Paintball 101 (Part 2)

For the second installment of Paintball 101, I'd like to touch upon a few different ways paintballers play their game. Before I was a paintballer, I was a skier and I introduced a number of my friends to that sport. Of course, when people invision trying something new they bring their pre-conceived ideas of what it would be like. With skiing, people would envision adrenalin junkies hucking it off cliffs, tricksters bounding down the moguls or speedsters barreling down a run. The truth of the matter is that there is a spectrum of activities to fit the ability and energy levels one brings to the sport. I feel this is as true for Paintball as it was for skiing.

The most common form of play at your local paintball field will probably be a Rec Game (as in Recreational). Your local field may have multiple fields on which to play. After a saftey brief, two teams are divided from the available players and a ref usually chooses a field on which to play. Depending on the where the ref chooses, you may be playing in the woods (with just trees or the natural terrain for cover), a town (consisting of a cluster of simple buildings) or a "Speedball" type field with inflatable bunkers. Other common bunkers / features that you may find are wooden pallets, old vehicles, large-diameter corrugated drainage pipes or even multi-level castles. The two most common objectives for a rec game would be to capture and return with the opposing force's flag or to eliminate the opposing team (referred to as Capture the Flag and Elimination). If the players tire of this style of play a ref will sometimes suggest a simple scenario for a game. A popular scenario objective would be for two or three players to defend a building against a larger force (á la Blackhawk Down) or for a small force to escort a VIP to a location on the field with out the VIP or team getting eliminated (VIP Escort). Rec Games are usually short and don't last more than 10-15 minutes. On a small field, it's possible for the game to only last a couple minutes. When a player is eliminated, he or she waits until the next game to play again.

Out of the original recreational games evolved a style of play commonly referred to as speedball. Speedball is probably the type of game you'd see on ESPN and it is played on professional, semi-professional, regional, and local levels. There are various leagues and organizing/sanctioning bodies that maintain there own sets of play rules. Layouts vary but a speedball field usually has symmetrically laid out inflatable bunkers and the games are a combination of Elimination and Capture the Flag with a defined scoring system. Players are on teams that could vary from a group of neighborhood friends playing in an amateur division to paid athletes from around the globe playing a Pro division. Tournaments vary from local to international. Speedball fields are fun to play on whether your a tournament player or a beginning recreational player. A rec game on a speedball field tends to be quick and rewards players who communicate well and move quickly.

A third form of play is Scenario paintball. Very simply, this style of play has a game designed around a particular back-story or "scenario". The game objectives are weaved into the story-line and points are awarded to the teams that complete the objectives. A tally of the points at the end of the game reveals the winner. Scenarios vary from historical battles to fantasy/science fiction to themes based on video games and motion pictures. The scenario possibilities are only limited by the imagination of the players and producers. Scenario games based on WWII battles are prolific. Name a battle and someone has probably done a scenario game based on it. Skirmish USA in Pennsylvania has a game based on the Invasion of Normandy that well over 4,000 people attended a few years back. Over 4,000 also attend Oklahoma D-Day, where the festivities are a week long! Of course these are extreme examples. A small local field may see under 100 players and a medium size field could see 300-500 players. Over the past few years a number of fields have started running small monthly scenario games as well.

In forms of paintball other than scenario, players generally want to shoot out as many of the opposition force as possible. In scenario games it may be more advantageous to avoid many firefights. Completing objectives is far more important than eliminating members of the other team. Besides the fact that points are not usually given for eliminations, eliminated players usually respawn from their "deadbox" every 15 minutes, or in some cases, continually (an eliminated player would only be out for as long as it takes to walk to the designated re-insertion point). Some scenario objectives could be to take and control an area of the field, to find and retrieve an object, to escort a VIP or to place an object, an explosives satchel perhaps, at a given location. Of course counter-missions could be to defend a position, to protect an object, to capture or assassinate a VIP, etc. Most teams need good control of a field to run a bunch of missions. If your the type of player that is not interested in actually running missions and would rather be in firefights all day, there is still plenty of action for you at a scenario game. The missions will win the game, but your team's field position makes running the missions possible. Scenario games have places to utilize the strengths of various players of differing play styles. At many games, newer players newer are often sent to the front lines while some of the more seasoned teams generally run the missions. This is not always the case and it's not always done purposefully. Newbies tend to follow the sounds of the firefights and sometimes may be intimidated by the complicated business of mission running. The experienced mission teams know where to go and who to talk to for missions. If you think you'd like running missions, find your side's general or XO and ask to tag along with a mission team.

I've detailed a bit more in this post about scenario paintball because it's the type of paintball that I play most. I think a scenario game is a great place for a first timer or beginner to play. As I mentioned before, many times re-insertion is continuous so while you may have to take a walk to respawn there shouldn't be too much downtime where your standing around waiting to play. Also this gives time to fill up your air tank and get more paintballs if needed. When it comes time for you to re-engage the opposing force, you may have a chance to access the battle from a new angle.

My next game is Stalingrad at Skirmish USA on March 14. Let me know if your interested in going.