Paintball: Most Popular Articles

Free Online Paintball Games
The best free paintball games available online.

How To Play Paintball
The key to a fun game of paintball 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.

Tippmann A-5
Review of the Tippman A-5 Paintball Gun. Learn how accurate, upgradeable, consistent and durable the Tippmann A-5 Paintball Marker is.

Tippmann 98 Custom
The Tippmann Model 98 Custom is an update of the legendary Model 98 that is more easily upgraded but still retains the original's durability and reliability. The Model 98 Custom is a good choice for beginners who are interested in heavily customizing their own paintball gun or for players who want a decent gun that will last for years to come.

How to be a Paintball Sniper
Paintball snipers don't require massive amounts of specialized equipment, just a good sense of where to hide and when to shoot.

Upgrades for Beginner Guns
Beginner guns can't be upgraded to be high-end, but a few basic upgrades can make them more consistent, more comfortable and more effective.

Before You Buy a Paintball Gun
You've played paintball a few times with borrowed or rented equipment, and you've decided it's time to buy your first gun (marker). Now, though, you must decide which one to get. Before you start searching, ask yourself some basic questions which will direct your decision.

CO2 or Compressed Air
The differences between CO2 and compressed air.

Angel 1
The Angel 1 comes with a high-end price but also packs high-end performance. For your playing style it may or may not be the best paintball gun, but it definitely can compete with any gun out there.

Spyder Pilot
Kingman's Sypder Pilot ACS is an electro-mechanical, blowback paintball gun that is ideal for the player who wants the speed of an electronic gun matched with the simplicity and ease of use of a mechanical gun. Its lower cost isn't bad, either. While it really doesn't compare to a high-end electro or more expensive mechanical paintball guns, it is one of the better entry-level blowbacks available.

Spyder Xtra
The Spyder Xtra is Kingman's nicest semi-auto, mechanical gun. It's very similar to the Spyder Sonix but comes with an expansion chamber and drop forward, making it a good option for the beginner.

Smart Parts Ion
The Smart Parts Ion is a low-cost electropneumatic paintball gun designed for the player who wants a tournament-level paintball gun at a basement price. While you won't mistake it for a top of the line gun, it is a good performer and can compete in the same ballpark as any gun on the market.

How to Move
Whether it's woodsball or speedball, the key to victory in almost any paintball situation is to out maneuver your opponent. The best equipment in the world won't win you a game if you're out played with better timed movement and superior strategies.

Electronic Versus Mechanical
The differences between electronic and mechanical guns, the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Spyder Sonix
The Spyder Sonix is one step up from Kingman's most basic paintball gun and is a good looking choice for the beginner player. Whether the upgrades that improve on the base Spyder model are worth the extra cost is entirely a question of preference.

Basic Safety Rules
Basic rules to keep paintball fun and safe.

Barrel Basics
A brief description and important information about paintball barrels.

Smart Parts SP-8
The Smart Parts SP-8 is not the fastest or lightest gun around, but it's upgradeable, durable and well-designed for the woodsball or scenario player who wants to delve into the world of electronic paintball guns.

Strong Side Attack
Step by step instructions on how to do a strong side attack.

Does It Hurt to Get Hit
Is paintball painful? What are the chances of bruising and getting injured?

Shooting Positions
In paintball you must be able to shoot accurately while running, standing, crouching, kneeling, sitting and laying. Each position requires a slightly different technique, but with practice you can become proficient from any position on the field.

Woodsball Clothing
What clothing to wear when you go play a game of woodsball.

Dangerous Power Fusion
The Dangerous Power Fusion is a tournament grade paintball gun that can easily compete with the best guns out there. While it is slightly heavier and has fewer firing modes than other high-end guns, it also only costs a fraction of the price.

The Run-Through
When you're down players late in a game, sometimes all you can do is risk victory and try to make a mad dash to glory.

Necromancer
The team with the most players left wins, but each team has the chance to raise their dead once.paintball game types paint ball game types paintball guns paintball rules how to play paintball

Practice Paintball Alone
Just as the best basketball players spend hours alone in the gym, to fully develop your technique at paintball you need to invest some time alone.

Basic Equipment to Play
Getting started in paintball is not difficult. You only need a few, basic items and you will be ready to play.

Basic Speedball Field Setup
How to build a basic speedball field.

How to Leapfrog
Leapfrogging is a basic team movement where two or more players take turns advancing while always being covered by another member of their team.

Performance of High-End Guns
Despite what companies would like you to believe, most high-end guns all have similar performance and what actually differs is how the gun feels to the individual user.

Spyder Victor
The new Spyder Victor is Kingman's update of its most-basic paintball gun and it holds its own compared to similar guns. It is not particularly accurate, fast or consistent, but the Victor is attractive, cheap, easy to use, very upgradable and thus makes a great first gun for the beginner player.

Capture the Flag
How to play capture the flag in paintball.

Basic Woodsball Field Setup
What to look for in a field and how to organize things so you're ready to play.

Stryker STR-1 Review
The Stryker STR-1 is a basic semi-automatic paintball gun that is better looking than similarly priced guns but only has average performance. It doesn't really shine in any area or have any major defects but it is quite inexpensive. If you are getting ready to purchase your first gun it's not a bad choice since it comes with all the accessories you need to play.

Paintball Gun Consistency
If you want paintball after paintball to land on top of each other at a distance you must fire each ball exactly the same. A few tricks can make a gun shoot very consistently.

Tippmann Model 98
The Tippmann Model 98 is legend in the paintball industry. While there have been updated versions of the gun (such as the ), the basic Model 98 is still a very reliable paintball gun that is a great choice for the beginning or intermediate paintball player.

What is Woodsball?
Woodsball (or Outlaw Paintball) is a title given to almost any variety of paintball that is not played on level, professional fields. It often consists of simply a group of friends who decide to play paintball in the trees or in the desert.

How Much Paintball Costs
Paintball can cost as much or as little as you are reasonably willing to pay. Similar to many other action sports, it can be relatively inexpensive to begin, but the more involved you become, the more you can expect your costs to rise.

Monster Balls Review
Review of Monster Balls Paintballs by Brass Eagle.

Differences Between Hoppers
Gravity-fed hoppers are simply containers that hold paintballs while motorized hoppers physically help feed paintballs into a paintball gun.

Spyder Victor Review
The Spyder Victor is Kingman's lowest-end, most-basic paintball gun on the market but it holds its own compared to similar guns. It is not particularly accurate, fast or consistent, but the Victor is cheap, easy to use, very upgradable and thus makes a great first gun for the beginner player.

What is speedball?
Speedball is a variation of paintball that is played on small, flat fields, and as its name suggests, the pace of the game is very quick.

O-Ring Replacement
O-rings are used in paintball guns to seal off spaces, ensuring that air does not leak from the gun. You typically find an o-ring wherever two pieces of metal connect and air passes through. O-rings are a vital part of the paintball gun but periodically need to be replaced. Fortunately there is a standard o-ring that almost all paintball guns use and it's the size you typically need to replace.

Air Pressure
The amount of pressure exerted on the inside of a tank or gun by the air inside. It is typically measured in pounds per square inch (psi).

Equipment for Scenario Games
Learn what equipment you need to bring to make the most of your time at a scenario game.

Spyder Victor II
The Spyder Victor II is a basic, beginner paintball gun and is very similar to the Spyder Victor but comes with a couple of up grades over the basic model. It's a solid beginner gun with lots of customizing potential but don't expect anything fancy out of the box.

Paintballer's Almanac
The Paintballer's Almanac is not a perfect book of paintball games but it is the largest and best collection of different paintball games available. Not all games are really feasible but there are enough variations of classic paintball games to keep the adventurous paintballer experimenting for many days on the field.

How Does CO2 Shoot a Paintball
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is in a compressed, liquid state inside a CO2 tank. When it is released from the tank it expands into gaseous CO2 which propels the paintball out of the chamber.

Center Flag
A variation of capture the flag that requires you to think, shoot and move quickly.

What's An Expansion Chamber?
The conversion of liquid Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to gaseous CO2 is an endothermic reaction which means that it takes in heat from the surrounding area and leaves the gun much colder.

How to Clean a Mask
Whether it's some splatter from a near hit or a full-on hit to the face, you need to get your mask back into top shape so you can get back in the game. While you can simply run a rag over the paint, to really get your mask clean you need to take a little more time and follow some simple steps.

Keep Your Mask From Fogging
Three ways to keep your mask from fogging.

Empire Reloader II
The Empire Reloader II is a sound-activated agitated hopper that does a good job of getting paintballs where the need to be. It is not as fast as a force-fed hopper but it is a cheaper and easier to use.

What to Look For In Paintballs
A good paintball will be perfectly round, have no visible line between the halves of the shell and be free of dimples or any misshaping.

Deathball
You have one minute to get as many bodies as possible to the other side of the field.

Base Capture
Base Capture is a simple variation of capture the flag that encourages quick games and mad dashes but requires significant amounts of strategy to successfully compete.

Stryker Paintballs Review
Review of Stryker Paintballs.

JT Spectra Flex 8 Mask Review
JT's newest top-end Flex mask is low-profile, comfortable and does a great job of not fogging with its thermal lens. While it might under protect if you have a longer face and the lens is extremely difficult to remove, if a comfortable, low-profile mask is what you are looking for, the Spectra Flex 8 is a solid choice.

How to Do the Drop Test
Perform the drop test to determine if your paintballs are either too hard or too brittle.

What is Scenario Paintball?
Scenario paintball is a genre of paintball games where large groups of players compete for specific objectives, often simulating famous battles from history or from movies

Paintball - GuideReviews
An index of GuideReviews for the Paintball guide site.

Who is Paintball For?
Paintball is for anyone who likes competition, action, strategy and skill.

Pocket Full of Balls
While it's often exciting to shoot a stream of paintballs as fast as you can pull the trigger, sometimes it's nice to slow things down a little bit so the focus is on accuracy and positioning rather than the speed of your fingers. The simple way to slow things down is to remove all hoppers and play one shot at a time.

Empire Reloader B
The Empire Reloader B is the big brother of the Halo B and is almost the same except it is sound activated rather than relying on a reflective eye. It is a good, reliable and very fast loader that will not let you down.

What to Look for in a Mask
Paintball Mask Basics

Halo B
The Halo B was one of the original high-speed, force-fed loaders on the market and it still performs very well. It is on the heavy side and a few upgrades might be warranted, but it is still a great choice. The Halo B is the little brother of the Empire B but, depending on your preference, might be better for your game.

About - Paintball Buyer's Guide
Find Guide reviews, top picks, and advice you can use before you buy.

Elimination
A. When a player has been hit or marked by a paintball that breaks on their body or equipment. Once a player is eliminated, they must then leave the playing field. [p]B. A variation of paintball where opposing teams try to eliminate all the players on the opposite team.

How to Chrono
If you are shooting too fast, paintballs can leave massive welts and bruises. If you are shooting too slow, paintballs won't break on your target. Either way, it pays to properly chrono your gun and shoot at the right speed.

Funtrak Panzer Tank
The Panzer Paintball tank by Funtrak is the first personal tracked battle tank that is designed specifically for the sport of paintball.

What Does Ounce Mean with CO2
Ounces with CO2 tanks refer to how many weight ounces of liquid CO2 can fit in the tank.

VIP
Rather than focusing on eliminating the other team, wouldn't it be easier to narrow your focus onto one opposing player? VIP places you with the responsibility of protecting your VIP while also attempting to eliminate your opponent's.

Paintball - HowTos
An index of HowTos for the Paintball guide site.

Paintball - Articles
An index of Articles for the Paintball guide site.

Viewloader Revolution
The Viewloader Revolution is a basic, agitated hopper but it has been around for years and has earned its reputation for reliability and quality for the lower-priced, entry-level agitated hoppers.

Social Paintball Sites
Seeing the success of social networking sites such as MySpace and FaceBook, web-savvy paintballers have created the concept of the Social Paintball Site (SPS). An SPS focuses on what's important to paintballers: finding new people to play paintball with, space to brag about exploits and a convenient way to share information about equipment, strategy, teams and events. If you need to network, meet people or simply want to spend some quality time reading about paintball, try out an SPS.

Paintball Ball
A non-toxic, paint filled ball made of gelatin that can be fired from a paintball marker and breaks on contact with other surfaces.

Scenario Paintball
A variety of woodsball where many players come together and play long games (up to a week long) with specific objectives such as capturing and defending flags for certain periods of time or reenacting famous battles, and different themes such as Axis and Allies or Aliens and Marines.

Are My Paintballs Too Old?
The best way to test to see if paintballs are too old is to perform the drop test.

Off-Handed
While few people are born ambidextrous, many wish they were. With a little practice, though, you can learn to competitively play with either hand. It also helps if everyone else is learning at the same time.

Why Not Shoot Old Paintballs?
Reasons why old paintballs are not good to shoot.

Dye Rhino Cover
The Dye Rhino Cover is durable, effective and versatile protection for your air tanks. It is a battle-tested veteran of many battles and does an excellent job of keeping your tanks free from dings and scratches. It is not the cheapest tank cover available, but it is definitely one of the best.

Bunker
Any stationary, man-made device that players are able to hide behind during a paintball game. Bunkers can be as complex as custom-designed, inflatable walls or as simple as a pile of sticks pushed up against a tree.

Viewloader Quantum
While the low price might be tempting when you decide to try out an agitated hopper, be sure to pass on the Quantum and save up for anything that is not continuously agitated. Viewloader makes many great loaders but this is not one of them.

Pump
A variety of paintball gun that must be manually re-cocked between shots. This is performed by moving a handle or grip forward and then backwards along the barrel of the gun.

What's a Venturi Bolt?
A paintball bolt is the part of a paintball gun that moves the ball forward into the chamber, seals off the chamber and then releases compressed gas to propel the paintball down the barrel. With a classic bolt, the air comes out of the bolt through a large hole and propels the ball forward. Venturi bolts were designed to dissipate the air and allow lots of little blasts of air to hit the ball.

Episode 1
Alex Fraige is captain of San Diego Dynasty but has a surprisingly laid back lifestyle and a creative artistic streak.

Paintball Tools
Paintball guns sometimes break and it's a good idea to go to the field with some tools so you can get yours shooting pretty if there's a problem. You don't need to bring you whole workshop, but a few tools will always come in handy.

Paint to Barrel Match
Something many players don't realize is that different brands of paintballs are different sizes. Matching your paint to your barrel will include your consistency.

Christmas Wish List 2007
Looking outside is quick to remind us of the cold weather many of us enjoy around the end of December. While this inclement weather typically means that paintball guns are stored and air tanks are empty, it doesn't mean that a paintballer's heart isn't outside on the field. To help your paintballer pass the time to spring, here's the 2007 Paintball Christmas Wish List.

Viewloader VLocity Jr.
The VLocity Jr. is a high-speed, force-fed paintball loader that can keep up with the fastest paintball guns. It doesn't have quite as many features as its big brother the VLocity, but it also costs less.

How to Choose Teams
While it might seem basic, evenly matched teams are necessary for a competitive game of paintball.

Where to Buy Paintball Gear
While paintball is a fast growing sport with millions of players worldwide, there are still just a few places you can buy new equipment: large retailers, specialty stores and online.

Speedball
Paintball that is played on flat, small, enclosed fields with man-made barriers and obstacles. Games typically last less than ten minutes and emphasis is placed on quick movement and fast shooting.

Barrel Plug
A protective device that fits in the end of a barrel and physically prohibits a paintball from leaving the barrel accidentally.

Barrel Socks and Barrel Plugs
Proper paintball safety requires players to use a barrel plug or barrel sock whenever masks are off. It's not that hard - when the game is over, everyone needs to simply put on their barrel protection before masks are removed. If everyone did this and people didn't mess around with their guns in the staging area without any protection, basically all severe paintball injuries could be avoided.

ASA
Air Source Adapter. The threaded female adapter that allows you to screw your air tank into your paintball gun.

Woodsball
A variation of paintball that is played outdoors, typically in natural settings such as the forests or mountains. Fields are based on the native terrain and players utilize trees, rocks, gullies, and other natural features to hide and move.

BPS
Balls Per Second; the number of paintballs that a marker can fire in one second.

Compressed Air
Normal air that is compressed to high pressures (up to 4500 psi). When it is released into a paintball marker it expands and forces paintballs out of the barrel at high speed.

Eyes
Electronic devices that will not allow a paintball gun to fire until a paintball is completely loaded into the chamber, thus reducing the risk of misfired or chopped paintballs.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
A gas that is stored in high pressure tanks in its liquid form. When it is released into a paintball marker it expands and forces paintballs out of the barrel at high speed.

Xtreme Paintball 9
Alex Lundqvist is known in the paintball world for his on-field exploits but he's more recognizable from his side career as a Swedish supermodel.

PSI
Pounds per Square Inch. The pressure inside a compressed air or CO2 tank. Compressed air tanks typically fill to either 3000 psi or 4500 psi.

Viewloader VLocity
The VLocity is a high-speed, force-fed paintball loader that can keep up with the fastest paintball guns. Its light weight, auto reverse, select-force and reliability make it a great choice for any tournament player, though it's higher cost might put it out of some price ranges.

Xtreme Paintball 12
The semifinals wrap up with a tough match between LA Infamous and Stockholm Joy Division and two matches featuring San Diego Dynasty and Pittsburgh All Americans.

Xtreme Paintball 8
JC Whittington is a country boy from Maryland but now competes as the leader of Pasadena Bad Company.

Stock Class
Paintball that is played only with pump paintball guns that run on 12 gram CO2 cartridges. The emphasis in stock class paintball is movement, stealth, and one-shot kills.

Vert Feed
A feed neck that allows the a hopper to attach vertically onto a gun and eliminates the need for an elbow.

Episode 3
Ryan Greenspan epitomizes the SoCal surfer lifestyle but he also shoots a mean paintball.

Paintball - FAQs
An index of FAQs for the Paintball guide site.

Xtreme Paintball 13
The show wraps up with the finals of the Boston event. After the first game that ends in a draw, San Diego Dynasty pulls of two dominate victories and finishes with the title.

3-Shot Burst
A setting on many electronic paintball guns that causes the gun to fire three times with a single pull of the trigger.

Paintball - StepBySteps
An index of StepBySteps for the Paintball guide site.

Xtreme Paintball 10
Quarterfinal action as the Pittsburgh All Americans, San Diego Dynasty, Stockholm Joy Division and Edmonton Impact fight to make it to the semifinals.

Paintball - TopPicks
An index of TopPicks for the Paintball guide site.

FPS
Feet Per Second; used to clock the speed of a paintball as it leaves the barrel of a gun.

Xtreme Paintball 5
Travis Lemanksi not only plays for one of the best professional teams he also is lead designer for Kee Action Sports.

Feed Neck
A small tube that projects from the chamber of a marker and is where you feed paintballs into the marker.

Spyder Clone
Any of a variety of blow-back markers that are based on the design made famous by Kingman's Spyder line of markers. Spyder clones have interchangeable parts with other Spyder clones, and are an economical and fairly reliable entry-level marker.

Episode 4
Rich Telford has been playing professional paintball for longer than anyone else and he's still committed to winning.

Paintball - QuickTips
An index of QuickTips for the Paintball guide site.

Paintball Gun
An air-powered device that is used to shoot paintballs.

Diameter
A. The width of a paintball at its thickest point. [p]B. The inside width of a barrel at its narrowest point.

Bore
The size of the diameter of a gun barrel.

Xtreme Paintball 6
Josh Davey is the head of the premiere Canadian professional paintball team - the Edmonton impact.

Paintball - Before You Buy
An index of Before You Buy Articles for the Paintball guide site.

Hopper
A container that fits on the top of a paintball marker and feeds paintballs into the marker.