You don't need to invest a huge amount of money when you play paintball. The option to spend a lot of cash is certainly there and you can get some outstanding fun accessories such as longer Freak barrels and even land mines to make the game more interesting.

But if you're just starting out in the game then you will want to make a modest investment while you're still learning the ropes. A great starter package has been put together by Spyder and it literally has everything you need to hit the field and play your first game of paintball.

The kit comes with a Spyder TLR marker(paintball gun), a Java X mask and always wear your mask anytime you are anyplace that a paintball can be discharged either accidentally or on purpose, a Java CO2 tank that is aluminum making it more all weather in design than other tanks. The Java 200-round loader will make it easy to keep your paintballs flowing freely on the playing field and here's a trick you may not know. If you're not sure your paintballs will go freely through your barrel, take a paintball and put it in your barrel. If it rolls out it is too small. If it won't leave without danger of breaking, your paintballs are either the wrong size or hot weather conditions have caused them to swell. If you can blow it out with just a little effort - your paintballs are exactly the right size.

This kit also comes with a Java Jerk squeegee with a swab to help keep your gun clean. Be religious about cleaning your gun after every game and you'll have a marker that works like new for years to come.

Sometimes it's time to up the ante in your paintball game. You can have a blast in the most literal sense of the word with land mines.

Land mines work best in a woodsball situation but they can seriously make the game you're playing a lot more fun. It's even more fun to let each team bury a number of land mines around the area where their flags are.

Separate colors should be loaded into the land mines and so you know if you've been hit by an opponent's mine or accidently found a land mine of your own. When a land mine is stepped on, it will spray paint at the person doing the stepping, sometimes you can get lucky and get an entire group of players from the other team with one land mine.

A good strategy is to place the land mines around the flag area of your team's "home base" and also place land mines at strategic access points. The other team will probably be doing the same thing. Look for tell-tale signs of ground disturbance, such as raised dirt, freshly moved grass or piles of leaves. The trick to placing a land mine is to bury it just below the surface leaving the sprayer uncovered then gently sweep the dirt just over it - sweep the area with your hands to "clear" the place you put the mine and then sprinkle a little bit of leaves or twigs - don't over do it as it's a dead giveaway. Be careful not to bury your land mine too deeply or it won't feel the weight difference and foot contact.

Make your paintball play a little more extreme, add in land mines to the equation!

An effects processor which is more commonly referred to as an FX processor, is a digital device that changes the signal of an electric guitar to add special effects.

The sound of the guitar will have the effects added before it hits the amplifier. You can create basic effects such as overdrive, distortion, echo, tremolo and reverb and these are usually controlled either through a soundboard or a foot pedal.

FX pedals are used by many guitarists to create one special effect to their playing. Distortion and echo are the two most common. When the foot pedal is stepped on, it activates the effects and creates the sound. When the foot pressure is removed, the effect is stopped and the guitar sound with no effects is heard.

An effects processor is usually programmable and can produce from just one to well over 100 different sounds. This is a great way to add sounds and features to a tune that you are getting ready to mix. If you want to make several different mixes of a particular song you can add and take away effects. Experimentation is the way to find out what will work.

You can even create complete acoustic environments to your recordings making them appear to be recorded in a concert hall, small cozy coffee shop or an arena. You are only limited with an effects processor by your imagination, you can think up the sound, you can get it through the use of FX.

Soon after you start playing paintball on a regular basis you will quickly realize that you need a safe way to transport your marker.

You will have two choices when you want to buy a gun case. A soft case or a hard case, both are great ways to get your gun from to the playing field and then home again.

Both types of cases have their merits and it really comes down to a matter of personal choice. If you aren't the most gentle person in the world and you're prone to dropping things, you might want to invest in a hard shell case like the paintball gun case. It is a hard shell case with an eggshell padded interior to keep your gun free from jolts and jumbles when in transport. Otherwise a soft case might be a good choice if you want a marker case you can just throw over your shoulder and head out to the playing area at a moment's notice.

No matter which type of case you choose, always clean your gun after each game. Never put a dirty paintball gun in your case. It will lead to jamming and degrading the performance of your marker. Most cases have room for additional accessories you can use in play but may not need directly on the field. Take along additional barrels and other accessories that you can use to get an edge on your opponent.

Now that you know the basics, get the best paintball gun case for your personal style!

During a game of paintball, communication among players is very important. Whether you're playing woodsball, bunkerball, or tournament games; your paintball game will be improved ten-fold if you can communicate with your team mates.

The Commando Edition Throat Mic will allow you to communicate positions and plays to your team mates using a very discreet throat mic. Hearing your team mates won't give away your position either. This communication gear is fitted with a sound tube which fits inside of your ear and won't echo the sounds, alerting your opponents to exactly how to find you.

The sound is transmitted into a sound tube that fits in your ear instead of the ear bud that you will spend most of your game putting back in your ear, the sound tube will stay where you put it no matter how much running and jumping you do. Also because it transmits sound within your ear, the communications from your team mates will stay low-key and even an opponent that is nearby won't be alerted to your presence.

Best of all, unlike a lot of communications gear, this rig will fit absolutely comfortably under any mask. If you need a shorter sound tube so it will fit comfortably in your ear, you can trim it shorter to fit any size ear.

This gear can be used in any type of playing conditions from dirt, dust, rain or mud and you can keep the lines of communication open so your team is tighter than ever.