Frequently asked

Two different answers, both correct. Charles Nelson of the Nelson Paint Company invented the paintball and the paint-shooting marker in the 1950s — as a forestry tool for marking trees at a distance, never as a game.

The sport was invented on 27 June 1981 in Henniker, New Hampshire, by Hayes Noel and Charles Gaines, who used Nelson's cattle-marking guns to settle an argument, together with Bob Gurnsey, who turned the resulting game into a business.

Because that is literally what it was built to do. Nelson's device existed to put a paint mark on a tree or an animal — foresters and ranchers called it a marking gun or pellet pistol. The sport kept the accurate term. It also reflects how the industry and most fields prefer to describe the equipment.

The Crosman 707 was the first commercially produced marker built to fire Nelson's paintballs, but it sold poorly and Crosman withdrew. The Nel-Spot 007 — reworked by James Hale and manufactured by Daisy from 1972, exclusively for Nelson — is the marker that actually mattered. It is the gun used in the first game in 1981.

G. Ritchie White, a forester, collected all four flags across roughly 100 acres in two hours and fifteen minutes. The irony was not lost on anyone: the game existed to test whether a city man could match a woodsman in the woods, and the woodsman won comfortably.

Real work, for about thirty years. Foresters and park rangers marked timber for harvest and painted boundary lines. Cattlemen and ranchers tagged livestock from across a pen — Nelson advertised accuracy on an animal at around 75 feet. Wildlife managers marked wild game for population counts and control work. Oil-based paint was used precisely because the mark had to survive months of weather.

A bit, briefly. Most hits feel like a hard flick with a rubber band and leave a small welt or bruise. It depends on range, where you are hit, what you are wearing, and the temperature. Close-range hits on bare skin sting considerably more, which is exactly why fields enforce minimum engagement distances and surrender rules.

Long sleeves, gloves, and a neck protector remove most of the discomfort. Almost nobody stops playing because of the pain.

Long sleeves and long trousers you do not mind getting dirty, in loose layers. Boots or trainers with good grip — most paintball injuries are ordinary slips and twists. Gloves are worth it because hands are exposed and get hit often. Modern paint is water-soluble and washes out, but bring a change of clothes anyway.

It varies by country and by field. Many fields run low-impact .50 caliber programmes from around age 10, and standard .68 caliber play from roughly 12 upwards, with a parent or guardian signing the waiver for minors. Some countries are stricter — Germany, for example, restricts paintball to players over 18. Check with the specific field before you book.

Markers are mechanically capable of over 300 feet per second, but fields cap them. 280 fps is the common standard, verified on a chronograph before play and often re-checked during the day. Some jurisdictions set their own limits — Germany, for instance, caps kinetic energy at 7.5 joules. Deliberately shooting over the limit is a safety violation and gets players removed.

A paintball that breaks and leaves a solid mark of at least a minimum size — usually nickel- or quarter-sized — anywhere on your body or equipment. Paint that splashes onto you after breaking on something else (splatter) does not count. A ball that hits and bounces off without breaking does not count. When in doubt, call for a referee, or just call yourself out.

Woodsball is the original form — natural terrain, larger fields, longer games, stealth and manoeuvre. Speedball is played on a small symmetrical field of inflatable bunkers with very short, very fast, highly athletic matches; it is what tournament paintball generally means today. Scenario play is a third variant: large themed games with hundreds of players and objectives, sometimes running for days.

A gelatin shell — chemically similar to a pharmaceutical soft-gel capsule — around a fill built primarily on polyethylene glycol plus other non-toxic, water-soluble substances and dye. All ingredients are food-grade quality. Almost all modern paintballs are biodegradable.

The originals were very different: oil-based marking enamel in a capsule of the kind used to dose livestock with medicine, formulated to be permanent rather than washable. More on how the paintball changed.

Yes. Modern paint is water-soluble and comes out of most clothing in a normal wash — rinse in cold water first, then wash as usual. The original oil-based forestry paint did not, which is why 1980s players wore clothes they were willing to sacrifice.

Usually paint quality or storage. Gelatin absorbs moisture, so balls stored in humidity soften; heat warps them out of round; a case left in a hot car can be ruined. Other causes are a barrel bore that does not match the ball size, a rough or dirty barrel, or a marker feeding faster than the hopper can supply. Store paint cool, dry, and level, and rotate the case occasionally.

Compressed air (HPA), if your marker is electronic. CO₂ pressure swings with temperature and liquid CO₂ entering the marker damages low-pressure pneumatic components in electropneumatic markers. HPA delivers consistent pressure and is standard at the competitive level. Simple mechanical markers run fine on CO₂.

A smaller, lighter ball — about 13 mm against the standard .68 caliber's 17 mm — that carries less energy to the target. It is used for low-impact play: younger players, corporate days, and casual sessions. It needs its own markers and hoppers; the two calibers are not interchangeable.

No. Every commercial field rents a marker, mask, hopper, and air tank, usually with overalls, as part of a package. Play a few times before buying anything. If you do buy one thing first, buy your own mask — fit and lens quality matter more than anything else you can spend money on.