Looking one last time you run out from your cover, hoping, wishing, and praying that you won't be hit. With a thud you collapse behind another barrier in which enemy paintballs thump against with adrenaline rushing fierceness. You quickly spring up and fire a few paintballs in the general direction of your attacker to keep him at bay before dropping back down to safety; time to advance again. You quickly repeat the process, this time shooting the offender in the leg with two rounds. You hear the words that make your heart beat faster in exhilaration, "I'm hit!"
What is paintball exactly? It can be defined as a sport where a bunch of adults (loosely defined) go to a playing field and relive childhood adventures of playing capture the flag. Only, this time each player has a gun that fires gelatin capsules filled with water-soluble marking dye. If you are shot and marked you are out of the game and have to wait until the next one begins. The most common game is played by two teams with the goal of capturing the opposing team's flag while protecting their own. The basic strategy is: shoot them before they shoot you and then recover the flag. Of course, it's not always that easy. There are many ways to play paintball, but it's best to start out with something simple.
Like football, basketball, or any other contact sport, paintball can be dangerous if certain safety rules are not followed, or if appropriate safety gear is not worn properly. Most paintball guns, or markers as some paintball gurus call them, shoot a 68 caliber paint pellet at the speed of 200 to 300 feet per second, powered by a CO2 cylinder. Since the paintballs or pellets are fairly light, weighing only a few grams each, they are not lethal like the heavy bullets fired from conventional firearms. None-the-less, safety is always a big factor in this sport; players should always wear proper gear, this includes face masks or goggles. I would highly recommend goggles made specifically for use in paintball.
This is a sport with widespread popularity that has continued to grow over the years. You can play in a large variety of places, from in the depths of the forest in the mountains, to a field behind your house, or even at local paintball courses.
For the beginner I would recommend going to a paintball course where you can rent a gun and use their safety equipment. I see no benefit from buying all the gear before you actually know for sure if you like the game or not.
There is nothing like your first game, but don't let yourself fall prey to those ugly rookie mistakes. Here are a few tips that will help you get an edge on other newbies as well as a few novice players:
1. Always keep your safety gear on while on the field. Guys might want to look into using an athletic cup, and ladies, a chest guard might be found useful.
2. You have to have good paint to shoot accurately, if you have a fairly decent gun and good quality paintballs you will do much better than if you have an excellent gun but bad paint. Bad paintballs will blow up in your gun, this might be because your CO2 is coming out too fast, but could also be caused by using low quality or pre-fired paintballs. A paintball that has been previously fired without breaking could possibly cause damage to your marker, so you may want to think twice before loading those balls you found on the ground into your hopper.
3. Don't stay in one place, this gives your opponent the opportunity to sneak around and shoot you from the side. But when you do move make sure you know where you are going before you jump away from your cover. Try to move in a zig-zag fashion, this will make you a harder target to hit.
4. Scope out the course before you begin the game, if you have any questions about loading your gun or replacing CO2 tanks ask them before the game commences. Make sure you know what the course calls are for when you get hit, there is nothing worse than standing up as a live target in the middle of enemy fire.
5. You should get to know your team members better. Ask the team captain or the more experienced players what strategies they prefer to use, incorporate what you'd like to your personal strategy and leave the rest. Never be afraid to take advice.
6. If you are playing paintball outdoors take into consideration the following equipment: Hiking shoes will make those mad dashes a little easier on your ankles, knee and elbow pads will stop those stickers from stabbing into you while commando-crawling through the brush, and if it's hot outside a water bottle might come in handy.
7. Always play to have fun. There is no room for bad sportsmanship on the playing field. Don't ruin your playing time or that of others because of a bad attitude. It's not worth it, especially when one of the senior players has it out for you. Have a good attitude and they won't be waiting to pick you off.