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Paintball Atlas // The whole sport in view

PAST ROSTERS. REAL FIELDS. ONE ATLAS.

Bunker Buddy is building the front door paintball has always deserved: a source-linked archive for the people, teams, places, stories, events, and footage that made the sport, connected to tools for the next point you play.

06

Ways into the sport

History, players, teams, fields, events, and coverage.

6+

Historical source paths

The first edition keeps its evidence one click away.

6

Ways to play

Tournament, classic, recreational, and scenario paintball.

Atlas index

THE SPORT, MAPPED.

A sport this big should not live in one endless feed. Choose a doorway, keep the source trail visible, and move between the record and the story.

Archive preview

FROM MARKING TOOL TO MODERN SPORT.

This timeline is a trailhead, not a claim that paintball history fits on a handful of cards. Each stop opens the evidence used, while the archive carries the longer reading.

Read the full archive
  1. 01

    Before 1981

  2. 02

    June 27, 1981

    Henniker, New Hampshire

    The Survival Game brings twelve players together

    A twelve-person capture-the-flag experiment on roughly 100 wooded acres became the first recorded organized paintball game.

    Source: WBUR oral history (opens in a new tab)
  3. 03

    1982–1983

  4. 04

    1993

  5. 05

    2003

    The X-Ball era

    The NXL takes over the World Cup

    The National Xball League took over World Cup organization as multi-point X-Ball, broadcast ambitions, and faster tournament formats reshaped the pro game.

    Source: NXL World Cup history (opens in a new tab)
  6. 06

    2021–2022

    A larger professional stage

    WNXL launches its first professional franchises

    An inaugural exhibition introduced the WNXL on the professional stage, followed by six planned franchises for the 2022 season.

    Source: NXL: WNXL debut (opens in a new tab)

Roster atlas

FOLLOW THE PEOPLE, NOT JUST THE LOGO.

A team name can survive while every line changes. The player and team directories keep published roster appearances tied to their event, season, and source instead of pretending one page is a permanent lineup.

How the game is played

ONE SPORT. MANY FORMATS.

015 on 5

X-Ball

A timed, multi-point format. Teams reset between points and race the game clock or a mercy threshold.

025 on 5

5V5

A single-game tournament format built around eliminations and reaching the opposing buzzer.

03Larger lines

7V7 / 10V10

Longer single-game formats that create more lanes, roles, and bodies to manage across the field.

04Mechanical focus

Classic

A lower-rate format that rewards movement, communication, and classic marker play.

05Recreational

Woodsball

Outdoor play on natural or constructed terrain, usually with scenario, elimination, or objective rules.

06Large game

Scenario

Objective-driven events that may run for hours or days with missions, roles, and an ongoing story.

Pick up the thread

READ THE PAST. FOLLOW THE PRESENT. SAVE THE NEXT POINT.