Rules vary depending on whether you are in competition or just having fun. In general the following apply.
General Paintball Safety Rules
RULES OF PAINTBALL GAMES
These are general, common sense rules that may be used if you host a Paintball Party. Course, if its your party you can cry if you want to and you can be sued if they want to. Keep the game friendly.
Be a good sportsman.
Be fair.
Don't shoot / hit someone more than you must.
Don't try to push the rules to it's limits, just play and enjoy the game.
Any time a paintball hits and breaks on you or anything that you are carrying, it is a hit (elimination). Splatter from the ball hitting some other object and spraying you, or a ball that bounces that did not break does not count as a hit / elimination. Gun hits, head hits, goggle hits, finger hits, and objects being "carried" all count as hits. But don't aim for the head or goggles.
If you are hit, yell hit several times to signal your elimination.
Put your barrel plug in your gun. put your gun in the air, and get out of the way and off of the playing field. You should proceed back to the area where you started. Do not talk to live players after you have been eliminated. Once you say "HIT" or "I'M OUT!" you are out. You can't change your mind and re-enter the game. If a live player puts their barrel plug in then they are eliminated from the game. If you think you are hit, but you aren't sure, yell "PAINTCHECK!" You will be neutral as soon as you yell paintcheck. But, just because you are neutral does not mean that everyone heard you. Make sure to yell it several times. Then you can stand up and check yourself, have a nearby player check you, or a referee check you to see if you are hit. If you are not hit, go back down to your position and yell "CLEAR!", or "I'M CLEAN!" and continue playing.
A person under paintcheck may not have any aggressive action taken against them. This means that the attacker can not stand up and aim at the person under paintcheck and wait for the player to decide if they have been hit. A player also cannot use paintchecks as an opportunity to run away from the person under paintcheck if they couldn't do so before. Remember that any indication that you are out of the game or that you have been hit, you are out. Once you say "HIT!" you are out and you are not allowed to change your mind. Any paint leaving a mark from devices that are not paintballs count as a hit. These may include paint grenades and other special devices for scenario games.
SAFETY AND COURTESY RULES - DO NOT SHOOT PEOPLE WITHIN 20 FEET! IT HURTS! That having been said, someone will be shot within 20 feet. It cannot be completely prevented, but we have some rules to reduce close range shots as much as possible. If you sneak up on someone, ask them to surrender ("surrender or die"). If someone asks you to surrender, stay very still and turn your head to see if they are talking to you. Then make a decision (yes or no). If you ask someone to surrender and they turn with their gun, start running away, or just dance around in confusion....end their confucsion and shoot them. They will surrender next time. You cannot pretend to surrender. Any indication that you surrender, and you do. The idea is to make it very easy for someone to call themselves out without being shot again. The one exception to all of these rules is point blank shooting. DO NOT SHOOT PEOPLE AT POINT BLANK RANGE! (6 feet or less). It will leave a welt. If you shoot someone at point blank range, they are not out, but you are. Even if you miss them you are out just for shooting. If someone sneaks up on you to point blank range and asks you to surrender, you have no choice but to surrender .
PAINTBALL SAFETY RULES At any Paintball event safety comes first. Read the following safety rules carefully. These rules are here to protect you and others from injury. First Rule: Never, never, ever take your goggles off in the playing area. A shot to the face without your goggles on can cause you to loose vision.... PERMANENTLY! Don't take them off even when they fog over. It is better not to see for a few minutes than to never see again. Players taking off their goggles will be eliminated from play. Subsequent infractions may result in the player being ejected from the field.
Second Rule: You must chronograph your gun each time you re-enter the playing area. Your gun's veloctiy should be checked and should not exceed 290 feet per second (fps) on any shot and should average 285 fps or lower. Players caught adjusting gun velocities on the field or deliberately playing with "hot" guns will be removed from play for the rest of the day..
Third Rule: Use common sense. Rambo and G.I. Joe are fantasies. Trees and rocks hurt when you run into them or land on them. No tree climbing. Watch where you run; you may twist an ankle or run into a tree. Don't dive over obstacles. Thanks to Murphy you will land on something hard and sharp. Don't run on rocks as they may slide/roll and twist your ankle. Hightop shoes or hiking boots are recommended.
Fourth Rule: No real weapons allowed. This includes knives, real guns, assault helicopters, etc.
Fifth Rule: Note field hazards. Watch out for thorny trees, drop offs, poison ivy, etc. Basically... anything that can happen to you out in the woods can happen to you in paintball so be prepared.
Sixth Rule: No touching other players, abusive language, alcohol drinking, or other things that common sense says you shouldn't be doing while playing a recreational sport. Players may be eliminated for play or removed from the game area at the referees or other players discretion.
Seventh Rule: Do not remove your goggles until off the field!
