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Tankball: Paintball Grows Up

LONDON, Oct. 31, 2006 — It looks like a typical battle scene — tanks charging, overhead artillery fire, missiles exploding; so why, suddenly, are soldiers coming out of the tanks smiling and laughing as if they are having the time of their lives?

Well, it's not exactly Iraq or Afghanistan. It's Leicestershire, England, and the battlefield is Southfields Farm, the new Mecca for war games.

Southfields is the birthplace of tankball — paintball taken to a whole new level. People come from all around the world to race around in tanks, launch paint-filled missiles and, in turn, avoid a tank round of green or red splattering ammunition.

The adventure started 16 years ago with Stuart Garner, a local farmer who looked for an alternative way for his farm to make money. He decided to begin paintballing on his 250-acre piece of land, and then the idea grew and grew.

It took Garner a long time to find an engineer willing and able to adapt the military equipment he had gathered. Now, he offers punters seven tanks, several missile launchers and a variety of Armored Personnel Carriers, all specially modified to use paint as ammunition.

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I wanna play TANKBALL!    Right now!