Paintball is a sport in which participants use compressed-gas (either CO₂, N₂ or air) powered guns to launch paintballs—marble-sized gelatin capsules containing a washable dye—at other participants. Among the most common of the many variations of the sport is a version of capture the flag, in which two teams of players attempt to seize each others' banner without being struck by a paintball. Another common variation is total elimination, in which one team wins when all members of the opposing team are eliminated by being struck by a paintball.

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

The terms "paintball marker" and "paintball gun" are interchangable. However, the term marker is generally preferred due to negative connotations attached to the word "gun." Other than markers, paintball equipment includes various forms of protective gear.

Paintball games

Location/Fields

Speedball

Speedball is much faster and competetive than its brother woodsball. It is usually played on a much smaller field roughly the size of two tennis courts. Many speedball fields use inflatable bunkers and are generally sized for teams of three to ten. Since the opposing teams are much closer together, there is a lot of movement and a lot of "bunkering", or running up to an opposing player's bunker and eliminating them from a close distance. Speedball is usually considered to be more teamwork oriented than woodsball due to the structure of the game. Also the markers are generally much faster, smaller, lighter and more expensive than woodsball markers.

Due to the highly competitive team based rule enforced action, speedball is the perfect basis for tournaments, and many leagues exist. The three big national tournaments are the NPPL, PSP, and NXL, with many other local tournament series such as the CFOA or NEPL.

Woodsball

Woodsball is the classic, oldest and most common style of paintball played. Most woodsball fields are large enough to hold dozens of players on each team and sometimes have some pre-made bunkers along with the natural cover. Woodsball games are generally longer in duration than other formats, and rely on entirely different tactics. Whereas speed and rate of fire are key elements in a speedball game, woodsball relies much more on strategy, teamwork, concealment, large-scale maneuvers, and patience.

Scenario

Scenario paintball games are often larger-scale re-enactments of historical battles involving hundreds of people, such as the Battle of Normandy, or modern day scenarios such as storming a building and rescuing hostages. Scenario games can last hours or sometimes days, and bigger games often have player re-insertions at set intervals. The most common field for scenario games is Skirmish Paintball in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania which holds several scenario games every year, including The Battle of Stalingrad and the aforementioned Battle of Normandy (also called D-Day) which increases in size every year and continues to be the largest scenario game in the world, with more than 3,000 attendee's.

Gauntlet

Gauntlet, like Duel, is one-on-one; however, it does not have the same restrictions on ammunition, and players generally start on opposing ends of the designated play area (similar to most team games). Gauntlet games have become more popular as a quick filler in larger play scenarios, for instance, between players awaiting re-insertion into a scenario game.

Tournament

History

Tournament Paintball has been a part of paintball from nearly the beginning; however, the modern tournament has developed in earnest within the past 15 years. Tournaments, while once held in the traditional woodsball fields, have quickly made the transition to speedball fields, generally utilizing inflatable bunkers. The most widely-used bunkers are made by Sup'Air. These bunkers are easy to inflate, deflate, and move about the field in order to change field configurations between matches or tournament stages.

Format

The most common tournament formats are with teams of either three, five, or seven players per team, with two teams per field per game. The object of the game is to pull and hang the flag (usually placed in the center of the field) on your opponent's starting bunker or base. Points are given per game: Eliminations are worth a certain amount, as is pulling the flag, and finally, hanging the flag. Depending on the format, a perfect score includes eliminating all opponents, pulling the flag from its original position and hanging the flag.

X-ball is a new format of paintball in as many rounds are played that can be fit into twenty minutes, the end of the round is determined by the hang of the flag by a live player at the opposite team's base. Each team consists of 5 players and recieves one point for each time they hang the flag. A match is sperated into two 10 minute halves, and the clock is stopped each time the flag is hung, and restarted when the next game starts.

Organizations

Current professional and semi-professional leagues, such as the NXL (National X-Ball League), NPPL (National Professional Paintball League), PSP (Paintball Sports Promotions], NCPA (National Collegiate Paintball Association), CFOA (Carolina Field Owners Association) and the NEPL (New England Paintball League], regularly hold high-class, well-organized events. These aren't the only leagues, however, as most regions in both the USA and the globe have leagues. The Millennium Series, the former European X-Ball League, the Centurio Circuit, the XSPL, and many more leagues exist and draw large amounts of teams and fans. Tournament is played by the same rules as normal paintball, but in a 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 Promotionsâ„¢ (PSP), X-Ball and Millennium. The leagues consist of a whole circuit of paintball tournaments; however, smaller regional and locally-sponsored tournaments are very common.

X-Ball

X-Ball is a faster, more aggressive tournament format designed to give paintball an extreme turn. It was created by Richmond Italia and has its own sports league, the National X-Ball League (NXL). Teams of up to eighteen players field up to five players at a time, scoring a point each time they take the center flag to the opposing side of the field. The team with more points at the end of the match wins, with final scores like, 10-5, 20-18 or 15-2. Recently, the NXL world championships were broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

Games

Capture the Flag

The 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 opponents flag within the alotted 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.

Elimination

Teams play until one team is entirely eliminated. note* in the case of a tie, the ref has the overall decision of who wins.

Types of players

Players usually fall into two categories: recreational and tournament players. Tournament may invest in excess of two 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 top of the line paintball marker can cost anywhere from $700 to $1,500 or more (USD) brand-new. In comparison, an entry-level recreational marker can be purchased for US$80 to US$300.

There are many types of recreational players. Many, if not most, play games in commercially licensed and insured paintball fields. These playing fields are typically the most regulated, with specific rules and referees. Still other paintballers use private property to play. Usually permission 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. Playing on private property is arguably less safe than playing on regulated fields. 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.

Picking targets

Do not shoot at people who have already been tagged, referees, or anyone who is not wearing a paintball mask. Avoid friendly fire in team games by knowing who is on your team, usually distinguished by a colored armband in less-organized games.

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 dime, it will not be considered a hit. Being checked by a ref does not make you invulnerable to still being marked, however.

Announcing that you have been hit

If you have been legally hit, you announce it (by yelling "Hit", "Dead", or "Out" - confirm which is appropriate at the venue at which you are playing) and raise your hand and/or marker above your head. You then proceed to a specified location (known as the "dead box") for the marked (hit) players, with your marker still above your head. If you bring your marker down or take too long getting off the field, players may think you are still in the game and may fire at you. Note: Once you declare yourself hit, you are out, even if you discover afterward that you were not hit (ex. the paintball didn't break).

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. However, if they attempt any hostile action (such as turning to fire at you) then you may fire at will.

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 offguard, giving them little to no time to react, and giving you little to no chance to miss due to the close range.

Dead Man Walking

While this is a legal move on most fields, it is a move that can gain many enemies for the day. The act of "dead man walking" means that a person that has not been shot stands up from his/her bunker and begins to walk down the field in a manner as if he/she was out. The catch is that the player has never called him/herself out or plugged the gun. The player will then walk into a better position and begin shooting the opposing team. While legal, it's offensive to many players due to its trickery.

Other fields regard a "dead man walking" as calling oneself out. The player is out for the game, exactly the same as having been shot.

Many fields especially those with tournament-style refs, will call you out simply for walking to a bunker,unless your gun is up and you are firing.

Safety

Safety while playing paintball 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 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 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-like alternatives

• Airsoft is a sport similar to Paintball, but uses a different type of projectile and gun.

External links

Marker brands

• Air Gun Designs
• Bob Long
• Component Concepts, Inc.
• Dragun
• Dye
• Eclipse
• Indian Creek Designs - See also: Indian Creek Designs
• Kingman Group
• Palmer's Pursuit
• Sheridan (unofficial site - Sheridan is a out-of-production brand)
• Smart Parts
• Tippmann - See also: Tippmann
• WDP
• Worr Games Products
• brasseaglepaintball

Leagues

• National XBall League
• NPPL US National Tournament League
• PSP US National Tournament League
• NCPA - National College and High School Association and League
• Centurio Circuit - Eastern European paintball league
• New England Paintball League
• The NatWest Southern Paintball League - UK
• UK Paintball Sports Federation
• UK Paintball Association (PA)
• FACE FULL - First Worldwide Paintball Magazine
• UMass Amherst Paintball Club
• Drake University Paintball Club

Misc

• Facefull - Paintball magazine
• Extreme Paintball Connecticut One of the longest running paintball fields in the northeast United States, Waterbury CT.
• Much more information can be found at Warpig (World and Regional Paintball Information Guide), an old and fairly unbiased site for paintballers.
• 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.
• PbNation.com - The largest internet paintball forum. Over 120,000 paintball players discussing every imaginable aspect of the game.
• Paintball Ratings and Competitions International Paintball product review and news magazine.
• Paintball 2Xtremes General Paintball magazine.
• Paintball Games International - International Paintball magazine.
• PBReview - Field and equipment reviews, by players, for players. Another large forum with over 100,000 paintball players discussing every imaginable aspect of the game.
• Online Paintball Museum
• History of Paintball
• Multilingual Paintball Wiki
• A-5 Owners Group - An independant and informal web forum and archives for Tippmann owners
• A new form of joining recreational paintball with competition (portuguese site)
• WikiPB - A quickly growing paintball wiki.de:Paintball

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