Class Toast” where players celebrate the event with a shot of their favorite libation from a ten-round tube. The games on Saturday are more light-hearted and now offer a theme. Sunday’s games are traditional “woodsball”, capture-the-flag format.

Attendance for both events continues to grow, but has fluctuated due to the change in venues over the years. The average attendance in the past few years has been between 50 to 75 players with some players traveling from as far away as Oregon, Texas, Florida, Virginia and, of course, Canada - making this a truly international event! Our goal is to make this a premier event with over 100 stock-class players in attendance for each event every year, and we’re working hard to make this happen.

We try to maximize the amount of games played on each day with a very brief pause in between games to reload and resupply. Lunch is usually just under one hour, and is when we take the group photo. Games are played until 4pm to 4:30pm each day. There is a quick awards ceremony at the end of the day on Sunday for the Sportsmanship Award.

Here are the specifics for both events…

• Entry fee is $40 per player, per day, OR $65 per player for the entire weekend (which includes laser tag and camping)

• Bring your own stock-class equipment

• Stock-class rental guns will NOT be available, though limited loaner equipment can be borrowed from individual players (make sure to arrange this prior to the event)

• Saturday is the stock-class WILD WEST SCENARIO GAME with a High Noon Quick Draw competition! Players are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite wild west lawman or desperado. Each field at AG has its own themed mission which adds to the fun.

• The High Noon Quick Draw Competition will be held at noon (duh) on Saturday with a First Place award going to the Top Gun

• Note: Saturday is Field Paint Only (FPO). Adventure Games has a variety of affordable paint grades with their 3-star being well-suited for SC markers.

• Saturday night will feature FREE laser tag games, a bon fire, camping and the coveted Stock-Class 10pm Toast, sponsored by Adventure Games and Snack Shot!

• Sunday will feature traditional stock-class games ALL DAY!

• SUNDAY IS Bring Your Own Paint (BYOP)!!!! Paint will be available for purchase from AG Paintball (brands and prices will be posted)

• Food and drinks will be available on-site both days from the all-new Snack Shot catering company

• Snack Shot catering now serves beer and wine to those 21 and over. Please drink responsibly

• FREE Flag Capture patches will be awarded to every player who successfully captures a flag and hangs it to win the game

• A Sportsmanship Award will be given to the player who exemplifies great sportsmanship as witnessed by the refs

• Stock-class patches and a limited amount of stock-class goodies will be available for purchase from Stock-Class HQ

• A stock-class swap meet will be in effect in the camping area

• The event is rain or shine unless there is extremely dangerous weather conditions

Players are welcome to arrive Friday night and camp through the weekend. The “big” camp out will be on Saturday night and starts at 4 pm. Pitch a tent, fire up the cook stove and get ready to celebrate the event in style! As mentioned above, on Saturday night there will be FREE Laser Tag games, a bonfire for the usual fireside festivities and the Stock-Class 10pm Toast. Snack Shot will also be open late and feature food and drink specials for all attendees.

For more info on Adventure Games, visit: https://www.agpaintball.com/

For those not camping out, game registration will start at 8:30/9:00am on both days. We will be making every effort to start games on time, and will not be waiting for stragglers to start the games. Please note that stragglers will NOT be permitted to join any game after the game has started.

Event Do’s and Dont’s…

• Do play with sportsmanship, respect and consideration for others

• Do pay attention to all pre-game rules and announcements

• Do follow all safety rules by keeping your goggles on at all times in play areas and always ensure your barrel cover is on when game play is over

• Do expect to have the most fun you’ve ever had playing paintball!

• Don’t imbibe in drugs or alcohol during the games.

• Don’t wear blaze orange or black and white striped (referee) tops.

• Don’t argue or fight with field or event staff

• Don’t forget the original spirit of the game is to have fun with friends, be a good sport and that you’re here for a good time

Please note: While this has NEVER happened to date, players who create problems either on or off the field will be ejected from the event with NO REFUND. This includes being intoxicated, arguing with field or event staff, vandalizing property, theft or failure to follow safety protocols. More serious infractions can result in legal prosecution and/or a permanent ban from all Slim’s events and/or paintball field.