The object of the game is to go out and capture the other team's flag while protecting your own. Games run from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the field and the number of players. Between games, players take a break to check their equipment, get more paintballs and have a snack or soda while they share stories about the thrills of victory and the usually funny agonies of defeat. Win or lose, everyone has a good time and there's usually the next game waiting for you. A paintball is a round, thin-skinned gelatin capsule with colored liquid inside it.
Paintballs are similar to large round vitamin capsules or bath oil beads.
It rinses out of clothing and off skin with mild soap and water. A player who is marked is eliminated from the game. Some use small 12 gram CO2 powerlets as their power source, each powerlet being good for 15 to 30 shots. Paintguns range from simple to sophisticated, but what they all share in common is a limitation on their power and range. A chronograph is used to test for speed limits, and all paintguns can be adjusted to shoot under the speed limit.