Simply put. If you cannot see, you are no help to your team and you are endangering yourself. I would take being able to see and a pump 'gun over the best 'gun and fogged lenses (any day!!). So, when you buy your goggles, don't skimp. Get the thermal ones with a good field of view (if you already own goggles, go back and buy the thermal lenses for them). If you can, get a fan. You will never regret the purchase.

One last piece of goggle advise. Don't ever wipe paint off your goggles!! Paint is sticky. More times than not as you walk off the field, stuff will get in the paint. If you wipe it off, you could scratch the lens with the stuff that got stuck in the paint. Remember, you have thermal lenses, you paid good money so you could see, don't blow it now. TIP Get a spray bottle, fill it with water (just water) and throw it in your paintball gear bag. When you need to clean your goggles, spray all the yuck off and then dry them. You will have clean lenses and they will last a lot longer.

Ok, now back to "what gun should I buy?". I would highly suggest purchasing a semi-auto. They are just a lot easier to play with to start. You pull the trigger and a ball comes out the end. Very nice.

DO NOT purchase a tournament level gun right out of the blocks. Most newbies that do end up spending more time working on it than playing (because they don't know how to care for it and they break it or get it so gooped up that it doesn't work right). Get a decent semi and learn how to clean it. Practice cleaning it. Be able to clean it in your sleep! Then and only then, are you ready to head to the field to shoot it.

Practice, practice, practice. Practice shooting, practice loading and practice cleaning. When you get on the field, you don't want to have to think about these things. Besides, it is fun to practice loading and cleaning your first gun! You get into the paintball mindset and let other worries go.

WHAT SHOULD I WEAR??
This is really a two part question. The most important thing you will wear is your shoes. Bring something that has traction, ankle support, can get really dirty and won't hurt your feet! Don't get a new pair of boots on the way to the field unless you bring an ample supply of Band-Aids! If you do get new footwear, wear it at home for several days before you bring it to the field. Also, invest in a pair of socks designed (yes, socks are technological wonders, just like paintball gear!) for sports use.

I have seen people wear lots of different things while playing. The happy people tend to wear light hiking boots or football cleats. There are some very nice shoes made for paintball (I don't own any, but if you know the folks that make them, I'm a size 10 1/2 or 11). Check with your local store for more info about paintball specific footwear. Alternatives are high top sneakers, but remember, they will get dirty (often very dirty).

Wear gloves if you have them. If you don't, buy a cheap pair of brown cotton gardening gloves. You can cut the gloves to allow you to "handle" things better. I would suggest that you cut the top half off of the glove finger that you use to pull the trigger.

A lot of people wear hats when they play. I do, it keeps the paint splatter out of my hair and keeps me out of the sun when it is out. Bring one.

Remember, you can always take something off, but if you don't bring something, it could lessen your enjoyment.

Now here is a very controversial area, what clothes to wear. Wear cammies if you have them.

PaintBall players do not wear cammies because we want to pretend to play war or pretend to be in the army!! We wear them because we play in the woods. The green and brown of the cammies makes it harder for our opponents to see us (you know, they match the color of the trees and stuff). As a matter of fact, the army only has cammo's because they match the environment that army men and women work in, not because cammo's inherently make someone want to partake in warfare.

The important thing is to cover everything! Long pants and long sleeves. Go for a couple light layers vs one heavy one. This minimizes the impact of a paintball.

If you don't have cammies, wear something that is dark, comfortable to move in and appropriate for the weather you will be playing in. I can eliminate you just as well wearing a dark pair of sweats as I can in my nifty paintball outfit. The nifty outfit just tends to intimidate new players like yourself (don't let it! *grin*).

That is it for today. Check back real soon and I'll move on to other common questions like "What is it like to play paintball??", "How old do you have to be??", "What are the rules??", "How much does it cost??" and my personal favorite, "Does it hurt??". All I can say right now to the last question is "Describe how chocolate tastes... There are so many ways to answer that question." Be assured that I have played for over 13 years and I don't like getting hurt. - Burt "Breeze" Talcott

TACTICS FOR NEW PLAYERS

Q: How do I hide?
A: Motion is often what leads to getting spotted. Someone may not actually see the player, but if the player's body disturbs a pattern of light in an area, that can attract attention and tell a sharp player someone is there. Noise is a giveaway, too. Keep big trees, rocks, thick brush, etc., between you and the other team. Don't cross large open spaces if you can avoid it, even if that means taking a longer route.
Learn how to "square" into cover, using the cover to keep from being seen. Crawl. Get your team to create a distraction so you can work in closer to the opponents.
A marker and a marker's loader have a shape that players learn to spot, so keep the gear out of sight also. Using camouflage helps when playing in the woods.
Q: How do you use the clock for spotting?
A: Think about a clock (not a digital clock!) Directly in front of you is 12 o'clock (your 12). If you stretched out your arms, your left hand would point toward your 9 o'clock and your right hand would point toward your 3 o'clock. Remember that your 12 is not my 12 if I'm at your 9, so call out whether he is at "your 12" or "my 12" to explain where the opponent is located.

EQUIPMENT - TYPES AND TERMS

Q: What is a dial rod?
A: A dial rod, or dialing rod, is a long piece of metal, usually aluminum, used to adjust the velocity of a pumpgun that has an adjuster in the bolt. The dialing rod goes down the barrel (with no ball in the chamber, or else the rod could not get into the bolt). It fits into a slot in the bolt and allows the player to turn the adjuster, changing pressure on the mainspring. More pressure raises the velocity. Less pressure lowers the velocity.
Q: What is a "venturi" bolt?
A: This refers in paintball to a bolt with several air holes in it. The idea is to shape the air flow as it leaves the bolt so that it does not "smack" the paintball hard all in one spot, but instead pushes on the ball over more of the ball's surface. That is to reduce the possibility of the ball breaking in the barrel. Venturi bolts that are properly designed for a marker's system have been shown very effective to reduce ball breakage.

TIPS
Equipment
'Guns
Q: What makes a good entry-level semi-auto for paintball?
A: First, it must be inexpensive; $200 seems to be the critical price point. Second, it has to be simple to operate, easy to maintain and reliable enough to survive the abuse a new player will subject it to until he learns how to take care of it properly. And third, an entry-level paintgun must have enough performance features to remain competitive when the owner makes the transition from playing with friends in the backyard to taking on regular players in at-a-field, walk-on games. In other words, low cost, good reliability and acceptable performance.
Q: How can I make my 'gun quieter?
A: Have holes added to your barrel, but before doing that, consider buying a replacement barrel that has holes in it. This is called a ported barrel. How quiet the barrel will be depends basically on the patterns of the holes, the barrel length, the speed at which the marker is shooting.

NEW PLAYERS & TOURNAMENTS

Q: What should a new player expect from a tournament?
A: Adrenaline. Excitement. Fun. And that people on the team will make mistakes. Tournaments raise the level of competition. A team of new players would do well to find a tournament that has a division for new players or rookies that limits the experience level of all the players.

Friendly Fire
by Jessica Sparks
     Have you been shot out of a game by your own teammate? Have you shot your own teammate? That's what is known as "friendly fire"-and it isn't. The person who was tagged has to leave the game no matter who put the paint on them.
     It's annoying if you have to leave a game because your teammate shot you. When it happens, control your annoyance. Wait until he's off the field, and ask him why it happened.
     It could have been his mistake completely. Or you might have moved so stealthily that he didn't know you had gotten that far in front of your own team. If you were in brush, he might have seen movement and shot.
     The lesson is to know what you are shooting at before you shoot.
     But it is part of paintball to shoot at an opponent who is very well concealed, so if you are a stealth player, spend a lot of time talking with your teammates to teach them what kind of moves you make. That might keep them from making you their target in error.
     New players do a lot of friendly fire. The excitement of the game tends to make them shoot anything that moves, friend or foe. Explain to new players to "look for the armband before you shoot" and that will help somewhat.
     Teach new players to ask, "What color are you?" to ask for the armband color. Also explain to them that opponents who have snuck up on them are likely not to answer, or may lie. Teach the new players how these rules work. New players, get an experienced player to explain to you how all this works.
     The more you play, the better you will get at knowing who is on your team. You will learn to recognize a teammate by his uniform, his marker, his loader, or even by the sound that his marker makes. This will help reduce the chance that you will friendly fire him.
     Try codes. Experienced players use codes to give information about the progress of the game. New players use codes to identify teammates. The new players can set up a team code, like "John" to which the answer must be "Wayne" or else you are free to send paint at the person who didn't give the right code answer.
     Friendly fire is a part of paintball. It happens. It's ok to get annoyed, but not angry, when you get friendly fired. Talk it out after the game is over and figure out why it happened. Learn how to keep it from happening as much as you possibly can.

See you in the woods!

Top

SPORTSMANSHIP
     Q: Why do players cheat by wiping off hits?
     A: Three reasons: False pride (they want to look better than they are, like they don't get hit much, or they feel frustrated, or less of a person, for "losing" to an opponent). Desire to play (they don't want to have to stop playing). Wanting to win at all costs (as if the future of the free world rests on the outcome of the game?)
     Sometimes a newer player goes through a "stage" when he or she cheats out of frustration. Tired of being "out" too soon too often, instead of working to be a better player they take a shortcut and cheat. Most players work through that time in their lives, and stop cheating.
     Q: What happens to a cheater?
     A: Many fields warn a player once, and for a second offense send the player home for the day. Some fields send a player home for wiping. A few fields ban the player for a year or more for just one wipe.
     A cheater will get a bad reputation. Refs discuss wipers. Players discuss wipers. These discussions have long legs, too. The bad rep can follow a cheater for years. A player said, "See him? He wiped one off his arm once." When did it happen? The player said, "Oh, four or five years ago."
     Q: What are some of the ways players cheat?
     A: Wiping off a hit anywhere. Dragging a foot in the dirt to cover up a hit to the cleats. Covering up a hit to the paintball gun with a gloved hand, so the paint soaks into the glove and the glove wipes off what's left.

CHECK YOURSELF
     Q: What are you supposed to do if a ball hits you and you don't know if you are out?
     A: Check yourself. Feel for paint where the ball hit you. Ask a buddy to check you. Call a ref to check you. However you check, CHECK before you continue aggressive play. Take cover or retreat, and get checked before playing on.
     Q: What happens at a scenario game?
     A: A paintball scenario game has a theme or a plot. This can be a "space" theme, or the plot from a movie, or a scenario based on a real battle from any conflict such as World War II or Viet Nam. The theme can be from any time or place, past, present, future, or "never will be." Scenario games are as different as their designers.
     If you're used to paintball games with two flag stations and two flags with the opponents usually straight ahead of you, a scenario game will be a real change of pace. These games operate on a field where action happens all around the field, at different times. Players usually are assigned roles. For example, if you are an engineer, you may have to get to a certain place on the field in order for your teammates to "build a bridge" over a strip of "water." Usually, a player who gets tagged goes out of the game only for a short time before coming back in. The game does not stop for many hours. Players can take a break when they need to. Night playing is often part of scenarios.
     Visually, a scenario game field can offer some very interesting variations. The paintguns and costumes can become very different and exotic. Around the field may be envelopes with "cash" or "special documents," or a specially-wrapped box full of "magic lanterns" to be carried to a castle. Sound effects, special lighting, and special "mini-scenarios" can be part of the game.
     Points may be scored for completing a "mission" rather than for eliminating opponents. A classic mission
     is "find the downed pilot and get him home." There may be several teams, along with spies and double agents, along with radio communication with codes. Trucks, helicopters, and other vehicles may be used as well.
     Overall, scenario games can be a great change of pace. They draw out different skills than the ones needed to play well in a tournament or a walk on game.

WHO IS THAT NEWBIE?
     Robbie Newbie. He's the fellow who shows up at the field wearing green and black face paint. (No, paintball players don't wear green and black makeup.)
     Robbie is the fellow who carries his extra paint out to the field in a baggie and leaves it in the sun. That's one sure way to ruin good paint. The sun will soften the gelatin shells. The paintballs will then do bad things like "melt" or get sticky and out of round.
     He's the player who forgets that when you wear glasses, you may need to put no-fog on the glasses themselves. That's different from putting no-fog on a goggle lens or from having a thermal (double-layer) lens.
     Robbie Newbie gets a little confused and has trouble remembering what team he is on. In other words, he "friendly fires" his own teammates because he shoots before he looks for an armband. Even when the person he's shooting at is in a sniper position, lying on the ground, feet toward Robbie, pointed away from Robbie, and hasn't moved for five minutes-and told his teammate Robbie that he was going to set up in that sniper spot.
     Ah, yes, and he's the one who grabs the flag and runs off into the woods, never to find his way back to his own flag station in time to win the game.
     Robbie freezes and won't shoot when he should. He waits until the "bad guys" get too close and spot him, so they shoot him before he can shoot them.
     And Robbie shoots way, way too early. He gives away your ambush. He doesn't have a sense for how far the paint will fly, you see.
     When there's a tempting paintball on the ground, Robbie is likely to pick it up and put it into his 'gun. Even if the ball is two weeks old and swollen so much it can't possibly drop down into the chamber.
     Have you met Robbie yet? He's a great guy, and one day you may want him on your team-or get him on your team-so it's not a bad idea to give him a few hints on what to do, and not to do.