Relive the Battles of Angkor warriors
Staff at the Royal Archery Club demonstrate the war games. Photo: Alan Kirk
- By Alan Kirk
- April 11, 2023 8:52 AM
SIEM REAP – A new war game blending paintball-style archery and traditional Khmer empire warfare will be open for visitors to try at the Angkor Sangkranta.
It’s the brainchild of Sa Dina, founder of the Royal Archery Club in Siem Reap. He developed the game to let visitors act out the kind of battle over land which took place more than a thousand years ago.
A battlefield area has been set out in the club grounds and the game is played by two teams representing opposing armies. Each player is kitted out in body armour and a protective mask and is armed with a bow and foam-tipped arrows.
Players must battle it out to seize a red flag, representing land. Any player hit by an arrow is out of the game.
Once a team has seized the land, the next round begins in which the losing team fights to regain the flag.
A third round is a set-piece battle as would have happened in ancient times.
“I wanted to give visitors something in which they could experience the kind of land battles that took place during the Angkor era,” Dina says.
The armour the players use is plastic but Dina wants to make authentic-looking armour made out of leather which will cover the upper and lower parts of players’ bodies.
The club is by the river, off Route #6 Steung Village, Prasat Bakong district.
