Paintball started out as a survival game and was primarily centered around “war game geeks” and it was rather an under ground game. However, paintball is one of the most exciting and fastest-growing outdoor participation sports today. Ever since it was introduced in the ’80s, paintball has captured the world’s attention and is now played in over 40 countries.
For those of you not familiar, paintball is a military style combat game. Teams comprised of a number of players try to eliminate the opposing teams by shooting a paintball gun at the other players. When a player gets hit by the paintball, he is eliminated from the game.
What sets apart the sport of paintball from other sports is the equipment used, mainly the paintballs and the paintball gun. Basically, a paintball is a little pellet that is filled with a water soluble ink that explosed when you are hit. It is sort of a little bullet and the splatting of the pellet is like the fake blood. When these paintballs hit a player, they break open and leave a mark on the person. Gas-powered paintball guns are used by players to shoot these paintballs at each other. The paintballs provide realism to the game. Again, this is war games at it’s closest.
There are many variations of paintball games, the most common of which are capture the flag and elimination. In a capture the flag game, two teams try to capture the flag of their opponents’ team while protecting their own. Capture the flag is more of a military tactical game, and you need to strategize in a way to beat the team to their flag.
In an elimination game, the team that eliminates all opponents on the other team wins. This is more of a shoot em up all out game.
Woodsball is generally played in a wooded area and involves a lot of stalking and strategies. Think of this like hunting. You are out there and trying to sneak up on your opponents.
Another game is Speedball, which is played on a field roughly the size of a basketball court. Here, the players use artificial bunkers and it is a much faster-paced game. There are also large-scale scenario paintball games that usually have a theme, such as historical, science fiction and fantasy paintball games. Speedball is a fun all out blitz method. It’s very fun and played in alot of corporate retreats.
Paintball is an exciting game that requires not only speed, strength, and agility but also intelligence and alertness. Players also get to develop their teamwork and leadership abilities as well as gain self-confidence. Paintball is a very thrilling and adrenaline-pumping sport first-time players will surely get hooked on.
If you are going to get involved in the sport, there are many organizations you can find to get going. For starters, you can borrow or rent equipment by the hosting game company. As you get better, you may want to invest in your own equipment.
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