The Ultimate Guide to Indoor Paintball for Beginners
Paintball is fun. Do you know what else is fun? Birthday parties! That’s why paintball is the perfect choice for birthday celebrations or an ultimate choice for bachelor parties.
Indoor paintball is a great way to meet people, and it can help you bond with friends, family, and colleagues. It’s also a good way to take a break from your busy schedule.
Paintball can be played indoors or outdoors, but indoor paintball offers more protection from weather and also allows players to play year-round. Players use guns that shoot balls of paint at each other in an attempt to “tag” one another. There are many types of paintballs that can be used in these games, including “paintballs” made of food coloring mixed with cornstarch or sugar water; these are often used for children’s parties as they wash off easily without harming clothing or furniture.
Most people think of paintball as an outdoor game, but the concept of indoor paintball is gradually picking up to give outdoor paintball operators a run for their money. However, both indoor and outdoor games are exclusively enjoyed by millions of players across the world. The game comes with lots of fun, as you will compete with your opponents to emerge as a winner at the end of the game.
What Is Indoor Paintball?
Wondering what indoor paintball is? Like the popular outdoor paintball that you already know, the technique of playing indoor paintball is very much the same, only that the venue differs in size and serenity. The equipment used to play may also vary in some way from outdoor paintball. We will dwell a lot on this later in the article.
If you are wondering whether to choose indoor or outdoor paintball, you will be able to make an informed decision with this article. While this article is about indoor paintball, we will share a few tips you need to adhere to if you must play this game safely without sustaining any injury.
If you’re looking for a fun and exhilarating way to spend an afternoon or evening, indoor paintball is a great option!
The indoor field
An indoor paintball arena is a specific type of indoor facility designed for the playing of the sport of paintball.
They are usually large warehouses with artificial turf, PVC pipe obstacles, and inflatable bunkers. Many indoor arenas also have referees to help monitor the game and enforce safety rules.
The environment of an indoor arena is typically much more controlled than that of an outdoor field, which can lead to a more competitive and intense game.
Paintballs Indoor
Indoor paintball is typically played with low-velocity paintballs, which makes it safer for beginners. Lower-velocity paintballs also tend to break less on indoor surfaces, so there is less of a mess to clean up afterward. They are also designed to break upon impact, making them less harmful to players and surfaces indoors.
Safety
Since an indoor game is typically played with lower-velocity paintballs, it is considered a safer option for beginners. Most indoor paintball fields also have safety netting around the perimeter to protect players and spectators from errant paintballs.
What Are The Safety Tips When Playing Indoor Paintball?
When playing indoors, ensure you adhere to the following safety tips:
What do you need to play indoor paintball?
You will need a few things before you can start playing indoor games. You can choose rental equipment or you can buy your paintball equipment yourself.
First, you will need a paintball gun. You can either rent one or buy one. If you are planning on playing indoor paintball regularly, it is worth it to buy your own gun.
Second, buy some paintballs. Paintballs come in different sizes and colors. The most common size is the.68 caliber. You can find some of the best quality paintballs online or at the nearest paintball shop.
Third, buy a good mask. A mask is important because it will protect your eyes and face from getting hit by a paintball.
Fourth, you can buy some gloves. Gloves will protect your hands from getting nicked by flying paintballs.
Fifth, neck protector. A neck protector is a piece of cloth or foam that goes around your neck and protects it from getting hit by a paintball.
Sixth, you will need to buy some knee pads. Knee pads will protect your knees from getting bruised when you are crawling around on the ground.
Seventh, you also can buy a chest protector. A chest protector is a piece of cloth or foam that goes over your chest and protects it from getting hit by a paintball.
Eighth, paintball pants. Paintball pants are made of thick material that will protect your legs from getting hit by a paintball.
Ninth, paintball shoes. Heavy-duty shoes that are easy to run in are the best choice for indoor paintball.
Tenth, Paintball headwrap,
A paintball headwrap goes around your head and protects your ears from getting hit by a paintball.
These are the things that you need to play indoor paintball. Now that you have all of your gear, you are ready to start playing!
Indoor Vs. Outdoor Paintball
Before we explain the differences/similarities between indoor and outdoor paintball, let’s quickly highlight each type of venue’s benefits.
Benefits of Outdoor Paintball Venues
The game of paintball was developed for outdoor play. It is mostly played on a big natural field that uses natural field variation. It is also being played on a groomed flat field with artificial bunkers. When creating outdoor venues, some operators utilize artificial variations to create the field. For instance, outdoor fields have things like rocks, trees, grass, and ditches.
Outdoor venues offer a wide range of benefits. They have more space for players to run away and shoot their opponents. With more space available to players, you can choose different types and styles of games to play. When playing outdoor paintball, there is a wide range of excitement you can enjoy – from capture the flag to speedball, and everything in between. This very reason makes most paintball enthusiasts prefer outdoor paintball over indoor paintball.
Benefits of indoor paintball Venues
The major difference between an outdoor and indoor game is in the size of the venues. In terms of size, the indoor field is usually a half-acre or less dimension. Secondly, an indoor venue is more artificial than its outdoor counterpart. It is built on artificial surfaces, plus, all the barriers are artificial.
Usually, inflatable bunkers that can be moved around are common in this type of venue. While indoor fields do not have much space, some players still find excitement in playing indoors. First, with an indoor venue, you can play any time of the day regardless of the weather condition.
Whether it’s at midnight or the temperature is below 10 degrees, you can still play. Secondly, indoor paintball venues are perfect for beginners since there are no more barriers or terrains to navigate. Plus, the gaming action would be more fast-paced than playing in outdoor venues.
Differences In The Overall Paintball Game
The techniques of playing the game remain the same, whether indoor or outdoor. However, there are more variants and varied terrain with outdoor play. Popular games on outdoor fields are elimination and catching the flag.
For the indoor game, due to the small size, players can spot opponents from the start of the game and fire continuously without stopping. So, what this means is those players will fire more paintball promptly than in outdoor paintball. Remember, paintball involves great movements for the game to be interesting; thus, indoor venues guarantee more intense movements since players would quickly avoid being shot.
Furthermore, dives and slides do happen in outdoor venues, but not as much as indoor venues. Players using indoor venues are known to quickly dive behind a bunker so that the opponent won’t target them.
Are There Any Differences In Equipment Used?
Generally, the equipment used to play both outdoor and indoor paintball is virtually the same. Players use a hopper, a paintball gun, as well as a mask. However, there are some distinctions in the gears used by players.
One major difference is the type of paintball gun used by players. Those playing in indoor venues get fired easily, so they carry much larger pod packs since there would be an increase in paintball pods. Another significant difference is that in an indoor venue, players use elbow pads since they regularly dive behind bunkers.
Conclusion
Indoor vs. outdoor paintball – which one is better? There is no clear or certain answer to this question. It all depends on what you want as a paintball player. Do you like playing in an artificial setting regardless of the weather conditions? Then go for indoor paintball. Conversely, if you want to play in a natural environment where you will encounter rocks, grass, and fresh air, then outdoor paintball venues would be perfect.
What’s your experience playing indoor paintball? I hope you will share your thoughts with us using the comment section below so that beginners can learn and improve on their experiences.
Happy playing!
