Click each question to view the answer.

1. Is there an age limit?

Players on our field range from age 13 (minimum) to "older than dirt". Even though our events are part of the FireStorm Youth Event Calendar, there is no maximum age. We encourage youth leaders, parents and all other adults to just get out there and play. Use the opportunity to get in there and set a good example.

2. What do I need to play?

In order to participate you must first complete the CrossTies waiver. As for equipment, you must wear a paintball mask. All other equipment is optional, though full participation will be impossible without a marker, hopper, air system and paintballs. Wearing just a mask, however, does allow you to enter the field and help your team complete objectives.

3. Are there markers available for rent?

The field fee includes the free use of one of our marker packages (mask, marker, hopper and 48ci/3000psi HPA tank). If you bring all of your own gear and use none of the package items, then you will receive a $5 discount for helping us get more people on the field. If you absolutely need to use our equipment, then we suggest that you pre-register and do it early. We have 18 marker packages at this time and they will be reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis.

4. I know the minimum equipment, but what other equipment is allowed? Radios? Grenades? Lasers? Slingshots?

FRS radios are allowed and their use is encouraged in order to keep in contact with your team. Each team will be assigned a code for use for the day. Also, if you use a radio, it is highly recommended that you also use an earpiece so that your team's communications are not blasted at full volume all over the woods.

Paint grenades are allowed and must either be commercially made or contain a homemade white cornstarch fill (4 parts water to 1 part cornstarch). Smoke grenades are allowed by field staff only. See the special rules section of each scenario for further instruction.

Projecting lasers are not allowed. Red or green dot sights are allowed, as these sights do not project a laser.

Slingshots are allowed under the following conditions: paintballs are the only projectiles used, and the slingshot must chrono at a maximum of 285 fps. If your slingshot fires a paintball faster than 285 fps, its use will be prohibited. We reserve the right to chrono your slingshot for you, to make sure of its maximum capable velocity. If you would like to chrono your slingshot at some time prior to the event in order to make sure that it will pass inspection, please contact us to set something up. Regardless of any pre-testing, however, all slingshots must pass the chrono inspection on the day of the event. Our top concern is the safety of everyone out on the field.

5. What should I wear to play paintball in the woods?

When playing woodsball paintball, especially at one of our scenario events, most people wear clothes that will not draw attention to themselves in order to conceal their position. Some excellent choices are any variety of camouflage or earth-tone clothing. Stopping by any military surplus store should give you the opportunity to pick up a set of inexpensive battle dress uniforms (BDU's) in olive drab or Woodland camouflage, both of which will work very well for paintball in the woods.

Other camouflage that will work excellent for woodsball include various military camouflage patterns such as: Multicam, MARPAT, CADPAT, Special Ops Omnipat, German Flecktarn, Tiger Stripe, UCP, and many other non-desert patterns.

6. Do paintballs stain clothing?

Paintballs today are not plastic pellets filled with paint. They are geletin spheres filled with plant-based, eco-friendly dye fills that burst on impact, generally leaving a splat mark about the size of a half dollar coin. Under most conditions, the colored splat mark can simply be wiped off. If any residue remains, it can usually be washed out in normal laundry cleaning. Some paintball fills do have a greater tendency to stain, however, such as bright orange or bright pink fills. Because of this, our field paint will generally be blue, green or yellow filled, which have proven to be very easy to wash out.

7. How should I care for my paintball clothing?

Follow normal laundering directions for your clothing. Note that if you have purchased a set of BDU's or ACU's (Army Combat Uniform) or have some other type of camouflage, you will likely want to purchase a detergent that does not contain an optical brightener. Optical brighteners are VERY common in today's detergents, and have a tendency to fade clothing colors as a trade-off to make whites appear whiter. More information on this issue can be found here: Ranger Joe's proper ACU care instructions; and detailed information on what is contained in various laundry detergents can be found here: Detergent Study.

8. Will water be available?

Water will be available at the event, but not on the field. Bring bottles or a hydration bladder to stay hydrated on the field. You should not drink the water in the creeks.

9. Will air refills be available? HPA or CO2?

We have an on-field cascade system for filling HPA tanks to 3000 psi or 4500 psi (as near as possible). We only have the capability to fill CO2 tanks at designated events. If you wish to use CO2, we suggest you make sure that we will have refills available or make sure that you have at least a 20oz tank pre-filled and also possibly a spare tank as well. CO2 takes much longer to fill, so bringing a pre-filled tank will save you from waiting in line, and get you on the field faster.

10. Will there be a briefing so I know what is going on?

We will be briefing every player for general gameplay rules, safety and sportsmanship prior to the event to make sure that everyone is aware of and follows proper safety procedures. Failure to follow proper safety procedures may result in a player being expelled from the event. The briefings will continue to the event-specific agenda, and each team will have separate briefing periods prior to the start of the game. Once the game has started, players must take direction from their designated team commanders.

11. Can I be a team commander?

For our large events, team commanders will be selected by event staff. Your team commander may choose to utilize any player to be a leader for the completion of any side- or special-mission. Tip: if you have an FRS radio and are able to keep in contact with your team commander, it is more likely that you will be chosen to lead a small band of troops on a special mission or objective.

12. If I run out of paint, can I buy more?

We will have paint on hand and for sale throughout the event. We will have in stock what we believe to be enough paint for the entire day, but our estimate of how much paint is needed is directly related to how many and how early players register for the event. All sales will be on a first-come, first-served basis. You have the option to pre-purchase as much paint as you like and we will have your order set aside waiting for you on the day of the event. Doing this will guarantee that you receive an exact amount. Also, any paint purchased for the event becomes your property, and you can take your unused paint with you when you leave for the day. Brimstone is field paint only, and we are very competitively priced - do not bring your own paintballs. To pre-order your paint (500 round increments), please contact us.

13. I've not played (or played very much) before. How much paint will I go through?

This is really a loaded question, as the amount of paint a person shoots is variable depending on how trigger happy the player is. Taking a poll of some regular all-day-game players shows an average of about 1000 paintballs, with some players reporting shooting only 200 and others reporting shooting a full case (2000). This is for an 8-hour scenario game. As our events generally start you out with 500 paintballs, you can be conservative and still have a good day of play - or you can purchase extras, "just in case".

14. Is there a pro-shop on site?

At this time we do not keep any inventory of items for sale other than paint. If you would like to order some equipment, please contact us with what you are looking for and we will see if we can get it in stock and/or delivered to you. In the future, as our paintball events grow, we may begin to stock items for sale.

15. If I have a problem with my marker, CO2/HPA tank, etc. will you fix it for me?

We will service the markers, tanks and masks that we provide. None of our staff have yet completed an airsmith certification class, and therefore we will not work on any systems that we do not own. If you are using one of our packages and it has problems, we will do our best to fix it immediately or provide you with a backup. If we are out of backup packages and your system is malfunctioning beyond repair, we will refund your field fee and any unused paint.

16. So I'm coming to one of your all-day events. Will there be lunch? Restrooms?

Check the page for your specific event regarding lunch. Most of our all-day events will have lunch included. There will be a window of opportunity when lunch will be available, and you must choose when to take advantage of that window, whether that means calling yourself out to take a break or waiting until you need to reload. Restrooms are available for use at The Barn, where all of the briefing takes place.

17. What if I need medical attention/first aid? What about scheduled medications?

If you need medical attention, event staff will be there to help. If you have prescribed medications that need to be taken at various times, please make sure that the event staff are aware of the situation, as well as your parent, guardian or youth leader. Unless something is arranged prior to the event, you will be responsible for making sure any required medications are taken properly.

18. Can I take pictures or movies on the field?

Yes, and sharing your photos and videos is encouraged! Filming on the field while play is occuring demands that you follow all of the same safety precautions as all other players. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee the safety of your cameras. Filming is always at your own risk to damaged equipment.

We sometimes have at least one event staff filming the event as well. After the scenario is concluded it is likely that we will post pictures and videos of the gameplay on the internet.

19. Does my parent (or guest) have to pay to watch me?

No. However, all guests must stay in the designated safe zones and will be prohibited from entering the field. Our events are largely objective-based games, and therefore the use of a marker may not be required to complete all or part of an objective. Therefore all guests must stay in the safe zones regardless of whether or not they are wearing paintball masks.

20. Do you need someone to help ref?

You want to help? Contact us! We will need to meet with all prospective referees prior to the gameday event.