Paintball

For other meanings, see the disambiguation page Marker

Paintball is a sport whose participants use markers to shoot paintballs (roughly marble-sized, .68 caliber, gelatin capsules filled with colored polyethylene glycol "paint") at other players. Compared to other sports, paintball has only become popular in the last few decades. The game emerged in the 1980s and quickly became popular. The game has drawn a wide array of players worldwide and is found in most major countries in the world.

The game can be played indoors or outdoors in a varying range of styles. There are no specific rules for playing paintball, leaving the game objectives, strategies, and plays to the imagination of the player and the regulations of the field. The sport uses many different types of equipment unique from any other sport and has developed its own slang to describe special moves and situations. Contrary to some beliefs, paintball is one of the safest recognized sports, with players sustaining only 0.2 injuries per 1,000 exposures (compare with football at 3.8),^[1] and is played by people of all skill levels.

History of paintball

The origins of paintball can be traced to the 1970s with the paintball markers used to mark trees and cattle. The first paintball game was played in New Hampshire in June, 1981 by Bob Gurnsey, Hayes Noel, Charles Gaines, and nine others. From there, the sport began to popularize quickly. The first recreational paintball field opened up in 1982 as the National Survival Game (NSG) distributed franchises throughout North America. In 1983, the first NSG tournament was held, with prizes worth $14,000, and was won by a team from Canada called the Unknown Rebels. The next year, 1984, saw the first indoor paintball field. In the late 80s, paintball fields began to appear in England and elsewhere. By 1991, fields were opening throughout Europe. In 1992, the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) was founded and began hosting highly-publicized tournaments offering hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes. By 1996, paintball fields and tournaments were being established and hosted all around the world. Paintball today is played by over 12 million people worldwide, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association International, making it the second most popular Extreme Sport behind skateboarding and in front of inline skating, which it just passed in popularity.

Basic paintball games

• Capture the Flag - The classic schoolyard game, with a paintball twist. Teams start on opposing sides and attempt to acquire the opponents' flag while protecting their own. Victory is achieved by being the first team to hang the opponents' flag on the designated ___location at or near their own starting ___location. Also, victory can be achieved by eliminating (shooting) all the players on the other team.

• Neutral Flag or Center Flag - Similar to Capture the Flag, the game starts with a single flag at the center of the field instead of one at each end. The winner is the team that brings the flag to the opponent's end of the field.

• Elimination or Slayer - The team that eliminates all of the players on the opposing team wins.

• Resurrection - Similar to Elimination or Slayer, but if you get hit you are still in the game. For a set amount of time players can not get out. If they are hit they must return to their starting points and try again.

Types of play

Woodsball

Main article: Woodsball

Woodsball, paintball's original format, is generally played in a wooded area large enough to hold dozens of players. Woodsball games generally take more time than speedball games. Players will often take their time and stalk their opponents in this format. Also, as a generalization, woodsball markers are not designed to fire (cycle) as fast as their speedball counterparts as suppression by fire is not as important in woodsball as speedball. Instead, accuracy is a much more key issue in most woodsball games. Accuracy is so important because woodsball tends to be more of a stalking game than speedball and other variants. Since stealth is consequently such an issue, players will do all they can to keep their locations unknown to the opposing team(s). Paintball markers tend to be relatively loud when fired, and thus can betray a player's position to opposing players. In response, woodsballers often try to buy quiet markers or 'mod' their current markers to be more quiet when firing. Woodsballers tend to fire less as well, since it is harder to tell the ___location of an opposing woodsballer if that player fires sparingly, as the direction of the shots will be harder to place. To fire less often, players must have greater accuracy in order to maintain the same success rate as players who fire more often.

Woodsball, and its related variant, scenarioball, are the two paintball variants which see paintball 'snipers', players who concentrate on honing their marksmanship and tuning their markers more for accuracy than for speed, as in speedball. Paintball snipers are a rather controversial issue in paintball, as they cannot attain the range of fire that military snipers can. In order to compensate for their lack of range capability, paintball snipers often use stealth to get them into a position close enough to ambush an enemy with one carefully placed shot. See the Woodsball article for more information.

Many different game types may be played in woodsball. Center flag, capture the flag, total elimination, protect the president, hopperball, 21, civil war, and many other games limited only by the players' imagination.

Speedball

Speedball is a faster, more closer-quarters game than woodsball and is played on a field about the size of a basketball court or two. Artificial barriers (bunkers), often inflatable rafting material, plastic tubing, wood pallets or tires, are placed throughout the field for players to move between and take cover behind. Any material may be used and is usually placed in an open field in a symmetrical pattern, relative to the other side, in such a way as to give no advantage to one side or the other.

The close quarters foster a lot of movement and "bunkering", or running up to an opposing player's bunker and eliminating them from close range. Attributes concerning marker preference usually include high rate of fire rate (BPS, or balls per second), reduced weight and compactness of a Marker Setup. Players typically shoot much more paint in this style of play. Most national and local tournaments and leagues are built around the speedball concept.

Speedball can further be broken down into several popular different varieties.

Airball is the most popular form, played on a rectangular field with air inflated Nylon "props" or "bunkers". Nearly all Tournament leagues use a form of airball, such as the PSP's "X-ball" or the NPPL's 7man Airball.

Hyperball is another popular form using Corrugated Piping of different sizes and shapes on a Rectangular field.

Scenario paintball

Scenario paintball games are often large scale games with a theme, usually Historical, Fantasy or Science Fiction involving hundreds of people, such as the Battle of Normandy, or modern scenarios such as storming a building and rescuing hostages. Scenario games can last hours or even days, and bigger games often have player re-insertions at set intervals. Skirmish Paintball in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania holds several every year, including The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Normandy, which drew more than 3,000 attendees in 2005. The largest is probably "Oklahoma D-Day" which drew more than 3,500 in 2005, plays across 700 acres of land and includes some 15 "Paintball Tanks and pontoon-built landing craft. These events usually have props which can be captured for points and some attendees also "dress the part" for games ranging from Halloween costumes to full reenactment styled uniforms.

Tournament or Tourneyball

Modern tournament paintball, or tourneyball, has developed in earnest since roughly 1990. Woodsball tournaments, the original and once the most popular format, have largely given way to speedball fields, whose inflatable bunkers can be moved between matches or tournament stages. The most common tournament formats pit two teams of three, five, or seven players against each other. Teams play several other teams, accumulating points in each game for acts such as being the first to get the flag, bringing the flag to the goal, eliminating opposing players, and having non-eliminated players left at the end of the game.

Tournament Formats

• Capture the Flag - The original tournament format used in wooded play. Teams must capture the opposing team's flag and return it to their own flag station, receiving extra points for eliminating opponents and having players remaining at the end of the game. 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 on wooded fields were common in the 1980's, but modern tournaments are usually 3-man, 5-man or 7-man and played on grass fields with manmade obstacles.
• Centerflag - Like Capture the Flag, only with one flag in the middle of the field that both teams try to bring to their opponent's flag station on the opposite side of the field. Like Capture the Flag, Centerflag is commonly played in 3-man, 5-man and 7-man formats.

• X-Ball - A newer tournament format, X-Ball pits two teams against each other in multiple rounds of Center Flag played one after another until time runs out. The winner is the team with the most victories after two 16- to 20-minute halves. Teams of up to 18 players field five players at a time. Unlike most tournament formats that forbid players to communicate with people on the sidelines, X-Ball allows a coach to advise 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.

X-Ball was briefly considered for Summer Olympic sport status some time ago, but was rejected. ^[2]

Reball

A \"reball\" is a solid, dense-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 FPS (feet per second) because of their inability to break on whoever they hit. For example, a Regular paintball will normally be shot at 280-290 fps, but a Reball is supposed to be used at around 250 fps.

Pump play

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 a Stock Class marker. Stock Class refers to the marker configuration, reminiscent of the original paintball markers of the early to mid 1980\'s, and forsakes the use of hoppers and a constant propellant source. Stock Class play utilizes 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 (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.

Slingshot Paintball

Slingshot paintball is a growing alternative among paintball enthusists because of the low cost of play and the variation of strategy involved in the game. Players attempt to shoot opponents with paintballs that are fired from slingshots rather than standard paintball guns (or markers). A normal game usually requires \'\'all\'\' players to use slingshots, however, some games may allow certain players to use pump action markers, such as Cowboys and Indians.

Slingshot paintball was first played in the late 90s by a group of friends in Mountain Home, Idaho. The game was created by inventor Ron M. Smith after discovering the benefits of using a slingshot over using a paintball gun. The game quickly spread throughout Idaho, Utah, and other states, and soon after, fans had their own website by 2005 [2]

The gear required to play slingshot paintball basically consists of a slingshot, a paintball mask, and a pocket (or pouch) to carry the paintballs in. Players normally prefer to wear fingerless gloves for protection. Each player carries a designated number of paintballs, anywhere from 3 to 20, depending on the game that is being played.

There are many advatages to playing slingshot paintball over traditional paintball. Mainly, the cost of a slingshot is much less than that of a paintball marker. On average, a game of slingshot paintball requires about 10 paintballs to play, compared to an average game of standard paintball, which often exceeds 200 paintballs. Another advantage of using a slingshot is its ability to shoot almost silently. This advantage often enables players to eliminate opponents without revealing their ___location. The primary benefit to slingshot paintball is strategy. Since players can only shoot one paintball at a time before reloading, players must use skill, stealth, and teamwork to accomplish their objective.

Paintball equipment

Main article: Paintball equipment

Organizations

Current professional and semi-professional leagues, such as the NXL (National X-Ball League NPPL (National Professional Paintball League), NCPA (National Collegiate Paintball Association), GPL (Global Paintball League), CFOA (Carolina Field Owners Association) the NEPL (New England Paintball League),the WPL (World Paintball League) and the SPPL (Scenario Paintball Players League), regularly hold high-class, well-organized events. These aren\'t the only leagues, however, as most regions both inside and outside the USA have leagues. The Millennium Series, the Nordic Series, the former European X-Ball League, the Centurio Circuit, the XSPL, the Paintball Association in the UK, the Argentine Paintball Association and many more leagues exist and draw large numbers of teams and fans. Tournament paintball is played by the same rules as normal paintball, but in a more competitive environment. There is a set number of people on each team (commonly three, five or seven), and modern tournament play is primarily speedball. Due to the competitive nature, most tournament players use high-end markers capable of higher rates of fire. The major leagues are National Professional Paintball League (NPPL), Paintball Sports Promotions™ (PSP), and Millennium Series. The leagues consist of a whole circuit of paintball tournaments, but smaller regional and locally-sponsored tournaments are very common.

Types of players

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

The recreational class of player encompasses a range of levels of involvement in the sport, from occasional players like members of church groups or people attending birthday or bachelor parties, through more regular players who may own their own entry-level equipment, but do not play in tournaments. Recreational players may play at commercial, insured 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. These frequent participants can generally be divided 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.

File:Patriot Act Paintball Tournament Snowball Logo.jpg

Tournament players.

Types of playing locations

Most players play, and most scenario games and tournaments occur, at commercial, insured paintball parks. A paintball park may be an area of woods, a complex of speedball fields, or a combination. Additionally, some commercial fields offer fast-paced indoor game play, often with multiple rooms. Commercial fields adhere to specific safety and insurance standards and have employed staff (often called referees) whose job is to make sure players are instructed in proper play and play in a manner that insures all participants\' safety.

Some players play on private land, often referred to as \"renegade\" play or \"out-law ball\". While less expensive, and often less structured than play at a commercial facility, due to the lack of standards, instruction, and oversight, the vast majority of injuries incurred by paintball players occur in a \"renegade\" setting. Private landowners may also be liable for injuries sustained on their property, especially if there are any fees for play.

Major scenario and tournament events may sometimes occur at other locations like fairgrounds, military bases, or stadiums, essentially creating a temporary paintball park, including the trained staff and insurance found at permanent commercial paintball parks.

File:Mini-100 2620.JPG

A typical tournament field.

Strategies and tactics

Main article: Paintball Strategy

Common rules of play

Prospective players should check the individual field rules where they are playing. Variations of the following rules are in effect at most fields, but the number one rule, is mask/goggle safety. The following are the most common regulations.

Safety rules

There are three primary safety rules for paintball which apply to all games: Players must always wear a paintball goggle and mask system, the paintball marker used by a player may not shoot paintballs that travel faster than 300 feet per second (about 200 MPH), and barrel plugs must be in at all times when not in the playing area. The velocity limit may be lower than 300 feet per second depending on the size of the playing area, or insurance or legal considerations. Paintball is an extremely safe sport when these three rules are always followed.

Tagging rules

Generally if a player is marked anywhere on his or her body or equipment with a US Quarter size mark or larger, that player is considered as having been eliminated. If the player believes the paintball broke before impact, or if he cannot see the area to confirm a hit, then he should call for a paint check (by yelling \"paint check\"). A referee will come over and make a judgment call. Usually, if there is any spot that isn\'t clearly a hit or larger than a US Quarter, it will not be considered a hit. While being paint checked, the referee may call the player “neutral” and he may not be marked or advanced on while being checked (this rule may or may not apply).

Even if the player is not marked, exclaiming \"I\'m hit\" will eliminate him from the game. Players should always check to see if a paintball that has hit them has indeed broken. A paintball may simply bounce off a player’s body, and will not count as a hit. Players should always call for a paint check on another player, if they believe they have marked an opponent as some players will wipe off the paint and continue playing. This practice is widely considered cheating and may result in the player being banned from the field. In most instances a penalty of “1 for 1” will be called. This is where the cheating player and an additional teammate are eliminated from the current round. Paintball, like most sports, is considered a game of honor and the player has to judge himself first and then ask a ref if they are unsure.

The X foot/meter surrender rule

Some fields require that if a player is within a certain distance of an unaware opponent (usually 10 to 15 feet or closer), they must demand their 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 and 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. Shooting players at close distances is dangerous and should not be done if it is unnecessary.

In almost all tournament play, there is no surrender rule. 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\" this refers to running/charging up to the bunker or barricade that an opposing player is behind and tagging them at very close range. The offensive player moves as close to the opponent as possible, so that they can catch the defensive player off guard, giving them little to no time to react, and minimizing their chance of missing.

Safety

Safety is paramount while playing paintball and is strictly enforced. This means players must wear only paintball-specific goggles and facemasks at all times while playing, even if they are out. Under no circumstances should eye protection ever be removed on a live field.

If a player’s mask is covered with paint, sweat, or dirt, and they cannot see well enough to safely get off the field, they should stand with both hands in the air and yell (usually \"Fogged!\") for assistance. A ref or another player will lead them to a safe area.

If a player’s mask falls off during a game, he should quickly lie face down on the ground, with one arm covering his eyes, and another over his head. This position gives the best chances of avoiding injury in this dangerous scenario. Players who see another player in this position should stop all game activity and call out for a cease-fire so that referees can safely deal with the situation according to their training.

Besides mandatory use of masks, fields require that markers don\'t fire above a certain velocity. This reduces the possibility of mask failure, and will leave less of an injury when a player is hit. The allowed speeds usually range from around 250 Feet Per Second to the highest allowed velocity of 300 ft/s (just because a gun\'s velocity is higher doesn\'t mean it will shoot better). Velocities exceeding 300 ft/s will break uncovered skin and cause bleeding.

Many players involved in outlaw games will tend to have their guns firing \"hot\" or above this velocity. It is recommended that everyone playing outlaw games, get their guns \"chronoed\" or speed check before playing. Chronographs or \"Chronos\" can be found relatively cheap and can greatly help the safety of everyone playing.

Changes in temperature/ atmospheric pressure, and paint will affect marker velocity; it is therefore strongly advised markers are \"chronoed\" several times throughout the day. Players involved in outlaw games are strongly recommended to purchase a chronograph to ensure safe play at all times. Chronographing is also highly recommended when changing anything on a marker such as disassembly, different barrel etc.

Another safety rule players should be aware of and follow is keeping their marker\'s safety on when not actively playing. Furthermore, when not playing a game, markers should have their barrels blocked by a barrel condom (barrel blocker, bag, or sock). It is a tough bag which covers the end of the barrel and attaches to the marker via a cord of some sort. This prevents accidental shots from leaving the barrel. Barrel plugs (a plug pressed into the end of the barrel) used to be used, however the barrel sock has taken over, and many fields do not allow plugs anymore. Barrel plugs are prone to being shot out of the barrel, leaving the barrel open and unsafe.

Paintball has proved to be an extremely safe sport and its good record comes from the uncompromising emphasis on safety.

Paintball in popular culture

• 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
• Nerf is a hobby/sport similar to paintball in that many of the game types are the same, however instead of using markers it uses modified Nerf toys.

Common misconceptions

Various misconceptions are held by players as well as people who have never seen a paintball marker.

\'\'\'War and Violence\'\'\'

One common misconception is that paintball simulates war and encourages violence, thanks largely to vandalism (most often by non-players), and the small, but noticeable resemblance of markers to firearms and the donning of camouflage for woodsball. Additionally, paintball has been used for close combat training by both law enforcement agencies and anti-terrorist groups.

The paintball community generally works to dispel this image, increasing the public\'s exposure to paintball is seen as crucial to breaking down stereotypes. Paintball fields do not tolerate physical violence (contact with an opponent is usually forbidden) nor even verbal abuse. Today\'s markers are generally not designed to mimic firearms. And \"scenario\" paintball games seek to re-enact historic wars and battles, not to encourage violence.

Tournaments include aspects of traditional sports: players wear bright colors as fans watch the action behind safety netting and film crews record nearly all top competitive events for DVD or TV.

\'\'\'Injury and Danger\'\'\'

Another common misconception of paintball is that it is dangerous. Recent statistics from various insurance companies have proven that paintball is actually safer than traditional sports, such as football. As long as the players follow the rules, paintball is an entirely safe sport. Paintball fields require anyone near the field to wear a face mask, and that markers shoot at a velocity of less than 300 feet per second. Many fields forbid the use of \'\'full-auto\'\' markers, which are illegal in many countries (for example the UK). Paintball, on the insurance tables, is safer than golf, bowling, and tennis.

\'\'\'Quality of Equipment\'\'\'

Many players believe that more expensive and higher quality equipment determines how well a person plays. Good equipment does lend a competitive edge, but it is possible to get good results with relatively inexpensive equipment, as skill trumps gear quality. The type of marker and how much the player paid is never added to the equation of physics.

Paintball lingo

• \'\'\'Agg\'\'\' - Agg is a commonly used term for paintball fads. Things such as designer headwraps, to spray painted masks are agg. HK Army at this time is the leader in Agg.

• \'\'\'Barrel Tag/Tap Out\'\'\' - When a player is close enough to reach out with his or her gun and physically tag the opposing player, the tagging player may say \"Barrel tag!\" and simultaneously, and gently, tag the other player with the barrel still on the gun. This counts for an elimination, even if the players are on the same team.

• \'\'\'Bonus ball\'\'\' (n)- Hits a player receives after being eliminated, usually while leaving the field of play. A player may receive bonus balls due to the increasingly fast rate of fire of markers in tournament play, walking through a spot another player is shooting, or occasionally by being intentionally shot by an opponent. Sometimes referred to as \"Extra Love\" and \"Bonus Ball loving\". These usually happen in tourney setting and also result in penalties; it is also used to prevent Dead Man Walking.

• \'\'\'Bunker\'\'\' (n) - A non-natural obstacle on the field of play suitable for use as cover. In wooded play, a bunker may be a large fallen log, a collection of wood, a constructed obstacle of wood, barrels, or other material, or even a dug-out depression in the ground. In speed ball, virtually all objects placed on an otherwise empty grass or dirt field are \"bunkers\", and in most modern speed ball tournaments, bunkers are inflatable vinyl obstacles (like river rafts with more basic and varied shapes).

• \'\'\'Bunker\'\'\' (v) - When a player is behind a bunker, the bunker blocks that player\'s view of the field in front of him, forcing the player to occasionally look out from behind the bunker (and risk being hit) or rely on teammates to prevent opposing players from advancing through that area. If the teammates are looking the wrong way, or there are no teammates left, an opposing player can often run straight up to the player\'s bunker without the player seeing him and \"bunker\" the player by shooting directly over or around the side of the cover.

• \'\'\'Chop\'\'\' - Sometimes a marker may fire when a paintball has only fed partially into the breech. The force of the bolt of the marker moving forward will then cut the paintball in half inside the marker\'s chamber, creating a rather unpleasant mess that will prevent the marker from shooting accurately until cleaned. However many high-end markers have \'eyes\', technology that prevents the marker from firing until it sees that a ball is completely in the chamber.

• \'\'\'Chop a Snake\'\'\' - A process in which one player will fire over the head of an opponent located behind a snake, pinning him down, while another will advance along the length of the snake eliminating the opponent.

• \'\'\'Dead Man Walking\'\'\' - where a person is shot, but the paint doesn\'t break. The person pretends he is out, and walks toward their box. He then proceeds to shoot everybody on the other team. In most tournaments this is illegal due to the fact that a player is acting as if he\'s out only to gain an advantage on the other team or players.

• \'\'\'Eye/Eyes/ACE ( Anti-Chop Eye(s) ) \'\'\' (n) - An infrared detection system installed on electronic markers. There are two types; break beam and reflective. Break beam incorporates two eyes which send an infrared beam across the breech to one another. When a ball enters the breech of the marker, it breaks the infrared beam, telling the marker that a ball is ready to be fired. Reflective sends an infrared beam across the breech from one eye. If a ball enters the breech, the infrared beam will be reflected back into the eye, indicating that a ball is ready to be fired. These electronic infrared systems help prevent chopping in markers and help markers reach higher rates of fire consistently.

• \'\'\'Flank\'\'\'- A Strategy used in both speedball and woodsball where usually one or two people provide cover fire while other team members move around the sides. Since the opposing force is preoccupied with the people providing cover fire they are usually unaware of the force coming around the side (or even the back side). the opposing force is easily taken out.

• \'\'\'Fogged\'\'\' - This term typically refers to a player who\'s visor has fogged up so bad they cannot see

• \'\'\'Gogged\'\'\' - An expression denoting that a player has been hit directly in the mask by another player.

• \'\'\'Grenade\'\'\' - A paint-filled tube similar to surgical tubing that is under a lot of pressure. When the safety pin is pulled and the grenade thrown, the shock from the impact releases the pressure in a spraying fashion to eliminate any player the paint touches.

• \'\'\'Guppy\'\'\' - One of the many terms used when referring to the large tubes used to carry paintballs on the field, the industry refers to them officially as pods.

• \'\'\'Headcheck\'\'\' - A term used to describe the tactic of giving a quick look out from protection to get a better idea of the enemies\' position just before shooting. Used often in tournament play seconds before a \'\'\'snapshot\'\'\'.

• \'\'\'Hopper\'\'\' - The hopper is simply the magazine for the paintball marker, sizes do vary but the average is about 200 rounds. While some designs utilize a hopper that feeds balls to the gun via gravity placing it directly above the bolt, some other designs use a Hopper built off the side of the marker using a pneumatic system to feed them into the breech of the marker. Other hopper designs are offset to the right or left, or recently set forward and below the barrel.

• \'\'\'Jellymen\'\'\' - The coolest, radest paintballers around. A group of players who often times bend their bodies in wierd shapes similar to jelly, in order to pull off amazing moves.

• \'\'\'Lit up\'\'\' - An expression connotating overwhelming victory. It is often used to describe someone who has been marked several times. It can also be used to describe a situation in which an individual or team exercised a great advantage to defeat the other player or team. This is a dangerous practice prevalent in tournament play which results in penalties being issued to the offending team.

• \'\'\'Paint Check\'\'\' - When an official or another player inspects a player for hits. Necessary because hits on hard equipment may not be noticed by the player, and hits that do not leave a mark do not count, so a player may need another person to check to see if a hit broke when it is on an area of the body the player cannot readily see.

• \'\'\'Ramping\'\'\' (v)- A feature enabled in many aftermarket electronic marker \'mod boards\' that functions as de-facto full-auto; while in ramping mode, pulling the trigger faster than a preset lower limit (typically 5 or more times a second) causes the marker to \"ramp\" to its maximum preset rate of fire, which can exceed 20 balls per second, or to fire as quickly as the hopper can supply balls to the breech. Many \"ramp boards\" also incorporate elaborate schemes to conceal this feature from tournament referees, including a simple \"panic button\" This panic mode is found mainly on cheating boards. The \"Panic button\" is a trigger press sequence to turn ramping off before a marker can be confiscated and tested, and randomized rate of fire to mask the fact that the trigger activity doesn\'t match the actual firing of paintballs. In response to the popularity of ramping (and the difficulty of catching violators), some organizations have abandoned a strict semi-auto-only policy and adopted a 15 ball-per-second cap in its place. This allows referees with sound-activated timers to monitor rate of fire during games.

• \'\'\'Ref\'\'\' - Short for \"Referee\".

• \'\'\'Renegade/Outlaw play\'\'\' - Playing Paintball on private property in which there are few, or no rules. Normally played on private property with out the acknowledgement of the owner. Or a Player that during a game leaves the majority of the group and does not tell them where he is going; this commonly leads this player to be eliminated by friendly fire.

• \'\'\'Snake\'\'\' (n)- In hyperball, speedball, x-ball, and airball a snake is a long, low structure (less then 1 meter/3 feet high) usually located either in the middle or to one or both sides of a field. The snake is a unique setup because it allows a player to advance a considerable distance while still being protected from being hit from most locations on the field.

• \'\'\'Snapshooting\'\'\' is a method, used in paintball, to begin shooting before leaning out from behind a bunker in order to have a better chance of hitting a target. This is a common practice used in tournament play.

• \'\'\'Surrender\'\'\'- This is yelled by the shooter if s/he holds an upper hand on an opponent within a close range; this is done to give the enemy a chance to surrender without being shot. This rule is widely used amongst many new players and paintball parks.

• \'\'\'Tanks\'\'\' - This refers to the C02, Air, nitro or propane cylinders or tanks used to power a paintball gun\'s ability to fire, in most cases the tank is screwed directly into the marker however, some players use a coiled hose that allows them to carry the tank in another ___location of their person removing extra weight from the marker.

• \'\'\'Tricked out\'\'\' - A term used to describe a gun that has numerous upgrades and enhancements.

• \'\'\'Pod Bitch\'\'\' - A term used to describe a person who stands on the sidelines and fills up pods with paintballs for players.

• \'\'\'Wiping\'\'\' - Refers to the illegal act of cleaning off a hit before a referee sees so the player can keep from being eliminated.

• \'\'\'Remote\'\'\' - A coiled hose connected to a nipple on a gun which channels CO2 from a tank on the player\'s harness. Used to prevent being encumbered with a heavy tank affixed to one\'s gun.

Every paintball field has its own lingo for various obstacles, bunkers, and landmarks that are unique to the site. Prospective players should always familiarize themselves with the terms used by other players beforehand.

Scenario/Big Game Lingo

Scenario games have their own set of lingo in addition to the standard paintball jargon above.

• \'\'\'APV\'\'\' - Acronym for Armored Paintball vehicle, also called a tank. These include both land, and in some case, water vehicles. A typical APV is equipped with a LAW launcher or handheld or mounted paintball markers. Typically, they are enclosed to protect the operators, and can only be eliminated by a direct hit from another LAW rocket. Due to the nature of being built custom made, a plethora of tank designs can be seen across the scenario world. Also see \"PAV\".

• \'\'\'Armband Tape\'\'\' - Used to identify what team a player is on. Tape is literally colored duct tape. Typical armband team colors are generally blue and red. Other colors such as brown, yellow, white, black, etc. can be used to designate special job positions, such as demolitions, engineer, medic, pilot, etc.

• \'\'\'BBD\'\'\' - Barrel Blocking Device. Another term for a barrel sock (barrel condom), although this term can be used in a more general sense to mean anything that effectively stops the marker from injuring another person accidentally.

• \'\'\'CO\'\'\' - Commanding Officer. See General.

• \'\'\'Demolitions\'\'\' - Job position in which the player is allowed to use demolitions equipment such as satchel charges or LAWs.

• \'\'\'Engineer\'\'\' - Job position which has the ability to repair destroyed structures.

• \'\'\'General\'\'\' - The General, or CO, is the leader of one of the two sides in the scenario. He is the one responsible for issuing missions and keeping his team\'s morale up. When he is not available, his XO takes over.

• \'\'\'GSRP\'\'\' - Acronym for General Scenario Rules of Play. These are the basic set of rules that many scenario games follow. Even if your scenario producer does not use the GSRP, it is still a good idea to know the basic rules.

• \'\'\'Medic\'\'\' - Job position which allows the player to \"heal\" other players by physically wiping the paint off of the other player. A common strategy is to \"lure\" medics out into the open by shooting one of his team mates who calls for him. Then the medic can be taken out as well. Medics can not heal themselves, and can not be healed.

• \'\'\'PAV\'\'\' - Paintball Armored Vehicle. See APV for more information.

• \'\'\'Pilot\'\'\' - Job position which allows the player to \"pilot\" a \"helicopter\" or other such transportation vehicle. These pilots can not be shot at, nor anyone else on the \"helicopter\", nor can the occupants of the helicopter shoot at any other players until they are dropped off.

• \'\'\'LAW Launcher\'\'\' - A device used to eliminate APVs, bunkers, or other enemy players. Typically constructed like a spud gun, they are used to fire LAW Rockets or sabot rounds at the enemy. Because of the increased mass of the projectile, muzzle velocity is generally chronographed far lower, around 230-250 feet per second at the most.

• \'\'\'LAW Rocket\'\'\' - Typically a Nerf foam pocket vortex football. They are two inches in diameter, and fit snugly into the barrel of a LAW rocket. In most games, after firing they are dead props until a ref re-issues them.

• \'\'\'Mission\'\'\' - Missions are what determine the winner of the scenario game. The producer will send the coded missions to the Generals, who must then assign a force to accomplish them. Having a ref sign off on the mission card completes the mission and awards the team points for it.

• \'\'\'Prop\'\'\' - Any object which the scenario producers have introduced into the field as a playable object for players in the scenario game.

• \'\'\'Prop Stealin\' Ho\'\'\' - A person who knowingly removes a prop from its ___location or from the field in order to prevent the other team from getting it. While not always a move against the rules, unless a player has a specific mission to retrieve a prop, it is considered cheating to be a prop stealin\' ho.

• \'\'\'Producer\'\'\' - The company or person responsible for organizing, running, and keeping the game safe. Some well known scenario producers include MXS, Viper paintball, Blackcat Paintball, and Wayne Dollack.

• \'\'\'RTS\'\'\' - Real Time Strategy. A newer scenario game concept being heavily pursued by scenario producers such as Viper Paintball. The idea behind this setup eliminates the standard mission sequence and allows the two Generals to duke it out as they see strategically fit.

• \'\'\'Satchel Charge\'\'\' - A kind of prop that is placed under referee supervision for triggered elimination or demolition. These are typically an alternative to LAWs for vehicle elimination.

• \'\'\'XO\'\'\' - Executive Officer. Second in command to General.

• \'\'\'Over Kill\'\'\' - A player is tagged more than necessary.

Professional Paintball Teams

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

Anaheim Sedition
Chicago Evil
DC Arsenal
Los Angeles Ironmen
London Nexus
Los Angeles Infamous
Miami Rage
New England Hurricanes
New York NRG
Oakland Empire
OC Bushwackers
Philadelphia Assassins
Pittsburgh All Americans
Portland Naughty Dogs
Sacramento XSV
San Diego Dynasty
St. Louis Avalanche
Stockholm Joy Division

References

1. (2002): American Sports Data, Inc (Published by Action Pursuit Games) [1] URL accessed on 2006-04-28
2. "Tournament Paintball Q & A". BBC. 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-10.

External links

• NPPL - National Professional Paintball League
• The Ongoing History of Paintball - How paintball started, and the timeline of paintball guns / markers and equipment.
• Direct Paintball - Informative information for paintball players. Professional equipment reviews, recommended stores, and tactical articles.
• Stock Class Paintball.com - General information and discussion regarding pump markers and stock class play.
• Facefull Magazine - The leading international paintball magazine.
• Action Pursuit Games.com - Website for one of paintball\'s large magazines. A lot of information regarding equipment, safety, history and current rules.
• PBStar.com - Largest Free Video and Picture database, containing forums and free downloads
• PbNation.com - The largest internet paintball forum. Features over 200,000 members, forums frequented by professional paintballers, field maps, and much, much more. It is by far, the most popular paintball website at the moment.
• [3] Many paintball movies including actual game play, markers shooting and other misc. videos.
• PBReview.com - Field and equipment reviews, by players, for players. Second largest paintball forum.
• PaintBallForum.com - Large online paintball forum. Great place for Rec, Woods, and Tournament players alike.
• pbguide.com - first international human edited and worlds\'s largest \"paintball link resource\"
• Warpig (World and Regional Paintball Information Guide), An older and fairly unbiased site for paintballers.
• Paintball Guide
• Multilingual Paintball Wiki
• How Paintballs Are Made. - Video on how paintballs are manufactured.
• GrungePaintball.com A small friendly site with helpful articles and how-tos.
• Breaking Paint A Paintball community site with friendship network, blogs, and news/information.
• Pb Update A Paintball site with up to date information on Today\'s Paintball Community.
• Digital Paintball A Paintball mod for Half Life.
• Paint-Zone.co.uk A website dedicated to UK paintballing, currently hosting an annual paintball meet. Also hosts a paintball based webcomic.
• PB Underworld A forum that serves players in the southeastern United States.

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