Paintball is a team-based game that requires many pieces of equipment to play. At minimum, every player needs a marker with propellant to fire the paintballs, a mask to protect the eyes and face, and a loader that holds the paintballs. Additional equipment can include gloves, a pack designed to comfortably carry pods containing extra paintballs and a barrel sock or plug to prevent the marker from accidentally firing off-course or shooting someone other than intended.
Depending on the type of play, other essential equipment can include a chronograph to measure the speed of paintballs as they leave the marker, which is important for safe and accurate playing. The sport is also regulated by rules and safety guidelines, such as never shooting another player within a certain distance or a “minimum distance” surrender rule.
While some play styles rely on casual walk-on style gameplay with limited planned team tactics, more competitive tournament-style play sees teams and players discussing and planning strategies from the start of each game to the endgame. For example, defending players may discuss and plan to cover attackers that advance on the field while other players stay back and take out defenders before attacking.
Markers, or guns, are the key to this fast-paced sport; they are small electronic-fired weapons that use a trigger to activate a small burst of compressed gas and shoot a painted ball into the air. This compressed gas pushes the ball from behind with much greater force than air on its own, sending the paintball forward at high velocity.