Who would have thought that a game between twelve friends would evolve into a national craze?  Nonetheless, it is a fact that a game that started in 1981 has created a million dollar industry, as well as a phenomenon that young and old alike enjoy.  These days, paintball supplies come from the ordinary to the extraordinary set, which costs a pretty penny.  Fields that have been set up especially to facilitate the game as well as indoor arenas supply the necessary space and environment to let paintball enthusiasts play. Paintball is nothing more than shooting a small capsule filled with paint from an air or CO2 powered gun.  A paintball gun is sometimes also referred to as a marker.  Will it hurt to get hit by a paintball?  Yes, if may.  Considering that the speed with which those little pellets leave the marker are about three hundred feet per second, a direct hit can sting a bit and quite possibly leave a bruise.  Further damage, however, is unlikely if all safety precautions are being observed.

For this reason, safety rules have been set which anyone who operates a paintball arena, indoor or outdoor, will enforce without compromise.  Violators will be required to either comply immediately with the stated rules or leave the premises, quite often for good.  The precautions themselves are common sense ideas yet bear repeating:

When you are playing paintball, you will be required to use only markers that will shoot at or less than three-hundred feet per second.  If the speed is higher, you will be disqualified since this higher speed will usually draw blood from unprotected skin.

Safety gear is required.  The gear consists of facemasks and goggles.  Under no circumstances should you ever remove the eye protection while in a game, even if you have been marked and are now on the sidelines.  A paintball that hits your eye will most likely blind you for the rest of your life, and it is better to be safe than sorry.

Know the magic words.  Even in the heat of the battle, you will be required to stop immediately when a player calls out that they lost their facemask or goggles.  Similarly, if you experience problems with your protective gear, you need to immediately yell out for assistance from the referee.  Stay low to the ground and cover your eyes in case a stray paintball does come your way.

Paintball is an activity that can be pursued merely as a recreational activity or it can be done as a tournament sport.  The latter has been around since about 1990. Generally a tournament will find two teams competing against each other. Over the course of several games, the competitors can score points for capturing the opposing team’s flag, marking as many opposing team member with paint as possible, and having as many of their own team members unmarked as they can. To make the game more interesting, a game area is staked and barriers, some as tall as the players, some smaller, are placed across the field.  Symmetry is observed so that no team has an advantage over the other. The idea is for paintball players to hide behind these barriers, take cover, or try to sneak up on the unsuspecting members of the opposite team.

Of course, not everyone who enjoys the game of paintball will want to participate in a tournament.  Additionally, she or he may not enjoy just running around an arena or field for the fun of it.  For those folks who want to infuse some sense into their play there is the option of having a game of scenario paintball.  These games are not limited to the small tournament style teams, but on a larger scale will seek to reenact historic battles, continue fantasy battles, such as the ever popular Star Wars battles, or take the game of Dungeons and Dragons to the next level with pretend battles all based on a mutually agreed upon situation and host of characters. 

There is no shortage of game ideas when players set their minds and imagination to it, and the advantage of the game is that there is something enjoyable for the occasional player, the one who would love to live out his or her battle fantasies, and the hardcore competitor who wants to wipe out the competition and bring his or her team to the victory. What about you? Are you game?

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