It was 11 degrees and snowing outside, a paraplegic pre-teen was aggressively and rhythmically bumping his calves with the footrests of a custom wheelchair, and in the back corner of the room, a GSG-9 special forces trooper was waving what looked like an AR-15 at a woman whose T-shirt proclaimed her allegiance to a particular clan of furries and anime enthusiasts. But the fellow reading us the rules of the game on a Sunday morning in deeply rural Ohio was unfazed by any of it. “The next session will be … Domination,” he announced. “Any questions?” 

There were no questions, although about 20 of the 50-some people in this airsoft arena were new to the venue, and half of them had never so much as held an airsoft rifle before, being armed with nothing but rental equipment and a positive if slightly apprehensive attitude. Because all of us knew what Domination was. Just like Team Deathmatch, Juggernaut, or Infected, Domination is a “mode” that didn’t exist in real life, until it did.