One of Sheffield’s great attractions is the World Snooker Championship, held annually at the Crucible Theatre. Thousands of snooker fans spack themselves into the venue to watch in near silence as coloured balls are carefully knocked around the table. If you’re not one of those who finds snooker fascinating, let us recommend to you a different activity which involves the careful placement of colourful balls, paintball. It might be a bit less civilised than snooker, and you certainly don’t want to turn up in a white shirt and waistcoat, but it’s a lot faster and a lot more exciting.

Sheffield sits on the edge of the Peak District National Park. This is one of the biggest areas of wilderness in the country, where high ridges and plateaus rise up to over 600 metres above sea level and ancient woodlands populate the steep sided dales. This area and others around are fantastic for a game of paintball. The landscape can let your imagination run wild, and if your strategy is up to it, you can exploit the surroundings to gain the advantage over your opponents. But at the end of the day, it comes down to those colourful balls, paintballs, which you have to fire out of a gun powered by compressed air and known as a marker. Whether you go for full frontal attacks or stealth operations, you have to put more paint on the opposing team’s overalls than they put on you. It’s really true, sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Where are the best fields to go paintballing in Sheffield?

• Peak District: Did you ever think you’d have the opportunity to wage paintballing war in a national park? Well that’s exactly what you can do in Bradfield Dale in the Peak District, which is the location of one of the most highly regarded paintball facilities in the country. And its reputation is just down to its location. The natural environment has been enhanced with specially designed installations to immerse you in the action and bring out your best. You’ll encounter mazes, castles, tanks, woodland villages over the course of a session that will make you see paintball in a whole new light.

• Tankersly: The Tankersly site may not be in a National Park, but it’s a fantastic woodland setting to the North of Sheffield that’s run by a team with over 30 years of experience in providing top quality paintballing action. To complement their experience, they have top of the range markers, semi automatic Tippmann 98 guns, and a range of mission scenarios to keep everyone entertained. Whether you’re taking part in classic deathmatches, capture the flag missions or hostage game modes, the fun is guaranteed here.

• Bawtry Woods: The final opportunity is a bit further from the city centre, but it’s worth the journey. Covering 385 acres of woodland, this is an expansive arena with game zones as diverse as a toxic fuel dump and a treetop fortress. What’s more, they feature genuine props from movies which have found a second life here as paintball installations after completing their function on the film set. You might stumble across army trucks and military helicopters from films like Saving Private Ryan as you fight your way through the trees. But one word of warning - look out for the ruthless 7 foot Predator who stalks the arena. Spot it before it spots you!

Options for organising a session

- There are options for paintballing in Sheffield that suit all schedules. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a morning off work and you need to let off some steam, or if you’re trying to organise a grand day out, you’re covered. The typical experience is a half day or full day session, during which you’ll play numerous games, each one in a different zone, with different objectives and even with different teams. There are pauses in between the games to break up the chaos, which you can take advantage of to rest and restock - or to plan your attack in the next challenge.

- It’s also possible to book out an arena as a private group for a 3 hour event. As with the open sessions, you’ll take part in several games that could take you from Sheffield to the Wild West or the battlefields of the Second World War.

What will you get when you arrive at the field?

You’ll get the standard issue protective equipment, paintball marker and ammunition that you need to participate in a match when you arrive at your chosen venue in the area, but why should you be content with standard? You can upgrade your equipment pack to really give you an edge on the battlefield. Extra paintballs, armoured gloves, and even smoke grenades can be yours if you choose to add some perks to your order. And, especially if you’re spending a full day at the site, it’s possible to have lunch included in the price of the experience.

Requirements to do this activity

There are some venues around Sheffield which are set up for adults and teenagers over 14 years old, but other centres are set up to welcome much younger participants. In fact, it’s common that a paintballing centre will have two sets of equipment - full size, for everyone over 12 years old or so, and junior size for kids. If you’re little ones are desperate to enjoy the simulated combat, you can let their dreams come true as early as their 7th or 8th birthday!

We’ve mentioned that organising a session as a group is a good way to enjoy this activity, but we’re not just thinking of the classic stag do outing. Hen parties are increasingly choosing it over more typical activities such as prosecco brunches and karaoke because, why should you always do what’s expected of you? And what about a team building activity for your business or organisation? Bringing them here for an adventure blow out is sure to boost morale and get everyone working together.

Now that you have all the information in front of you, the choice is yours! Get ready for an intense game.