Paintball is a game where players on opposing teams tag each other with a ball expelled from a special airgun called a paint gun. This sport has become one of the most popular sports in America and is also played worldwide. It’s a team-oriented game where intelligence and determination are more important than strength or speed.
Paintball originated in 1981 with a debate between Charles Gaines (author of Pumping Iron), Hayes Noel (a stockbroker) and Bob Gurnsey (a sporting goods retailer). The three friends were debating whether a city dweller with street smarts could beat a country boy with survival skills in the woods. A few years later, they saw an advertisement for Nelson’s paint marker gun in a farm catalog and decided to test their theories.
The first game of paintball took place in June of 1981 on a 100-acre plat of wooded New Hampshire land. Gurnsey drew up the rules for the capture-the-flag-type game and set up four flag stations throughout the field. If a player’s team captured all the flags, they won the game.
Today, there are countless variations of paintball games. But many of the same basic principles remain. Most games involve two teams and a referee to enforce safety and game play rules. For example, players are not allowed to touch another player without permission and any physical contact is considered a foul. Referees will also check to make sure that players do not step outside a field’s boundary lines and are out of the game.