Paintball is an extreme sport which teaches teamwork and leadership skills. It is also a competitive sport where players try to eliminate the other team by hitting them with paintballs.
Originally, paintball was invented by Charles Gaines. He was a bodybuilder, and saw an advertisement for a paint gun. The first commercial paintball field opened up in 1982.
Several different variants of paintball are played today. Some are casual walk-on games, while others are more formal. In most professional fields, any hit on a player or their equipment is counted.
If a player is hit, they must raise the gun over their head and shout “Hit!”. Generally, a significant splatter is difficult to tell from a direct hit. When this happens, the player should call for a paint check.
Speedball is a fast paced competitive paintball game which is played on a small field. Players use hundreds of paintballs during a game.
Woodsball is a more natural form of paintball where players are free to roam in a wooded area. These games can be either a capture the flag, or a team death match.
Scenario paintball is a more historical type of play that enables players to recreate a particular setting. For example, one might be in the middle of a battlefield in the First World War.
Another popular variation is MilSim. This aims to give the player a feel of what the military does in real life. It stresses logistics of combat and limited resources.