Killing me softly

A petite 22-year-old foreign exchange student at the University of Ghent, Duggal isn't your typical cold-blooded killer. But then, this isn't murder - it's paintball.

A sport that began in 1981 in the American state of New Hampshire (whose motto is appropriately "Live Free or Die"), the game is now played worldwide, both indoors and out. Rules vary and, with them, strategies, but one guideline is constant: don't get hit by a paintball.

Armed with heavy guns, each with 100 "bullets" of paint, our two teams trudge onto the battlefield inside a warehouse well off the N458 leading out of Ghent. Dotted with wooden bunkers and stacks of tyres, the green turf is slick with spent ammunition, and every construction is a Jackson Pollock imitation of splattered paint.

A whistle blows, and our groups - a healthy mix of guys and girls, expats and Flemings - hide behind walls, dodge bullets and dive for cover. The air explodes with the thwacking sound of paintballs bursting and the occasional exclamation of "I've been hit!"

Our two teams of eight play various versions of "capture the flag", using a mix of guts, strategy and luck to win. If anyone is hit during the game, they raise their arms and gun in surrender and exit to a safe area, where they can watch the remainder of the action play out. At the end of each 15-minute segment, a winner is declared (if it isn't already obvious), and everyone readies themselves for the next round.

A whole new side to your friends
The most interesting part of the evening's adventure isn't so much the winners and losers but the various personali- ties and dynamics revealed under the pressure of the game. Suited up in coveralls and masks, descriptors of gender, fitness, country or size no longer applied. The best sniper, for instance, proved to be a novice Englishwoman.

Personalities also shifted. Some players tried to strategise, commanding a leadership role, while others would ignore group efforts entirely to go commando. "Working on a paintball terrain is certainly interesting psychology-wise. We learn a lot about human behaviour," confirms Pieter Bruyland, co-owner of Paintball Gent. "Women have been frightened beforehand by exaggerated stories of bruises and tend to play more defensively, staying towards the back, but there are a lot of exceptions to this. We actually prefer to have women in the group, as their presence seems to calm down the men. The males show less testosterone-fuelled - meaning stupid - behaviour."

This still happened in our group. Upon entering the safe zone, one overzealous participant named and pointed at every person he slayed, as if to reinforce the power and pleasure derived from the kill. The first and only time I actually managed a direct hit, I immediately apologised (indicating just how mentally ill-prepared I was).

As organiser of the event, I was looking forward to improving upon my poor childhood hide-and-seek skills, where I perpetually wet my pants out of fear. I wanted to surprise myself with a discovery of natural abilities. Instead, my first time out, I took a shot to the forehead, just beyond the protective covering of
my mask. The bad luck left my hands shaking from the shock as a lump began to form. My dread increased with each return to the field, until a multi-shot ambush of my cowering body gave me a valid excuse to quit.

War games
Certainly not the case for my companions. From the comfort of a protected viewpoint, I relished the rare spectacle of my friends and colleagues transformed into aggressive action heroes. Running directly towards the enemy while shooting didn't always succeed, but it certainly was applauded. Barrel rolls, sprinting and crawling, everyone was a star in their own movie.

Bruyland, however, is uncomfortable with comparing paintball to war. "A common misunderstanding about paintball is that it is playing war," he says. "This is something we try to avoid. We see paintball as a sport and promote it that way, with lots of strategy, teamwork and, most of all, fun. Aggression and fighting have nothing to do with it." Paintball, he explains, is less about re-enacting your favourite video game and more about working together. The majority of the customers that come to Paintball Gent are team-building efforts, bachelor parties and youth clubs. "Teamwork is essential, so mostly the teams who work together win the most games," he says. "Real soldiers, for example, do not play any better than civilians, which proves it is a sport that has nothing to do with war."

Given the volume of many guns firing simultaneously, the thrill at shooting a gun and the inherent motivation of competition, the potential for escalation is valid. Paintball Gent works to prevent any aggressive scenarios through a number of rules. While they are open seven days a week, it is by reservation only. Deposits are required, and a minimum age of 14 is enforced. Bringing your own equipment is not allowed. No small groups or individual players are allowed: 16 players is the bare minimum. A 10-metre shooting distance is enforced, and, before every session, a safety video is shown.

The rules aren't arbitrary: they keep the game safe and the players happy. "Warning people in the briefing that fair play is absolutely necessary makes a lot of difference," says Bruyland. "We never mix separate groups together, so players always know each other in one way or another." Despite people trying to kill each other for three hours, what Bruyland says holds true. Over beers in a café later, our group is animatedly discussing strategies and replaying scenes. They sit comparing ping-pong sized marks in varying shades of red. Tiny Duggal proudly displays her war wounds and grins. "It was totally worth it."

www.paintballgent.be

More paintball: A guide to paintball terrains in Flanders
In contrast to Paintball Gent, many paintball sites wear their war games approach on their sleeves: at Stafort, the outdoor terrain is on the site of Stabroek fort in northeast Antwerp province, and players wear fatigues. The site is also home to laser gaming, go- carting and other adventurous activities.
www.stafort.be

Paintball Adventure Sports in Leopoldsburg, Limburg province, also offers outdoor paintball.
www.paintballadventuresports.com

At Eeklo's Area 23 (East Flanders), you can play in smaller groups of eight.
www.area23.be

For less hassle and more competition, you can bring your own equipment and play at p8ntball in Vilvoorde, just outside Brussels. They also have a shop with paintball gear.
www.p8ntball.be