How do you play?

Paintball is most often played on a playing field out in the open. Although there are some indoor arenas. Each player gets an air gun and two teams are typically divided. Usually the teams play the childhood game of capture the flag. Each of the teams with different colored arm bands goes into the forest and tries to find the other team's flag. The object of the game is to capture the other teams flag and bring it back to your base and touch it to your flag in a given time period without getting eliminated. Getting eliminated is defined by being hit with a paintball and having it break (splat) on you. Referees will throw you out once you are eliminated. The paintballs are marble sized spherical containers that hold paint and have a hard shell to enable the gun to launch it long distances. It is an egg with a hard shell and goey interior. The guns are typically guns with a barrel to launch the paintball, a trigger to activate the launch procedure, a resevoir to hold extra paintballs, and some type of pressurized gas to provide propulsion. Typically, depending on your style, you will get hit a few times during the day. The hits leave a little bit of redness and really do not hurt. I usually can sustain many hits in a row and not even be slightly phased.

Once however, I was shot in the arm from about 3 inches away. That one did hurt and even broke skin. I was hiding behind a tree when someone ran up on me and asked me to surrender from the other side of the tree. I stuck my arm out and shot at him. Eventually he hit my bicep from real close. Unless you are psychotic you will not be injured in any way.

One thing I've learned in my short experience is that paintball guns are not accurate at all. Not one bit. No matter what anyone tells you. So don't be afriad. More on this discussed later.