Sniper Game vs. Shotgun Game: Which Is Better for Getting Laid?

For finding girls to have sex with you, there are two core strategies: shotgun game and sniper game. Which you should use depends on a few key factors.

I’ve been playing this classic war game called “Combat Mission” (awesome), and it’s got me thinking about the correlation between combat and seduction. Yeah, because I’m a nerd.

Imagine this scenario: you walk into a bar and spot a beautiful girl sitting at a table. To her left are two other girls, and on her right are two guys. Do you go sniper and approach her first, or go shotgun and open the entire group?

If you hang out on pickup forums or read the comment threads in articles, you’ll eventually run across this debate: What’s better? Sniper or shotgun game?

A sniper is someone who picks his target with the skill of a honed marksman, expertly approaches, hooks, and seduces his target. A shotgun sprays a wide net over a large area, inflicting as much seduction as possible.

There’s another interpretation, in that a sniper screens for the right girl and focuses on her, while the shotgun guy sprays the whole room with himself in hopes something will stick.

Neither method is superior. If you want to be great at pickup, then you, of course, want to master both.

Back to our hypothetical scenario. A girl is in a bar, surrounded by friends.

Personally, I wouldn’t go direct in a situation like this. It puts too much pressure on her; and to save face, she’ll likely go into auto-rejection. She may not, but chances are high she will be embarrassed being put on the spot with a line like “I thought you were cute, I had to meet you.” Save these direct openers for day game. The key to opening is to be different than every other guy, and direct openers are what every other guy is doing in that situation.

You could go indirect with a question, observation, or a cold-read (is it your birthday?), but the pressure will still be on her. So the easiest method would be an indirect open on someone in the group, and once you’ve charmed them, ask for an introduction to your target. Then you can switch your attention to her. That is essentially the Mystery Method.

I’d use a situational group opener (shotgun) if she’s sitting at a table. If she were standing up and alone, I’d go sniper, straight for the girl, with an indirect, situational opener. I could go direct, “You’re the hottest girl here tonight,” but again, it’s predictable.