Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by hitting them with capsules containing food coloring and gelatin (referred to as paintballs) propelled from a device called a paintball marker. Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble mineral-oil. The game is regularly played at a sporting level with organized competition involving worldwide leagues, tournaments, professional teams, and players. Paintball technology is also used by military forces, law enforcement, para-military and security organizations to supplement military training, riot response, and non-lethal suppression of dangerous suspects.
Games are played on outdoor or indoor fields of varying sizes. A game field is scattered with natural or artificial terrain, which players use for tactical cover. Rules for playing paintball vary, but can include capture the flag, elimination, ammunition limits, 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 among countries and regions. In most areas where regulated play is offered, players are required to wear protective masks, and game rules are strictly enforced.
The paintball equipment used depends on the game type, for example: woodsball, speedball, or scenarioball, as well as on how much money one is willing to spend on equipment. Every player, however, will utilize three 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" to keep the marker fed with ammunition, and will be either gravity-fed (where balls drop into the loading chamber), or electronically force-fed. A marker will require a compressed air bottle, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide 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. The quality of paintballs is dependent on the brittleness of the ball's shell, the roundness of the sphere, and the thickness of the fill; higher-quality balls are almost perfectly spherical, with a very thin shell to guarantee breaking upon impact, and a thick, brightly-colored fill that is difficult to hide or wipe off during the game.
- Mask or goggles: Masks are safety devices players are required to wear at all times on the field, to protect them from paintballs.They completely cover the eyes, mouth, ears and nostrils of the wearer, and masks can also feature throat guards. Modern masks have evolved to be less bulky compared with older designs.
Laman Web : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball
