Standard rules
Paintball's rules descend directly from the rulebook Bob Gurnsey wrote for National Survival Game in the early 1980s. The details vary by field and by format; the core has been remarkably stable for forty years.
Get marked, you're out
Two or more teams compete to achieve an objective. Players eliminate each other by hitting an opponent with a paintball that breaks and leaves a mark. A player who is hit calls themselves out and leaves the field. That is the entire game; everything else is elaboration.
The rules every field enforces
Masks on. Always.
Goggles stay on for the entire time you are inside the playing area or any live zone, whether or not a game is in progress. This is the one rule with no flexibility anywhere — removing a mask on a live field will get you removed from it.
What counts as a hit
A player is hit when a paintball breaks and leaves a solid mark of at least a specified minimum size — commonly nickel- or quarter-sized — anywhere on their body or equipment. Most fields and all major tournaments count hits on the marker, pod pack, and gear as well as the body.
Splatter and bounces
Paint that lands on you after breaking on something else is splatter and is normally not a hit. A ball that strikes you and bounces off without breaking is a bounce and is not a hit. If you cannot tell, call for a referee — or call yourself out.
Calling yourself out
When hit, shout "hit" or "out", raise your marker or a hand above your head, and walk off the field by the designated route without shooting. Wiping a hit to stay in play is the sport's cardinal sin and generally means ejection.
Velocity limit
Markers are capable of well over 300 feet per second, but fields chronograph every marker and cap it — 280 fps is the widespread standard in the US and UK, with some jurisdictions setting their own limits. Shooting hot is a safety violation, not a competitive edge.
Barrel blocks off the field
The moment you leave the playing area, a barrel block (barrel sock or plug) goes on and the marker is put on safe or disconnected from its air source. No exceptions in staging areas, the chrono station, or the car park.
Surrender rules and bunkering
A paintball travelling at 280 fps hurts more the closer it is fired from. Most recreational fields therefore enforce a minimum engagement distance — commonly somewhere between 10 and 20 feet, though it varies. A player who closes inside that distance must offer their opponent the chance to surrender before shooting.
The convention is to call it clearly: "Surrender!" The opponent either takes it and walks off, or declines and takes the shot. A related courtesy is the barrel tag — touching an opponent with your barrel instead of shooting them, which most fields count as an elimination.
Tournament play is different
Surrender rules are rarely used in competitive tournaments, because they impose a real disadvantage on the attacking player: they must hesitate while the opponent is free to fire immediately. In tournament play, closing on a bunker and eliminating the player behind it at point-blank range — bunkering — is a legitimate and common tactic.
Game types
| Format | Objective | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| Capture the Flag | Take the opposing flag to your base, or a centre flag to the opponent's base | 5–20 minutes |
| Elimination | Eliminate every player on the opposing team | 5–15 minutes |
| Attack & Defend | One team holds a position or objective; the other assaults it | 10–25 minutes |
| Protect the President | One player is the VIP; their team escorts them, the other team hunts them | 10–20 minutes |
| Speedball / X-ball | Fast symmetrical field of inflatable bunkers; points scored per flag hang | 2–20 minutes per point |
| Scenario | Large-scale themed game with objectives, roles and a storyline | Hours to multiple days |
Woodsball
The original form. Natural terrain, large fields, real cover. Rewards stealth, patience, and terrain reading over raw rate of fire — the game as it was played in Henniker in 1981.
Speedball
Small, symmetrical, inflatable-bunker fields. Extremely fast, highly athletic, heavily reliant on communication and covering fire. This is what tournament paintball means today.
Scenario
Large games recreating a historical or fictional premise, with hundreds of players, assigned roles, objectives, and games that can run for a full weekend.
What actually happens when you turn up
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01
Waiver and check-in
You sign a liability waiver. Under-18s need a parent or guardian signature; most fields set a minimum age around 10 for low-impact and 12–18 for standard play, depending on local law.
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02
Gear issue
Rental marker, mask, hopper, air tank, and usually overalls. Fit the mask properly — it should be snug with no gaps at the temples or under the chin.
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03
Safety briefing
Every field runs one and every field means it: masks-on rules, barrel blocks, how to call a hit, the boundaries, and how to leave the field safely. Listen to this even if you have played before, because local rules differ.
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04
Chrono
Your marker is fired over a chronograph to confirm it is under the velocity limit. Rental guns are pre-set; if you bring your own, expect to be checked and to be re-checked during the day.
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05
Play
Games run in rotations with breaks to reload and re-air. Move between cover, keep your head down, communicate, and call your hits honestly. The last part matters more than anything else you will do.
The unwritten rule
Paintball is largely self-refereed, even at fields with marshals. The whole sport depends on players calling their own hits honestly. A player who wipes paint to stay in the game is not being competitive; they are breaking the mechanism the game runs on. Call it, walk off, and go again.
Know the gear before you go
Markers, masks, air systems, and what the safety record actually looks like.