Speedball, Just another way to have fun !

A three-man speedball team just before the break. These are serious paintball fanatics here!!break.

Speedball

is one of the two distinct game variants in the sport of paintball. It is a general term for a game in which the paintball or "speedball" field is composed of bunkers, of the same location and number on each side of the field, that provide an equal playing field for each team competing. It was created in this way to give a better format for competitive paintball, both in playing and viewing the games.

Speedball is normally characterized by a smaller playing field, inflatable bunkers, and a short game time. To succeed in this format one must gain individual skills and teamwork such as aggressive movement and non-stop communication. Contrary to some beliefs, any type of marker is eligible for competition in this format, but the most common are markers with electronic trigger/firing systems. Such markers may be capable of rates of fire reaching or exceeding 20 paintballs per second using electronically assisted firing modes.

Because of the small size of the field and the small bunkers, both teams easily see each other, so this type of paintball is based on aggressiveness, marker handling, strategic movements, and communication. Players also wear different attire. Speedballers do not need to wear camouflage, so they opt to wear brightly colored jerseys and pants.

There is a points system to speedball. Points are awarded for staying in the game the whole round, shooting someone out, grabbing the flag, and hanging the flag.

The usual format is "center flag", meaning that there is a flag in the center of the field on the 50- yard line. Players are awarded points for grabbing the flag and there are separate points awarded for hanging the flag. If a player gets shot out, he/she must drop the flag and the flag is up for grabs again, but no points are awarded for grabbing it again.

There are different playing formats to speedball. There is the NPPL (National Paintball Players League) format, PSP (Paintball Sports Promotion) format, and XBall format. Each playing format has its different rules, regulations, and firing modes.

Speedball is usually played with seven players on both sides of the paintball field, but there can also be ten players,five players,or even three players. The teams must have an equal number of players on each side of the field.

A typical speedball field, often used for tournaments, or you could just play some crazy paintball on this field

Positions

Although there are no official positions used for the purposes of scorekeeping, most paintballers use three broad terms to describe positions: front, mid or center, and back. Front players are the pawns in speedball. They are typically fast and small, and take most of the field at the start of the game. They shoot very little compared to a back player but are the main source of eliminations, usually stationed in two types of bunkers: the snake or dorrito. Mid players are the "plan b" of a paintball team, usually playing an insert position where if a front player were to get shot out they would fill into their spot and take over the front players role. Mid players will also relay information that starts from the back players (having the best field of vision) to the front players (with relatively no field of vision). Back players' main goal is to protect the front players and relay information to the entire team. They are the ones that are shooting hoppers of paint at the start of the game hoping to lane the opposing front players. Back players come on the field with upwards of 10-14 pods.

Paintball "sniper" or "Marksman"

Woodsball marksman preparing a long shot with camo paintball marker.

Paintball Marksmen are players who are dedicated to unparalleled accuracy on the paintball field. They are often characterized by their cool mentality, and a passion for excellent shots. Woodsball marksmen are best known for their ability to sit back from the front line, safely out of harm's way, and flank the enemy positions from with effects as great, if not greater than those of the infantry on the front line. Due to their characteristic accuracy and stealth, they are often observed in teams that are known for ambush operations, ghost flanks, and stealth maneuvers in general.They are a must for any good paintball team.

Woodsball marksmen are often used as special operations elements in specific situations. While this is seen mostly in scenarioball games, it occurs in woodsball as well, in cases like a hostage extraction operation, a VIP elimination operation (for example, assassinating a 'general' or 'president'), and other such games. Classifying marksmen as special operations elements in such games should be done with hesitation, however, as often players from many other positions are utilized as special operations forces as well.

The term 'paintball sniper' can be controversial. Critics of paintball snipers argue that the function of a military sniper cannot be carried out by a paintball player, as paintball snipers in general cannot make kills at distances substantially greater than any infantryman. This is partially due to the fact that, unlike firearm weaponry, paintballs cannot be adapted to have more effective range, and due to velocity restrictions, they cannot be fired with greater force than other markers. However, it is important to note that being a paintball sniper depends on superior camouflage rather than superior targeting abilities. Being camouflaged in Paintball allows the player to get close enough to the opposition so that they can make one, sure shot. Thus, due to the lack of camouflage that is being used in paintball games today, the less controversial term "Paintball Marksmen" is now making it's way into players' vocabulary. Paintball "marksmen" do have an advantage in accuracy in that their concealment tactics allow them to take greater time to aim, allowing shots made with greater accuracy, or at least with less paint used.

Proponents of the term counter that the difference is great enough to warrant a class distinction. Their argument is based on the concept that even if a paintball sniper is unable to hit a target at greater range than a standard rifleman, he will expend far less paint in doing so. For example, a riflemen may use 30 or more rounds to hit a target at 100 feet, while a marksman may only use 3 balls to hit the same target, if not less. As a kind of unwritten compromise, the term 'paintball marksman' is emerging in various areas throughout the world, which is more widely accepted than the original term.

A rifleman in combat. Another great paintball position.

Paintball Tanks !?!

Paintball tanks are mechanized vehicles used in various types of the sport of paintball, usually with the intent of military simulation. Paintball tanks are commonly used for woodsball and scenario paintball games. These props are often commonly referred to as "Paintball Armored Vehicles" (PAV), or simply "mechs".

An example of a medium paintball tank; note the Paintball Turret on the rear, the central air system on the hood, and the Paintball Marker ports on the side windows.

A Funtrak "Paintball Panzer"

Paintball tanks may be armed with anything from a single paintball marker to many paintball markers, carbon dioxide-powered cannons, grenade launchers and even rocket launchers.

Markers used are usually trained upon the players of the opposing team, while the cannons are used primarily against the paintball tanks of the opposing team. The markers are most often standard paintball markers places in shooting slots in the tank's armor. The air cannons on the other hand are not standard, and are often home-built to suit their particular use.

Many different types of projectiles have been used over the years under many various circumstances. In the early years of paintball tanks the "tank cannon" was simply a PVC cannon that shot a load of paintballs, colloquially known as "Buckshot", that were typically a special color to indicate they were a cannon load. Recently, the use of buckshot has declined and Nerf Rockets have become the most common projectile used for tank cannons. These Nerf cannons though are not the only version of tanks' main cannons out there. Most field owners and scenario game producers will only allow indirect-fire paintball (Mortar) or Nerf firing cannons.

An illustrative example of the variety tank cannons' ammunition is that even Hostess Twinkies have been used for ammunition. Relatively new to paintball tanks is the use of "marker based" cannons. This is a paintball marker that uses a special color paint, much like the older paintball load cannons. However, unlike their older cousins these are nothing more than a regular paintball marker shooting a single odd-colored paintball. Due to their relatively safe nature these newer marker based cannons may be considered to be the safest form of tank cannon available.

Rules and Game Involvement

Paintball tanks usually have special rules to adhere to for each event. These rules change from field to field and from scenario producer to scenario producer. For example, some places will not allow personal-armor ("PUG") style tanks and some will not allow the automotive heavy tanks. Speed limit rules are generally considered among the more important rules for paintball tanks, especially the heavy tanks. The variations of rules that concern paintball tanks is only limited to the number of fields out there that use paintball tanks.

A heavy paintball tank at Oklahoma D-Day. It measures 12 feet wide, 9 feet high and 22 feet long (not counting the barrel).

Heavy paintball tanks are relatively rarer than tanks of the other two brackets. This is due to the very high degree of involvement in their construction, maintenance, et cetera. These paintball tanks are usually owned by one or more devoted individuals. They put a lot of time, money and effort into them and take pride in their creations. Heavy paintball tanks are often built upon a truck chassis, with a smaller number built with a custom chassis. Common construction materials consist of plywood, with some using sheet metal for an outer shell.

A personal-armor ("PUG") light tank

Despite their small stature and light armament, the light paintball tank section of the paintball tank family is quite possibly the closest to their real life counterparts when it comes to the way they are used tactically and strategically in paintball battles. This is due to the fact that, like real tanks, light paintball tanks or "walkers" can usually go anywhere on the field because they do not have to worry about running over paintball players that are hiding under leaves the way a medium or a heavy paintball tank needs to worry. Walking paintball tanks such as the Panzer-Ultraleicht-Gepack (PUG) are also not subject to the insurance costs that can make a heavier tank prohibitively expensive to use, thus a team can field an entire squadron of tanks for little cost. The PUG bears only a passing resemblance to a real tank however, and in operation is more like very bulky body armor (hence the name "Ultralight Backpack Tank").

The history of Paintball

A graph showing the number of paintball players in the U.S. from 1998 to 2004.

The first paintballs were created in the 1950s for forestry service use in marking trees from a distance, and also for use by cattlemen to mark cows.^[3] Two decades later, paintballs were used in a survival game between two friends in the woods of Henniker, New Hampshire, and paintball as a sport was born.

In 1976, Hayes Noel, a stock trader, Bob Gurnsey, and his friend Charles Gaines, a writer,^[4] were walking home and chatting about Gaines' recent trip to Africa and his experiences hunting buffalo. Eager to recreate the adrenaline rush that came with the thrill of the hunt, and inspired by Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game, the two friends came up with the idea to create a game where they could stalk and hunt each other.^[5]

In the ensuing months, the friends talked about what sorts of qualities and characteristics made for a good hunter and survivalist. They were stumped, however, on how to devise a test of those skills. It wasn't until a year and a half later that George Butler, a friend of theirs, showed them a paintball gun in an agricultural catalog. The gun was a Nelspot 007 marker manufactured by the Nelson Paint Company.^[6]

Twelve players competed against each other with Nelspot 007s pistols in the first paintball game on June 27, 1981. They were: Bob Jones, a novelist and staff writer for Sports Illustrated and an experienced hunter; Ronnie Simpkins, a farmer from Alabama and a master turkey hunter; Jerome Gary, a New York film producer; Carl Sandquist, a New Hampshire contracting estimator; Ritchie White, the New Hampshire forester; Ken Barrett, a New York venturer and hunter; Joe Drinon, a stock-broker and former Golden Gloves boxer from New Hampshire; Bob Carlson, a trauma surgeon and hunter from Alabama; Lionel Atwill, a writer for Sports Afield, a hunter and a Vietnam veteran; Charles Gaines; Bob Gurnsey and Hayes Noel. The game was capture the flag on an 80 acre wooded cross-country ski area.

Thereafter, the friends devised basic rules for the game fashioned along the lines of capture the flag, and invited friends and a writer from Sports Illustrated to play. They called their game "Survival," and an article about the game was published in the June 1980 issue of Sports Illustrated.^[7] As national interest in the game steadily built, Bob Gurnsey formed a company, National Survival Game, and entered a contract with Nelson Paint Company to be the sole distributor of their paintball equipment.^[8] Thereafter, they licensed to franchisees in other states the right to sell their guns, paint, and goggles. As a result of their monopoly on equipment, they turned a profit in only six months.^[9]

The first games of paintball were very different from modern paintball games; they often threw the paintballs at each other, and Nelspot pistols were the only gun available. They used 12-gram CO₂ cartridges, held at most 10 rounds, and had to be tilted to roll the ball into the chamber and then recocked after each shot. Dedicated paintball masks had not yet been created, so players wore shop glasses that left the rest of their faces exposed. The first paintballs were oil-based and thus not water soluble; "turpentine parties" were common after a day of play.^[10] Games often lasted for hours as players stalked each other, and since each player had only a limited number of rounds, shooting was rare.^[11]

Between 1981 and 1983, rival manufacturers such as PMI began to create competing products, and it was during those years that the sport took off.^[12] Paintball technology gradually developed as manufacturers added a front-mounted pump in order to make recocking easier, then replaced the 12-gram cartridges with larger air tanks, commonly referred to as "constant air".^[13] These basic innovations were later followed by gravity feed hoppers and 45-degree elbows to facilitate loading from the hopper.^[14]

Paintball Marker or Gun

A paintball marker (official name), also known as a paintball gun, is the central piece of equipment in the sport of paintball. Markers make use of an expanding gas (carbon dioxide or compressed air) to propel paintballs through the barrel. The paintball community generally prefers to use the term "marker" rather than "gun" in order to mitigate the public perception that paintball markers are weapons, and that paintball is a dangerous sport. The term derives from its original use as a means for forestry personnel and ranchers to mark trees and wandering cattle.

Paintball Marker Diagram

The muzzle velocity of paintball markers can approach 300 feet per second (91 meters per second, or about 205 mph). Muzzle velocity above 300 feet per second is ruled unsafe in most commercial paintball fields. Below 300 fps, most paintballs will break upon impact without leaving significant damage beyond a small bruising. Due to the speed of flying paintballs, players must wear masks to protect the eyes, mouth, and ears when barrel blocking devices are not in place.

The majority of paintball markers have four main components: body, a hopper, a gas system (air tank), and a barrel. There is, however, a strong following of stock-class players who use markers with a purposely low rate of fire and capacity. Stock-class markers are usually pump-action and powered by 12-gram CO₂ powerlets.

So... What is Paintball anyway

A woodsball player firing at opponents from behind cover.

Paintball is a game similar to Airsoft in which participants eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with paint filled, breakable, gelatin paintballs shot from a carbon dioxide or compressed-gas-powered "paintball marker". Airsoft however, shoots 6mm plastic pellets powered by electric motors that compress a spring and release it. Paintball is faster paced and more exciting, but Airsoft guns are much more realistic due to the fact that there is no hopper or air tank. Speedball is virtually non-existent in Airsoft.

Paintball draws a wide array of people, and the Sporting Goods Manufacturer's Association estimates that 5 million people play the game in the United States annually, with 1.9 million playing at least 15 times a year.^[1] Insurance statistics show that paintball is one of the safest sports, with fewer injuries per exposure than sports like tennis, golf, and bowling.^[2]

Games can be played either indoors or outdoors and take various forms, of which some of the most popular are woodsball, scenario, X-Ball and speedball. Rules for playing paintball vary widely, with most designed to ensure that participants enjoy the sport in a safe environment. The sport requires a significant amount of equipment.

A game of paintball usually involves two opposing teams seeking to eliminate all of the other team's players or to complete some other objective, such as retrieving a flag, eliminating a specific player, or other paintball variations. Depending on the style of paintball played, a paintball game can last from seconds to days, although typical woodsball games are five to thirty minutes long.