| Paintball is a great game for getting a lot of | | | | - Paintball Central Forums - |
| exercise,challenging yourself and having fun. But as a | | | | - Forum (Oregon) - |
| newbie, you mayfind yourself embarrassed because | | | | - PaintballForum.ca - |
| you don't know the rules, orintimidated by more | | | | - - |
| experienced players. You may be hesitant togo out | | | | - - |
| and play your first game because you're not sure | | | | - PaintballForums.net - |
| what toexpect. If you do some research first, you will | | | | - Paintball-Forums.com/BGnM's Paintball Forums - |
| quickly find thatthe information you need to feel a lot | | | | - - |
| more comfortable and a lotless like a newbie is easily | | | | - Paintball In 5 Forum - |
| found, especially online. | | | | - Paintball Review Forums - |
| But first a note of warning for all newbies... | | | | - - |
| Paintball is Not a War Game! | | | | - PbFreak.net Forums - |
| Many people mistakenly believe that paintball is a "war | | | | - PbNation - |
| game." | | | | - Phoenix Paintball Forum - |
| However, it's really more like hide-and-seek, with the | | | | - Southwest Paintball Forums (UK) - |
| marking ofthe opposing team being the way to tag the | | | | - Utah Paintball Forums - |
| person out. This isespecially true of recball, woodsball, | | | | - Vancouver Paintball Forums - |
| jungle paintball andscenario games. It is advised that | | | | - WARPIG Rec Talk - |
| you do not refer to theopposing team as "the enemy" | | | | 5. Subscribe to Paintball Magazines |
| or a mark as a "kill"! Somecommunities have shut | | | | There are several good paintball magazines, both in |
| down paintball because players engaged in | | | | print andonline. |
| "war" talk during and after a game. | | | | For print magazines, go to your local bookstore and |
| How to Quickly and Easily Find Useful Information | | | | spend sometime at the magazine racks. Pick the |
| About Paintball | | | | magazine that appeals to youmost and look in the |
| 1. Research the Internet | | | | front for their Web address (URL) orsubscription |
| The World Wide Web contains a vast storehouse of | | | | address. Subscribe online or by mail. It's a lotcheaper to |
| information onpaintball. To make the best use of the | | | | subscribe to a magazine than to buy it each month |
| Internet, search Google or | | | | fromthe newsstand. |
| Yahoo for specific paintball terms like "woodsball | | | | For online magazines, search on Yahoo or Google for |
| tactics,"instead of the general term "paintball." Look for | | | | "paintballmagazine online" or "online paintball magazine." |
| sites that listpaintball rules and offer hints, tips, tactics | | | | Several onlinemagazines are listed in the Resources |
| and strategy. Youcan also check out sites that review | | | | section of the "Paintball |
| paintball equipment, butbeware: a newbie doesn't need | | | | Heroes" ebook, including: |
| an expensive paintball gun to getstarted. Many of the | | | | - Action Pursuit Games - |
| expensive guns don't work any better than agood | | | | - Crossfire Paintball Magazine - |
| newbie gun. This is what the paintball players who | | | | - Force of Nature - |
| wrote | | | | - Paintball Games International - |
| "Paintball Heroes" say, "If you're a newbie, buy a good | | | | - Paintball Sports International - |
| qualitysemi-automatic gun, but don't spend a fortune on | | | | - The Paintball Times - |
| it. And forgoodness sake, learn how to clean it, load it, | | | | - Paintball 2Xtremes Magazine - |
| take it apart, andput it back together again...in your | | | | 6. Watch Experienced Players |
| sleep!" | | | | So, you just got marked, eh? Disappointed? Well, don't |
| 2. Read Books | | | | be, thisis your opportunity to quietly observe those |
| Go online and visit or (Chapters.Indigo.ca in Canada). | | | | more experiencedplayers from the sidelines. Pay |
| Search for books on paintball. | | | | attention to: |
| Check out the reviewers' comments carefully before | | | | - The way they hold their gun |
| you buy. Orbetter yet, trot down to your local big | | | | - The way they move from bunker to bunker |
| bookstore and see if youcan find copies of the | | | | - The way they signal to their teammates. |
| paintball books you found online. Taketime to browse | | | | See if you can figure out their plan. All good players go |
| through them and see which ones appeal to youmost. | | | | intoevery game knowing the plan their team decided |
| Check the local prices against the prices online before | | | | on before the gamestarted. Here are some questions |
| youbuy. | | | | to ask yourself as you observeexperienced players: |
| 3. Read E-Books | | | | - What are they wearing? |
| You may find a few paintball e-books online, too, but | | | | - How do they shoot from a bunker? |
| these areharder to find than print books. "Paintball | | | | - How do they steady their gun? |
| Heroes" at is a great e-book for beginners. | | | | - What bunkers do they choose? See if you can |
| It was written by two teenage paintball fanatics! | | | | figure out why. |
| To find other e-books, try searching for "paintball | | | | - How do they keep from getting marked? |
| ebook" on | | | | Keep mental notes of everything you see. Later, |
| Google or Yahoo. Ask around in the forums and pay | | | | compare what younoted with the information you've |
| attention toadvertisements on paintball sites. | | | | been researching. Where does itmatch? Where are |
| 4. Study the Forums | | | | there differences? Can you figure out why? Doesit |
| Also search for "paintball forums" and you will find | | | | have to do with: |
| experts andnewbies alike sharing information about | | | | - The terrain |
| paintball equipment andstrategy. However, be aware | | | | - The type of game being played |
| that much of the information sharedon forums is | | | | - The player's age or experience |
| misleading, if not just plain wrong. Pay attentionto what | | | | - The rules of the field |
| is said by forum leaders and well-known players, but | | | | - The player's style of play or position (point man, |
| takeeverything said by anyone else with a grain of | | | | safety,sniper, back man, front man, rover, etc.)? |
| salt...or a shakerof salt, for that matter! | | | | 7. Volunteer |
| - (Autococker Owners Group) - | | | | Later, when you have a few games under your belt, |
| - Atomix Paintball Forums - | | | | volunteer toreferee at your local field. This is the fast |
| - BSG Paintball Forums - | | | | way to becoming anexpert paintball player, as you are |
| - Calgary Paintball Forums - | | | | able to observe not only thegreat players' methods, |
| - Epic Paintball Forums - (Click on | | | | but all the newbie mistakes, too. |
| "Forums.") | | | | Pay Attention to the Experts, Not to the Know-it-alls |
| - Fat Bob's Paintball Forum - | | | | All in all, paintball information can be found easily |
| - Force of Nature Forums - | | | | andquickly, especially online. Just remember to go to |
| - New York City Paintball Forums - | | | | the expertsfor help (books, e-books, magazines, forum |
| - - | | | | leaders, pro players,etc.) and to stay away from the |
| - Paintball Addict Forums - | | | | newbie-talk and ramblings ofknow-it-alls that fill many |
| - Forums - | | | | of the forums. |
| - Forums - | | | | |