You can play speedball or woodsball on public fields, parks designed for paintball, or in a field or wooded area near your home. Speedball is most commonly played in a more formal setting, using inflatable bunkers to set the cover and stage. Woodsball is usually played outdoors in wooded areas (hence the name) or in simulated urban settings. Some paintball parks have fields to play both speedball and woodsball that include settings like castles, old west towns, desert settings and more. However, be careful because paintball parks can be expensive. When you add up the entrance fee, paintballs, and air refills, you can recognize that a day at the paintball field is something you can only afford on special occasions.
Woodsball, which is also sometimes called scenario or tactical paintball, is the most realistic type of paintball. Most of these players will dress in camouflage and other realistic military-type gear, as well as use military replicas of paintball guns, grenades, or landmines during the course of the game. The games are usually set up as military missions ranging from ‘Capture the flag’ to hunting down your opponents. Here are some variations:
Elimination – Kill everyone. You can play alone or with a team.
Capture the Flag: Like the traditional game, except this one uses paintballs as a weapon against the opposing team. Use flag stations and collect more flags, or have just one flag for each team and claim it for victory.
Assault: Players are divided into two teams. One team protects its territory while the other attacks. Attackers try to eliminate their opponents or take over their territory.
Popular woodsball equipment is usually made up of military-style paintball guns. Some good options are Tippmann, MilSig, and T68. These weapons come in many different configurations, including AK47s, M4 carbines, submachine guns, and sniper rifles. These weapons are so authentic that they can use many of the parts for real weapons. For example, you can use the same rails, sniper scopes, sights, handguards, and buttstocks on your paintball gun that you would use on a real military rifle. This gives you many options on how your weapon looks and works. It also adds realism to the game.
The different options and the look of your paintball gun will also help define the role it will play in the field. For example, if you have a sniper paintball gun, your position on the field is likely to be that of a sniper, for the purpose of precision shooting or providing covering fire so other players can better position themselves. The player with an M16-style paintball gun is more on the front lines, performing tactical maneuvers, flanking the enemy, or capturing the enemy flag.
Speedball was created primarily for professional competitive paintball players because it uses a standard field with better viewing for spectators. If you think paintball is for weekend fun, speedball pros will disagree – there are plenty of pros out there who play speedball for a living! Speedball has become a true sport, complete with teams, coaches, uniforms, and sponsorships.
In speedball, there are usually 3- or 5-man teams that play in timed matches of 5, 10, or 15 minutes. The games are fast paced and often use an elimination variant. Successful speedball teams use fast, steady movement, solid strategy, and effective communication. Speedballers use different paintball markers than woodsballers. Their weapons are faster, lighter, and more like laser guns or space-age guns.
Some good manufacturers of speedball guns are Spyder, Planet Eclipse (Ego), Proto/Matrix (PM9), and Smart Parts. These guns generally come with 8-12″ barrels and some type of electronic trigger system. An electronic trigger offers several different modes of firing: single, burst, and full automatic. Another common accessory for speedball guns is an electronic hopper. , which allows much faster shots.
Speedball uniforms are usually paintball jerseys, which have built-in padding for extra protection. By the way, an important part of any paintball setup (be it for speedball or woodsball) is a good paintball goggle. Paintball is an extremely safe sport, as long as you wear protective goggles.