Chapter One
What is Paintball?
What You’ll Learn In This Chapter
- The basic premise of the game of paintball
- The ins and outs of the three different types of paintball games
- Why anyone can play this game
- About competitive paintball games with huge prizes
- Which format is family friendly
- A term that’s probably new to you… Milsim
The Basic Game
Shoot them before they shoot you
It’s okay mom, it’s just a ball of paint. No one really dies…
Recreational Paintball Play
Even grandma can play
There are more than one thousand commercial paintball fields in the United States where players gather to play almost every weekend of the year. Fields are located in every part of the country and around the world. Commercial playing fields have paintball guns, goggles and other gear used to play for rent, and players of all skill levels can “walk on” and be part of the games of the day. Most fields can accommodate anywhere from one player to large groups of players. Like a game of pick up schoolyard basketball, players are divided (usually by skill level) into two teams to do battle for the day. Fields that run “rec-ball” games usually play around eight 10-20 minute games in a day’s play. When a player is eliminated from the game they simply head to the “safe zone” and wait for the game to end. At that time players clean off previous hits, fill their markers with more paintballs, grab a drink or snack and head out for another game with the full complement of players.
Rec-ball games are commonly played in the woods on fields as large as several acres. Capture the Flag is the most commonly played game but most fields will run a variety of game types during a day’s play. Other game scenarios include Center Flag, where there is only one flag used in the game. The goal is to capture the flag and hang it in your opponent’s flag base, as opposed to games where you hang the flag in your base. Attack and Defend is another commonly played rec-ball game. In this scenario one team defends a flag base, fort, castle or other designated part of the field, while the other team attacks it, trying to eliminate players and capture the flag. Sometimes rec-ball games are played in “arena” fields where blow-up plastic bunkers (airball bunkers) or other obstacles are strategically placed in hockey arena sized fields. Since arena games are played on much smaller sized fields the action tends to be fast-paced, with games commonly lasting less than a minute.
Games that are played at commercial paintball fields are generally the safest and most organized types of rec-ball games. Referees start and stop the games, enforce the safety rules, and organize games that are fairly balanced and fun for everyone regardless of skill level. Commercial fields provide safe terrain to play on and usually have first aid kits, drinks and some food available, and staff to help answer questions and provide help with equipment problems, game tactics and other issues that may arise in a day’s play.
There’s another type of rec-ball game—the type of game that is not played at commercial paintball fields. Every weekend there are thousands of “backyard” paintball games going on across the U.S. and as a parent of a paintball player you should know that these games are usually unsupervised and are sometimes played in a less than safe environment. While I understand that backyard games are less expensive to play than paying game fees at a commercial field, I can’t really recommend playing this type of game unless there is adult supervision with paintball game experience—and even then I’m not a big fan. Over the years I’ve seen and heard about injuries caused by broken glass, barbed wire and other dangerous situations playing backyard ball. I’ll also tell you this, without referees constantly reminding players to keep their goggles on during the game, backyard paintball game eye injuries are much more likely to happen. Lastly, most people I’ve seen playing backyard paintball don’t even have a chronograph to check each player’s paintball gun velocity. Without a chronograph there’s no way to tell if a marker is firing at safe velocities.
Tournament Paintball Play
“Mom I’m going to Russia to play paintball!”
Tournament paintball games are almost exclusively played in arena settings, on airball fields. Reserved for the more serious player, paintball tournaments are held worldwide almost every weekend at commercial paintball fields, as well as places like parks, NFL stadiums, beach settings and other sites that are temporarily set up to hold games. There are local events where teams from a small geographic area play, regional level events that attract teams from a 200-300 mile radius, national tournaments where teams from around the U.S. gather to compete, and international games that attract teams from around the globe.
Paintball tournaments are categorized in divisions by skill and experience levels. From the bottom up those divisions are Young Guns, Rookie, Novice, Division Four, Division Three, Division Two, Division One, Semi Pro and Professional. Smaller tournaments may have only one or two divisions, usually Rookie and Novice. Larger regional events may have as many as four different divisions playing simultaneously. National and international tournaments almost always host teams in all divisions.
Tournament paintball is highly competitive, with teams vying for prizes as high as one hundred thousand dollars or more.
Tip
One of the biggest mistakes younger teams and players often make is that they try to jump into tournament paintball at a higher level than they should. Encourage your paintball playing child to enter the world of tournament paintball at the lowest level first. Better to underestimate your skill than overestimate it.
Scenario Paintball
“Ground control to Major Tom…”
Scenario paintball is the fastest growing type of paintball game. Scenario games are special themed events that are usually based on a movie storyline, a war reenactment or some other type of script. Sometimes referred to as role playing games or 24-hour games, scenario paintball events are very different from any other type of paintball game or event. The first difference is that most scenario games last anywhere from 12 to 24 hours, with players continually “reinserting” within a few minutes of being eliminated. When players are eliminated they grab a drink, reload and head to specially designated reinsertion zones where they reenter the game. Secondly, scenario games are very family friendly. At most scenario events you’ll find tons of families, groups of friends and teams camping out on the game site. It makes for a very festive atmosphere.
In scenario paintball games/events each player that is registered for the event receives a “mission card” that gives them details about their role in the game. So in addition to simply trying to shoot and eliminate opposing players, you have a strategic, non-shooting role in the game. Some examples of scenario game role are:
- General (the top dog): Each team has a general that runs the show. They order the missions, decide the game strategies, and appoint people to do various jobs.
- Officers: Officers work directly with the generals.
- Medic: In scenario games the medic can “heal” players that have been “shot” in the game.
- Explosives: You have to use your imagination to really understand role playing paintball games. Explosives (nothing actually explodes), grenades, rocket launchers and other larger weapons are used in most games. Several people are deemed in charge of explosives in these events.
- Guard: Someone has to protect the general, right?
During scenario games each team’s players work together to complete dozens of general-assigned missions. Teams are awarded points for completed missions and scores mount through the entire game. In the meantime, eliminating players during the games makes accomplishing those missions a lot easier. In the end the team with the most points wins. What do they win, you ask? Absolutely nothing except bragging rights… and maybe a door prize or two.
Scenario games are open to all levels of player—no specific experience is necessary. That’s one of the best thing s about this type of game. Scenario ball offers the recreational player an opportunity to play the game in a different format, in a very festive atmosphere and with all types of players, and it offers the chance to up the ante from regular walk-on paintball with a higher level of recreational play.
Milsim Games
If you like M-16s, AK-47s & GI Joe, you’ll love milsim
Milsim, or military simulation, simply refers to the equipment used by some that play rec-ball or scenario games. There are a ton of companies that do conversions on standard paintball guns or that offer upgrade milsim kits for markers. One of the things to remember if your kid opts for the milsim paintball gun look is that these types of guns are very realistic. These guns can even fool the police and that’s not a good thing if you’re toting your marker in public (which you should never do under any circumstances).
A true story…
The first time I played paintball (in 1985) the walk on fee was $36 and a case of paintballs was $250. Paintball guns back then used small disposable C02 cartridges that cost about .25 cents each. A day’s play back then would cost me an average of about $90. That field I played at was Skirmish USA in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, and to be fair, their prices were not out of line compared to other fields like theirs at the time.
(NOTE: At Twisted, we generally get in a minimum of 20 rec-ball games per day!)
