Recreational Paintball Strategy – Speed Ball
Tips and Advice for Players Taking it to the Next Level
Mar 17, 2009
Playing a good round of speed ball can be very exciting – in fact it is widely played by professionals, recreational hobbyists and casual players, and weekend warriors looking to switch up the pace a little bit. Speed ball does require a lot of running, ducking, and general athletic ability and so it is a great way to get a little exercise while blasting away with a paintball gun!
What is Speed Ball?
Speed ball is a form of paintball played on a relatively small field, where shaped obstacles have been placed strategically to ensure cover, firing angles, and relatively fast paced action. Most speed ball games take place on a symmetrical field to ensure fairness for all participants, and are smaller in scope to ensure constant action.
Speed ball differs from other types of paintball in that it is highly competitive in most instances, and is in fact the most popular form of paintball played professionally – due to the constant action, high visibility, quick play through, and the ability to be filmed relatively easily.
Some Tips, Advice for Speed Ball
Speed ball is vastly unique from woods ball or scenario games in that it demands a high volume of paint, as well as lending a much greater advantage to players who have quality equipment. Electronic triggers, motorized hoppers, and high-end electronic markers will dominate the field during most speed ball games due to a much higher output of paint – it's harder to compete against such high rates of fire that can constantly pin you down behind small, isolated pieces of cover (such as the lovingly termed triangular “Dorito”).
A semi-automatic paintball marker is the bare minimum for a game of speed ball; a marker with an electronic trigger and a motorized hopper would be highly recommended.
That being said, teamwork is absolutely essentially to succeed while playing speedball. One should never be isolated from at least one team-mate during play – or if so, the team in its entirety should be expected to fulfill a general game plan. The importance of cover fire cannot be reiterated enough in this instance – there are no trees to hide behind, the element of surprise is greatly weakened due to the size and terrain of the play field – and so speed ball players will be relying on pinning down their opponents to ensure free movement of their team mates. In a game of speed ball, an exposed player will quickly be taken out.
Speed ball is a fast and wholly furious variety of paintball that demands accuracy, agility, and cohesive teamwork in order to attain success. Players should have fun, have a few rounds. Don't be afraid to rush out of the gate!
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