Welcome, new player! You’ve made a great choice in picking up a new, fun hobby. You’re probably in the process of purchasing your gear and getting ready to go out into the field, right? But just before you get out on that field, there’s one more step you should tackle: knowing the common variations of paintball games. Like any game, you can really make it up as you go. But, there are some common styles that people will play before jumping in and creating their own style. So, before you jump onto the field, take a look through this guide to help you get started with paintball games.
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1. Elimination
This is one of the most basic variations to paintball games. And, it’s exactly what it sounds like – you get out on the field and shoot everyone before they shoot you. It’s a paintball classic and great for beginners.
2. Capture the Flag
Capture the flag is another one of the popular variations of paintball games. In this style, there are two teams racing to steal the other’s flag and get it back to their home base without getting shot. It’s your typical capture the flag game, but with paintball guns. So if you’ve played a capture the flag game before, the paintball version should be easy for you to pick up.
Bonus: Center Flag
Of course, there are variations of play styles, such as center flag. The idea is also simple. Rather than two teams having their own flags, there is only one flag in the center of the field. The two teams will then race to capture that flag and bring it back to their home base or across the field to their opponents’ station.
3. Base Capture
Base capture can be seen as one of the capture the flag variations because it stems from the capture the flag principle. Both teams have a single flag at their base. Rather than dash to your opponents’ base and take their flag, all you do is rush to touch their flag. Once you touch the flag, you win as you will have successfully captured your opponents’ base.
4. Resurrection
Resurrection is a variation that can be played as a style of your paintball game (i.e. elimination with resurrection) or perhaps as your own style of game. Basically, resurrection is where you’re not eliminated once you’re shot – you get a second chance. This often means you re-enter the game from the starting point after you’re eliminated. This play style is included on the list because it is involved in other paintball game variations such as zombies.
5. Zombies
Who doesn’t love zombies? Everyone loves zombies – paintballers, too. The zombie style game is pretty straightforward. There will be a set of players that are “healthy” – they’re not infected by a zombie virus. There is a set of player, large or small, that are infected. If you are eliminated by a zombie paintballer, you are now a zombie. The game is over when either everyone is infected or all infected have been eliminated.
6. Protect the President
When you hear “protect the President”, what comes to mind? Is it the Secret Service surrounding the President and escorting him away with the President’s head ducked down? If so, you’ve got the gist of this paintball game format. There are two teams: an attacking team and a defending team. On the defending side, someone will be nominated to be the President. The remaining defending team will then have to protect and escort the President to safety. The attacking team’s goal is to take out the President, which is done with a headshot.
7. Assassins
A game of assassins is simple yet more complex. What happens during this type of paintball game is every player has their name placed on a card. All players draw from that stack. Whoever is named on their selected card is that player’s target. So, when the game starts, you only shoot whose card they have. When a player is successfully assassinated, the assassin will then retrieve the card the now-assassinated player was holding and track down their new target. There can only be one winner so it’s a highly competitive game.
8. Bomb the Base
For this game, a neutral “bomb” or object is placed in the center of the game zone, typically within a building. The teams then work to locate the object. Once found, the team that found it must then place the object in the opposing team’s base to win. Speed and strategy are needed to successfully play this game.
9. Attack and Defend
The attack and defend type of game takes you back in time to fort battles or away to fantastic worlds at war. This game works by situating one team in a base or castle – they must defend this base. The other team is to attack and try and infiltrate the base to conquer it. To conquer the base, the attacking team has to raise a flag before the game finishes. Attack and defend may use the resurrection aspect and have eliminated players “re-spawn”.
10. Bounty Hunters
Your accuracy will be put to the test with a bounty hunters game.
In this game, there is a fugitive and there are, obviously, bounty hunters. The fugitive works to eliminate the bounty hunters and remain free. The goal of the bounty hunters is to capture the fugitive. The capture aspect is where your accuracy comes in. The bounty hunter can either touch the fugitive or shoot the fugitive. If you opt to shoot the fugitive, you can only shoot them in their arm or leg. If you do a headshot, the game ends in a draw.
Aim carefully.
Wrap Up Variations of Paintball Games
So what do you think of these 10 popular paintball games? Are you itching to get on the field?
Which one do you want to play first? Is there a particular game you believe you’ll need to wait to play, such as bounty hunters?
Let us know in the comments!