What Exactly is Paintball?

A paintball is basically a capsule of dye made from vegetable oil that comes in different colors and and a few variations. It is used in military style combat games that consist of teams playing against each other. The players of each team have to eliminate the opposing team players by shooting paintballs at them. When a paintball hits a player he is then eliminated frome the game. Variations of the games are noted below.

Paintballs are mainly gelatin capsules that contain colored liquid. This paint or colored liquid is safe and is non-toxic, water soluble and biodegradable. They weigh just a few grams and measure only 1.7 cm in diameter. When hit with one there is no pain involved but they burst open and leave a small splatter of paint on the person where it actually hits. Players use specially made paintball guns to shoot the paintballs at each other in order to score. The use of paintballs provides the players with real time atmosphere and situations as though fighting in real combat.

History of Paintball

Paintball can be traced back to the early 1970s. During this period paintball guns were mainly used as a tool for marking livestock and tress. Then in 1981 a group of friends introduced paintball as a recreational game. At that time they used industrial paintball guns. These friends played this game for the first time on a field of over 100 acres. The game paintball was originally named as The National Survival Game.

Evolution of Paintball Games

The game began as a simple one with the object of the game to hit each other and win. Since then playing paintball games has become popular all over the world. It has become a globally recognized recreational activity. As it evolved it has become much more sophisticated. Today people from around the world form their teams and have set up international tournaments and leagues. There are constant innovations occurring in the development of new games of paintball.

With a growing number of paintball fans the industry is booming. Commercial paintball fields are even being developed. In 1982 the first commercial outdoor paintball field was designed. Since then the development of new fields have kept paintball enthusiasts coming back for more fun and play. Prizes are set up by organizations for the winning teams.

The one thing which sets this game apart from other games is the type of equipment used to play. Players keep updating their paintball guns as newer technology advances.

Paintball Games

Since paintball has become a game, people have developed new styles of game combating. There are a few famous paintball games that are played continually and enjoyed by paintball fans all over the world.

Capture the flag

This is a classic paintball game. This game includes two opposing teams where each team must acquire the opponents flag and hang their flag on a designated location. During the game process the players of the each team must protect their own flag.

When this game is played in tournaments it requires a lot of skill and intelligence. If a team eliminates all the players of the opposing team, with none of their players eliminated and hangs the flag within the allotted time they are said to have maxed the opposition. The term maxed implies that they have scored the maximum possible points that could be achieved in the game which is the ultimate win.

Center flag

This game is similar to capture the flag with one difference. The flag to be captured is hung in the centre of the playing field. The teams fight to capture the flag and hang it on a designated location somewhere on the opponents base.

Elimination

This game requires the elimination of all the members of the opposition. The objective is to hit the players of the opposing team and get them all eliminated. Whichever team eliminates all the players of the opposing team wins the game.