Paintball FAQ

This is one of the biggest mistakes we see all of the time when people turn up to play paintball, and that's what they are wearing, as you need to think about where you will be playing paintball, which most of the time is played in woodland, so you don't want to wear any bright colours and this goes for both your clothing and footwear. The venue will supply you with overalls to wear over your clothing, so you want to try and wear dark clothing and also clothes that you don't mind getting dirty.

This is the same for your footwear, you don't want to wear bright coloured trainers/boots as you will be spotted by the other team and used for target practice. Also make sure that your footwear is comfortable, which you can run around in as you will be on your feet for the whole game, as well as getting up and down off the ground as you try to attack the other team and get in to position.

When you get to the venue you will be put into teams to play against each other to see who is the winning team, you will also be told what the objective of the game you are about to play, so make sure you listen as you don't want to start the game and not understand what your team needs to do to win.

Once you are ready to start the game you want to plan your attack as a team, the first thing you want to do is look around you, can you see a map to make a mental note, can you plan for covering firing, or even a great area to retreat to as a team to rethink your attack and re-launch your second wave. You also want to use this time to look for other areas that you can use to move forward, it's also important that if you have an idea to let your team know about it, and to plan what each other is going to do when moving forward and attacking the other team.

Remember, when the game starts you don't want to just run up the middle. This is one of the worst things we see, the reason for that is you just become target practice for the other team. What you want to try and do is stick to the side of the game area, and try to work around the other team to try and get in position to attack from all sides, then once you are all in position you can all open fire at the same time, so that the other team does not know what has hit them. (apart from flying paintballs from all angles)

Paintball is a team game, and your team is only going to win by working together. Paintball is a fun-filled game and you will want your team to win. When the game starts you all need to have an agreed plan. Stay in pairs as you move forward so you can watch each others back. Make sure you cover each others back to check the other team are not trying to work their way around you.

As you move let your teammate know, otherwise you will move and they will be looking the other way to check your cover as you run off and leave them behind, so make sure that you communicate with each other.

One of the biggest things people forget about when playing paintball is to use your surroundings, and to try and stay stealth for as long as you can, this way you can use the Element of Surprise. Paintball will normally be played in the woods, so you will have trees and bushes. The venue will have put up areas of cover and props that will make the game more interesting. Those may include a mixture of wooden buildings, tree trunks stacked up, or even an old military vehicle or helicopter.

Try and use the different items you have as you move around the game without being spotted by the other team, this will help you to get into position to attack and win the game. Use the cover to make sure you keep moving with your team and stick with your game buddy, 2 pairs of eyes are better than one.

The paintball gun was never designed to be what it is today, in fact it was deigned by Charles Nelson in the 1960's and looked like a small hand gun instead of what it looks like now, the design was for farmers and park rangers to accurately mark trees and livestock from a distance. Charles also invented and patented the balls for marking, which we now know as paintballs. Once Charles was happy with the product he then tried to market it, but sadly this idea would fail at first. So with a second attempt in 1972 Charles went to Daisy who are renowned manufacturers of the BB gun, who then took the idea and created what we now know and love as the paintball gun. This is still not where Paintball as we know it started, as the new design of gun was still only used to mark trees and live stock.

Then in 1981, so 21 years after the paintball gun was first designed, some friends wanted to see who was better at survival between city folk or country folk. They saw an advert for the paint marker, which at this time was still only used for marking live stock and trees. But the friends saw something more, and wanted to create a game using the paintball guns to see which team would win by playing a game with 6 city folk and 6 country folk.

The idea of the first ever paintball game was to capture the flag without being eliminated, and you can still play capture the flag at most paintball venues today. All players were given the Nel-Spot 007 markers, eye protection, and a map of the 100-acre woodlands in New Hampshire, USA on the 7th of June 1981. The first ever paintball game was won by a forester called Ritchie White, without him ever firing a single shot.

This is a common misunderstanding. The reason for this is that the name includes the word paint, so a lot of people believe that they are made of paint, and also that they will stain your clothing. The truth is that at the start paintballs were made of paint, but this was because they were designed to mark trees and live stock, so they needed to stain whatever they hit. Today paintballs are made from non-toxic gelatin capsules filled with a water-soluble, which is also biodegradable. The paintballs are also safe to eat if you wanted to, but they don't taste nice at all, and it's not something we would recommend.

The speed of paintballs is measured in feet per second, and can travel up to a maximum speed of 300 feet per second (so you won't out run them), also keep in mind that paintball guns can fire up to 15 paintballs per second, so you have a lot to miss if the other team spot you, also keeping in mind that it's not just one person firing at you.

The speed of the paintballs can vary from venue to venue, but 300 feet per second is the maximum speed allowed by the International Paintball Players Association, which was founded as a non-profit association in the 1980s for the safety of the players and the venues.

Most paintball games will have around 15-20 players, which will then be normally split into 2 teams, and the games can last minutes or hours. The biggest paintball game ever was with around 4,000 players for a D-Day re-enactment, and this is played most years, plus it can last up to 2 days.

As mentioned above paintballs can travel up to a maximum speed of 300 feet per second, and the paintball guns can fire up to 15 paintballs a second, so subject to where you get hit will make a big difference if it hurts. If you get hit on a more fatty part of your body, or the main mass of your body then you may not even notice that you have been hit. It may take one of your teammates or the Safety Marshall who will be watching the game to let you know. If you get hit on your hands, arms, legs or the back of your head, then this will hurt for a few seconds and you will know about it. We do recommend that you wear gloves and a hoody to offer you some additional protection, which you don't mind getting dirty.

Paintball is a physical game where you will be running around and getting hot, and getting down on the ground and behind items for cover as you play the game. Over your clothing you will be wearing overalls, you want to make sure that you are wearing something comfortable that you can easily move around in, and also that you don't mind getting dirty. This is also the same for your footwear as you don't want to wear footwear that you are not used to wearing.

As well as wearing comfortable clothing and footwear, you don't want to wear bright clothing and footwear as this may make you stand out and become target practice, it is also recommended that you don't wear jewelry as this may come off and be lost forever, this includes rings unless you are going to wear gloves.

Paintball games can vary at different venues, but on average will last somewhere between 15 minutes to 1 hour, you will then normally be given a short rest before being told what the objective is for your next game as you will normally play a few games when you choose a venue, to find a venue near you - click here.

The game of Paintball is very safe, in-fact it's safer than playing football or tennis, so if you have any worries then hopefully this will help to put your mind at ease. The reason paintball is so safe is that all venues have to give you a full face mask to offer you protection, as well as overalls to help protect you from stinging nettles, shrubs and any other items. The overalls are also there to offer you some protection when you are hit by the paintballs. Some venues will give you additional protection such as a protective vest, gloves, and protection for your neck, and the back of your head.