The Excitement of Paintball
Would you believe that the first multi-player paintball game occurred over thirty years ago? Charles Gaines, Bob Guernsey and friends played that first game near Henniker, New Hampshire, USA in June of 1981. Paintball has become so popular since that time that it is now being considered in many quarters as more than a hobby or game but rather as a sport. Given the popularity of paintball, with the development of even international teams and leagues, paintball is on the way to being considered a legitimate professional sport.
But what is this game called paintball? What is the purpose of the game? 
Basically, paintball is a game in which players compete, either in teams or individually, to shoot opponents with capsules containing water soluble dye propelled from a paintball gun. The capsules have a gelatinous outer shell and a non-toxic biodegradable, water soluble mineral oil interior. Upon impact, the capsules break open, spattering paint on the targeted person, thus marking a hit. Sounds a lot like a high tech game of cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians of old, only with live ammo. Paintball capsules are replacing the old verbal “Bang, bangs” or “Gotchas.”
Paintball is played with a variety of rules and variations depending on the venue and the desires of the players. The most basic rule is that players who are hit and marked with a paintball are “out.” What counts as a hit can range from any hit anywhere, whether the paintball broke and left a mark or not, to the most common agreed upon hit, namely the paintball breaking and leaving a mark the size of a US quarter or larger. Players who are hit are expected to leave the field of play, to return or not depending on the predetermined rules of play.
As the rules of paintball are varied, so are the playing fields. They may include play in the natural environment, called woodsball, which spans a large area. Woodsball now refers to any game played in a natural environment instead of in an arena or an artificial field in which barriers or bunkers are arranged. The game may be played on a smaller field with a faster pace, called speedball, with games usually lasting no longer than five minutes. Another interesting variant is scenario paintball, in which players attempt to recreate actual historical or fictional settings in the play.
Paintball may be classified as an extreme activity, that is, one which often involves speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear or spectacular stunts. Paintballs can sting, and for that reason, bodily protection is important. Masks are almost always required equipment in any commercial paintball setting in the field of play, even when a game is not in progress. A stray paintball can cause a serious welt, and need you be reminded of every mother’s words of warning, “You’ll shoot your eye out?” Most commercial settings also enforce a rule of no shooting an opponent who is less than fifteen feet away. Also usually discouraged is “overshooting,” i.e. repeatedly shooting a player after he has been eliminated from the game.
From its roots in the USA paintball has become an international game/sport and can be found in Australia, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, India and South Africa. There have already been World Cups in paintball and professional teams that are subsidized by sponsors. Whether into paintball as a serious sport, or like most of us, just for the fun of it, you can’t help but experience the excitement of the “Bang, bangs” and the “Gotchas.”