| Paintball is growing leaps and bounds in popularity | | | | Nelson Paint Company. Before long they had |
| these days. Ah, but where did it get its start? | | | | created a game that they called Survival. The |
| The origins are fairly humorous and had nothing to | | | | game was featured in an issue of Sports |
| do with the game we have today. | | | | Illustrated and was led to a sudden increase in |
| In the 1950's, the Nelson Paint Company began | | | | popularity. Bob Guernsey, one of the original |
| manufacturing a product designed to be used by | | | | inventors of the game formed a company called |
| the Forestry Service to mark trees from a | | | | The National Survival Game Company and |
| distance. The product was a capsule filled with | | | | entered into a contract with the Nelson Paint |
| paint that was shot from a gun using compressed | | | | Company. |
| CO2. The paint marking device was all used by | | | | These early games were played much differently |
| ranchers to mark cattle. This product was | | | | than today's version of Paintball. The play areas |
| manufactured and sold by the Nelson Paint | | | | were much bigger and each player had a limited |
| Company for a couple of decades fulfilling its | | | | amount of paint capsules which meant much |
| rather limited function. Paintball history, as the | | | | stalking and very little shooting. The paint in the |
| history of an extreme sport began with the idea | | | | capsules was not water soluble and left quite a |
| of three friends. | | | | mess in the play area. There were often what |
| Three men, Hayes Noel, Bob Guernsey, and | | | | became known as "turpentine parties" to clean up |
| Charles Gaines were discussing Gaines' hunting trip | | | | after games. |
| to Africa and Richard Connell's book "The Most | | | | In a few years, rival companies began to develop |
| Dangerous Game." This book was about men | | | | new technology and produce new products |
| hunting each other for sport, and the idea | | | | intended for Paintball. The Splatmaster was |
| intrigued the three friends. They began to find | | | | introduced in 1985. It was the first marker gun |
| some way to do this in a game form where they | | | | intended specifically for Paintball. A man named |
| could experience the adrenalin rush, but no one | | | | George Skogg came up with the modern gelatin |
| would be hurt. A fourth friend showed them the | | | | water soluble capsule and provided the formula to |
| paint marker guns in a catalogue and the idea of | | | | the Nelson Paint Company who began producing |
| Paintball was born. | | | | them just for Paintball games. The sport took off |
| The first Paintball game was played on an 80 acre | | | | from this point and grew to its current popularity. |
| wooden cross country skiing course on June 27, | | | | Today, there are over 11.4 million Paintball players |
| 1981. It was a game of capture the flag and the | | | | in the United States. |
| players used Nelspot 007 marker guns from the | | | | |