At almost any REAL game be it walk on with noobs or a scenario where seasoned players have come from far and wide you will most you undoubtedly hear the phrase “Get your Mask On Player!”

It’s amazing to me that this common phrase is- well- so common. We’ve all heard the saying “you could put an eye out with that thing” which when I was growing up usually referred to a BB gun, sling shot or some other projectile slinging device. No one ever really took the words to heart and while we all heard the anecdotal stories of a friend of a friends uncles sons cousin who did shoot out his eye, it rarely was anyone close to us so the impact of the story never registered.

I’ve been playing paintball for over a quarter century & frankly I’m amazed that I personally have never seen a major accident like this. Oh I’ve seen 1000′s of bloody welts, huge bruises and even equipment that has snapped or cracked due to a simple gel filled ball that hit the object just right. Still it’s not something you really think about and for all the paint flying across the country on any given weekend you might think this would be more common place. Truth be told I think it comes down to rogue players 99.8% of the time (as you’ll see in the videos) who play in their back yards or are just goofing off and not the folks who actually go out to the local field to play. Real players take the time to learn the rules and are concerned for safety not just of themselves but those around them. Real players use the phrase,

If you’ve never been involed in a 24 hour scenario game then you’ve never had the chance to go through one of life’s eh, finest experience’s. The final battle is a staple feature of scenario games across the land and it’s one of the main reasons people will pack up the van and travel hundreds of miles to be a part of the game.

This massive battle is usually fought at the end of a game but many promoters will do one just before dinner break as well. It seldom seems to go with the theme of the game per se but it does wonders for paint and air sales so you can bet scenario writers will always find a way to fit it in. The idea is to choose an area and have each side amass players at either end. The gun goes off and it’s a mad dash to the center and that is when the paint starts flying and does not stop for about the next hour. What makes this battle unique is that hit players are allowed to simply walk back to a “safe zone”, wipe off the hit and march right back in for more fun and mayhem. The side that controls the area or perhaps a certain hut or object at the end is declared the winner and for that they are awarded points. I’ve never seen a final battle completely dictate an outcome of a game but points are points and if it’s close it couldn’t hurt to win.

What I love (or used to love) about scenario is that the game changed with advancements, new ideas and just in the name of keeping things fresh. The final battle has changed little over the years and what I’m noticing now is, players no longer are clamoring about this part of the game and so many of them actually sit it out.

Perhaps it’s time for a little tweaking

Now this isn’t my idea and I’m not sure I’ll get it all right but a buddy of mine (Onemanarmy) came up with this & I think it would add some real excitement to this now languishing part of the game.

The battle would start as usual and everyone would get there 30 to 40 minutes of paint filled fun but then comes the twist. At say 30 minutes in a horn would sound and now those that get hit would no longer be able to reinsert and would be eliminated from play. The field would also shrink as player numbers dwindled. Now if it gets down to one player from each side great, but if one team is completely wiped out there is an added twist. Once one side is gone another horn would blow and the remaining players are now left with a fire fight amongst themselves. This dog eat dog feature would be instant chaos and only the strong or the lucky would survive the initial start. The closing field would keep the action going until it truly got down to the last two standing. Once the end came for one of these two the game would be over. Points would still go to the winning side regardless if it got down to one team but a special designation or award would go to the last man alive after the battle and he or she would forever be known as the “Iron Man” for that game.

I thought it was a great idea and I put a short clip of a Final battle I shot with my phone below. I’d love to hear what you think. Put your comments below.

There are some games that you play that really stick out and remind you why you play paintball in the first place. The Toys for Tots game was just such an event and it’s held annually out at Old River Paintball in Oklawaha Florida. No record crowd on hand with vendors taking up 1/2 the parking lot. We didn’t see any beat writers for national paintball magazines and not one out of state license plate with truck loads of players pouring out of the vehicle after a 14 hour drive. In fact, probably the most sophisticated equipment that was carted in may have been the smoker for the pig roast after the game. No, most if not all of the players here on this day were local players gathering together for a good cause and a chance to play the game they love.

The game went along with the theme from the hit movie “Toy Story” and the good natured fun that this block buster promoted definitely spilled out all over the field and lasted all game long. There were fierce fire fights to take bases and mission objectives but that was as far as the competitive juices would flow. Back slaps and handshakes were plenty as players doused with hot pink paint walked off the field chuckling at their demise and those who wondered just how they made it through unscathed. Even in the final battle that’s noted for its high charged action in a confined space was as civil as I’ve ever seen one. No shouting matches to go along with over shot players, the refs actually stood IN the action so they could quickly call players clean or out to keep the game moving and all the while not losing one single ounce of being an intense battle that definitely capped off a great day.

In the end there was just one thing missing but it just sort of underscores to me what this day was about and perhaps why it was such a fun and successful game. There was of course an award ceremony and the Generals thanked those who played for them and handed out special recognition plaques for outstanding play. The ceremony went on and prizes were given away as is tradition but almost every adult who won a raffled prize gave it away to a kid who had participated that day. (there were a lot of kids and they were awesome) Then, at the end of all this when one would expect to hear the score and one side would let out howls of joy knowing they had won and defeated the other no score was tallied or announced. While it did seem odd to me at first and I then realized that as cliche as it sounds the only winner that mattered were the many children who would be receiving the huge pile of toys that were collected from all of those who played the game. Perhaps this Christmas might be a little more joyful for a child whose holidays otherwise might not be so bright. Maybe too, the kids who attended the game and are the not so far away future of this game took notice and will return in kind when their turn comes. And maybe, just maybe we who are adults will seize the opportunity to continue this trend and revive in our sport, the Toy Story we all fell in love with in the first place.

As with most scenario paintball games the theme is based on a historic event, movie or popular story line. This one combined a few elements but the game itself had a few twists. Spear of destiny written by Wayne Dollack set the scene from the pages of a comic book and pitted good American forces verses evil Nazis. Throw in a man dressed in purple tights as ‘The Phantom’ and you have a classic Dollack production.

There were no spies in this game which is rare for a 24 hour game, even rarer to have only one tank. The Americans were taped in blue and tried to get off to a fast start but the orange striped Germans would have none of it. Early pushes by the Germans resulted in occupation of 3/4′s of the field and with the choke points heavily manned blue struggled mightily.

German missions were running smoothly and they completed the first 10 in a row with 4 being general assisted. The only ‘scrubbed’ mission of the day was a base takeover which actually happened but the mission referee never showed with the card and so it was disallowed. A few brave blue players made attempts at the south base several times but to no avail. They were able to get close but the timing of the attacks always found them out numbered. (there were plenty of times when it was just one or two guarding the base) The points had to be in favor of the Germans by dinner break and it seemed that everything was going their way. That didn’t hold out.

Night time and the German base was ready once again to establish their dominance. Lights were set up to thwart the American stalkers but a failed generator leveled the field and the blue players took advantage. The well oiled orange machine of the day came unglued in the night. Teams were fractured in the darkness and the large groups that moved so well early on splintered off and were less effective. Mission’s came in slower in the evening hours which may have been a break for the orange general. Only a few players were in ear shot to receive these valuable chances for points and at least 1/2 of the missions were run by only two or three. This became even harder as the night wore on because blue attackers were relentlessly pounding the base with paint from the safety of darkness.

Early in the evening the American leader sent word that he was willing to end the night session at about midnight. Perhaps he was still stinging from the days events and thought it best to stop the bleeding and regroup in the morning but about an hour after blue had established night superiority that suddenly changed. The game was just as quickly extended and a mad dash of blue players haunted the orange general all night long. Completed missions ratio had now completely turned but the Germans did manage a few props. The orange base was under vicious assault but never once taken over in the night despite being out numbered. The night advantage went to the Americans but was it enough to catch up on points and which way would the momentum swing in the morning.

The game on blast sounded and orange was having none of what was handed them the night before. A ‘kitchen sink’ mission was sent off the get to send a message straight to the American Hq. Orange also made the tactical move of holding sinker town and the northeast quarter which proved invaluable. Blue was once again sent reeling and the Germans were now the players who were relentless. Missions were flowing again and gold and other high point value props were being brought in as players found them on the field. At one point orange players had control of 80% of the field and were looking for more.

The final battle was more of the same as blue put up a valiant effort but could not hold their 1/2 of the village. Half way through the one hour paint fest to end the game the ref’s actually had to halt the action and reset the players just to give blue a fighting chance. With the final blast the game was over and all that was left to do was tally the points. The Americans scored a respectable 2000 of which I’m sure most came with their night time play while the Germans totaled 3200. Props were important in this game and the Germans held all the key pieces including the Spear of Destiny. Had blue taken some of the territory in the morning hours they more than likely would have found those props and the score would have been much closer or perhaps reversed.

All in all it was a fun game and the outcome rested on who would finish off the game matching their dominant play. It wasn’t the Americans time this game but perhaps in the next. This game was won by perseverance and fast tactical maneuvering or so orange would like to think. Well if it wasn’t those things perhaps it was something else, maybe it was destiny after-all.

People find it hard to believe that when I was in school we actually had trampolines in the gym and these were part of our physical education class. Oh we had all the safety procedures well in line so no worries. Spotters (which were other students) lined the perimeter of the tramp and would “catch” you if you jumped over the side. Yea that worked out real well! What would you say however if paintball was a class in your schedule? For some college kids in Ohio it is now a part of their every day curriculum.

Ohio University Southern has teamed up with the Ohio Army National Guard and are now offering paintball as a gym class. The Guard uses this new forum to teach students and to show them what is available.

“The benefits are tremendous,” First Sergeant Steve Stormes said. “Especially for college kids.” “The running and the dodging and jumping,” he said. “Really it’s a good cardio sort of workout.”

Of course this class is the most popular of all the phys ed categories and students are having a blast. 17 students total are signed up but only 7 receive any credits, the rest are doing it just for fun. Paintball is already popular in the area and this gives some of the students a chance to get grades while doing something they already loved.

It would be great to have a course like this in every school in my opinion, well all except the elementary perhaps. Paintball can be quite exhilarating and a great work out and just think, you can go to your next period and show off your brand new welt. Many colleges already have paintball teams that compete in collegiate tournaments but this is the first to my knowledge that have offered it as a bona-fide graded class. I wonder if you can get an ‘F’ in this course? Maybe sticking your head up over the bunker too many times might knock some points off but I’m thinking this would be the fun-nest ‘A’ you’d ever get.

It happens to everybody and for everybody. An errant shot that skips off a bunker or a player puts his head out at just the right time and splat, one shot one kill. This can hardly be compared to this well known saying for snipers and the skill and patience it takes for them to have this ratio. It also doesn’t apply exclusively to hits. Being in the right place at the right time for most is pure luck but they can rack up huge kills or find a missing prop when they really had no intention of doing so.

I’ve had plenty of lucky breaks go my way over the years and on lookers walk away thinking I was all that and a bag of chips. People have walked right by my path, balls have caught wind and curved straight to a goggle and I’ve even over heard an entire attack plan I was able to thwart just because I had to stop, bend down and try to fix my gun.

This element of the scenario game is something no one can predict and certainly can do little about. Lucky paintball is also not something you can ever count on as it doesn’t come around every game and it’s not always on your side. Skilled players might get whacked with your skipped ball or take the wrong path to avoid a puddle and you have the advantage (and result) for that skirmish but in the end skill wins the war. Well almost always wins, you can ask General Chester about that if you ever see him.

I don’t believe in luck per se but I do know it’s out there. I look at it as a chain of decisions that eventually bring about an unforeseen result. No one says, “I’m gonna ricochet my paint off that tree and gog that guy!” It just so happens that you might have moved one way as a result to get closer or a better angle while your opponent made decisions based on where he was at and by the time you fired that trigger a “lucky shot” was the result. I think of it much like the break on a pool table. You line it up, decide on the power and you may even have an idea of where certain balls will go because you’ve made that break 100 times. In reality, with all your preparation there is no guarantee where those balls will end up but one things for sure. They find there way and bounce off each other and the rails because of your direct action. If the result is good or bad does not matter it all points back to your break.

Still there are things in life and paintball that I couldn’t possibly begin to explain. Results that just shouldn’t have happened do and the simplest answer is ‘luck.’ Chalking up these experiences to random chance is a quick way of moving on but it’s no way to live your life or play paintball. Improving your skill and awareness of what works leaves less to chance and puts you more in control of your game.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
-Coach Darrel Royal

I think we’ve all been hit from out of nowhere when we least expected it. You could be walking the trail or held up behind a hut and WHAP! Right in the back or maybe from the side comes a shot out of the blue that surprises the living hell out of you. I ask you, does that paintball physically hit harder than if you took one in the middle of a fire fight? If the trigger is pulled 2 or 3 times to ensure the kill, do those shots suddenly feel like 7 or 8? It seems to me that the paint is flying at the same speed and you’ve probably taken many shots on or near the same place but for some reason these surprises feel like a hot poker driven deep beneath the skin and almost as fast as the shot hit you a surge of anger boils up from deep within and usually spills out of your mouth in the form of holy$**t you sun of b**ch you are shooting hot! Is this not part of paintball? Is it unfair to get the drop on someone or to be stealthier than them and take them out in this way? Aren’t you on both the giving and receiving side at times? I guess I have a lot of questions and honestly I know and you do to, the answers to all of them.

The problem with these hits really isn’t that they are hot guns. I’d say 9 out of 10 times if the person shooting gets chrono’d immediately you’ll find their well within the limits but that hardly dissuades the person who got shot. Still the painful sting stirs up a lot of emotion and the shot player is not very happy. No one likes getting shot in the back and it does hurt but so does a neck shot from the front or taking one on the finger from a player in plain view.

It’s my opinion that this sudden impact that you weren’t expecting is magnified just because you didn’t see it coming. Like a football player who gets clocked from a blocker he doesn’t see you didn’t have a chance to brace for the shot or have any reasonable expectation one was coming. As stated, you’ve been hit thousands of times from closer, faster and in just as many vulnerable places but when you know one is coming the pain is expected and if nothing else , it takes the edge off the pain.

Thankfully in most cases the pain quickly subsides and the player walks off and little else is said. Sure his pride took a hit and the sting of a paintball is what it is but you both live to play another game and perhaps the next time the role is reversed. No one likes getting shot in the back or anywhere for that matter but somehow it hits a target that no one wants to have hit, our egos.

There must be more to scenario paintball than just shooting paint. Sure I know about the thrill of the hunt and out smarting your opponent or the excitement of a huge fire fight. These things are what most people come for and what the magazines and promos on web site game ads tout but I believe there is something else that we all get to take part in each time we attend a game and it satisfies something deep inside of us. It’s not a subject that will come up very much around a campfire as we recount the days events but the fact that each of us get to be someone else for just a day or a weekend can be a very powerful lure and maybe without even realizing it this is one of the main draws that calls us to the scenario events.

The Greeks of 2000 years ago or so loved the theatre and everyone would attend the plays put on and this was the main entertainment of these people at that time. Those in the play would put masks on a stick over their face to portray someone else, their character. There was no word for ‘actors’ in their language, instead those masked people were called ‘hypocrites’ and that is where we got this word and still use it today. Hypocrites back then were celebrated much like our actors are but now a days when you call someone a hypocrite it is a negative and could get you punched.

ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French ypocrite, via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek hupokrit?s ‘actor,’ from hupokrinesthai (see hypocrisy ).

When you think of it, scenario paintball players are hypocrites and I for one think it is a positive thing indeed. In todays hustle and bustle world people are under tremendous pressures in life. Family, bills, deadlines at work and the list goes on and on. Many people ‘check out’ and get caught up with the snares and traps that ruin their lives that in the beginning was perhaps just a way to escape, just a chance to be someone else for awhile and leave all of their worries and troubles behind. These people put on a mask and the temporary freedom soon becomes a hard burden that doesn’t so easily let them go. That is the negative.

In paintball I feel that a player does much the same thing but on the positive side. For that weekend he or she can become someone else and it doesn’t have to be negative at all. I’m no psychiatrist but every once in awhile we all want to be our alter ego, top dog and let loose and live with the kind of courage that maybe we don’t have back in our home town. Where else can you go and live out a ‘mission impossible’ scene and slink through a group of 40 guys to complete a mission? While it’s not Ok to lie in a real business deal the art of deception may be your best friend in scenario paintball as you con another spy out of a valuable prop for a worthless document you created in the parking lot. You really have nothing to lose and the person you conned or that player you shot out will most likely say “good play-you got me there” and no one is worse for the wear. It’s a release of some sort to check out in this way, an escape that has positive effects later on as you reflect upon the game. I’m sure there’s a term for it in a psychology book and a reason this kind of ‘acting’ does a person good but I wouldn’t have a clue what that would be.

So for me I’ll just enjoy this aspect of playing scenario paintball along with all the other thrilling things that this game brings to the table. I won’t even mind if at the end of the day you walk up to me and say-”You’re a great hypocrite!” I’ll know exactly what you mean.

Paintball is a fast and sometimes painful sport which are probably the number 1 and 2 reasons millions more people don’t play which is fine with me. Most will say “yeah I might play but don’t those paintballs hurt?” And others say they aren’t in shape or too old to run around the woods. In my mind either reason is Ok for a person to stay off the field and find something else to do for their recreation. For these people I have respect because getting shot does hurt (although not bad) and yes if you want to be good at it you’ll need to run around a bit or at least be smarter than your competition so if that’s not what you’re looking for why don’t you just not play?

Who I don’t have a lot of time or respect for are the people who come out to play a scenario game and do nothing but whine. Now to qualify what I’m saying and this is all just my opinion anyway-but, kids and the Dads playing with them are exempt and that’s about it as far as I’m concerned. Not so much the Dad is if ‘he’ gets lit up but he has every right to complain or set you straight if you over shoot his child. Kids can hear the rules many times and it still doesn’t always register and especially in the heat of battle it might be a little much to expect a young kid to remember to call himself out or put his hand in the air to signal you and stop firing. I’ve got in a few faces for this type of thing for both my boys and would expect nothing less from any other father. Also you might notice I said ‘scenario’ game. Scenarios are a win or lose competition and NOT just a friendly rec day with church members, that’s why people travel sometimes 1000′s of miles and spend just as much money to play. They want to win and they play hard, been that way for years and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

No, who I classify as whiners are the teens or adults who even with their $400 dollar guns get shot out and claim foul right away. They instantly say you were shooting hot, were to close or didn’t take the hit like you were suppose to. They bitterly complain to a ref, scream bloody murder at you or pout all the way up the trail and run to find someone who’ll listen to how they were unfairly eliminated. Are there times you you get overshot, shot from to close a distance or a take the hit backfires on you? Yea, and it will happen again so don’t be fooled into thinking it is exclusive to one field or one team and player.

It’s funny how these people are ‘rules aficionados’ after the fact and have all the exact play by play and no one else could be right. It amazes me because they usually have their backs turned or aren’t paying enough attention and let a guy get close enough to them to say ‘take the hit’ but suddenly it’s all clear and they know every detail. Oh and of course every shot they shoot is golden, their aim always hits it’s mark and the guy behind the tree must be wiping because they never miss. When a whiner takes more than a shot or two he cries aloud “overshooting” not realizing that 3 balls were in the air for every second he squirmed around in indecision and by the simple act of raising his gun in the air or calling himself out the firing would stop. Not good enough for the whiner, no they see only their little sphere in the world and all else revolves around them and when that sphere is bruised they cry foul and blame their inability on others.

It’s very simple, if you’re in scenario or competitive paintball, play by the rules but realize this game goes fast and in the heat of things you just may have to deal with better players, it’s how you get better too. You can’t stop a paintball that’s already flying and you can’t make someone take the hit and you may not have seen everything if your back was turned so stop whining, put your gun in the air and call yourself out. If this won’t satisfy you and you still think the world is wrong and you are right then why not put your equipment on e-bay and again, call yourself out, it will do us all some good.

It’s hard to imagine life without paintball but there was a time not so long ago that it did not exist. How did it start? Who were some of the first players and are any of them still around today?

They say that the best players or athletes have a full understanding of the history of their respective sport. Greats in golf like (dare I say) Tiger Woods know full well who’s records they are chasing down and the magnitude of surpassing them. For 37 years no one could beat the home run record of Babe Ruth who hit 60 until Roger Maris did it in 1961, he hit 61. Ask any player at that time and they know who went before them and the greatness they achieved. That record stood until it was shattered by multiple players albeit now the new benchmark hardly seems worthy because it is so tainted in controversy.

How about paintball? Does any young kid who can shoot the nads of a fly understand who Bob Long was or do they only associate the name with a high end marker. Who was General Hammer and what did he bring to the game and is Kerry “Viper” Rosenberry just someone who puts on the games we know & love?

I don’t know the entire history of paintball but finally I believe there is a place where we can all begin to find out. History of paintball by Paintball X3 is a new site (at least new to me) that has gone to great lengths to document and preserve the beginnings and growth of our extreme sport. In a time when there was no internet, ipods and cell phones were as big as a purse there were some armed with cameras, pens and papers who documented so much information it’s as if they planned this website all along. With a few clicks you can view what took them over 5 years to assemble and begin to see the birth of a worldwide sport almost as if you were there. Here is a sample video of some of the early players and equipment which is fascinating to watch.