New to tournament paintball, or bringing someone who is? This is the plain-language version. The same rules the referees call by, shown so you actually take them in. When you want the full detail, the complete rulebook is one tap away.
Tournament paintball is five players a side on a symmetrical, obstacle-filled field. On the buzzer, both teams break from their back line and fight for position. You win a point by tagging out the other team, or by running the field and pressing the buzzer on their start gate. Games are a race: first team to the round's target number of points wins the match.
Referees are on the field the whole time. They call hits, run the gun checks, enforce the penalties, and keep the day moving. Their calls are final on the field. The whole thing is built to be fast, fair, and the same at every event.
Players
5 v 5
Five on the field per side (3 v 3 also runs)
Win a game
Race to N
First side to the round's target wins
Point length
5 min
Then a 45-second reset between points
Velocity cap
300 fps
Chronographed before you play
Rate of fire
10.5 bps
Semi-automatic, ramping within the cap
Calibre
.68
Field-supplied paint only
Both teams start with their marker touching the start gate on their back line. On the buzzer, everyone runs for a bunker and the point is on.
Red and yellow break for the bunkers. Play it out. Whoever presses the other team's buzzer, or is the last side standing, takes the point.
Every point won lights a slot. The target changes by round: preliminary games are a race to 2, the playoffs a race to 5, and the final a race to 7. Here's a race to 5.
First team to five points wins the match.
Team A wins the match 5–3
A tournament day has two halves. First, the preliminary rounds: teams are drawn into round-robin pools and everyone plays everyone in their pool, each match a race to 2. Those results seed the bracket.
Then the playoffs: a single-elimination bracket. Win and you advance, lose and you're done. The playoff races get longer as the stakes rise, a race to 5 through the bracket, up to a race to 7 in the final. Win the final and you win the event.
Across the season, every event feeds a national ladder. Do well, week to week, and your team climbs it.
These are the ones that decide games and cause arguments. Know them and the day goes better for everyone. The section numbers point to the full rulebook.
A paintball that breaks and leaves a mark bigger than a five-cent coin puts you out. Splatter from someone else's hit, or a ball that broke on a bunker first, doesn't count. If you're not sure, stop and get a ref to check.
Wiping a hit off to stay in is the worst thing you can do on a paintball field. It's a gross major: you're out and three teammates go with you. Don't do it.
Every marker is chronographed before you play, and can be re-checked any time. The cap is 300 fps. Shoot hot and the penalty climbs the higher you're reading.
Penalties pull players off for the point. A minor pulls you plus one teammate, a major you plus two, a gross major you plus three. The captain picks who goes.
Step over the tape and you're out. Leave the start gate before the buzzer, or fire early, and you're out unless you touch back in time. Stay inside the play area from buzzer to point.
Only the captain talks to the head ref, between points, not mid-play. Once the eliminated player has crossed the tape, the call stands. The head ref's decision closes it.
This is the friendly version. Behind it sits the full written standard, every section, every penalty, every tiebreaker. Same rules, more detail.
Point them here before their first event. Ten minutes on this page saves a lot of on-field confusion.
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