Paintball is a team or individual game played with a gun that shoots capsules filled with water-soluble dye and a gelatin outer shell. It is played both for recreation and at a formal sporting level, with organized competition involving major tournaments and professional teams. It can be played indoors or outdoors on fields of varying sizes and natural or artificial terrain, which may be used for tactical cover. Game goals may include capturing or eliminating opponents, or completing a set of objectives such as “woodsball” (played in natural environment with long games), “speedball” (played on a smaller field with high-pace games), or a “scenario” game (where players attempt to recreate historical or fictional settings).
The gun is operated by cocking it, which allows pressurized gas from the tank to flow through the barrel and propel the paintball out at a high velocity. The player marks his or her opponents by hitting them with the paintball, which leaves a solid mark of a specified minimum size on the player’s clothing or equipment. A player is considered hit if the mark meets this minimum size specification, and most professional fields or tournaments also count hits to the player’s marker or pod pack.
Players wear protective gear, such as masks and chest protectors to protect from impacts and a padded jacket or vest to help cushion blows to the torso. Most players also wear a hat or toque to shield the forehead from direct paintball impacts and to keep sweat from running down into the face of the mask. Some players also use “Timmys”, which are small tubes that fit over the mouth and nose to allow breathing while playing in a prone position, without the need for an open-faced mask.