Fun On The Run

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Every sport has its own lingo and paintball is no exception. A golfer might say "I put it in the bunker, but still managed a birdie". A non golfer would say "What?" An avid golfer would know that the player hit his ball into the sand trap, but still managed to stay one below par for that hole. Here are a few of the basic terms you might hear from an avid paintball player:

Barrel Blocking Device (B.B.D.)

Barrel Blocking Devices have proven to be necessary safety devices where paintball is concerned, preventing an incident should one's paintball marker be accidentally fired while not in play.

Bunker

A non-natural obstacle on the field of play suitable for use as cover. In wooded play, a bunker may be a large fallen log, a collection of wood, a constructed obstacle of wood, barrels, or other material, or even a dug-out depression in the ground. In speed ball, virtually all objects placed on an otherwise empty grass or dirt field are "bunkers".

Chop

Sometimes a marker may fire when a paintball has only fed partially into the breech. The force of the bolt of the marker moving forward will then cut the paintball in half inside the marker's chamber, creating a rather unpleasant mess that will prevent the marker from shooting accurately until cleaned. However, many high-end markers have 'eyes', technology that prevents the marker from firing until it sees that a ball is completely in the breech.

Eye/Eyes/ACE [Anti-Chop Eye(s)]

An infrared detection system installed on electronic markers. There are two types; break beam and reflective. Break beam incorporates two eyes which send an infrared beam across the breech to one another. When a ball enters the breech of the marker, it breaks the infrared beam, telling the marker that a ball is ready to be fired. The Reflective system sends an infrared beam across the breech from one eye. If a ball enters the breech, the infrared beam will be reflected back into the eye, indicating that a ball is ready to be fired. These electronic infrared systems help prevent chopping in markers and help markers reach higher rates of fire consistently.

Flank

A strategy that is used in both speedball and woods ball, where usually one or two people provide cover fire while other team members move around the sides. Since the opposing force is preoccupied with the people providing cover fire they are usually unaware of the force coming around the side (or even the back side). The opposing force is easily taken out.

Fogged

This term typically refers to a player whose goggle system has fogged up so badly they can no longer see.

Gogged

An expression denoting that a player has been hit directly in the mask by another player.

Hopper

The hopper is simply the magazine for the paintball marker. Sizes do vary, but the average is about 200 rounds. Some designs utilize a hopper that feeds balls to the gun via gravity or by force, placing it directly above the bolt.

Pack/Harness

The harness used to transport pods on the field. While they do come in a staggering array of capacities and sizes, ultimately they all function in about the same way. Most commonly found sizes for packs are from 2 or 5 pods, or 3+4 pods, 4+5 pods, where the first number is the number of actual rigid spaces for pods and the second number is the number of elastic straps that can be expanded for extra pods.

Paint Check

When an official or another player inspects a player for hits. Necessary because hits on hard equipment may not be noticed by the player, and hits that do not leave a mark do not count, so a player may need another person to check to see if a hit broke when it is on an area of the body the player cannot readily see.

Paintball Marker

An air-powered gun used in the game of paintball to fire paintball pellets.

Pod

One of the many terms used when referring to the large tubes used to carry extra paintballs on the field. Pods are also referred to as guppies or tubes.

Snake

In hyper ball, speed ball, x-ball, and air ball a snake is a long, low structure (less then 3 feet high) usually located either in the middle or to one or both sides of a field. The snake is a unique setup because it allows a player to advance a considerable distance while still being protected from being hit from most locations on the field.

Squeegee

A paintball squeegee is for use when it is necessary to clean the broken paint in the barrel of one's paintball marker during play.

Surrender

This is yelled by the shooter if s/he holds an upper hand on an opponent within a close range; this is done to give the enemy a chance to surrender without being shot. This rule is widely used amongst many new players and paintball parks.

Tanks

This refers to the C02 or compressed air cylinders or tanks used to power a paintball marker's ability to fire. In most cases the tank is screwed directly into the marker, however, some players use a coiled hose that allows them to carry the tank in another location of their person removing extra weight from the marker.

Thermal Lenses

Are two lenses with an air pocket in between them. The effect of thermal lenses prevents fogging thus helping the vision of the player.

Tricked Out

A term used to describe a marker that has numerous upgrades and enhancements.