Wikipedia

Paintball

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Paintball is a sport whose participants use compressed-gas markers to shoot paintballs (roughly marble-sized, 68 caliber, gelatin capsules of non-staining water soluble paint) at other players.

The sport's many variations include Capture the Flag, in which two teams attempt to seize the other's banner without being marked by a paintball, and Total Elimination, in which each team attempts to mark all members of the opposing team.

The first paintball game was played in New Hampshire in 1981 by Bob Gurnsey, Hayes Noel, and Charles Gaines, who used markers built to tag cattle or trees. The first tournament with a cash prize was held in 1983.

Games

Capture the Flag

The not so classic schoolyard game, with a paintball twist. Teams start on opposing sides and attempt to acquire the opponents' flag while protecting their own. Victory is achieved by being the first team to hang the opponents' flag on the designated location at or near their own starting location.

In tournament play, a team successfully eliminating all opposing players, losing none of their own players and successfully hanging the opponent's flag within the allotted game time is said to have "maxed" the other team (that is, they have achieved the maximum points possible in the game).

Center Flag

Similar to the above, except there is only one flag hung at the center of the field - both teams are trying to acquire the flag and hang it on the designated location at the opposing team's base.

X-ball

Two teams of 5 players play multiple rounds of CTF for twenty minutes, receiving one point each time they hang the flag. Players are allowed to set their markers to fire up to 15 balls per second with a single pull of the trigger. Coaches are also allowed to give advice from the sidelines, which is not allowed in the normal 3/5/7-man tournament format.

Elimination

Teams play until one team is entirely eliminated, or in a tie, the referee decides who wins.

Location/Fields

Woodsball (also "Bushball" or "Recball" from recreational paintball), the oldest variant, is generally played on a wooded field large enough to hold dozens of players. Woodsball games generally take more time than other formats, and emphasize strategy, teamwork, concealment, large-scale maneuvers, and patience over speed and rate of fire.

Speedball, a faster game than woodsball, is generally played on a field the rough size of two tennis courts, often studded with inflatable bunkers. The close quarters foster a lot of movement and "bunkering", or running up to an opposing player's bunker and eliminating them from close range. Many national and local tournaments and leagues are built around speedball.

Scenario paintball games are often larger-scale re-enactments of historical battles involving hundreds of people, such as the Battle of Normandy, or modern scenarios such as storming a building and rescuing hostages. Scenario games can last hours or even days, and bigger games often have player re-insertions at set intervals. Skirmish Paintball in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania holds several every year, including The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy, which drew more than 3,000 attendees in 2005. The largest is probably "Oklahoma D-Day" which drew more than 3,500 in 2005, plays across 700 acres of land and includes some 15 "paintball tanks" and pontoon-built landing craft.

Tournament

Modern tournament paintball has developed in earnest since roughly 1990. Woodsball tournaments, the original and once the most popular format, have largely given way to speedball fields, whose inflatable bunkers can be moved between matches or tournament stages. The most common tournament games pit two teams of three, five, or seven players against each other.

Organizations

Current professional and semi-professional leagues, such as the NXL (National X-Ball League), NPPL (National Professional Paintball League), http://www.college-paintball.com NCPA](National Collegiate Paintball Association),CFOA(Carolina Field Owners Association) and theNEPL(New England Paintball League], regularly hold high-class, well-organized events. These aren't the only leagues, however, as most regions both inside and outside the USA have leagues. The Millennium Series, the Nordic Series, the former European X-Ball League, the Centurio Circuit, the XSPL, the Paintball Association in the UK and many more leagues exist and draw large numbers of teams and fans. Tournament paintball is played by the same rules as normal paintball, but in a more competitive environment. There is a set number of people on each team (commonly three, five or seven), and modern tournament play is primarily speedball. Due to the competitive nature, most tournament players use high-end markers capable of higher rates of fire. The major leagues are National Professional Paintball League (NPPL), Paintball Sports Promotions™ (PSP), X-Ball and Millennium. The leagues consist of a whole circuit of paintball tournaments, but smaller regional and locally-sponsored tournaments are very common.


Types of players

Players usually fall into three categories of commitment: recreational, serious recreational, and competitive (tournament). Competitive players may invest in excess of one thousand U.S. dollars in paintball gear. They also attend tournaments in teams consisting of three to ten people. The most common tournament team game is "Capture the Flag" played on a speedball field, where players play on an enclosed field with one or more flags and take cover behind inflated obstacles known as bunkers. A new top of the line paintball marker can cost anywhere from $700 to $1,500 or more (USD). In comparison, an entry-level recreational marker can be purchased for US$80 to US$300.

Serious recreational participants generally invest in a slightly above entry-level marker and spend their money on upgrades and field play. They may participate in a few local tournaments. A serious recreational paintball player may play for a paintball field's house team.

There are a great many recreational players. Most recreational players participate in games located at commercially licensed and insured paintball fields. These playing fields are typically the most regulated, with specific safety rules and referees. Still other paintballers use private property to play. Permission to use private property is given by the property owner. Games on private property generally offer more freedom for players to develop their own rules and style of play. Liability can become a serious problem if proper safety precautions are not taken on private property.

Common rules of play

When playing at a field for the first time, be sure to check up on the field rules. Variations of the following rules are in effect at most fields. These are the most common regulations, and do not include tips for playing. For information on tactics, see paintball strategy.


How to know if you are marked/hit/tagged

Generally if you are marked (hit) anywhere on your body, or on anything you are carrying (marker, hopper, pods) and the paintball broke upon impact, you have been marked. If you believe the paintball broke before impact, or if you cannot see the area to confirm a hit, then you should call for a paint check (by yelling "paint check"). A referee will come over and make a judgment call. Usually, if there is any spot that isn't clearly a hit or larger than a quarter, it will not be considered a hit. In some cases, depending on the field's rules, being checked by a referee does not make you invulnerable.

The X foot/meter surrender rule

Some fields require that if you are within X feet (or meters) of an unaware opponent, you must demand their surrender (by yelling "Surrender!") before you may open fire. If your opponent complies (verbally, see above or by raising their hand or marker), they are considered marked and are out of the match. Sometimes, if they attempt any hostile action (such as turning to fire at you), do not fire back at them, but wait until they stop and tell the referee about the player's hostile actions. Some arenas will let you return fire if you are fired upon after you demand surender and they do not comply.

In almost all tournament play, there is no surrender rule. If you catch an opponent off guard, you are free to fire at him. Moves such as a 'run through', where a player sprints down the field shooting as many of the opposing team as he can, have developed over time and are now very important plays. Another popular move is "bunkering". This refers to running/charging up to the bunker or barricade that an opposing player is behind and tagging them at very close range. The idea is to get as close to the opponent as possible, as fast as you can, so that you can catch the other player off guard, giving them little to no time to react, and giving you little to no chance to miss due to the close range. If you think you may have been hit the ref of the current game will run over and complete a "paint check" to evaluate whether you have been marked or not.

Safety

Safety is paramount while playing paintball and is strictly enforced. This means players must wear only paintball-specific goggles and facemasks at all times while playing, even if they are out. Under no circumstances should eye protection ever be removed on a live field.

If you find your mask is covered with paint, sweat, or dirt, and you cannot see well enough to safely get off the field, stand with both hands in the air and yell (usually "Fogged!") for assistance. A ref or another player will lead you to a safe area.

If your mask falls off during a game, drop to your knees and cover your eyes with your arm or hands while yelling for assistance and/or a ceasefire repeatedly. Players or refs will come running to help. Do not be surprised if you are pushed down or otherwise covered by players and/or refs.

Paintball has proved to be an extremely safe sport and its good record comes from the uncompromising emphasis on safety.

Paintball-like alternatives

  • Airsoft
  • Lasertag
  • Nerf is a hobby/sport similar to paintball in that many of the game types are the same, however instead of using marker it uses modified Nerf toys.
  • V ammo Cheap Alternative

Common Misconceptions

Various common misconceptions are present both among players as well as people who have never even seen a paintball marker or field.

War and Violence

One common misconception found in the general public is that paintball is a simulation of war. Many people believe that paintball is a game that encourages war and general violence. This belief generally stems from the fact that paintball uses a marker which resembles a gun in many ways. Players often wear camoflauge when playing woodsball. Additionally, paintball has, in fact, been used for combat training by both legitimate law enforcement agencies as well as terrorist groups.

The paintball community attempts to dispel this negative image in many ways. Paintball fields do not tolerate any form of physical violence (contact with an opponent is usually forbidden), and even verbal abuse is not allowed. Modern day paintball markers are usually not designed to mimic real firearms and are labeled as "markers" as opposed to "guns". Although there are some "scenario" paintball games that do re-enact historic wars and battles, such as D-Day in Oklahoma, they exist to re-enact history and do not encourage violence.

Speedball and woodsball separate themselves even further by including many aspects of traditional sports. Players wear bright colors and play on open fields with large, colorful, inflatable "bunkers". Fans are able to watch the action from the safety of netting that surrounds the field. Nearly all top competitive events are filmed for DVD or TV. Increasing the public's exposure to paintball is seen as crucial to breaking down stereotypes.

Injury and Danger

Another common misconception of paintball is that it is dangerous. Recent statistics from various insurance companies have proven that paintball is actually safer than "traditional" sports, such as football. Paintball fields always require that anyone who is near the field wear a face mask. All fields also require that the paintball markers are shooting at a velocity of less than 300 or 280 feet per second. As long as the players follow the rules for safety, paintball is an entirely safe sport. Many Paintball fields forbid the use of full-auto markers, which are illegal in many countries (for example the UK).

Quality of Equipment

Many players, usually new players, believe that more expensive and higher quality equipment determines how well a person plays. Because good equipment does lend a competitive edge, few competitive teams still use "low end" equipment. However, it is possible to get good results with relatively inexpensive equipment. For example, the Spyder is known as a low end starter marker, but some professional teams such as "Bad Company" use them anyway, with the internals replaced with those from high end markers. It is always the skill of the player that determines how well someone plays, not the quality of the equipment.

External links

Paintball Manufacturers

Paintball Magazines

Owner Groups

  • Automag Owners' - One of the more popular Internet Paintball chat sites; AO was originally formed as the official forum for AirGun Designs, though it has expanded into much, much more.
  • A-5 Owners Den - An independent and informal web forum and archives for Tippmann owners
  • ICD-Owners - A user group for markers manufactured by Indian Creek Designs
  • Angel Owners - A web forum for Angel (WDP) owners

Misc Websites

  • National Paintball Supply - Worlds largest distributor of paintball products worldwide.
  • Paintball Bazooka - If you have ever wanted to build a Paintball bazooka IE a homemade paintball gun that shoots like a shotgun, then visit this site and check through the pictures and the how tos.
  • PbNation.com - The largest internet paintball forum. Features over 200,000 members, forums frequented by professional paintballers, field maps, and much, much more.
  • PBReview.com - Field and equipment reviews, by players, for players. Second largest paintball forum.
  • AO - Prominent internet paintball forum; created originally for owners of AGD products, now hosts discussions on all things paintball.
  • PaintBallForum.com - Large online paintball forum. Great place for Rec, Woods, and Tournament players alike.
  • Pump Players Internet Group - Promotes the game's history and the use of pump-action and stock class paintball markers.
  • Extreme Paintball Connecticut One of the longest running paintball fields in the northeast United States, Waterbury CT.
  • Warpig (World and Regional Paintball Information Guide), An older and fairly unbiased site for paintballers.
  • Online Paintball Museum
  • History of Paintball
  • Multilingual Paintball Wiki
  • R-Team - A new form of joining recreational paintball with competition (Portuguese site)
  • WikiPB - A quickly growing paintball wiki.
  • Paintball Nexus - Resource for paintball information.

Newly added

  • Paintball Star - One of the biggest and fastest growing paintball forums ever. Get firsthand tips, reviews on new products and so much more!
  • CPPA - A website for Christian paintball players
  • Oklahoma D-Day - Official website of the world's largest paintball event, a WWII scenario game.

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