Paintball is a sport in which players eliminate opponents by hitting them with pellets containing paint (referred to as a "paintball"), usually shot
from a carbon dioxide or compressed-gas (HPA or Nitrogen) powered paintball gun (or marker).

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association estimates that over 5.4 million people played the game in the United States in 2007, with over 1.5 million
playing at least 15 times.

Games can be played either indoors or outdoors and take various forms which are generally divided between woodsball played in natural, wooded terrain
and speedball played on open, level fields with artificial obstacles.

Rules for playing paintball vary widely. The most common form involves two opposing teams seeking to capture their opponent's flag and return it to
their starting position, but other objectives may include eliminating all of the other team's players or to completing some other objective, such as
eliminating a specific player, defending or attacking a particular objective, or capturing objects of interest hidden in the playing area.
Depending on the style of paintball played, a game can last from seconds to hours.

Organized paintball competition is nearly as old as the sport itself, starting with regional tournaments held at National Survival Game locations
in 1983 and culminating in the National Survival Game National Championship (won by "The Unknown Rebels" from London, Ontario)

Tournament paintball was originally played in the woods, the rise in popularity of teams such as Team Dynasty saw speedball become the standard
competitive format.

Professional play Recently, professional players have started signing contracts and making earnings. Ex-Dynasty player Oliver Lang, widely
regarded as the best player in the world, signed a 3 year contract with the Los Angeles Ironmen for $100,000. He later led them to victory in the 2007
and 2008 PSP World Cup. Many players see this as the next step to the acceptance of paintball as a legitimate sport.