Like lasertag? We have a more, uh, colorful sport: paintball. You get to run around armed with guns that shoot little plastic pellets of paint. And when you nail someone – splat!
We took some kids to play paintball at Country Club Paintball in Glenwood so they could get the feel of the game. Here’s what we discovered.
— In paintball’s simplest form, two opposing teams compete at a game of Capture the Flag. The game is won when a player successfully returns the opponent’s flag to his or her own team’s territory. During the game, players shoot paintballs to eliminate their opponents. (Don’t worry, that just means they’re knocked out of the game.) Martin N., 13, of Highland Park especially liked the word “eliminated.” He said it sounded “ominous.”
–A game lasts about 15 minutes. All games are refereed to ensure player safety and fair play.
–Country Club Paintball is an indoor field about the size of a football field. But you can also find outdoor fields.
–You’ll usually pay $15 to $25 to play for a day. That includes rental of goggles, gun and paintballs. Extra paintballs are typically 10 cents or less each.
–If you’ve ever had a balloon fight, the familiar (and often untrue) phrase “You missed me!” is replaced by the unmistakable mark left by a fluorescent paintball. You can’t cheat.
–Safety is given top priority. Rules are serious: No swearing. No racial, ethnic or religious name-calling. Goggles must be kept on at all times, and the barrel plug that fits into the end of your gun must be in the gun whenever you’re not on the field.
–Two types of paint guns are available: pump and semi-automatic. Pump guns are manually pumped each time you fire a paintball. Semi-automatic guns reset automatically after the trigger is pulled. Both can shoot a paintball up to 75 feet. Rental costs are $10 for a pump gun and goggles, $15 for a semi-automatic and goggles.
–Goggles on, barrel plug out, players crouch on the field. Scary music is piped in.
–Here’s a tip from Steven B., 14, of Wilmette: Wear dark or camouflage clothes. “Sometimes you just want to blend in, and this is the place to do it,” he said. “It’s nice pretending to be anonymous occasionally.”
–Marissa G., 17, of Chicago was concerned that she could get hurt if someone shot her at close range. But Patrick A., 14, of Voorhees, N.J., said, “It doesn’t hurt to get hit with a paintball pellet. It just stings for a few seconds.”
Marissa was also reassured to learn that if she spotted her attacker at close range, she could call “surrender” and the shooter would not be allowed to shoot. (But she would be out of the game.)
–All kids who are under 18 must have a parent sign a waiver giving them permission to play.
–Playing is a good, safe way to get out aggressions. Patrick said, “Each time I fired at the other team, I thought of too much homework, mean teachers and big kids who pick on little kids.”
–It helps to be physically fit to play this game. As with all strenuous exercise, participants should stretch and warm up before playing.
–If you get hit, don’t sweat the paint job. The pellets are water-soluble and should wash out easily.
