In what could have been a disastrous—not to mention dangerous—move, the pair decided that the compressed air guns used to shoot balls of paint at cattle could also be used to shoot each other in a game of mock warfare.
The two men—one a stock trader and one a writer—held a duel using these paintball guns (the writer won). Thus, the National Survival Game was born, which went on to become the well-organised—and much safer—game of paintball.
These days, paintball is played in teams. Most games are based around a warlike scenario: players are soldiers who must eliminate their enemies and capture their base (or flag).
Settings vary widely and can include forests and industrial wastelands with purpose-built obstacles, trenches and vantage points from which to scope out the enemy.
Safety equipment includes full face and eye protection, and sometimes armoured gloves and thick jackets.
Paintball operators usually set out rules that protect players from anything other than the sting of a paintball hitting them at around 80 metres per second.
Paintball is not only a recreational pastime for those who enjoy role-playing or (safely) re-enacting war in scenario games; it can also be played as a sport. Speedball is a fast-paced game played out in a small arena and inter-team tournaments or ‘tourneys’ are also organised around Auckland.