Paintball is unbelievably accessible, you don't even need to own the equipment to play it. All you need for a paintball game in most centres is decent footwear (trainers / boots), and the other equipment is all provided by the centre.

The centre will normally provide such equipment as:

• Camouflaged boiler suit & hood to keep your clothes paint free, and protect the head.

• Paintball gun, usually a semi-automatic,

• Ammo, enough to get you started, but may need to purchase more,

• Specialised paintball mask, which protects vulnerable areas of the face from pellets.

• Co2 Gas Fills, the power behind your paintball gun.

• Supervision by marshals, to ensure safe play.

The Event

As chaotic as it may sometimes seem, paintball is not just running around shooting. There is usually some objective to the game. Different centers use different "scenarios", the more popular of which include;

Capture the Flag - battle in to enemy territory to steal their flag, requires offensive and defensive approaches, as your own flag is also under threat.

Elimination - The objective is to take out every member of the opposing team.

Role Playing Scenario - large scale mission based scenario, with more players, more realistic war recreation.

Other quite original scenarios are also used, sometimes unique to any one paintball centre.

Championships

If your enthusiasm grows for paintballing, there is always the option to take it more seriously, by purchasing your own gun, joining regional paintball teams / clans, and entering championships and tournaments.

As teams need to be identified for clarity, camouflage is rarely used in competition events, instead, easily recognisable team colours are used

Tournaments range right up to national and international level, sometimes played in stadiums, to introduce spectators to view the action. Examples of top level competition include the mayhem wold masters and the 7-man world cup.

Guns

For those who buy their own guns, the choice is wide, but can be broken down in to main categories:

Pump Action - Require cocking (pumping) for each shot, often required for pistol sized guns.

Semi-Automatic - A very popular class of gun, semi's enables several shots to be fired off without having to cock each one. This is thanks to the Co2 used to power shots.

Electro-Pneumatics - Advanced guns which have microchips which control timing of loading and firing shots. A rate of several shots per second can be achieved due to its electronic efficiency.

• Very exciting war-like simulation

• Very good cost to fun ratio! (low cost, high fun!)

• Low chance of injury thanks to protective equipment.

Bad points

• Need to find a paintball centre in a reasonably accessible location.

• Some centers charge further small costs for extra pellets. (adds to the cost slightly if you are a bit trigger happy!)

• Most centres are outdoors, and play normally continues in the rain.

• Organise a team from work/clubs/etc - it's surprisingly satisfying when you hit certain people you know!

• The most important item is not you gun, but your goggles/mask. Wear it at all times without exception, unless you are in a designated safe zone of the paintball park.

• If you really want to win, study team tactics, because it's not all about spraying shots everywhere, Schwarzenegger style!

Paintball Resources