What Is Paintball?

Paintball History

Paintball officially began in 1981 when the first game was played in New Hampshire. That first game used Nel-Spot 007 paintball handguns (007′s were primarily used to mark trees for harvest and cattle to be slaughtered). Twelve people participated in the first game, the winner captured all flags without firing a shot. By the mid 1980′s paintball had a professional league and an industry was beginning to appear.

Who plays paintball?

Paintball is played by millions of people in over 40 countries, both male and female from 12 – 70 years old. Paintball is even played as a professional sport. Players are often drafted between teams and many professional paintball tournaments are hosted each year (PSP, NPPL, etc).
There are many types of Paintball games played throughout the world. The four most popular are:

Woodsball
Scenario
Speedball / Tournament / X-Ball
Stock Class

Woodsball Paintball

Woodsball is not surprisingly played in the woods. There are a many different objectives the game can have and the two most common are Capture the Flag and Elimination.

Capture the Flag has a one basic concept… You capture the other team’s flag. In these games there are two different common forms. In the first you capture your opponents flag that’s held at their base and bring it back to yours. In the second (often known as Center flag) there is one flag in the middle of the field and you must capture it and take it to your opponents starting base. Capture the flag is my personal favorite type of game since it requires the most teamwork. Business, church, boy scout and any other group looking to build teamwork often play capture the flag to help build coordination, communication and motivational skills.

Elimination is the second most common type of Woodsball game. In Elimination, the last team standing wins even if it is just one player remaining. These games can be much more intense as there is no need to defend a flag, so all the action is compressed into a smaller section of the playing field.

Scenario Paintball

Scenario paintball games strive to be the most realistic paintball games you can play. Scenario paintball games are usually based off of a story line such as the Battles of Normandy or Iwo Jima, however they are not all limited to World War II. Some go into the realm of Sci Fi and play out an alien invasion. In nearly every Scenario game there are props, character players, paintball grenades, smoke bombs and sometimes vehicles and bodies of water as well. Most of the Scenario Games I have attended have hundreds of players on each team, they can be absolutely immense in scale. Scenario Paintball is very similar to big Airsoft games. Scenario games also last much longer than the other types of paintball games, usually lasting anywhere from 12 hours to several days.

X-Ball / Speedball / Tournament Paintball

Speedball is the type of game played in most tournament paintball events though there are also scenario and woodsball tournaments. Speedball is the common name for paintball fields no larger than half a football field, with clearly defined boundaries using inflatable “bunkers”. Tournaments are played in several different formats mostly defined by the number of players on each team (3, 5, 7, 10 man). Generally they are Center or capture the flag with match lengths of under 15 minutes and a flag hang ending the match. However their are many exceptions including X-Ball where a flag hang is treated like scoring a goal or touchdown. After each flag hang the teams reset and go again and again until time is up.

Speedball is the type of game play the professionals play. Team Dynasty, Russian Legion, Avalanche, X-Factor and Ironmen are some of the dominate professional paintball teams in the world today.

Stock Class Paintball

Stock class is also referred to as pump games and restricts the use of any paintball gun to those that require pump action to cock the gun and allow it to fire. The pump gun cannot hold more than 20 paintballs at a time, however, you are allowed to hold extra tubes in your pockets or harnesses. Stock Class guns are also powered by 12 gram Co2 cartridges rather than larger CO2 or Compressed Air tanks. These 12 gram Co2 cartridges were used to power the original paintball guns back in 1981.

Common Paintball Questions

Is paintball safe? Yes, as long as you follow the easily applicable safety rules, however accidents can occur. Paintball has actually been documented as one of the safest sports in America. Even safer than golf! Just make sure you keep your paintball mask on at all times! Also, make sure you keep your barrel sock/plug on when you’re not on a field. Take the simple safety precautions, be smart, and you’ll be fine!

Is paintball expensive? How much does it cost? Paintball, just like every other sport has many playing styles, and each of these has different equipment requirements and costs associated. If you’re just looking to go to a paintball field and rent a gun, expect to pay $25-$50 for the equipment rental (this includes a mask, tank, and gun) and the paintballs you will shoot.

Now, if you plan on purchasing your own equipment, here are the bare essentials you’ll be needing to purchase in order to go out and play on your own:

Paintball Gun/Marker
Goggles
Hopper/Loader (to hold your paintballs)
Co2 or Nitrogen tank (to power your gun)

There are many, many more equipment options and upgrades to consider, but these are the basics.

If this is your first time purchasing a paintball gun, I highly recommend buying an all-in-one paintball package that includes all of the above items.

How many paintballs will I shoot in a game? That is entirely up to you and the style of game you are playing. Most new players will shoot 100-300 paintballs in a woodsball game. However it is not unusual for a Professional player to shoot 2,000 rounds PER GAME.

Will the paint wash out? Yes. All the paint used in paintballs is water-soluble and therefore washes out easily .

How do I know which gun is right for me? Watch my reviews… Seriously! The technology is constantly changing and your style of play will also weigh heavily into choosing the right paintball gun for you.