There is lame paintball and then there is awesome paintball in Korea. 

Lame paintball consists of a gaggle of people running into each other and shooting wildly, playing 50-50 shootouts, and sometimes painfully too close for comfort.  Games end with no clear idea what happened, lots of paint splats, and a sense that the game was too short.

Awesome games are adrenaline packed and intense, full of bold team strategy and tactics pulled off in the nick of time.

If you are looking for some basics on paintball tactics, or just curious what it will be like on the field for your first match, check out these resources first:

-Video inspiration

-Expert Village Tips

-Flash animation tutorials on paintball tactics

-Sign up for the latest games in Korea at Aventure Korea!               

Tips for your first game:

1) Be serious about safety

2) Choose a good team leader / macho doesn’t count

3) Cool tips – bring a walktie talkie -set on vox mode

4) Walk the field

5) Use simple ways to describe the field (colors such as RED, WHITE, GOLD, BLUE) or American football field yard markers, 50 being the center of the field

6) Don’t aim for the soft spots. Hitting the bottom of the shoes or their pod packs can guarantee breaks on the paintball and certified kill

Individual tactics:

1) Lead your targets. Imagine throwing a paintball with your hand at a moving person and you will realize that the person you are trying to hit will likely have moved by the time it lands

2) Look around. Don’t peek above targets, peek quickly to the sides, and with your marker ready to fire. Don’t get tunnel vision.

3) When you are moving forward in an assault when engaged, always be firing bursts of paintballs. Don’t be so worried about them hitting your target. Oftentimes the fact that they are landing near your opponents will make them duck. That’s good.

4) Don’t be afraid to disengage and drop back. But don’t forget there is a difference between breaking contact and running scared. Shoot off a few paintballs to make your opponent think you have an angle on them, and then break away. If you just turn your back, you might just invite a full on assault and nothing could be more embarrassing than be shot in the buttocks

Team tactics:

1) Buddy up.  Always travel in pairs or threes so that you can have an adequate volume of return fire when attacked. Also, having a buddy will allow your team to take decisive actions in support of the offense or defense. Individual scattered across the field without doing things in coordination is amateur, akin to having a soccer team where everyone is trying to score. Get this right by always acting in small fire teams, with each team trying to accomplish a specific mission.

2) Pick a strong side and move your offense down that side. Consider that the field has a left and a right side. If you decide or determine that the right side is largely undefended and open, then this is your team’s chance to barrel down that ‘strong’ side and capture the flag. In the dynamic environment of paintball you will know this when you hear hooting and shooting a distance away from you. When this happens, gather as many teammates together, and instead of going toward the fight go around the noise toward your objective and win!

3) Use a plan.  Part of the fun in paintball is that your team has a chance to employ a plan. Unlike at the office this is entirely more fun, especially when your plan works! Create simple plans that everyone can understand. Team leaders should create very simple missions and objectives. Give each fire team a role, and be sure everyone is on the same page before the match begins. If the plan is not working, have a call sign like “Roundup!” to gather your teammates in a 360-degree circle if you want to give new directions. Make if fast because the opponents will catch wind that your team has regrouped and will be closing in on you!

Have fun, stay safe, and go out blasting!

–Ron is an avid paintball player from Michigan and says it’s called a “marker” not a “gun”

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