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Paintball

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A tournament player shooting from behind an inflatable bunker.
File:Woodsball squad 01.JPG
Woodsball players in camouflage.

Paintball is a sport in which participants use compressed air guns called markers to shoot paintballs (marble-sized, .68 caliber, gelatin capsules filled with colored polyethylene glycol "paint") at other players. It is in essence a complex form of tag, as players struck with paintballs during the game are eliminated.

Paintball draws a wide array of players worldwide, and the Sporting Goods Manufacturer's Association estimates that approximately 10 million people play annually in the United States alone. Insurance statistics show that paintball is one of the safest sports in existence, safer even than golf.[1]

Games can be played either indoors or outdoors and take various forms. Rules for playing paintball vary widely, with most designed to ensure that participants enjoy the sport in a safe environment. The sport requires a significant amount of equipment and has even developed its own slang.

Common rules of play

The following are the most basic and common paintball rules. While there is little variation in safety rules, variation in other game rules is quite common, and players should ask about the specific rules where they are playing..

Safety rules

Like many sports, safe participation in paintball requires observance of proper safety procedure. When safety rules are followed, paintball is extremely safe, with an injury rate of only 0.2 injuries per 1,000 exposures[2]. Injury rates for other common team sports are much higher, including 12 times as high for soccer (2.4 injuries per 1,000 exposures) and 7 times as high for baseball (1.4 injuries per 1,000 exposures). Put another way, a player who played paintball twice a week would expect to play for 50 years before sustaining an injury.

Goggle System - The most important rule in paintball is that all players must wear a protective goggle system (or "mask") at all times when they are playing or near other people who are playing. While paintballs will not cause permanent injury to most areas of the body, the eyes, and to a lesser extent the ears, are vulnerable to serious injury if hit by a paintball. Paintball masks are specifically designed for the sport, with the goggles being capable of withstanding a direct hit from a paintball travelling at 300 feet per second. A mask that protects the rest of the face and flaps that cover the ears are attached to the goggles. Most commercial paintball fields require players to wear a mask designed specifically for playing paintball

Paintball players must never remove their goggles during a game or when other people are playing nearby. This rule is zealously enforced at all commercial fields, and players that violate this rule are given at most one warning before they are sent home. Most commercial fields have a well-defined area, usually separated from the field with a wall or netting, where it is safe to remove the goggles.

If a player’s mask falls off during a game, he or she should immediately lie face down on the ground and cover his/her head. Any player who sees this should alert game officials and other players to stop the game until the player is able to replace their goggles.

Paintball Velocity - In addition to the mandatory use of masks, paintball markers must not fire paintballs that exceed a certain velocity. The industry standard maximum velocity is 300 feet per second (about 200 miles per hour). Paintballs traveling faster than 300 fps will leave large bruises and can potentially break the skin or even fingers. Many commercial paintball facilities mandate a lower velocity (usually 250 to 295 fps) in order to create an extra margin of safety. Lower velocities can still be painful at point blank range, and should be avoided when possible. Players sometimes wear thick jackets and gloves to cover any exposed skin.

Paintball velocity is measured using a chronograph. Chronographs are standard equipment at commercial paintball facilities, but must be purchased if not playing at a commercial location. Players who play without first using a chronograph put themselves and other players at risk. Because changes in temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure may affect a paintball's velocity, markers should be chronographed several times throughout the day. Paintball markers should also be chronographed after any adjustment or replacement of parts (e.g. the barrel) that might significantly change the marker's velocity.

Barrel Blocking Devices - All players must use some sort of barrel blocking device on their paintball marker when not actively playing. These devices generally take the form of a small bag (commonly called a "barrel sock" or "barrel condom") that covers the front end of the barrel and work by catching any paintballs that are accidentally fired. For a long time, barrel plugs, a piece of hard plastic with rubber orings placed into the front end of the barrel, were the most commonly used barrel blocking device. But because they had the potential to fall out or be shot out (turning them into hard plastic projectiles), barrel socks are now the de facto standard at most commercial fields.

Player Eliminations

Players eliminate each other from the game by hitting their opponent with a paintball. Players are generally considered 'hit', 'marked' or 'tagged' when a paintball shot by another player strikes and breaks on the player leaving a paint mark. Depending on the specific rules in effect where the player is playing, the mark may need to be a particular size to count (in the US, the size of a US Quarter is a common threshold in recreational play, while any mark counts in most tournament play), or a hit with no mark may count if the hit is observed by a referee. Once a player has been hit, they are eliminated from the game.

If a player is uncertain whether a mark or strike they have received is a valid hit or not, possibly because the mark is from the spray of a paintball breaking on another nearby object, or because they can not see the part of the body where they have been struck by a paintball, or because the paintball may have been shot by a player who had already been eliminated, the player should ask a referee to determine whether or not the player has a valid hit. This request is commonly referred to as a 'paint check', and is most often requested by the player yelling the words 'Paint Check' to a nearby official. Some game rules allow an official to call a player 'neutral' during a paint check so that the official can more closely inspect a player. If a player is called neutral, they must discontinue play while being checked, and opponents may also not fire or advance on the neutral player.

Players may also be eliminated from the game for reasons other than being hit by a paintball, including calling themselves out by saying "I'm hit!" or "I'm out!", due to a penalty, from paint marks from paint grenades or paint mines (in games where such equipment is allowed) or for game infractions like stepping out-of-bounds.

Because players who call themselves out are eliminated even if they are not actually hit, players should always check to see if a paintball that has hit them has indeed left a mark. A paintball may simply bounce off a player’s body, which does not count as a hit. Players may also call for a paint check on another player if they believe they have marked an opponent to insure the player is promptly eliminated from the game, especially if the opposing player may not be aware they are hit or may be attempting to hide or remove a hit. Removing a hit and continuing to play is a severe form of cheating commonly known as 'wiping' and can result in severe penalties, including being permanently banned from the playing location at a recreational or commercial facility, but in most instances a penalty of “3 for 1” will be called. This is where the cheating player and an additional three teammates are eliminated from play.

Surrender Rule

Some rules require that a player within a certain distance of an unaware opponent (usually 10 to 15 feet) must demand the unaware player's surrender (by yelling "Surrender!" or "Mercy!") before they may open fire. If the opponent complies verbally, or by raising their hand or marker, they are considered marked and are out of the match. However, if they refuse or attempt any hostile action (such as turning to fire), the challenging player may fire upon them. While waiting for a response, however, the player can still be hit by other opponents. Getting hit by a paintball from close range can be particularly uncomfortable, and it is thus polite and good sportsmanship to offer a surrender instead of unnecessarily shooting an opponent at close range.

In almost all tournament play, there is no surrender rule, and if a player catches an opponent off guard, they 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", where a player charges up to the bunker or barricade that an opposing player is behind and shoots them from over the top or around the side of the bunker.

Types of games

Basic variations

  • Capture the Flag - A team must take the flag from the opponents' flag station on the opposite side of the field and return it to their own station in order to win.
  • Centerflag - Similar to Capture the Flag, except there is a single flag at a neutral or center position on the field. Victory is achieved by capturing this flag and taking it to a designated area, usually the opponent's starting station.
  • Elimination - The objective is for either a team or individual player to eliminate all of their opponents.

Woodsball

Main article: Woodsball

A woodsball player lying in wait.

Paintball started out as a recreational game in wooded areas, with capture the flag and elimination being the most common formats. Woodsball can involve any range of players with a variety of bunker types. The size and terrain of woodsball fields make it unlikely that a player can observe more than a small subsection of the field at any given time. This limited field awareness coupled with the usually larger number of players causes woodsball games to generally last for an extended period of time. Many playing locations often have their own custom variations.

Speedball

Speedball is a fast, close-quarters game played on a field about the size of one or two basketball courts. As its name suggests, the defining feature of the game is speed; matches usually last no longer than 5 minutes. Rounds are played using either a capture the flag or centerflag format combined with elimination. Bunkers are usually placed in a symmetrical pattern so that no team has an advantage over the other. The fast pace and ease by which spectators can view the action has made this format popular among national, local, and tournament leagues. The first commercial speedball field opened in 1982.

Scenario Paintball

Main article: Scenario paintball

Scenario paintball games are based on a storyline or theme. Scenario games allow for a wide range of player skill levels and an even larger amount of participants. These games can span a period as short as 12 hours or last for days. Objectives vary based on the storyline but cooperation is a major theme in these games. One of the largest annual scenario games may be "Oklahoma D-Day", played on 700 acres of land. D-Day drew over 3,500 participants and 15 paintball tanks and pontoon-built landing craft in 2005.

Tournament Paintball

Modern tournament paintball developed in the 1980's. Woodsball tournaments, the original and once the most popular format, have given way to speedball fields, whose inflatable bunkers provide flexibility in bunker setup and the most efficient use of time. Teams consist from anywhere between three and seven players and compete against others to accumulate points towards winning overall in the tournament. Points are awarded for capturing the opposing flag, bringing the opposing flag to the starting point, eliminating opposing players, and having non-eliminated players left at the end of the game.

Tournament Formats

File:100 2864.jpg
A 3-man team at their starting station.
  • Capture the Flag - The original tournament format used in wooded play. In addition to capturing the opposing team's flag and returning it to their own flag station, teams may also receive extra points for eliminating opponents and having players remaining at the end of the game. In tournament play, capture the flag may be played with teams of various sizes from 3 to 20, commonly noted by referring to the event as a "5-man", "7-man","10-man", etc, depending on the number of players on a team. 20- and 15-man tournaments were common on wooded fields in the 1980s, but today modern tournaments are usually 3-man, 5-man, or 7-man and played on grass fields with bunkers.
  • Centerflag - Also commonly played in 3-man, 5-man and 7-man formats.
  • X-Ball - A newer format first played at the International Amateur Open in 2002, X-Ball pits two teams against each other in multiple rounds of Center Flag played one after another until game time runs out. A team scores one point for each game of centerflag they win, and the team with the most points at the end of the match wins. Professional X-Ball matches are 50 minutes long, split into two halves, while other leagues use various shorter game times. Although only 5 players play in any given game, depending on league rules teams may roster up to 19 players and substitute them after each point. Unlike most tournament formats that forbid players to communicate with people on the sidelines, X-Ball may have a coach who can communicate, along with the spectators, to players on the field. Players who receive penalties are not permanently removed from the game, but placed in a hockey-like penalty box for several minutes. X-Ball has taken root at the national level, although variations are found in regional and local competition. The X-Ball Light variant has one period, typically 15 minutes long. The first team to reach a set point total (commonly 5 or 7 points), or the team with the highest point total after game time has elapsed, wins the match.

Stock class

A pump action paintball marker operates on the principle that the player has to chamber a new ball after each shot by pumping or sliding the marker's cocking mechanism back allowing a new ball to enter the chamber, then pushing the cocking mechanism forward with the aid of the pump handle, to close the chamber requiring a total of two separate movements to "load" the marker. After loading, the paintball marker is ready to expel the loaded paintball.

A popular style of pump play is the use of what is referred to as Stock Class. Stock Class refers to the marker configuration, reminiscent of the original paintball markers of the early 1980s. These markers forsake the use of 200-round hoppers and large bottles of air. Instead, they utilize a ten- to fifteen-round tube parallel to the barrel of the marker. Typically, the feed tube of paintballs is mounted over the top of the marker running flush with the body of the marker so as not to allow any stacking of paintballs over the chamber and hence requiring the marker to be tipped (rocked) forward or backward before being pumped (re-cocked). The complete action for loading another paintball into the chamber of a Stock Class marker is called "Rock & Cock". 12 gram CO2 powerlets are also incorporated into Stock Class rules so as to require the player to recharge the marker with propellant after roughly 20-40 shots (depending on the efficiency of the marker).

Although this style has lost popularity due to modern paintball technology greatly increasing the speed of paintball guns as well as their overall performance, pump tournaments in both the Stock Class and in another class, in which hoppers and propellant other than 12 gram cartridges, continue to be held and in fact attract some of the most popular professional tournament players to guest play on these pump teams. Special pump-only events have started to spring up around the country starting in 2004 and pump play might be seeing a resurgence due to its slower-pace and old-school feel.

Reball

A "reball" is a soft, dense/light-foam substitute for a paintball. Reballs are the same size as normal paintballs but weigh less, and do not contain a paint filling. While they do not break open to leave a paint mark on players, the lack of filling makes them useful for indoor locations where accumulation of paint from broken paintballs would be a problem. A reball is more expensive than a paintball, but since they can be reused, they are cheaper over the long term. Some paintball parks have added dedicated reball fields. The primary use of reballs, as intended initially by the manufacturer, is as a practice aid for teams who wish to practice and save money by using reusable ammunition. Other manuacturers have made Reball duplicates like the V-Ball, a velcro (hence the name V-Ball) reusable paintball. Reballs are also used at a lower velocity because of their inability to break on whoever they hit. For example, a Regular paintball will normally be shot at 280-290 ft/s, but a Reball is supposed to be used at around 250 ft/s. Reballs themselves were preceded by Lazerballs by Brass Eagle. These were of a larger caliber than a paintball, and designed specifically for Family Fun Centers and other venues where paint clean-up would be an issue.

Types of players

File:Patriot Act Paintball Tournament Snowball Logo.jpg
Tournament players.

Players usually fall into one of three categories: recreational, scenario, and tournament.

The recreational class encompasses a range of levels of involvement in the sport, from occasional players (church groups, birthday parties, or bachelor parties) to more regular players who may own their own entry-level equipment but do not play in tournaments. Recreational players may play at commercial paintball parks or on private land.

According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturer's Association, of the approximately 10 million people who participate in paintball annually only about 15% (1.5 million) of them play 15 or more times per year. This 15% can be subdivided into two groups: scenario players and tournament players. While these two groups differ in style of play and appearance, the most devoted members of both groups may spend thousands of dollars per year not only on paintball equipment, but also on travel to paintball events.

Playing locations

File:Mini-100 2620.JPG
A typical tournament field.

Most players prefer to go to commercial paintball parks, which charge for admission. These paintball parks usually feature different themed fields (e.g. woods, jungle, city, or historical battlefield), as well as a complex of speedball fields for tournament teams. Some commercial fields are indoors, allowing players to play when it is too hot, too wet, or too dark outside. Commercial fields also (but not always) provide such amenities as bathrooms, picnic areas, lockers, equipment rentals, air refills, and even food service. These fields adhere to specific safety and insurance standards and have a paid staff, including referees, whose job is to make sure players are instructed in proper play in a manner that ensures all participants' safety. In order to avoid liability, commercial fields strictly monitor paintball velocity with chronographs.

Players that find commercial fields to be too expensive or too crowded sometimes play on private land, often referred to as "renegade" play or "outlaw ball". Though less expensive and less structured than play at a commercial facility, the lack of safety protocols, instruction, and oversight means that the vast majority of injuries incurred by paintball players occur in these "renegade" games. Private landowners may also be liable for injuries sustained on their property, especially if they opt to charge fees for play.

Major scenario and tournament events may sometimes occur at other locations like fairgrounds, military bases, or stadiums, essentially turning them into temporary paintball parks. The same trained staff and insurance found at permanent commercial paintball parks can be found at these events.

Paintball equipment

Main article: Paintball equipment

Strategies and tactics

Main article: Paintball Strategy

Paintball lingo

Main article: Glossary of Paintball Terms

Public Perception

Paintball was first played in the woods and involved players, often wearing camouflage, shooting at each other. This has caused some members of the general public to believe that paintball simulates war and encourages violence. The paintball community has worked hard to dispel this image, and increasing the public's exposure to paintball is seen as crucial to breaking down this stereotype. While some players, especially scenario players, may employ military themes and incorporate military props into their play, the mechanics of paintball are very different from actual combat. Paintball has the least amount of physical contact of any team sport, as contact between players (tackling, blocking, etc) is not part of the game's mechanics and thus actively discouraged.

Paintball has also evolved new styles of play since its inception, and competitive paintball bears virtually no resemblance to war at all. Professional paintball tournaments are played on small fields with colored, bright inflatable obstacles, and tournament-level markers (the preferred term to 'guns') bear little resemblance to real firearms. Paintball has gradually developed features common to other traditional professional sports, including sanctioning bodies, colorful team jersies (with logos, player names, and numbers), spectator seating, and even television coverage of the largest events, including the 'US Paintball Championships' broadcast on ESPN2, the 'World Paintball League' on WGN, and the 'College Paintball National Championships' on CSTV.

Paintball Leagues

Professional and semi-professional leagues regularly hold high-class, well-organized tournaments involving a large number of professional teams, crowds of spectators, and large cash prizes. Though most of the major leagues are based in the United States, many leagues in Europe have become powerhouses in their own right, drawing thousands of spectators at every event.

U.S. National Leagues

  • NPPL - (National Professional Paintball League), Nationwide tournament circuit featuring 7-man format, broadcast on ESPN2
  • PSP - (Paintball Sports Promotions), Nationwide tournament circuit featuring the X-Ball format. PSP's Professional division is known as the NXL, formerly broadcast on ESPN2
  • NCPA - (National Collegiate Paintball Association), Nationwide association that sanctions college and high school competition, broadcast on College Sports Television Network.
  • WPL - (World Paintball League, 3-man league broadcast on UPN)

U.S. Regional Leagues

  • CFOA - (The Caorlina Field Owner's Association), Southeast US
  • XPSL - (Xtreme Paintball Sports League), West Coast US
  • GPL - (Global Paintball League)
  • NEPL - (New England Paintball League), Northwest US

Paintball Leagues Outside the U.S.

Professional Paintball Teams

Paintball has many professional players and teams and many of them have become extremely successful and have gained fame around the paintball world. Some of the professional teams are:

  • Anaheim Sedition (NPPL)
  • Arsenal A-Team (NPPL)
  • Baltimore Trauma (NXL)
  • Chicago Evil (NPPL)
  • Chicago Aftershock (NXL)
  • DC Arsenal (NPPL)
  • Detroit Strange (NXL)
  • Las Vegas LTZ (NXL)
  • Los Angeles Ironmen (NXL/NPPL)
  • Los Angeles Infamous (NPPL)
  • London Nexus (NPPL)
  • London Tigers (NPPL)
  • Miami Raiders (NXL)
  • Miami Rage (NPPL)
  • Montreal Nrg (WPL)
  • New England Hurricanes (NPPL)
  • New York NRG (NPPL)
  • New York Xtreme (NXL)
  • Oakland Empire (NPPL)
  • OC Bushwackers (NPPL)
  • Oakland Assassins (NXL/NPPL)
  • Philadelphia Americans (NXL/NPPL)
  • Portland Naughty Dogs (NXL/NPPL)
  • Boston Red Legion (NXL)
  • Sacramento Excessive aka XSV (NXL/NPPL)
  • San Diego Dynasty (NXL/NPPL)
  • San Diego Legacy (NXL)
  • St. Louis Avalanche (NPPL)
  • Stockholm Joy Division (NPPL)
  • Texas Storm (NPPL)
  • Ultimate (NXL)
  • In 2005, rapper B-Real (of Cypress Hill), wrote the song Play it for Real about the sport of paintball. B-Real currently plays competitive paintball and has contributed to the Greg Hastings' series of Paintball Games.
  • A simulation of the sport of paintball, using NPPL-like tournament play, and featuring actual professional paintball players and licensed-equipment from actual paintball manufacturers, was created by game developer The Whole Experience. The game, Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball, was released in 2004, and a sequel of the game, Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball MAX'D, was released in 2005.
  • The independent film Blackballed: The Bobby Duke Story was about paintball, and brought some interest and attention to the sport from the outside community. It was one of the first widely released films to be primarily about paintball.
  • ESPN2 has broadcasted the 2005 U.S. Paintball Championships, also known as the NPPL Super 7, in what has been widely considered the best showing of paintball on television to date. The U.S. Paintball Championships was filmed at the Miami leg of the NPPL season.

Paintball-like alternatives

  • Airsoft is similar to paintball, but the "guns" are 1:1 replicas of real firearms and mostly simulate real military combat, complete with matching uniforms and gear.
  • Lasertag is a form of tag in which players wearing sensor-covered vests accumulate points by shooting each other with light guns.
  • Nerf is a hobby/sport similar to paintball in that many of the game types are the same, though instead of using markers players use modified Nerf toys.

References

  1. ^ (2002): American Sports Data, Inc (Published by Action Pursuit Games) [1] URL accessed on 2006-04-28
  2. ^ (2002): American Sports Data, Inc (Published by Action Pursuit Games) [2] URL accessed on 2006-04-28

Paintball News and Information (Major Sites)

  • Warpig (World and Regional Paintball Information Guide), Paintball's 'original' web resource, and fairly unbiased site news and general sport information.
  • Paintball.com (Paintball.com), Daily paintball news and features and discussion forums.
  • 68Caliber (68Caliber.com), Paintball News Website, only online paintball site indexed by Google News

Paintball Groups

Online Communities

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