Paintball and Lasertag

"Holy balls of paint, Batman!" Want a date where the two of you can release some serious aggression and not involve the domestic violence unit of your local police department? We're talking about assaulting each other with the primary colors.

Paintball has been described as a "sophisticated and challenging combination of tag and hide'n'go seek." Or, you might think of it as how the folks at Sherwin Williams play war. In paintball, there are usually two teams that try to capture the other's fl ag. Players shoot at each other with a gun that fires paintballs. Casualties occur when one person creams another with a paintball.

Expect to get sweaty, dirty and hopefully have lots of fun. Since no direct physical contact is allowed, you will need to wait until after the game to nurse each other's combat wounds.

COST

Plan to pay between $20 to $50 each, including equipment rental. Call ahead of time to make sure that the field you are playing on rents equipment. The equipment should include the paintgun, goggles, facemask and paintballs. Some fields will require you to purchase insurance for $2 to $5, or to sign a waiver of liability. Don't buy any paintball equipment until you've played a time or two.

ATTIRE

You're going to get dirty, so this is definitely not a dress-to-impress date. Wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants. Your more useful body parts should be covered for protection. You can wear tennis shoes or boots. Some paintball players wear camoufl age.

WHERE and HOW TO FIND

Paintball is played in fields that have special props to help ratchet up the fun and surprise—from foxholes and bridges to tree houses and huts. Paintball fields also have boundaries and referees. Here are some internet resources to find the field of your dreams:

www.paintmagazine.com
www.paintball.about.com
www.warpig.com
www.paintballevents.com
www.paintball.com
www.p8ntballer.com
www.xpaintball.com

EYEBALLS AND OTHER BALLS

You won't believe this, but paintball injuries are usually few and far between. When played on legitimate fields, paintball is safer than riding bikes. Wear goggles and protective facemasks that are specially designed to protect the eyes and face and bring no-fog spray.

Paintball-playing males might consider getting a soft-cup brief from www.internationaljock.com. This can be a real face-saver when an incoming ball lands below the belt, or simply because you're spending much of the day diving and crawling around on your belly. One of the editors of the top paintball ‘zine gives the soft-cup brief "two-balls up."

ALTERNATIVES

So let's say you don't feel like getting all red-faced and gooey—or not with your clothes on, anyway. Consider trying lazertag instead.

LASERTAG or LAZERTAG

Lasertag is a bit like paintball—a combat team sport— only it's often played in an indoor arena and instead of getting creamed with exploding paintballs, you shoot laser guns at each other and wear special vests that register direct hits.

Lasertag is a fast-paced game, with the goal sometimes being to infiltrate and zap the base of the opposing team. The arena often has smoke generators, fl ashing lights, and hopefully a gnarly sound system to add to the "trapped in a video game" ambiance. At the end of the game, a computer adds up all of the direct hits and decides the winning team and most successful players.

The cost is similar to that of paintball. For information and locations around the world, try:

www.cix.co.uk/~lasertag/lasertag.htm
www.fuzzycouch.com/lazertag/new.html