Whether it’s a kids’ paintball party or a Dark Ops Extreme Scenario Game, paintball events can be a real blast! To make sure you and your friends get the most out of the game, however, you need to start with the basics.
Safety First
Many of the safety rules used at the best paintball places are grounded in basic common sense:
- Keep your mask on at all times
- Do not fire at people who are not wearing protective gear
- Don’t drink alcohol before or during play
- Fire only when you have a target in sight, don’t fire blindly
- Don’t fire at point blank range
- Only fire in designated areas
- Allow your opponents to surrender
Paintball Basics
According to David Muhlestein, a writer for LiveAbout.com, “The key to a fun game of paintball, whatever format you decide to use, and whatever the experience level of your players, is to have everyone on the same page. It only takes a few minutes, but quickly going through the rules each time will help maximize your paintball experience, and make for an enjoyable, fun time for all involved.”
Muhlestein also advises that you:
- Make sure everyone is on the same page as far as the ultimate objective of the game is concerned. Are you playing a simple elimination game or, perhaps, capture the flag?
- Make clear how long the game will last.
- Create teams that are equally balanced in terms of numbers and skill. For instance, he says, “If some people are new to the sport and others are more experienced, divide them up between the teams. In general, try to keep the number of people on each team about equal. If there are just a few people playing it’s not too hard to remember who’s on your team, but if there are larger groups of people, tie some colored tape or cloth around your arms or guns to identify different teams.”
- Make sure everyone understands what constitutes a hit
If you have questions or would like more information, please ask the paintball pros at Cousins. We have four locations for paintball in NYC, New Jersey and Texas and more than 30 years of experience with this great game.
