Paintball – Talk the talk
Have you ever been at a paintball site and heard other players using terms you didn’t understand? Don’t worry, you’re not alone- paintball has one of the longest lists of jargon specific to the game out of any adventure sport. It is so extensive, that this list doesn’t even cover close to everything you’ll hear; but it does help you understand the basics!
Auto Trigger: This little device can be found in all modern paint guns, allowing you to fire paint with every pump of the gun. All guns with an auto trigger installed fire paintballs at faster speeds!
Barrel Plug: Whenever you aren’t playing, this plug should be placed into the barrel. If you don’t, it could risk a “barrel break”, where a paintball breaks inside the barrel, causing inaccurate shots and the chance of you losing the game.
The Break: The moments after the start of the game where players rush to their bunkers.
Chrony: To “chrony your gun” is to check how fast a paintball will travel after it leaves the barrel, which you can do by checking out a chronograph, a device that helps check and alter speed. The speed limit for paintballs is 300 feet per second.
Deadbox: The space where eliminated players go when wiped out of the game, to sit in silence and think about the mess they have made.
Grenades: A slang term to describe a paint filled balloon, which can wipe out multiple enemy players at once if used right.
Hot: By telling somebody “that bunker is hot”, you aren’t talking about the temperature, but the enemy snipers that lie waiting.
The Monkey: Does the rival team only have one player left? Well, they’re the monkey.
Rattle: Going all Rambo and going through as many rounds as possible, as quick as possible.
Rec-Ball: What professional paintballers say when referring to non-tournament games. So whenever we mention paintball, they will probably correct us and tell us we are talking about Rec-Ball.
Speedball: A fun sized paintball (sorry, “Rec-Ball”) arena, with the smaller amount of ground covered making for a far faster game- but no less exhilarating.
Staging Area: The home base where everything starts- usually the area where you can purchase equipment.
Zoning: Where your team tactically decides which part of the field to guard during the game.
This is far from a complete list of paintball jargon- you could fill entire dictionaries with all the weird and wonderful terms ballers use! But if you’re a newbie, this is the perfect starting point. If you’ve heard a term on a paintball site that went over your head, feel free to get in touch.