Gelly Ball vs. Paintball
Gelly Ball vs. Paintball
Gelly Ball
For about two years, gelly ball games were offered at Paintball USA. There was a big hype about the whole gelly ball sport for a while. We suggested gelly ball games for kids that were too young to play paintball, usually 5 -7 years old. https://www.paintballusa.org/
There were many problems with gelly ball games, especially the blasters. We tried at least three suppliers for purchasing gelly ball guns and ammo, aka orbeez. The gelly ball blasters needed to be electrically charged for a few hours before usage, so that means a party would have to reserve at least a day in advance.
What occurred was, large family groups would come in for paintball and have 2 - 3 five-year-olds that were too small to participate, so they wanted to try gelly ball. Even with four outdoor playing fields, it isn’t fun for 2 - 3 kids running around shooting one another.
Our gelly ball package was for groups of 10 participants. It was priced reasonably and included field admission, gelly ball blaster rental, vest, mask, and 2 grenades full of orbeez.
The gelly ball blasters were made of plastic. They would break continually, even with purchasing from three suppliers hoping we would find a company that could guarantee a blaster that wouldn’t break down after one usage. That didn’t happen.
The orbeez are shot from a rapid-fire blaster. A parent hosting the party would end up spending big bucks in continually buying more orbeez to make the party last longer.
Most children’s birthday parties last no less than two hours. Two grenades full of orbeez can disappear within about 10-20 minutes of games. No matter how you slice it, a paintball park ends up having to continually purchase gelly ball blasters to replace the ones that break. The customer hosting the birthday party spends more money on orbeez than they would on game tokens for an indoor amusement arcade.
Paintball
Whether you use a standard paintball gun or paintball soft .50 calibers, a paintball party makes a lot more sense. Both the .68 and.50 caliber markers are heavy duty metal, semi-automatic, and the player receives a bag of 500 paintballs in any rental package that Paintball USA has to offer. https://www.paintballusa.org/pricing
We recommend younger kids ages 7 – 8 years old use paintball soft .50 caliber markers that shoot the smaller, .50 caliber paintballs that are about half the size of the standard paintball with less impact.
Generally, ages 9 years old and up can play standard paintball using the .68 caliber semi-automatic markers that shoot paintballs the size of marbles. Either paintball marker and paintballs are a lot more challenging that gelly ball games.
Teens and parents can join in the games and not worry about hurting the kids. There is a referee in every games. https://www.paintballusa.org/welcome-information
A bag of paintballs lasts a lot longer using a paintball marker, so you can definitely plan on enjoying your stay for at least two hours. You will be able to learn about game strategy and tactics.
From the time you arrive, fill out your waivers, watch a short safety video, get your gear, load up your guns, and listen to the safety rules verbally stated by one of the referees, you can definitely enjoy a few games.
If you shoot only at targets and not waste your paintballs randomly, you will be able to play more games. In short, paintball games are more fun and lengthier than gelly ball games.
- Paintball games are more challenging.
- Wider age range using either paintball soft or regular paintball markers.
- Your paintballs will last longer and you will be able to play more games.
- Paintball markers are more durable and will not break during usage.
- If you have fewer players, you can play with others.
- Paintball will teach you strategy and tactics during the game.
