Paintball on Gotland

Our most popular game type. Conquest is about controlling as many sectors of the playing area as possible. There are usually 7 flagpoles placed around the field, each representing a sector. You control a sector by raising the flag in your team’s color. Raising the flag does not score any points right away, though – points are only awarded when the final signal sounds: 1 point for each flag (sector) flying your color at the final signal. The team that holds the most sectors when time runs out wins.

In addition to the 7 flagpoles, there is a small green pennant with a horn in each team’s start zone. Pressing this horn gives the team 2 points and also ends the round immediately. If neither team manages to press the opponents’ horn, the game ends at the set time, usually after 20 minutes.

The rules for when you are allowed to press the horn may vary a little depending on the match time, but we usually play 20 minutes in total, with the option to go for the finish and press the horn when only 5 minutes of play remain. We always announce over the speaker system when you are free to go for the finish.

Assault has one defending and one attacking team. The defending team has one or two objectives on the field that they must defend during the game. They choose the objectives themselves, with some restrictions on which sectors of the field can be used. An objective is usually a building, and a bomb simulator is placed inside each objective. The attacking team’s mission is to locate the objectives, arm the “bomb” and successfully “blow up” all objectives before time runs out. The defending team wins if any objective remains when the match time is over. As in most game types, all players have an unlimited number of “lives”. When hit, you go to your team’s “safe zone”. Once there, you simply head back into the game.

The setup and rules can vary a little depending on what you want. When two objectives are used, for example, it is common for the attacking team’s “safe zone” to be moved forward once the objective in the central sector has been blown up. You do not have to take that objective first, but there is a strong incentive to do so, as it moves the safe zone forward.

It is also possible to activate code locks on the bomb simulators and make that a part of the game. Either the attacking team first has to get hold of the code from the defending team before they can arm the bombs at the objectives, or the defending team has to get hold of a code in order to defuse the bombs if the attacking team manages to arm them. The codes are then usually carried by a VIP who can be recognized by an armband. When the VIP is hit, they hand over the code to the opposing team. Another VIP variant is that, when hit, they have to reveal where the objectives are located.

There are 3–5 flags each in red and blue, placed at predetermined spots on the field. The closest flag for each team is in the middle of the field; the other flags are on the opposing team’s half. The first team to collect all its flags wins the game.

The players are divided into up to 5 different teams. The exact number of teams depends on the number of players, but never fewer than 3.

Each team has its own color – red, blue, yellow, orange or green (no team band). All players carry every color so they can switch when they are taken into a new team.

The goal in Dodgeball is to mark opponents and bring them into your own team so that it becomes the largest – or until only one winning team remains on the field. The game is timed. The exact time depends on the number of players, but no more than 10 minutes. If no team has won before time runs out, the team with the most players when the final signal sounds wins.

This game type also has two teams – red and blue. In our Domination, the box is placed centrally on the field (both teams know where it is). Both teams try to dominate the area around the box for as long as possible during the limited game time. The Domination box has a red and a blue button – one for each team. As a member of the red team, you hold down the red button for a number of seconds until the box registers as held by red. The box then lights up red and starts counting possession time for the red team. In the same way, the blue team tries to register the box as theirs by pressing the blue button.

The box counts down the game time. When time runs out, a horn sounds from the box and the team with the longest possession time wins. You can read the winner on the box’s display and also get a quick, clear signal from its lights – red for a red win and blue for a blue win.

Counter Strike is something most people recognize. The popular FPS computer game that has been with us since 1999 has a number of different game modes. We have chosen to focus on the most popular one – Bomb defuse.

You are divided into two teams – the Terrorists and the Task Force. The Terrorists have to get to one of the designated zones to plant a bomb and make sure it detonates. There are always at least two bomb zones on the field. The Terrorists have two bomb cases, but only one contains a bomb. This makes it harder for the Task Force to know who is actually carrying the bomb. The Task Force’s mission is to prevent the bomb from going off. If time runs out before the bomb detonates, the Task Force wins. The Task Force also wins by successfully defusing the bomb.

One of the big differences between Counter Strike with us and in front of the computer is that you are not eliminated just because an opponent has marked you. Just as in most game types, you simply go back to your team’s “safe zone” and then return straight into the game. There is no limit to how many times you can do this.

Just as in Assault, the game can be played with a defusal code or even with cutting the right wire.

Elimination is about marking all your opponents. When you are hit, you do as in CTF, i.e. clearly show that you are out by shouting and raising your hand above your head. However, you do not return to the “safe zone” to rejoin the game. Instead you must leave the field and may not return until one team or player has won.

In the VIP Game one team has to escort a designated VIP from point A to point B. The opponents’ mission is to stop them from reaching the goal. The game ends when the VIP reaches the goal and can call the game off (by pressing a button connected to a car horn). If the VIP is hit before reaching the goal, the game is over and the mission has failed, whether or not any of the VIP’s defenders remain.

The player chosen as the VIP is equipped with a Tippmann TPX paintball pistol including four magazines with 8 paintballs each. The other players have regular Tippmann 98C/PS markers.

About a third of the group is given the task of protecting a flag (a car horn) placed just outside the fort. The others have the mission of reaching the flag (the car horn) to call the game off, or alternatively marking out all the defenders.

The game is timed. How long depends on the number of players, but 7–10 minutes is usually about right. When playing Storm the Fort we recommend using only one “life”. If you are hit, you show it by shouting and raising your hand above your head, and then go to a designated spot where you wait until the game is over.

Capture the Flag is about taking the opponents’ flag. To keep the flag from disappearing into the forest, we use a car horn instead of a physical flag. The goal is to get to the opponents’ base and reach the flag (press the button for the car horn). When the horn sounds, the game ends. The team that took the flag is then awarded one point. The game has a time limit. If neither team manages to capture the opponents’ “flag” before the round ends, it is a draw.

When hit, you are temporarily out of the game. Show this clearly to your teammates and opponents by shouting “hit” and then holding one hand above your head. Make sure to put your marker on safe and return to your “safe zone” before rejoining the game. Keep your hand above your head as you walk to your “safe zone” so that you are not mistaken for an active player and risk being shot at. Of course you are not allowed to keep shooting once you have been hit, nor may you shoot at those who have been hit and are therefore temporarily out of the game.

Last Stand – an intense game where the pressure just keeps building as time goes by.

The teams are split as evenly as possible before the start – one defending and one attacking team. The defending team starts out in the town in the middle of the field. Their mission is to hold their positions for the full match time. The time varies depending on the number of players – anything from 5 to 15 minutes.

The attacking team’s goal is to mark all defenders in the town before the match time runs out. Before the start, the attackers may split up and choose whether to begin north or south of the town. When defending players are marked, they raise their hand above their head and walk to either safe zone – north or south. Once there, they switch teams and put on the attacking team’s band. The defenders can never win players back or bring new players into their team. There are simply fewer and fewer defenders against more and more attackers.

The defenders win if they have any player left when the match time runs out. The attacking team wins if they manage to mark all defending players before the match time runs out.

For this game we warmly recommend grenades for the attacking team. The town is quite hard to capture, but with smoke grenades it can be easier to get in unnoticed, and the explosive grenades are perfect for clearing well-fortified houses. A grenade that detonates inside a house eliminates all players in that house.