Editing Paintball (section)

== Gameplay ==
[[File:Competitive Paintball.png|thumb|Two players after a round of competitive paintball]]
Paintball is played with a potentially limitless [[Paintball variations|variety of rules and variations]], which are specified before the game begins. The most basic game rule is that players must attempt to accomplish a goal without being shot and marked with a paintball. A variety of different rules govern the legality of a hit, ranging from "anything counts" (hits cause elimination whether the paintball broke and left a mark or not) to the most common variation: the paintball must break and leave a mark the size of a US quarter or larger. Eliminated players are expected to leave the field of play; eliminations may also earn the opposing team points.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Zb4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,13377142&dq=basic+paintball+rules|title=Paintball Planet features competitive fun|publisher=Cherokee County Herald|access-date=September 16, 2009|author=McCarthy, Chris|archive-date=January 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112224255/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Zb4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,13377142&dq=basic+paintball+rules|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paintball-apl.com/APL%202003%20Rules%2004-03-03.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030502081811/http://www.paintball-apl.com/APL%202003%20Rules%2004-03-03.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2003 |title=APL Rules |access-date=July 11, 2012 }}</ref> Depending on the agreed upon game rules, the player may return to the field and continue playing, or is eliminated from the game completely.

The particular goal of the game is determined before play begins; examples include ''[[capture the flag]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/business/the-executive-life-the-satisfying-silliness-of-the-paintball-wars.html|title=The Executive Life; The Satisfying Silliness Of the Paintball Wars|access-date=September 15, 2009|author=Billard, Mary|date=October 20, 1991|publisher=The New York Times Company|archive-date=October 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021085218/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/business/the-executive-life-the-satisfying-silliness-of-the-paintball-wars.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''elimination''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/01/13/indoor_paintball_site_targets_the_rapid_growth_of_sport/|title=Indoor paintball site targets the rapid growth of sport|access-date=September 15, 2009|date=January 13, 2005|author=Ewing, Bill|newspaper=The Boston Globe|archive-date=December 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215232359/http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/01/13/indoor_paintball_site_targets_the_rapid_growth_of_sport/|url-status=live}}</ref> Paintball has spawned popular variants, including [[woodsball]], which is played in the natural environment and spans across a large area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.www.dennews.com/media/storage/paper309/news/2007/09/28/TheVerge/Paintball.Addictive.To.Players-2998458.shtml|publisher=The Daily Eastern News|title=Paintball addictive to players|author=Peters, Kristina|access-date=September 15, 2009|date=September 28, 2007|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023010928/http://media.www.dennews.com/media/storage/paper309/news/2007/09/28/TheVerge/Paintball.Addictive.To.Players-2998458.shtml|archive-date=October 23, 2010}}</ref> Conversely, the variant of [[speedball (paintball)|speedball]] is played on a smaller field and has a very fast pace with games as brief as two minutes fifteen seconds in the (NSL) or lasting up to twenty minutes in the PSP (Paintball Sports Promotions).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.simivalleyacorn.com/news/2006-07-07/Sports/020.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126150440/http://www.simivalleyacorn.com/news/2006-07-07/Sports/020.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 26, 2010|title=Paintball's popularity continues to spread|access-date=April 7, 2010|author=Gase, Thomas|publisher=Simi Valley Acorn}}</ref> Another variant is [[scenario paintball]], in which players attempt to recreate historical, or fictional settings.

=== Tournament ===
[[File:Hostility Paintball Team.jpg|thumb|Hostility Paintball Team at CPPS]]
Tournaments are skill based competitions. These are often bracket tournaments with 5 person teams, taking place on [[Speedball (paintball)]] fields. Tournaments such as the NXL hold different events throughout the summer months all over the United States with a range of skill divisions. Other series such as the Ultimate Woodsball League (UWL) play tournaments with large teams on large wooded fields. The types of tournaments and applicable skill divisions vary wildly to serve the diverse interest of paintball competitors.

The CPPS ('''Central Premier Paintball Series''') is the leading paintball tournament event in the UK and only hosts tournament style paintball. Everything is played on sup air fields (inflatable bunkers on flat grass) and games are timed and scored.

=== Speedball ===
{{Main|Speedball (paintball)}}
Speedball is played in an open field that could be compared to a soccer field, it is flat with a minimum of natural obstacles, and sometimes artificial turf is used, especially in indoor fields. The first speedball fields were constructed with flat wooden obstacles staked into the ground to provide cover; this concept was further developed into a number of urban-scenario field styles with larger building-like obstacles for casual play, but speedball itself progressed to using smaller obstacles made from plastic drainage pipe, which offered a more variable field layout and some "give" to the obstacles for increased safety. This style of play was often referred to as "Hyperball". Eventually, inflatable fabric "bunkers" were developed based on common obstacle shapes from previous fields, such as "snake" and "can" bunkers. Often referred to as "Airball", the use of these inflatable obstacles both increases player safety by reducing potential injury from collisions with obstacles, and allows them to be easily moved to reconfigure the field or to set up temporary fields.

=== Woodsball ===
{{Main|Woodsball}}
Woodsball, or "Bushball", is a fairly recent term that refers to what was the original form of the game: teams competing in a wooded or natural environment, in which varying amounts of stealth and concealment tactics can offer an advantage. The term is commonly used as a synonym for specialized scenario-based play, but it technically refers to virtually any form of paintball played in fields primarily composed of natural terrain and cover such as trees and berms, instead of manmade obstacles. Usually the gamemode is ''team death match'' although some times it is ''capture the flag'', or ''protect the president'' (where one player is chosen as the "president", the president's team must protect the president, the enemy team must eliminate the president).

=== Scenario ===
{{Main|Scenario paintball}}
Commonly referred to as "Big Games" or "Scenario Games". "Big Games" refer to territory control based gameplay, while a "Paintball Scenario" refers to a game where tasks are given to each side at timed intervals. Pioneered by Wayne Dollack, "Scenario Paintball" focus much more heavily on Live Action Roleplaying events, elevating their immersion, storyline, and game play mechanics above the paintball aspect of play. Many variations and combinations of these games are currently played and are unique to each event and event producer. The game uses the entire venue it is at, combining all normal gaming fields into 1 large playing area. Popular examples of the scenario format are Paintball's Grand Finale at Wayne's World (Ocala, Florida), Cousin's Big Game in Coram, New York (on Long Island), Hell Survivor's Monster Game (just outside Pinckney, Michigan), Invasion of Normandy at Skirmish U.S.A in Pennsylvania, [[Oklahoma D-Day]] (in Wyandotte, Oklahoma), Fight For Asylum at PRZ Paintball (Picton, Ontario), Battle Royale at Flag Raiders Paintball (Kitchener, Ontario), the Sherwood Classic at Sherwood Forest (La Porte, Indiana), and Free Finale at Low Country Paintball (Ludowici, GA) events which draws in 100 to 5000 players and run at least 6 hours of uninterrupted play, most often averaging 12 hours of play in 2 days. "True24" scenario events run at least 24 hours continuously, the most recent one taking place in May 2019 at Sherwood Forest. These formats vary widely and are frequently historical MilSim, movie, or pop culture themed.

=== MilSim ===
[[MilSim]] ("Military Simulation") is a mode of play designed to create an experience closer to military reality, where the attainment of specific objectives is the most important aspect of the game.

MilSim addresses the logistics of combat, mission planning and execution, and dealing with limited resources and ammunition. Players are typically eliminated from the game when struck by paint just like in any traditional game of paintball. MilSim is a popular gamemode also played in Airsoft, which is a similar sport to paintball.

With the advent of shaped projectiles, such as the First Strike, and the resulting development of magazine fed markers, a considerable increase in range, accuracy and MILSIM realism was gained.  Functionally speaking, magazine-fed markers are no different from any other paintball marker, with one exception.  Instead of paintballs being gravity fed from a bulky hopper, which sits above the marker, shaped projectiles (or paintballs) are fed from a spring-loaded magazine from the bottom of the marker.  The caliber of both the gravity fed and magazine fed markers are the same (.68 caliber) and the velocities are also generally the same.  The increased range and accuracy of the shaped projectile comes from the higher ballistic coefficient that the shaped projectile has, and the gyroscopic spin imparted onto the projectile from a rifled barrel and fins on the projectile itself. Magazine fed markers and shaped projectiles have allowed marker designs to more closely approximate the styling and functionality of actual (real steel) firearms, which in turn has given paintball a better avenue to compete with Airsoft in the MilSim environment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.airsplat.com/MilSim|title=Airsoft MilSim - Military Simulation|website=www.airsplat.com|access-date=May 11, 2016|archive-date=May 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513102125/http://www.airsplat.com/MilSim|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

=== MFOG ===
Mag-Fed Only Game. An increasingly popular style of game play that forbids bulk loading devices such as the traditional paintball "hopper" or "loader" and under or back mounted

=== Time Trials ===
A single player paintball attraction in which participants move through a closed course and shoot at a succession of targets. Runs are timed and competition among players is through a leader board, competing to be the quickest.

=== Zombie Hunt ===
A static (or mobile) entertainment attraction. Venue staff are padded up and dressed as zombies. Paintball markers are mounted to a flat bed trailer. Participants are taken on a "Haunted Hay Ride" style attraction, towed through the property, where they defend themselves from the zombie hordes with paintballs. Generally, black lights and glow in the dark paintballs are used as ammo.

=== Enforcement of game rules ===
Regulated games are overseen by [[referees]] or [[marshals]], who patrol the course to ensure enforcement of the rules and the safety of the players.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paintball Risk Assessement{{sic|nolink=yes}}|work=Mayhem Paintball |url=http://www.mayhem-paintball.co.uk/about/Risk%20Assessement%20for%20Mayhem%20Paintballing%20London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517101828/http://www.mayhem-paintball.co.uk/about/Risk%20Assessement%20for%20Mayhem%20Paintballing%20London |archive-date=May 17, 2019}}</ref> If a player is marked with paint, they will call them out, but competitors may also be expected to follow the [[code of conduct|honor code]]; a broken ball means elimination. Field operators may specify variations to this rule, such as requiring a tag to certain body locations only – such as the head and torso only.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=140&article=27733|title=Paintball warriors embrace fast and furious version known as 'speedball'|access-date=March 20, 2010 |author=Zimmerman, Fred|publisher=Stars and Stripes|date=March 13, 2005}}</ref> There are game rules that can be enforced depending on the venue, to ensure safety, balance the fairness of the game or eliminate cheating.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 4, 2022 |title=How to play Paintball: 100% Easy Guide - IOP |work=IOP |url=https://itsonlypaintball.com/how-to-play-paintball-easy-guide/ |access-date=September 19, 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171617/https://itsonlypaintball.com/how-to-play-paintball-easy-guide/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''Masks On''' Even when a game is not in progress, virtually all venues enforce a ''masks-on'' rule while players are within the playing area. More generally, within any given area of the park, either all players'/spectators'/officials' masks must be on, or all players' markers must either have a barrel block in place or be disconnected from their gas source, to ensure that a paintball cannot be fired from any nearby marker and cause eye injury. Some fields encourage players to aim away from opponents' heads during play if possible; splatter from mask hits can penetrate ventilation holes in the goggles and cause eye irritation, close-range hits to the mask can cause improperly maintained lenses to fail, and hits to unprotected areas of the face, head and neck are especially painful and can cause more serious injury.<ref>Paintball Shooting Tactics at ExtremeSports101 - ''Getting a head shot looks cool and because there's so much hard surface, there's a good chance that the paint will break. However, there are definite downsides to going for an opponent's head. There's also a good chance that the player will end up eating some paint or - worse yet - get hit in the neck, which is quite painful. If players do not change their lenses as often as they should (and few players do!), a hit to the lenses may cause them to break.''</ref>
* '''Minimum distance''' – When being tagged, depending on the distance from where the shot was fired, a direct paintball impact commonly causes bruises. In certain areas and at close range, these impacts may leave welts, or even break the skin and cause bleeding. To decrease these risks and the severity of associated injuries, commercial venues may enforce a minimum distance, such as {{convert|4.5|m|ft}}, within which players cannot shoot an opponent.<ref name="roanoke">{{cite news|url=http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/sports\wb/83060|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201085529/http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/sports%5Cwb/83060|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 1, 2013|title=Paintball: There's a little pain, but it's a ball|author=Fowler, Hart|access-date=September 18, 2009|newspaper=The Roanoke Times|date=September 17, 2006}}</ref> Many fields enforce a modified minimum distance ''surrender rule''; a player who advances to within minimum range must offer his opponent the chance to surrender before shooting. This generally prevents injury and discord at recreational games, however it is seldom used in tournaments as it confers a real disadvantage to the attacking player; he must hesitate while his opponent is free to shoot immediately. The act of shooting a player at close range is colloquially called "bunkering"; it happens most often when a player uses covering fire to force his opponent behind the cover of a bunker, then advances on that bunker while still shooting to eliminate the opponent point-blank.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.directpaintball.com/article_bunkering101.html |title=Bunkering 101 - Tactics and the Surrender Rule |publisher=Directpaintball.com |access-date=September 13, 2010 |archive-date=July 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710131916/http://www.directpaintball.com/article_bunkering101.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> A tap of the targeted player with the barrel of a marker, sometimes called a "barrel tag", "Murphy" or "tap-out", is generally considered equivalent to marking them with a paintball and is sometimes used in situations where one player is able to sneak up on an opponent to point-blank range.
* '''Hits''' - A player is hit if a paintball leaves a solid mark of a specified minimum size (often nickel- or quarter-sized) anywhere on the player's body or equipment. Some variations of paintball don't count hits to the gun or the pod pack, or require multiple hits on the arms or legs. Most professional fields and tournaments, though, count any hit on a person, the equipment on their person, or even objects picked up at random from the field. A grey area of "splatter" often occurs when a paintball breaks on a nearby surface and that paint deflects onto the player; this usually does not count as a hit but it can be difficult to tell the difference between significant splatter and a genuine direct hit.
* '''Overshooting''' – Fields may discourage players from ''overshooting'' (also regarded as ''bonus balling'', "ramping", "overkill", or ''lighting up''), which is to repeatedly shoot an opposing player after he is eliminated from the game.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dailyuw.com/2001/4/18/ready-aim-paint/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711000718/http://dailyuw.com/2001/4/18/ready-aim-paint/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 11, 2012|title=Ready, Aim, Paint!|author=Santschi, Mark|date=April 18, 2001|access-date=September 21, 2009|newspaper=The Daily of the University of Washington}}</ref> It is also considered overshooting if a player knew the opponent was eliminated but continued to shoot, disregarding the safety of the opposing player and risking dangerous injury to others.
* '''Ramping''' – Ramping is a feature of many electronic markers, where after a certain number of rapid shots or upon a threshold rate-of-fire being achieved by the player, the gun will begin firing faster than the trigger is being pulled. Ramping of rate of fire is prohibited or sharply limited at most paintball fields, however it is allowed in various tournament formats with specific rules governing when and how the marker may ramp.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.warpig.com/paintball/newbie/dictionary/index3.shtml|title=Warpig.com Paintball Dictionary|date=January 2006|publisher=Warpig.com via Corinthian Media Services|access-date=April 7, 2010|archive-date=July 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709001526/http://www.warpig.com/paintball/newbie/dictionary/index3.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''Wiping''' – Players may attempt to cheat by ''wiping'' paint from themselves, to pretend they were not hit and stay in the game.<ref name="voicepaly">{{cite web|url=http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=3647|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070528195140/http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=3647|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 28, 2007|title=Ready, Aim ... Paint?|access-date=September 16, 2009|date=January 3, 2005|author=Kousnetz, Zack|publisher=The Paly Voice}}</ref> If caught, "wipers" are generally called out of the game, and in recreational paintball may be ejected from the field for multiple instances of wiping. Various tournament rules state additional penalties for players or teams caught wiping, such as "3-for-1" (calling the wiping player and the nearest three players out) in PSP capture-the-flag, or a prescribed number of "penalty minutes" in XBall.
* '''Non-contact''' - While paintball does involve tagging players with paintball projectiles, this is generally considered the sole point of physical contact between members of opposing teams. Players are generally prohibited from physically contacting other players, such as colliding with them, physically restraining them, and especially using fists, feet, protective gear or the markers themselves to hit other players. Fisticuffs in particular are dangerous not only to the participants but to all players on or off the field, and referees are generally trained to respond immediately and aggressively to stop the fight, and to eject and ban instigators of these fights.
* '''Velocity''' - Though most paintball markers are capable of firing at muzzle velocities of around 300 feet per second (fps), the players' paintball marker is generally limited to a muzzle velocity of 280 fps for safety reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liveabout.com/mph-paintball-gun-shoot-2565741|title=Exactly How Fast Does a Paintball Gun Fire?|website=LiveAbout|access-date=May 28, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111221353/https://www.liveabout.com/mph-paintball-gun-shoot-2565741|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Strategy ===
Player and team strategy varies depending on the size and layout of the field and the total number and experience level of players. The most basic strategy is to coordinate with the team to distribute the team members across the field roughly perpendicular to the line between starting stations to cover all potential lines of advance; a team that runs all in the same direction is easily flanked by opponents moving around the field on the opposite side. A second basic goal is to control as much of the field as possible, as early as possible, either by being the first to get to advantageous obstacles on the field or by quickly eliminating one or more opponents to reduce the number of directions each player has to watch for incoming paint. The more territory that the members of a team have behind them, the more options they have for choosing effective cover and changing position to get a good shot at one or more opponents, and because the field is of finite size, the fewer options the opposing team has.

A key element of intermediate and advanced strategy is the concept of "firing lanes". These are clear lines of sight between obstacles on the field and thus potentially between opposing players on the field behind them. A lane is "occupied" if at least one player of the opposing team can fire along it, and it is "active" if any player is firing along it, friend or foe. Occupied and active lanes hinder player movement as the player risks getting hit and eliminated. Open fields with sparse cover often have long open lanes between most or all bunkers on the field, most of which will be occupied if not active. Therefore, players have to keep track of which lanes to and from their bunker become occupied by the other team, so the player can make sure the bunker is between themselves and the opponent(s). This becomes harder the more occupied firing lanes there are; when most available firing lanes on the field are occupied, each team has to create cover in at least one direction using suppressing fire (rounds sent to the opponent's location designed to keep their head down more than to eliminate them). Speedball, which tends to use small open fields with relatively few obstacles, requires each player to use hundreds of paintballs in the course of a game to keep his opponents pinned down, lest he be pinned himself. Conversely, if most firing lanes on the field are clear, players on each team have greater mobility and the use of covering fire to pin an opponent is less useful as the player can stay behind cover while moving long distances, so players tend to fire less and move more to gain clear shots. Urban scenarios and woodsball fields tend to be larger and with more cover, shortening firing lanes and requiring players to move more to get good shots against their opponent.

Typically, strategy is limited for casual walk-on style paintball play. Some teamwork will be seen at the beginning of the games with brief discussions on tactics and strategy, such as distributing players between bunkers and assigning defenders that will stay back and cover attackers that advance. However, mid to late game tactics tend to be limited to groups of players sticking together or doing isolated attacks rather than a coordinated sweep down the field. In team paintball tournaments, more serious planned team tactics and strategy is seen throughout each game from the opening to the endgame. Teams generally practice together and have planned tactics they can use in the tournament, and know what each of their teammates will be trying to do in various situations during the game.