PAIN BALL

You got that right. Instead of paintball, it was indeed pain ball. You would be in so much pain when you are hit.

The organizers ought to prepare protection vest, pants and gloves for all participants. As for us, there were about 72 of us, and of course, there weren’t enough vests or protective pants to be passed around. Of course, a mask is a must as you don’t want to be blinded or hit in the mouth or ears.

Paintball is a dangerous game if rules are not being adhered to. We were briefed shortly before the game begins. Rule no. #1 – having a mask on every time you are in the battle field. Rule No. #2 – Listen to the marshal’s instructions before firing way. Rule No. #3 – Knowing how to handle your guns properly – safety first. There is no room for foolishness.

Apart from pain, since it was raining heavily the day before, we were all covered with mud. The place was infested with mosquitoes too.

I guess Xtion Paintball Park needs to do something to clean up the area of mosquitoes’ nesting area to minimize mosquitoes and also, increasing the numbers of protective gears so everyone would be able to get protection while playing. I think it is kind of dangerous to be walking in the battle zone without protective pants, especially the men, as their family jewels are at stake. No doubt the impact of the gun shot is not that great to have caused grievous bodily harm, it is better to be safe than sorry.

I got shot in the neck less than 20 seconds to the game. Too bad they did not give a prize for those who got hit first. Since this is my first time in the battle field, it was indeed hard to gauge where I was running as our faces were covered by mask and it fogged up when you are breathing hard. The muddy patches and uneven terrain worsen the situation. It was the longest 2 minutes of my life.


Now I realize what it is like to be in a battle field. It is definitely more terrifying with real bullets and grenades flying in the air.

Nevertheless, it was a high action and adrenalin pumping game. The game usually last only 1 to 3 minutes but it was enough to get us all going. This game is suitable to forge team building and effective communication skills. It was funny to think; it took us about 20 minutes to assemble, reload our guns, to don our masks, get our guns, and only played for one minute. Hahaha!

They do provide training for people who are interested in competitive paintball games. While we were sitting around to wait for our turn at the game, we saw some hot gorgeous hunks and pretty ladies. Most of them have their own paintball guns; which costs about RM1,000 + each. Gaya habis!

Before you think we would be shooting everyone and running all over the place like mad people, there are some strategy to the game – even if most of my colleagues would like to get even with colleagues that made their lives hell in the office. Heh!

Firstly, both parties need to shoot down two designated bottles stationed on a barrel. Once the bottles are toppled, the members have to secure 2 flags and bring the flags back to the base. Either team members, who had been hit, need to surrender to the base to “recharge” their lives. Everyone has unlimited lives – as long as you are hit, you need to report back to base to get “recharged”.

Points would be deducted based on number of bullets hitting the team members. If you are being hit 2x, then your 2x would be added to other colleagues. Teams with the highest hit would lose.

3 points would be awarded to the team which secured the 2 flags first.

It might look complicated but it took only 1-2 minutes per game. So, you have to be quite quick on your feet.

Being sluggish and my stamina sort of went hay wired after absence from gym for a year – during the first round, I had to run back to base 3x to get recharged and it was all over in 2 minutes. It doesn’t help either when you have a large surface area – more place for target – that’s what my brother said. I was hit in the neck, the shoulder blade and at the side of the stomach.

I managed to learn from my mistakes and didn’t get hit the second time round and the last round, I just hid behind some barrels and started shooting like a mad woman because, since we are gonna lose anyway, we might as well finish all the bullets. Heh!

It’s a dread to be walking around the office with a mark on my neck; which uncannily looked like a love bite.