The game of paintball — what it is and how it's played

Paintball is a sport where players compete individually or in teams. The goal is to eliminate opponents by marking them with paint-filled balls, while completing the mission's objective. The balls are the marker's "projectiles" — they burst on impact and mark the spot with paint. Paintball is also played at a professional sporting level — there are national and international competitions, teams competing for supremacy in various leagues, as well as specialized training for coordination and teamwork.

The paintball marker

The marker's job is to propel the paint-filled ball toward the target. It's fitted with a small tank filled with compressed air, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen under pressure. There's a whole range of markers: some have a compact design with a vertical grip and use 12g CO2 cartridges that get swapped every 20-25 uses; others have an elongated design, with shoulder support and larger tanks. Regardless of the model, the underlying principle stays the same.

Where paintball is played

It's played both on indoor and outdoor fields of various sizes. On the field you'll find natural or artificial obstacles that players use for cover — at Paintball Hunter, in Chiajna, Ilfov, for example, that means the fully built Wild West set on Westwood, or the real trams, trolleybuses and cars on Area 51. Around the entire field there's a special netting, so the balls can't leave the play area.

Rules vary from one scenario to another: capture the flag, elimination, a limit on the number of balls used, defending or attacking a zone. Depending on the type of game, a round can last a few minutes or, for more complex scenarios, stretch across an entire day.