| -link"> | | | | - Paintball Central Forums - |
| Paintball is a great game for getting a lot of | | | | - Forum (Oregon) - |
| exercise,challenging yourself and having fun. But as a | | | | - PaintballForum.ca - |
| newbie, you mayfind yourself embarrassed because | | | | - - |
| you don’t know the rules, orintimidated by more | | | | - - |
| experienced players. You may be hesitant togo out | | | | - PaintballForums.net - |
| and play your first game because you’re not | | | | - Paintball-Forums.com/BGnM’s Paintball Forums |
| sure what toexpect. If you do some research first, you | | | | - |
| will quickly find thatthe information you need to feel a | | | | - - |
| lot more comfortable and a lotless like a newbie is | | | | - Paintball In 5 Forum - |
| easily found, especially online. | | | | - Paintball Review Forums - |
| But first a note of warning for all newbies... | | | | - - |
| Paintball is Not a War Game! | | | | - PbFreak.net Forums - |
| Many people mistakenly believe that paintball is a "war | | | | - PbNation - |
| game." | | | | - Phoenix Paintball Forum - |
| However, it’s really more like hide-and-seek, | | | | - Southwest Paintball Forums (UK) - |
| with the marking ofthe opposing team being the way | | | | - Utah Paintball Forums - |
| to tag the person out. This isespecially true of recball, | | | | - Vancouver Paintball Forums - |
| woodsball, jungle paintball andscenario games. It is | | | | - WARPIG Rec Talk - |
| advised that you do not refer to theopposing team as | | | | 5. Subscribe to Paintball Magazines |
| "the enemy" or a mark as a "kill"! Somecommunities | | | | There are several good paintball magazines, both in |
| have shut down paintball because players engaged in | | | | print andonline. |
| "war" talk during and after a game. | | | | For print magazines, go to your local bookstore and |
| How to Quickly and Easily Find Useful Information | | | | spend sometime at the magazine racks. Pick the |
| About Paintball | | | | magazine that appeals to youmost and look in the |
| 1. Research the Internet | | | | front for their Web address (URL) orsubscription |
| The World Wide Web contains a vast storehouse of | | | | address. Subscribe online or by mail. It's a lotcheaper to |
| information onpaintball. To make the best use of the | | | | subscribe to a magazine than to buy it each month |
| Internet, search Google or | | | | fromthe newsstand. |
| Yahoo for specific paintball terms like "woodsball | | | | For online magazines, search on Yahoo or Google for |
| tactics,"instead of the general term "paintball." Look for | | | | "paintballmagazine online" or "online paintball magazine." |
| sites that listpaintball rules and offer hints, tips, tactics | | | | Several onlinemagazines are listed in the Resources |
| and strategy. Youcan also check out sites that review | | | | section of the "Paintball |
| paintball equipment, butbeware: a newbie | | | | Heroes" ebook, including: |
| doesn’t need an expensive paintball gun to | | | | - Action Pursuit Games - |
| getstarted. Many of the expensive guns don’t | | | | - Crossfire Paintball Magazine - |
| work any better than agood newbie gun. This is what | | | | - Force of Nature - |
| the paintball players who wrote | | | | - Paintball Games International - |
| "Paintball Heroes" say, "If you’re a newbie, buy a | | | | - Paintball Sports International - |
| good qualitysemi-automatic gun, but don’t spend | | | | - The Paintball Times - |
| a fortune on it. And forgoodness sake, learn how to | | | | - Paintball 2Xtremes Magazine - |
| clean it, load it, take it apart, andput it back together | | | | 6. Watch Experienced Players |
| again...in your sleep!" | | | | So, you just got marked, eh? Disappointed? Well, |
| 2. Read Books | | | | don’t be, thisis your opportunity to quietly |
| Go online and visit or (Chapters.Indigo.ca in Canada). | | | | observe those more experiencedplayers from the |
| Search for books on paintball. | | | | sidelines. Pay attention to: |
| Check out the reviewers’ comments carefully | | | | - The way they hold their gun |
| before you buy. Orbetter yet, trot down to your local | | | | - The way they move from bunker to bunker |
| big bookstore and see if youcan find copies of the | | | | - The way they signal to their teammates. |
| paintball books you found online. Taketime to browse | | | | See if you can figure out their plan. All good players go |
| through them and see which ones appeal to youmost. | | | | intoevery game knowing the plan their team decided |
| Check the local prices against the prices online before | | | | on before the gamestarted. Here are some questions |
| youbuy. | | | | to ask yourself as you observeexperienced players: |
| 3. Read E-Books | | | | - What are they wearing? |
| You may find a few paintball e-books online, too, but | | | | - How do they shoot from a bunker? |
| these areharder to find than print books. "Paintball | | | | - How do they steady their gun? |
| Heroes" at is a great e-book for beginners. | | | | - What bunkers do they choose? See if you can |
| It was written by two teenage paintball fanatics! | | | | figure out why. |
| To find other e-books, try searching for "paintball | | | | - How do they keep from getting marked? |
| ebook" on | | | | Keep mental notes of everything you see. Later, |
| Google or Yahoo. Ask around in the forums and pay | | | | compare what younoted with the information |
| attention toadvertisements on paintball sites. | | | | you’ve been researching. Where does itmatch? |
| 4. Study the Forums | | | | Where are there differences? Can you figure out |
| Also search for "paintball forums" and you will find | | | | why? Doesit have to do with: |
| experts andnewbies alike sharing information about | | | | - The terrain |
| paintball equipment andstrategy. However, be aware | | | | - The type of game being played |
| that much of the information sharedon forums is | | | | - The player’s age or experience |
| misleading, if not just plain wrong. Pay attentionto what | | | | - The rules of the field |
| is said by forum leaders and well-known players, but | | | | - The player’s style of play or position (point |
| takeeverything said by anyone else with a grain of | | | | man, safety,sniper, back man, front man, rover, etc.)? |
| salt...or a shakerof salt, for that matter! | | | | 7. Volunteer |
| - (Autococker Owners Group) - | | | | Later, when you have a few games under your belt, |
| - Atomix Paintball Forums - | | | | volunteer toreferee at your local field. This is the fast |
| - BSG Paintball Forums - | | | | way to becoming anexpert paintball player, as you are |
| - Calgary Paintball Forums - | | | | able to observe not only thegreat players’ |
| - Epic Paintball Forums - (Click on | | | | methods, but all the newbie mistakes, too. |
| "Forums.") | | | | Pay Attention to the Experts, Not to the Know-it-alls |
| - Fat Bob’s Paintball Forum - | | | | All in all, paintball information can be found easily |
| - Force of Nature Forums - | | | | andquickly, especially online. Just remember to go to |
| - New York City Paintball Forums - | | | | the expertsfor help (books, e-books, magazines, forum |
| - - | | | | leaders, pro players,etc.) and to stay away from the |
| - Paintball Addict Forums - | | | | newbie-talk and ramblings ofknow-it-alls that fill many |
| - Forums - | | | | of the forums. |
| - Forums - | | | | |