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