Thanks!
So other than a ‘walkon’ You’ve got to be in a ‘team’ to play, I’d like to go to a few local fields and play to get a feel for it.
So I can turn up no with gear, rent it from them, and play, will they put me in a team or am I on my own
Sorry if I sound dumb lol never been to one ever!
A tournament is the only style you need to be with a team
Rental / punter paintball is the generally known type of paintball, used by stag & hen parties etc
The biggest / national market leader is Delta Force, with IPG ‘selling’ their tickets in shopping centres etc. Try to avoid them and find an independent local site.
This is the most expensive way to play for a day. But it will give you a taste as a walkon could be a baptism of fire
Everything you need is provided
Groups are generally kept together on one side, but large groups could get a private game
The entry price looks low due to the price cutting race to the bottom, the real cost is the price of paintballs. This isn’t the rip off that some people think, as this is where all the money comes from to run a paintball business
Walkon Paintball is run on most independant sites, its typically once a month. Paint is cheaper and sold by the case of 2000 (about £25-30) and with a higher entry price
You are expected to have your own gear, but can generally rent the gear as well
The players will get spilt into two sides
Scenario Paintball is run as a themed event, usually a one off game at a site per year. Some organisers are running more.
This year there is a collective of teams from about 5-10 years ago doing a few old style scenarios
The Wild Geese ran the first of the year with Everwar at High Wycombe recently, PBM magazine have a game in July, and my team TFD are doing one in September
There are Scenario teams, but that is a group of like minded people. You can also turn up on your own. You get split into two or more sides and fight some themed games - probably all day long or morning / afternoon as opposed to lots of shorter games
Again you are expected to have your own gear but rentals can often be supplied
The entry price probably goes up with the specific event and any props etc, and paintballs are again priced by the case
(NPF bear Birmingham run a scenario themed walkon each month (Diamond Wars) which links into their annual Paintfest in July)
There are two general competitive formats in the UK. Speedball and woodsball tournaments
Speedball is the supair format
Woodsball is in the woods
Both are as competing teams
Another mention for NPF is that it is run by Ged Green who taught the Americans how a tournament should be run with style, and he ran the worlds first ‘modern’ tournament at NPF with ‘hyperball’ before inflatable bunkers were introduced by the French
https://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/20-years-since-we-first-played-hyperball.177267/#post-1601557
