How much does paintballing cost, is paintballing dangerous and other essential paintball questions answered

Everything that you wanted to know about paint, but didn’t have the balls to ask

We looked at the 7 burning questions that new players ask about paintball and answered them in our comprehensive paintball FAQ. Ready for the knowledge?

1. How do you play paintball?

In paintball each team is assigned an objective, such as “capture the flag” or “eliminate the enemy team”. To help you achieve your objective, you are equipped with a gun that fires balls of paint, as well as a facemask for protection. In most games players are out when they are hit by a paintball, but the rules may vary depending on the specific scenario. The team that achieves its objective is declared the winner. The referee, usually known as a marshal, enforces the rules to make sure that no one is cheating or engaging in dangerous play.

If you’d like to learn more about some of the tactics and strategies involved in paintballing, try reading our “paintballing for beginners” guide.      Click here for where to play

2. Can you be a paintball sniper?

A “paintball sniper” is a semi-mythical figure that is able to land shots on their target from distance with great precision, often while remaining completely unseen. Our paintball markers are limited to an effective range of about 25 metres (80 feet) for safety, making true sniping something of a challenge. However, if you are interested in purchasing an awesome (but expensive) paintball sniper rifle, then you can play with a range of 91.4 metres (300 feet). Being an effective sniper at that range takes great practice however, as you’ll need to compensate for the paintball’s arching flight through the air, as well as any wind speed and direction.

3. How much does paintballing cost?

Paintballing doesn’t have to be expensive — we have plenty of cheap paintballing places both inside and outside the London area.

At Paintballing Ltd, a full day of paintballing action (roughly 9:00 am till 3:30 - 4:00 pm) will cost you £9.99 when you book online. You get 100 paintballs for free included in that price, but you’ll most likely get through those and need to buy some more at some point. An average player shoots between 500 - 600 paintballs in a day, but this varies greatly depending on the individual. Buying your own gear starts off relatively inexpensive, with an entry-level mask and marker available for £75. However, the price skyrockets when you start looking at the top-end professional equipment, which can easily cost hundreds if not thousands of pounds.

4. Why is paintball so much fun?

Few games get your pulse racing and the adrenaline pumping quite like paintball. The buzz of our first paintball battle is something that we all remember and this excitement is certainly a big factor of why the game is so much fun. But perhaps the best element of paintballing is the people. At its heart, paintballing is a team game, and you paintball-live or paintball-die depending on your team ability to work together to overcome adversity. This creates many meaningful bonds and shared memories that keep paintball players coming back for more!

5. How old do you have to be to play paintball?

Anyone that is eleven or older can play paintball, so long as they are in good health. Junior players aged 11-15 must have their parent or guardian sign a consent form before they arrive. If you are sixteen or older, you do not need a parent to sign your consent form. Players under the age of eleven cannot play paintball. If you are thinking of taking your child to play paintball, remember that children and adults can play together. This is actually a major advantage of paintball when compared to other team sports such as football, as parents and children are able to play together on the same side (or on different sides depending on how well you get along!)

6. Is paintball a sport?

Most definitely, yes. Paintball requires physical exertion, skill and is played for entertainment. There are professional paintball teams that earn a living through sponsorship and tournament winnings. There are governing bodies and recently a documentary was made about one of the professional teams. Paintball may not be in the Olympics just yet, but there are still a lot of people playing paintball for a living at a very high standard.

 7. Is paintball dangerous?

Short answer: no. Long answer: while the potential for serious accidents does exist, these risks can be managed relatively easily. Statistically speaking you are less likely to be injured while playing paintball than you are while skiing, playing rugby, football or even bowling, making paintballing one of the safest sports that is commonly played. Most paintball injuries are the types of bumps and bruises that are a normal part of running around in the woods, and the health benefits of getting outdoor exercise easily outweigh the minor inconvenience of a couple of bruises!

 Got a question that we didn’t answer? Check our other paintballing FAQs http://www.paintballing.co.uk/faqs.html