Malta Travel Guide: Play Paintball in Malta

For something a little different while you're in Malta, you can try your hand at paintballing. Get a group of people together and practice your shooting skills with a heart racing game of paintballing.

To the uninitiated, Paintball is a sport in which participants eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with paintballs (spherical gelatine capsules containing primarily polyethylene glycol, other non-toxic and water-soluble substances, and dye) shot from a compressed-gas-powered "marker" or gun. Paintball attracts a wide array of players and insurance statistics estimate that over 10 million people regularly play what is statistically one of the safest sports in existence, incredibly even more so than tennis.

It is a good way to release some of that holiday energy and experience the fun and exhilaration of a game designed to play out many of those childhood fantasies. Challenge your opponents to a battle demanding both skill and stealth as you feel the excitement of charging forward to complete your mission.

To create a totally original experience, games are conducted at the Malta Film Studios using the sets of films, such as U571 and Gladiator. All games are fully supervised and controlled by paintball referees. All participants are given detailed instructions before taking part and provided with the appropriate protective clothing and head guard as well as paint-launchers and paint pellets.

Paintball is played with a potentially limitless variety of rules and variations, all of which are specified before the game begins. The most basic of all game rules is that players must attempt to accomplish a goal without being tagged with paintballs. When a player is tagged, they must raise their marker to indicate that they are out, and leave the playing field. Depending on the agreed upon game rules, the player may return to the field and continue playing, or is eliminated from the game completely.

One of the most played games states that the first player to enter the opponent's base without being hit secures the game for his team. Since the battle ground is usually a field that is not level, opponents take turns to defend the bases, one of which is situated at the top of a small hill and the other at the bottom.

Adrenaline runs high when opponents start shooting paint balls at each other, and those who are more experienced manage to plan traps and lure unknowing opponents into situations where they can easily be ambushed.

When the time factor is applied to games, the adrenaline rush increases to a blast as you might only have 10 minutes to run into the opposing base.

Crawling, hiding, attacking, retreating, and planning out battle manoeuvres with your colleagues or friends can turn out to be an extremely exciting experience.

With clement weather all year round, Malta is ideal for outdoor paintball games. There are no poisonous snakes or spiders in Malta, so you may creep and crawl on the grass for as long as you like without having to look out for any nasty surprises.

Can you think of a better way of spending a few hours than firing paint at your mates? I can't.

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Malta Holiday Guide 101Malta.com - 101 Things To Do In Malta takes an honest look at the many, many things you can do whilst in Malta and Gozo, ranging from the adventurous to the relaxing and from the culinary to the cultural.