Players compete to eliminate opposing players by tagging them with a paintball expelled from an airgun. Games usually have a time limit of 20 to 45 minutes. Between 10 - 15 games are played during one day. Between games, players may check their equipment, reload paintballs or have a snack and share stories about the thrills of victory and the usually funny agonies of defeat. A paintball is a round, dime-sized gelatin capsule with colored liquid inside.
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. Paintballs come in a rainbow of colors. A player who is marked is eliminated from the game. Paintball guns come in a variety of styles. Some are small stock pistols, powered by small 12-gram CO2 cartridges that need to be changed after 15 to 25 shots.