Paintball is a combination of tag, hide & seek, and capture the flag. Paintball is challenging and extremely fast paced. Each player is equipped with a paintball marker that shoot paintballs as well as a paintball mask for safety. The object of most games is to eliminate your opponent from the game by “tagging” them with a paintball. Being “tagged” refers to having been hit by a paintball. There are many (almost infinite) game variations, but most games revolve around a “cature the flag” theme Paintball is a sport played by people from every lifestlye and profession imaginable. Women and men can compete equally, and the average player age is not dominated by youth. Physical size and strength are not as important as intelligence and determination. Paintball is a game of proper tactics and team cooperation. Like a game of chess, being able to think quickly and decisively is what makes a good player. Paintball is an exciting sport, and above all paintball is fun! It’s a chance to shake off your day-to-day responsibilities and satisfy your spirit for adventure. Once the adrenaline starts pumping, you can’t help but become addicted to the rush, the thrill of the game!

Like all action sports (football, basket ball, etc.) paintball can be very dangerous unless adequate protection is worn and safety rules are understood and followed. Most paintball guns shoot 68 caliber (0.68 inch diameter) paintballs. A paintball is essentially a paint pellet. The pellet is composed of a thin plastic shell filled with a water soluble, vegetable based dye. Paintball guns, offen referred to as “markers”, shoot paintballs at a speed of 200 to 300 feet per second. To give you a better idea of the speed that paintballs travel, 300 fps is about 205 miles per hour. Since paintballs are fairly light (only weighing a few grams each), they have little momentum while in flight, and thus are non-lethal. Paintball players must *always* wear protective goggles to protect their eyes and usually wear masks covering the rest of their face as well. A paintball impact with the face can easily cause seriuos injury to the eyes and ears Safety is highly stressed at most fields. Most fields require goggles be worn at all times unless in designated areas. Many fields also require that barrel plugs (plastic inserts that prevent paintballs from leaving your gun’s barrel) be used while players are not playing in the actual game. Ignoring safety is a good way to get yourself ejected from a field and seriously injured. If all the safety rules for paintball are followed, paintball can be a very safe sport.

Paintballs are designed to break open upon impact, and generally cause very little pain. What pain is experienced is more of a stinging sensation from the pellet’s impact against the skin or through clothing. In most cases, the stinging pain goes away after a few seconds and almost always within a few minutes. Of course, the closer you are to the muzzle of the gun, the higher the velocity will be when the paintball hits you. Thus, more pain may be experienced when shot at close range rather than farther away. Most fields have a mandatory surrender rule to prevent players from being shot at closer to 20 feet. In general, a player can count on coming off the field with a few welts from paintball hits accumulated over the day. Many players are proud to show off any bruises they have and are often more than willing to share their stories about each one.

You don’t have to have an organized team or go to an organized field in order to play. Althought going to an organized field is not necessary, we highly recommend that new players visit an organized field at least for the first couple of games in order to become acquainted with the games safety rules. If you decide not to play at an established paintball field, you should only play on property that you have permission to use. Most commercial fields allow walk-on games, where anybody can show up and play. Referees at the field usually assign players to teams to evenly divide the skilled players. You don’t need to bring your own team along with you to play. Some of the larger paintball fields will divide players into groups so only new players can play in one group and the more experienced players can play in a different group.

Sunol Paintball has everything you need to play paintball at our paintball field. Just wear jeans, sneakers or boots, and a long sleeve hooded sweat shirt. You can rent the rest from us. Make sure you and your players meet the minimum age requirements listed on our website.

Always look for a paintball field like Sunol Paintball where safety and enjoyment for the player is always our biggest concern. Try not to go to paintball fields that do not look out for their players' best interest and safety.

If you are self equipped, it is only required to pay an admission price of $20 on the weekends from 9am to 3pm. Airfills or paintballs are sold separately. If you are a rental player, Sunol Paintball offers a Rental Player Package for $60 per player. It includes weekend admission from 9am to 3pm, gun and safety mask rental, 500 paintballs, and an air filled tank.

Players should always make sure that they are healthy and physically capable of playing the sport of paintball. Sunol Paintball will orient the player before they are allowed to play on the paintball field or handle the equipment. Players should always follow the rules and regulations. Failure to do so can result in being evicted from the paintball field without a refund or suspended from playing upcoming games. As a player, it is your responsibility to notify staff if you have any issues that may may hinder your participation in the sport prior to registration. Our experienced, friendly staff is here to help out anytime.

Not really but it will help. As with all strenuous exercise, participants should stretch and warm up before playing. Since typical games require occasional quick sprints, good aerobic fitness is beneficial. Players should gauge their play to their level of fitness. All players in poor physical condition or with physically limiting conditions should consult a physician before playing. Proper footwear is very important. Some players find that lightweight canvas topped army boots or leather work boots protect feet and ankles in the woods. Other players prefer the support that sneakers give as paintball does involve running. Personal preferences vary, but footwear should not be overlooked.

Most brands of paint are water soluble and should wash out of normal clothes. Paintballs, for the most part, are vegetable based dyes in a colored gelatin shell. However, it is recommended you wear old clothes or clothes that you don’t mind seeing a few stains in. Some professional grade paints are harder to clean from clothes, but most paint will wash out.