Playing paintball in the great outdoors with military – like scenery and tactics is the purist form of paintball that many players enjoy. However, there are advantages to taking your game indoors to play arena paintball at an enclosed arena.
The first advantage, of course, is the lack of dependence on the weather. While some people like the added strategy and challenge poor weather provides, many paintball players are happy to forego the discomfort and the damage to the equipment that accompanies rain, mud, snow and sleet.
Another advantage is that many paintball arenas cater to the casual, traveling, or beginning paintball player by providing a litany of rental equipment. Players can try out equipment, such as using different styles and types of markers, face guards and body protection before they make the commitment to buy. Or if a player is traveling in a different city and wants to join a recreational game of paintball, a paintball arena offers an easy way for him or her to pick up a game.
A brand new player who has never tried paintball will find an arena is a good place to get the feel of the game, see how it feels to be hit by a paintball, and see if the game is something he or she enjoys without making a major commitment to the activity. The paintball arena also has the advantage of easy alteration of the field layouts. Each time you play at arena paintball you could have a new experience, since typically obstacles are portable and interchangeable, allowing arena owners to vary the layout regularly.
The fields in a paintball arena are often speedball-type fields with a tournament set up. Speedball fields are typically flat fields, about half the size of a football field with manmade obstacles. Currently, the obstacles are typically large, inflatable barrels or cones that can be moved easily around the field. While many tournaments are played outdoors, the arena offers a great location for this style of play.
Arenas also make heavy use of plastic barrels, hyperpipe and large, foam-filled barriers, all of which offer flexibility and easy portability for changing up the play experience. Of course, some arenas do have scenario fields that generally sport permanent structures, often a house, store or other scene such as a military enclave that stays the same on a more permanent basis. The best arenas will have a combination of the two types of fields – both permanent to allow for strategic planning and experience, and changing fields to allow for adaptability and excitement.
Some arenas for paintball are converted from old indoor tennis courts, so have the wide open feel and very high ceilings, while others are converted warehouses with more intricate structural features, lower ceilings, and more natural obstacles. Another feature of many arenas is a practice target range that allows players to practice before they play, and many arenas have professional referees to control play and limit the number of injuries. Many players appreciate this control as it makes for a more enjoyable game for everyone.
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