There are over half a dozen kinds of ways to play paintball. Woodsball, Tournament or Tourneyball, Scenario Paintball, and Speedball, which can be broken down into a couple of sub-categories: Airball and Hyperball.

·Woodsball:

Woodsball is the original method of playing paintball and is generally played in a forest or wooded area that is large enough to allow room for dozens of players. In this form of paintball, players tend to stalk their opponents, and the game takes more time altogether.

Accuracy is key when you are playing paintball woodsball style. Stealth is an issue in this version of the game. The paintball players will do all they can to keep their locations unknown. Paintball markers are very loud when fired, and can possibly reveal a player"s location. So many woodsballers will try to purchase quiet markers so that there is less chance of giving away their position to opponents when they fire.

Woodsball players also fire less, because it is harder to know where the other players are—and therefore these paintballers do not waste as much ammo. Of course, when you fire less often and your targets are more hidden, a player requires more patience and better aim than those who fire rapidly.

Many different versions of woodsball have emerged: such as center flag, capture the flag, total elimination, protect the president, hopperball, 21, civil war, and the list goes on and on, woodsball players can literally invent their own game and custom design their own objectives.

·Speedball:

Speedball, as the name of the game would indicate, is a much faster kind of paintball. Speedball is played in close quarters. The size of a speedball field is approximately the size of a large basketball court. Bunkers, which are often inflatable rafting material, plastic tubing, wood pallets or tires, are placed all over the field—players use the bunkers to help them maneuver and most importantly, to take cover. The bunkers are placed symmetrically, so that neither side has more of an advantage than the other.

The paintball players shoot more rapidly and perhaps at closer range in speedball than in woodsball, shooting way more paint this way. Most paintball tournaments and competitions are built around the speedball concept. Thus, leagues will practice this style of paintballing, as opposed to other methods.

Speedball can further be broken down into several popular different varieties.

Airball, which is the most common and likely the most popular way to play, is played on a rectangular field the bunkers are air inflated and made of Nylon.

Hyperball is another popular form using Corrugated Piping of different sizes and shapes on a Rectangular field.

·Scenario paintball

The last kind of paintball I will mention is scenario paintball, though there are many more kinds of paintball games.

Scenario paintball is essentially just what it sounds like it is, based on a specific scenario or theme—determined by the teams playing. Typically these are historical, science fiction etc., and scenario paintball can involve hundreds of players.

Like woodsball, the paintball scenario games take longer than speedball, they can last hours or even days. Depending on the group and/or scenario set up for this kind of paintball, the teams may have to take certain breaks at intervals and continue later. Scenario paintball may perhaps prove to be a challenge to orchestrate, but once you get going it is a game you can really enjoy—you get lost in the fantasy and with scenario paintball, players can enjoy the most imaginative aspect of the sport.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, recreation, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on sports and recreation please visit Paintball Games.

Do your research

Buying online is easy and saves you time, but you should never cut corners on your product research before you decide to buy a paintball gun or a paintball gun accessory. You hear so many unhappy stories of people who bought a paintball gun or accessory in haste which did not actually meet their needs, or was not compatible with their other paintball gear. You need to know about a products features and reputation, whether the manufacturer is still in business and can service your paintball gun, and it all comes down to thorough research. There is no substitute for proper research and it should not be rushed. You will regret it if you do.

Finding an online paintball gun auction

A quick search in Google should give you a list of paintball gun auction sites. A good place to start is eBay. You will need to register with the paintball gun auction site before you can take part in auctions. Make sure you read the auction site"s rules and be aware of any fees or commissions for which you will be charged.

The photograph

Buyers should check that the paintball gun in the photograph is the paintball gun that the seller says it is. If the seller has not posted a photograph, then ask to see a photograph of the actual paintball gun or paintball gun accessory being sold. Do not be satisfied with a picture of the product taken from the manufacturer"s website.

Sellers should take a photograph of the paintball gun or accessory since a photograph will give you a much better chance of making a sale. You want the buyer to see a good photo showing all the paintball gun"s features, including upgrades, so take a number of photos, experiment with background and lighting and see which looks best online.

You are entering a binding agreement

An agreement to buy or sell a paintball gun or paintball gun accessories through an online auction amounts to a binding contract, but this will not stop some people refusing to go through with the deal after the agreement has been made.

The auction site will have rules governing transactions and failure to complete on an agreed deal, and you need to be aware of these and have recourse to them if something goes wrong. Sites vary in the degree to which they become involved when a party fails to complete, but you should always report those that flout the rules to the auction site. In most cases people who break the rules are prohibited from taking part in further auctions.

In practice, there is usually not much more you can do if a party agrees to buy or sell a paintball gun or accessory but does not complete on the deal.

Check out the buyer or seller"s online reputation

However, before you start bidding for a paintball gun, check out the other party"s online reputation at the auction site to find out what other people say about them. On eBay, buyers and sellers are rated and you can even contact people who have previously done business with the buyer or seller. If you see some negative comments, then seek further clarification from the comment maker as to what the problem was with the buyer or seller. Then form your own opinion as to whether you can trust the buyer or seller.

Keep a record of all communications

If you send e-mails to the other party then keep a record of these. Likewise, if you speak to them on the phone, make a note right away of what was said and date the note. Such e-mails and notes are evidence of what was agreed between the parties and these will be useful if you have to refer the matter to the auction site if the other party does not complete the deal.

I have found that you can tell a fair amount about a paintball gun seller from how they respond to questions, and how quickly they respond. Send off an e-mail with a few product and payment questions and then see how the seller responds. If the response is evasive or misleading or rude, then trust your gut instinct and do not contract with the seller.

Price, payment and delivery

As a seller, many auction sites will allow you to put a reserve price on your paintball gun or paintball gun accessory so that it cannot be sold for a lower price.

Common forms of payment are credit cards or PayPal, but each seller will have their own requirements, of which a buyer should be aware. It is always a good idea to e-mail to confirm how payment is to be made.

If you are selling, make sure you get payment confirmed before you despatch the goods.

Buyers should be aware that con artists sometimes pose as sellers in order to get buyers to send money transfers, for example "wiring" money through Western Union, so be very suspicious of anyone who insists on payment in this manner.

Shipping costs will in most cases be additional to the price, and they should be quoted separately. If none are quoted, then ask. Also ask when you can expect to receive the paintball gun.

© Stephen Turner 2006.

Stephen Turner has set up an information and resource website called Paintball Gun. On the site you"ll find loads of cheap paintball gun information and advice, articles, features, discussion and specially chosen links to other websites, so please take a look. Stephen would also welcome your feedback on the site: click on the contact link on the site. This article may be reproduced in its original form provided that the author"s copyright note and this "author resource box" paragraph are displayed below the article.