JOURNEY-BEAUTIFULMIND-FOOD

No Pain No Gain

~ What is Paintball About ~

Paintball is a competitive game played like any other competitive game, to win. It is like a more challenging, high-stakes version of tag, hide-and-seek, or capture the flag. Because you shoot at other people (and get shot at!), paintball requires specific equipment (goggles, a gun/marker, pressurized gas, and paintballs). Beyond that, paintball is hard to describe. It can be played indoors or out, with as few as two people or as many as 500; a game can last 5 minutes or 24 hours; it’s objective might be to take something, bring something, find something, or to simply be the last person standing.

Depending on the game play you play, tactics will be vary as well -- from being quiet and sneaky and picking your shots carefully, to being loud, fast, and shooting constantly. A paintball game can be different every time, but there’s one thing that stays the same: it’s an adrenaline rush.



~ What Type of Game Should I Play ~

There are probably hundreds of variations of paintball. But the basic two groups of game are rec-ball and tournament. Most people are introduced to paintball through rec-ball and then move on to tournament if they so chose. Rec-ballers and tournament players are often seen as having distinct personalities, so it is up to you to choose what fits you the best. Some people are dedicated rec-ballers who aren’t interested in tournament competition. They feel tourneys overemphasize winning to the point of making the game stressful, not fun.

Other people are dedicated tournament players. If they’re not competing, they’re practicing. These players believe rec-ball is too casual and that tourneys are the way to showcase talent and teamwork. Still other people like to mix it up and play both ways.

Rec-ball and tournament are distinct, but those differences appeal to the player’s own differences. Of course, the best thing is to try both types of games various times and see how you feel. You might end up surprising yourself about your paintball playing tastes! In the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of player you are as long as you remember to be safe, have fun, and stick to the rules.



~ What is Rec-ball? ~

Rec-ball, short for recreational paintball, is a catch-all phrase meaning just about any paintball game that you don’t play for money (ie, tournaments). Rec-ball can include big games, scenarios, walk-ons (where you just show up at a field and get put with other players to form a team), etc.

There are a wide variety of rec-ball playing fields. It is often played in the woods, but can also be played in outdoor concept fields (ie, urban assault, village) or in indoor fields.

Rec-ball is the kind of playing you do for fun, without permanent teams, and where the slate of wins and loses is wiped clean at the end of the day. Dedicated rec-ballers usually think tournament play is too serious.



~ Paintball Assault Tactics ~

Successful paintball assaults require that teammates take on two very different roles – suppression and invasion – to accomplish one goal.

Suppression

Suppression is not a tactic meant to eliminate the enemy, but instead to distract them and shake them up, so they fail to notice your side’s invading team. Paintballers must be very good at concentrating and controlling their fire if they are to be good at suppression.

A suppression team should consist of more than one person. They should realize that their job is not to get the other team’s players out. (That is just an occasional bonus.) Their job is to make the other team keep their heads down when the invading team is trying to move past them. Suppression fire should be concentrated on one target at a time, it must be accurate, it must be steady, and suppressing team players must be willing to move around in order to keep the enemy feeling trapped.

Two or three suppression players constantly harassing one enemy position will make the people hiding there so flustered that they won’t even have the chance to see the invading team sneak past. Don’t get so distracted by carrying out this tactic that you fail to see the enemy’s invasion teams come down your flanks!

Once your invading team is out of danger from one position, forget it and move forward. Either the enemy will retreat or they will be eliminated as your suppression team gets behind them.














Invasion

A paintball invasion team should focus first and foremost on concealment. The team should be made up of a pretty small number of players that are good at being quiet, playing tight, and have patience to pass up shots that will give away their position. This tactic requires you to get to a position where maximum damage can be done, rather than to get a nice shot on one enemy player that didn’t see you coming.

Once the invasion team has made its way downfield and is in a position to take out multiple targets, or get the flag, or whatever the objective is, they should do it with full intensity. Paintball guns are not a quiet way to do anything. Once you fire, people will know where you are and it is up to you to do as much damage as possible before getting taken out yourself. If your damage is bad enough, you may find that the other team is too shocked to mount a counter-attack, and you can make a hasty retreat. But, that option will only present itself if first you unload a bunch of paint into the other team.


Enjoy!!