7 Ways A Newbie Paintball Player Can Learn Everything They Need

Paintball is a great game for getting a lot of exercise,
challenging yourself and having fun. But as a newbie, you may
find yourself embarrassed because you don’t know the rules, or
intimidated by more experienced players. You may be hesitant to
go out and play your first game because you’re not sure what to
expect. If you do some research first, you will quickly find that
the information you need to feel a lot more comfortable and a lot
less like a newbie is easily found, especially online.

But first a note of warning for all newbies...

Paintball is Not a War Game!

Many people mistakenly believe that paintball is a "war game."
However, it’s really more like hide-and-seek, with the marking of
the opposing team being the way to tag the person out. This is
especially true of recball, woodsball, jungle paintball and
scenario games. It is advised that you do not refer to the
opposing team as "the enemy" or a mark as a "kill"! Some
communities have shut down paintball because players engaged in
"war" talk during and after a game.

How to Quickly and Easily Find Useful Information About Paintball

1. Research the Internet

The World Wide Web contains a vast storehouse of information on
paintball. To make the best use of the Internet, search Google or
Yahoo for specific paintball terms like "woodsball tactics,"
instead of the general term "paintball." Look for sites that list
paintball rules and offer hints, tips, tactics and strategy. You
can also check out sites that review paintball equipment, but
beware: a newbie doesn’t need an expensive paintball gun to get
started. Many of the expensive guns don’t work any better than a
good newbie gun. This is what the paintball players who wrote
"Paintball Heroes" say, "If you’re a newbie, buy a good quality
semi-automatic gun, but don’t spend a fortune on it. And for
goodness sake, learn how to clean it, load it, take it apart, and
put it back together again...in your sleep!"

2. Read Books

Go online and visit Amazon.com or BarnesAndNoble.com
(Chapters.Indigo.ca in Canada). Search for books on paintball.
Check out the reviewers’ comments carefully before you buy. Or
better yet, trot down to your local big bookstore and see if you
can find copies of the paintball books you found online. Take
time to browse through them and see which ones appeal to you
most. Check the local prices against the prices online before you
buy.

3. Read E-Books

You may find a few paintball e-books online, too, but these are
harder to find than print books. "Paintball Heroes" at
http://www.paintballheroes.com is a great e-book for beginners.
It was written by two teenage paintball fanatics!

To find other e-books, try searching for "paintball ebook" on
Google or Yahoo. Ask around in the forums and pay attention to
advertisements on paintball sites.

4. Study the Forums

Also search for "paintball forums" and you will find experts and
newbies alike sharing information about paintball equipment and
strategy. However, be aware that much of the information shared
on forums is misleading, if not just plain wrong. Pay attention
to what is said by forum leaders and well-known players, but take
everything said by anyone else with a grain of salt...or a shaker
of salt, for that matter!

- Air-Powered.com (Autococker Owners Group) - http://www.air-
powered.com

- Atomix Paintball Forums - http://www.atomixpaintball.com/vb

- BSG Paintball Forums - http://www.bsgpaintball.com/forums

- Calgary Paintball Forums -
http://xtremepaintballcanada.com/calgary/forums

- Epic Paintball Forums - http://www.epicpaintball.com (Click on
"Forums.")

- Fat Bob’s Paintball Forum -
http://www.fatbobsdirect.com/forum/index.php

- Force of Nature Forums - http://www.forceofnature.com/invision

- New York City Paintball Forums -
http://www.nycpaintball.com/forums/index.php

- P8ntballer-Forums.com - http://www.p8ntballer-forums.com

- Paintball Addict Forums - http://www.pb-addict.com

- PaintballArizona.com Forums -
http://www.paintballarizona.com/modules.php?name=Forums

- Paintball.com Forums - http://paintball.com/pb/forums/index.cfm

- Paintball Central Forums - http://www.pballcentral.com/forum

- PaintballCow.com Forum (Oregon) -
http://paintballcow.ipbhost.com/index.php

- PaintballForum.ca - http://www.paintballforum.ca

- PaintballForum.com - http://www.paintballforum.com

- PaintballForums.com - http://www.paintballforums.com

- PaintballForums.net - http://www.paintballforums.net

- Paintball-Forums.com/BGnM’s Paintball Forums -
http://www.paintball-forums.com

- Paintball-Guns.com - http://www.paintball-guns.com/forums.htm

- Paintball In 5 Forum - http://www.pbn5.com/paintball_forum

- Paintball Review Forums - http://www.paintball-
review.com/forums/index.php

- PballCanada.com - http://forum.pballcanada.com

- PbFreak.net Forums - http://www.pbfreak.net

- PbNation - http://www.pbnation.com

- Phoenix Paintball Forum -
http://www.paintballuk.com/phoenix/forum/default.asp

- Southwest Paintball Forums (UK) -
http://www.southwestpaintball.co.uk/forum/index.php

- Utah Paintball Forums - http://www.mypaintball.com

- Vancouver Paintball Forums -
http://xtremepaintballcanada.com/vancouver/forums/index.php

- WARPIG Rec Talk - http://www.warpig.com/forums/rec

5. Subscribe to Paintball Magazines

There are several good paintball magazines, both in print and
online.

For print magazines, go to your local bookstore and spend some
time at the magazine racks. Pick the magazine that appeals to you
most and look in the front for their Web address (URL) or
subscription address. Subscribe online or by mail. It's a lot
cheaper to subscribe to a magazine than to buy it each month from
the newsstand.

For online magazines, search on Yahoo or Google for "paintball
magazine online" or "online paintball magazine." Several online
magazines are listed in the Resources section of the "Paintball
Heroes" ebook, including:

- Action Pursuit Games - http://www.actionpursuitgames.com

- Crossfire Paintball Magazine - http://www.crossfiremag.com

- Force of Nature - http://www.forceofnature.com

- Paintball Games International -
http://www.p8ntballer.com/magazine/index.shtml

- Paintball Sports International -
http://www.paintballsportsint.com

- The Paintball Times - http://www.paintballtimes.com

- Paintball 2Xtremes Magazine - http://www.paintball2xtremes.com

6. Watch Experienced Players

So, you just got marked, eh? Disappointed? Well, don’t be, this
is your opportunity to quietly observe those more experienced
players from the sidelines. Pay attention to:

- The way they hold their gun

- The way they move from bunker to bunker

- The way they signal to their teammates.

See if you can figure out their plan. All good players go into
every game knowing the plan their team decided on before the game
started. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you observe
experienced players:

- What are they wearing?

- How do they shoot from a bunker?

- How do they steady their gun?

- What bunkers do they choose? See if you can figure out why.

- How do they keep from getting marked?

Keep mental notes of everything you see. Later, compare what you
noted with the information you’ve been researching. Where does it
match? Where are there differences? Can you figure out why? Does
it have to do with:

- The terrain

- The type of game being played

- The player’s age or experience

- The rules of the field

- The player’s style of play or position (point man, safety,
sniper, back man, front man, rover, etc.)?

7. Volunteer

Later, when you have a few games under your belt, volunteer to
referee at your local field. This is the fast way to becoming an
expert paintball player, as you are able to observe not only the
great players’ methods, but all the newbie mistakes, too.

Pay Attention to the Experts, Not to the Know-it-alls

All in all, paintball information can be found easily and
quickly, especially online. Just remember to go to the experts
for help (books, e-books, magazines, forum leaders, pro players,
etc.) and to stay away from the newbie-talk and ramblings of
know-it-alls that fill many of the forums.