What are the differences between recball and speedball?
Recball
Recball, also called "Recreational Paintball" or "woodsball", is the recreational version of this sport. It's played in natural settings with various possible objectives.
This type of paintball is typically played in wastelands, forests, or large areas with barricades. Usually, locations with natural obstacles or prepared defences are chosen so players have barriers to hide behind and avoid paint shots. An open field without obstacles would make the game too vulnerable for this sport. The playing areas often have no size limits and may even require using maps and orientation tools like walkie-talkies, radios, compasses and GPS.
The objectives in Recball vary and are set before the game begins. These can range from holding a territory for a set time (usually the opponent's base), capturing the enemy flag, or even kidnapping an opposing team member and/or eliminating all players from the rival team.
This version of paintball allows unlimited participants, with players being eliminated simply by being hit by a paintball pellet - it doesn't need to explode or mark the opponent. If surprising an opponent from behind, players are expected to call for surrender rather than shooting at close range. Surrendered players remain eliminated for the entire match. It's a physically demanding game that closely resembles real warfare.
It's actually a very close approximation to military combat - you could say recball simulates war. Players wear camouflage outfits and standard paintball protective gear, particularly face protection. The ideal markers for this type of paintball are mechanical ones for their durability, as they may fall to the ground, get wet or muddy. In its most intense version, Extreme Recball can last from 20 to 48 hours.
Recball paintball can be played year-round but is strictly prohibited near roads, camping areas, trails or any other inhabited zones.
Speedball
On the other hand, Speedball could be considered the "pure essence" of paintball as it's a more urban format.
This type of paintball originally developed from woodsball but is now played on specially designed fields for competitive paintball. The courts feature flat surfaces (typically 35m x 50m) with symmetrically placed manufactured obstacles. These artificial obstacles are usually geometric shapes made of inflatable material or other bulky materials. They're often brightly coloured, eliminating the need for camouflage outfits.
In Speedball, players are only eliminated if paintballs explode and mark the opponent. Otherwise the player remains in the game. Matches typically have 3, 5 or 7 players per team, and victory is achieved by moving a flag from the centre of the field to the opponent's base or by eliminating the opposing team.
Electronic markers are widely used in speedball for their speed and burst-fire or fully automatic firing modes. Consequently, equipment costs for this paintball variant tend to be higher.
In this version of paintball, matches can last as little as one minute or less, making strategy and player fitness crucial elements of the game. It's undoubtedly a faster form of paintball than recball.
These two ways of playing paintball are very different, so...
