Gun-grid

Gun-grid is a martial-sport played in an 8-by-8 walled arena, with 64 individual cells with connecting doors. Players are armed with compressed-air rifles using non-lethal "slap rounds" and can play a selection of rule sets, the most common being a one-on-one hunt. Rules vary, with different configurations of doors opening and closing in progressive sequences at set times.

The doors open very rapidly, an event called "the snap," and shooters must guess or intuit through sound or strategy where their opponent might be at the snap.

The sport is most popular on Viafrane, where the major interstellar leagues are hosted. The best shooters gravitate to Viafrane, where they are true celebrities, and can compete in the widest variety of competitions. Viafrane is an off-stream world, which makes it a true pilgrimage for those who take the long trip there.

The sport has declined in popularity since open-arena events have overtaken it in popularity, with the enclosed nature of the classic arena making open arenas a more natural spectator sport, though far less tactical. Rule changes that have changed the nature of the sport have attempted to retain an audience, with some success, but at the expense of some of the better shooters who feel the purity has been lost.

There have long been rumours of underworld "Death Leagues" which are played with live ammunition, though the governing body of the sport insists there is no such thing. In truth the death leagues are real, broadcast on darknet channels run by Steimz mob fraternities. Deaths are not very common, however, as killing the stars would make it a difficult sport to sell. Though there are always some fatalities in any given season, a player who kills an opponent will publicly be seen to triumph in it, but their pay will be docked severely.