Insight: Paintball

Depending on the venue, games are played on either indoor or outdoor fields of varying size. A game field is scattered with natural or artificial terrain, which players use for strategic play. Rules for playing paintball vary, but can include capture the flag, elimination, defending or attacking a particular point or area, or capturing objects of interest hidden in the playing area. Depending on the variant played, games can last from seconds to hours or even days in scenario play.
The legality of paintball varies between countries and regions. In most areas where regulated play is offered, players are always required to wear protective masks, and game rules are strictly enforced. Despite this, the game and its associated equipment has attracted some controversy worldwide due to incidents of injury on and off the playing field, and criticism due to its military theme

The paintball equipment used depends on the game type, for example: woodsball, speedball, or scenarioball, and how much money someone is willing to spend on equipment. Every player however, is required to have four basic pieces of equipment

• Paintball marker: also known as a paintball gun, this is the primary piece of equipment, used to tag an opposing player with paintballs. The paintball marker must have attached a loader or "hopper" for keeping the marker fed with ammunition, and a compressed air bottle for propellant.
• Paintballs: The ammunition used in the marker, paintballs are spherical gelatin capsules containing primarily polyethylene glycol, other non-toxic and water-soluble substances, and dye.
• Mask or goggles: Masks are safety devices players are required to wear at all times on the field, to protect from paintballs. They completely cover the eyes, mouth, ears and nostrils of the wearer, and some masks can also feature throat guards. 

 Paintball is played with a potentially limitless variety of rules and variations, all of which are specified before the game begins. The most basic of all game rules is that players must attempt to accomplish a goal without being tagged with paintballs. When a player is shot, they must raise their marker to indicate that they are out, and leave the playing field. 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 or Elimination. Paintball has spawned several popular variants, including woodsball, which is played in the natural environment and spans across a large area. Conversely, the variant of speedball is played on a smaller field and has a very fast pace (with games lasting up to five minutes). Another variant is scenario paintball, in which players attempt to recreate historical, or fictional settings

Regulated games are overseen by referees, who patrol the course to ensure enforcement of the rules and the safety of the players. If a player is marked with paint, they will call them out, but competitors may also be expected to follow the honor code; a broken ball means elimination. Some 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. There are game rules that can be enforced depending on the venue, in order to ensure safety, balance the fairness of the game or eliminate cheating

• Minimum distance - When being tagged, depending on the distance from where the shot was fired, getting marked can feel like a firm pinch. Being marked may even leave a welt. Because of the pain associated with being hit by a paintball, commercial venues may enforce a minimum distance rule (for example, ten feet or eight meters), whereby players cannot shoot an opponent if they are closer than this distance.
• Overshooting - Some fields discourage players from overshooting (also regarded as bonus balling, "overkill" or lighting up), which is to repeatedly shoot a player after they are eliminated from the game. 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 refers to an electronically controlled marker increasing its rate of fire (or ROF, in balls per second or BPS) when a player reaches a certain number of trigger pulls per second and then maintains that trigger pull speed his marker will increase its rate of fire. Ramping of rate of fire is widely prohibited at most paintball fields, however it is allowed in some tournament formats.
• Wiping - Players may attempt to cheat by wiping paint from themselves, to pretend they were not hit and stay in the game

Paintball is played at both commercial venues, which require paid admission, and private land. Venues are either outdoors or indoors (allowing play when it is too hot, wet, or dark outside), and may include multiple fields of varying size and layout. Fields can be scattered with either natural or artificial terrain, and may also be themed to simulate a particular environment, such as a wooded or urban area, and may involve a historical context. Smaller fields (such as those used for Speedball and tournaments) may include an assortment of various inflatable bunkers.
Commercial venues may provide amenities such as bathrooms, picnic areas, lockers, equipment rentals, air refills and food service. Some countries may have paintball sports guidelines, with rules on specific safety and insurance standards, and paid staff (including referees) who must ensure players are instructed in proper play to ensure participants' safety. Fields may choose to only allow players to use their own paint, to offset insurance costs and other expenses.
Playing on a non-established field is sometimes referred to as renegade play or outlaw ball (with the players nicknamed renegade ballers). Though less expensive and less structured than play at a commercial facility, the lack of safety protocols, instruction, and oversight can lead to higher incidence of injuries.

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