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In Malaysia,
Paintball is a competitive game played like
any other competitive game, to win. It is
like a more challenging, high-stakes version
of tag, hide-and-seek, or capture the flag.
Because you shoot at other people (and get
shot at!), paintball requires specific
equipment such as goggles, a gun/marker,
pressurised gas, and paintballs. |
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It can be
played indoors or outdoors, with as few as
two people or as many as 500; a game can
last 5 minutes or 24 hours; it’s objective
might be to take something, bring something,
find something, or to simply be the last
person standing.
Depending on the game you play, tactics will
vary as well -- from being quiet and sneaky
and picking your shots carefully, to being
loud, fast, and shooting constantly. A
paintball game can be different every time,
but for enthusiasts, one thing remains the
same: the adrenaline rush!
As a
competitive game, its principles are very
simple... shoot or be shot! Which means that
game variations are almost infinite. But the
basic two groups of game are recreational
paintball (rec-ball) and tournament. Most
people are introduced to paintball through
rec-ball and then move on to tournament if
they so chose. Rec-ballers and tournament
players are often seen as having distinct
personalities, so it is up to you to choose
what fits you the best. Some people are
dedicated rec-ballers who aren’t interested
in tournament competition and feel
tournaments over-emphasise winning to the
point of making the game stressful, not fun.
Other people are dedicated tournament
players. If they’re not competing, they’re
practicing. These players believe rec-ball
is too casual and that tournaments are the
way to showcase talent and teamwork. Still
other people like to mix it up and play both
ways. |
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Rec-ball and
tournament are distinct, but those
differences appeal to the player’s own
differences. Of course, the best thing is to
try both types of games various times and
see how you feel. You might end up
surprising yourself about your paintball
playing tastes! In the end, it doesn’t
matter what kind of player you are as long
as you remember to be safe, have fun, and
stick to the rules. |
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'Rec-ball'
is a catch-all phrase meaning just about any
paintball game that you don’t play for money (ie,
tournaments). Rec-ball can include big games,
scenarios, walk-ons (where you just show up at a
field and get put with other players to form a
team), etc.
There are a wide variety of rec-ball playing fields.
It is often played in the woods, but can also be
played in outdoor concept fields (ie, urban assault,
village) or in indoor fields.Rec-ball is the kind of
playing you do for fun, without permanent teams, and
where the slate of wins and loses is wiped clean at
the end of the day.
This type of game is also popular for corporate team
building engagements. but do often end with a
'last-man-standing' tournament as the final game. |
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| TACTICS |
| Successful
paintball assaults require that teammates take on
two very different roles – suppression and invasion
– to accomplish one goal. |
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Suppression
Suppression is not a tactic meant to eliminate the
enemy, but instead to distract them and shake them
up, so they fail to notice your side’s invading
team. Paintballers must be very good at
concentrating and controlling their fire if they are
to be good at suppression.
A suppression team should consist of more than one
person. They should realize that their job is not to
get the other team’s players out. (That is just an
occasional bonus.) Their job is to make the other
team keep their heads down when the invading team is
trying to move past them. Suppression fire should be
concentrated on one target at a time, it must be
accurate, it must be steady, and suppressing team
players must be willing to move around in order to
keep the enemy feeling trapped.
Two or three suppression players constantly
harassing one enemy position will make the people
hiding there so flustered that they won’t even have
the chance to see the invading team sneak past.
Don’t get so distracted by carrying out this tactic
that you fail to see the enemy’s invasion teams come
down your flanks!
Once your invading team is out of danger from one
position, forget it and move forward. Either the
enemy will retreat or they will be eliminated as
your suppression team gets behind them. |
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Invasion
A paintball invasion team should focus first and
foremost on concealment. The team should be made up
of a pretty small number of players that are good at
being quiet, playing tight, and have patience to
pass up shots that will give away their position.
This tactic requires you to get to a position where
maximum damage can be done, rather than to get a
nice shot on one enemy player that didn’t see you
coming.
Once the invasion team has made its way downfield
and is in a position to take out multiple targets,
or get the flag, or whatever the objective is, they
should do it with full intensity. Paintball guns are
not a quiet way to do anything. Once you fire,
people will know where you are and it is up to you
to do as much damage as possible before getting
taken out yourself. If your damage is bad enough,
you may find that the other team is too shocked to
mount a counter-attack, and you can make a hasty
retreat. But, that option will only present itself
if first you unload a bunch of paint into the other
team. |
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