:: Playing the game ::

Paintball is a combination of the childhood games "tag" and "hide & seek," but is much more challenging and sophisticated. Paintball is a sport played by people from all professions and life styles. It is a sport where women and men compete equally, and where age is not dominated by youth. Physical size and strength are not as important as intelligence and determination. Like a game of chess, being able to think quickly and decisively is what makes you a star. Paintball also is a character-building sport. Players learn the importance of teamwork and gain self-confidence while developing leadership abilities. Paintball is an exciting sport, and above all paintball is fun! It's a chance to shake off your day-to-day responsibilities and rekindle your spirit of adventure. Once the adrenaline starts pumping, you can't help but love the thrill of the game!

Games have time limits, varied by the number of players and the size of the field. For smaller games of up to 25 on a side, the games usually have a time limit of 15 or 20 minutes. For games with more players, time limits may be 30 to 45 minutes per game. With teams of one to five players, games usually are from 3 to 10 minutes. Referees on the field start and stop games, enforce the rules of fair play, and control the sport's safety. Paintball play sites have a referee staff and may run several games at the same time on different parts of their play site. Each playing field has a marked boundary. A player who goes out of bounds is eliminated from that game. Between games, players take a break to check their equipment, reload paintballs and have a snack or a soda while they share stories about the thrills of victory and the usually-funny agonies of defeat. Win or lose, everyone has a good time and there's always the next game waiting for you!

:: Safety ::

Paintball's superb safety record compared with other sports is largely attributable to the attention that has been paid to safety concerns from the very beginnings of the game. High strength goggles are always a requirement at any field as well as barrel plugs and chronographs. Barrel plugs are an internationally-accepted safety item for paintball. Barrel plugs are required in all non-shooting areas and whenever a referee requires that plugs be inserted

Chronographs are also mandatory for paintball. These devices measure the velocity at which the paintball is leaving the barrel of the marker. The international speed limit is 300 feet per second (fps). For indoor or other close range play, the speed limits are lower. In tournaments, penalties for exceeding the speed limit have cost many teams a trip to the finals--tournament directors have no sense of humor when it comes to enforcing safety rules. Referees enforce safety and playing rules, as well as start and stop every game. They tend to chose brightly colored outfits, and players are generally not allowed to wear uniforms that resemble ref clothing. They are also called judges or marshals.

:: Paintballs ::

A paintball is a round capsule with colored liquid inside it. A paintball's thin outer shell is usually made of gelatin. Paintballs are similar to large round vitamin capsules or bath oil beads. The most common paintball size is .68" in diameter. The fill inside a paintball is non-toxic, non-caustic, water-soluble and biodegradable. It rinses out of clothing and washes off skin with mild soap and water. Paintballs come in a rainbow of colors, such as blue, pink, white, orange, red, yellow, green, and other bright hues. The outer shell of a paintball may be a color swirl, or two-toned. The inner fill may be a different color from the color of the outer shell. When a paintball tags a player, the thin outer layer of the paintball splits open, and the liquid fill inside leaves a bright "paint" mark. A player who is marked is eliminated from the game. Usually the mark must be the size of a U.S. quarter to be considered big enough to eliminate the player. Smaller amounts of fill that marks a player is called splatter and usually do not eliminate the player.