On the first sight, you may find Paintball quite similar to Airsoft, but believe us it is totally a different sport apart from the fact that both Paintball and Airsoft are adventure sports. In paintball the players compete by forming different teams or individually and then they target them with capsules which are made out of water soluble dye and gelatin made outer shell and then tries to eliminate them. Those gelatin shells are called Paintball and to shoot those paintballs towards desired target a paintball marker is used, which is popularly called as ‘paintball gun’. The paintballs are a composition of non toxic, water soluble polymer and biodegradable.
The first registered paintball game was played on 27th June 1981 in Henniker, New Hampshire United States. Paintball often involves mixed genders and different teams and individual players. Pinball technology is also used for training or even in serious law enforcement by military, para-military and other security agencies across the world. It is also used for military training and to control a riot as a non-lethal and non-dangerous weapon.
The pinball game can be played both indoors and outdoors. The terrain is artificial to suit the mood of the game. There are plenty of hideouts and other important artificial sets are made which can be used by the players to make their strategy during the play. The paintball game varies in different ways but all the types of the game always include, elimination, ammunition limits, attacking of defending a point or an area or capturing objects of interest which are hidden in the playing area and of course to capture the flag. The game can last for few seconds or hours or even for days depending upon how the game has been decided.
The legality of the game depends on country to country. Some countries and some regions among those countries have written rules and regulations for Paintball. Most of the rules are showing light and interest on security. The players who play Paintball must wear protective gears and masks and such rules are strictly enforced by the law. Though, in the staging area the masks are not required.
The Equipments used for Paintball
There are three major ways to play paintball, one is scenario and other two are speedball and woodsball. For the different ways to play paintball there are different equipments used as well. The equipment cost too makes a difference while choosing them. But there are few basic types of equipment in paintball so let us know about them.
The first among them is the paintball marker which is also known as paintball gun or just a marker. It is the primary or must equipment for pinball. This equipment is use to gun down the opposition player and it has a loader or a hopper or magazines attached with it. There are many such paintball guns available in the market but the players use them according to the situation and their comfort.
The other must in the paintball games are the paintballs themselves. They are used in the paintball guns or markers and are made out of gelatin capsules which have a primary non toxic and water soluble substance called polyethylene glycol. The quality of paintballs are usually very high as it deals with humans and their security. They are thick and brightly coloured so that they are irremovable once they hit the opponent and your points can be counted.
Mask or specially made goggles are also a must equipment when you decide to play the paintball. As it covers the face and eyes hence players must use them to secure their faces and eyes from the substance coming out from those paintballs when they hit them around their face. Previously the masks were too heavy but the modern technology has made them little less heavy and thus players can feel easy while wearing them.
Along with above ‘musts’ there are other additional equipments also, which are normally used by the paintball players. These are pods and pod packs which are plastic containers where the players store their paintballs. Squeegee or swab are to help the accuracy of the paintballs and they come in different sizes. The paintball players also wear different kind of jerseys and they are often look like BMX jerseys. But the clothing is different and it is also meant to protect the player when he or she is heat by a paintball. The clothing also shows whether the paintball has hit a player or not as it gets the marked by the exploded paintball.
Paintball Gameplay
Now we know the idea of paintball and also about the equipments of it. Now it is time to know on how this game is played. Since this has been categorized under ‘adventure sports’ then we must have an idea about what kind of adventure it has. First of all we must clarify here that there are plenty of verities you will find not only in the gameplay but also among the rules and regulations of the game. The main aim for not having a set rule for it is to gain maximum adventure and fun experience out of the game. But at the same time the game rules for a particular day are always set and they are conveyed to the player before the start of the game.
The main aim for a player who is playing the paintball is that he or she should not be get shot by the opponent team players and should not be marked by the paintball on his/her cloths. There is also a difference in the legality of a hit. Different games have different sets of rules for the ‘anything counts’, in other words the cause of the elimination which is due because of a paintball hit, broke or has left a mark on player’s clothing or not. But the very common rule across the world is that a player can be eliminated if he or she has got a mark which has a size of a US quarter or bigger. The player who is eliminated has to leave the field of play immediately. In exchange the opposition team gains a certain amount of points.
If the rule are clear and accepted by both the teams and individuals, the eliminated player can return to the field whenever he or she is allowed to. But if the rules says that he or she can’t, then he or she is eliminated for the remaining part of the game. The goals are also decided before the game starts. One of them is ‘capture the flag or eliminated’. In this goal, the players go and try and capture a flag which has put at a place while doing that they can be hit by a pinball and get eliminated. If the team is successful to capture the flag, despite the retaliation by the opposition, the successful team wins. Woodsball, Speedball and Scenario Paintball are the popular variants of paintball.
