Paintball is an outdoor team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin pellets called paintballs that break upon impact. The game is played both recreationally and at a formal sporting level with organized competition including major tournaments and professional teams.
The game is typically played on outdoor or indoor arenas that have specific boundaries and barriers behind which players can hide to reduce the likelihood of being hit by an opposing player. Participants can rent or buy their own equipment, which consists of a gun, mask or face shield, BBs (paintballs), and camouflage gear. More advanced participants may carry additional ammunition in pods, which are plastic containers with flip-open lids that hold multiple paintballs. Pods are available in a variety of capacities, from 10, 80 and 100-round sizes most common among recreational players to 140-round pods more commonly used by tournament players. Pods are carried in pod packs, which range from belt loops allowing a player to carry one or two extra pods to harness designs most often used by scenario or tournament-style players.
The most common way to play paintball is in teams of two or more, with the objective of eliminating all members of the opposing team. Other popular games include team deathmatch and capture the flag. The rules and objectives of a paintball game depend on the venue and type of game being played, but can vary from establishing territory control to completing specific tasks in limited time periods (“scenario play”). During a game, players move around the playing field using natural or artificial terrain for cover, and may also use objects within the facility for tactical purposes.