Shoot to thrill

The youth of Delhi are rapidly making their way to new and in-vogue places around the city to satisfy their thirst for leisure and exhilaration. One spot that is bubbling with activity is the Paintball field at the Pacific Mall, a stone’s throw away from Subhashnagar Metro Station. With an entire arena dedicated to a battle of paint pellets and nitrous-charged guns, it has emerged as quite a rage for children as well as people in their adolescence and beyond.

Started almost a year ago, the paintball arena now sees a turnout of patrons that has exceeded the expectations of the proprietors, with the weekends bringing thronging masses for a taste of adrenaline that shoots out of the barrel of the markers used in the simulated battle.

With the pellet packages beginning from Rs 200 for 25 pellets per person to Rs 1,000 for 190 pellets per person and everything in between, one can jump into the excitement without worrying about the pinch on their pocket.

A few rules need to be followed when one engages in this crusade of colours. The most important of those are that no player is to shoot another player from close range, as the pellets travel at a speed of 80-100 mph and have the capability of maiming a person if they aren’t wearing adequate protection. With the participants primarily being between the age18-38, a lot of corporate office-goers frequent the den too, from time to time.

Along with paintball, they also have a Go Karting track for those with a hankering for speed. There is also Laser Tag, a new addition that involves wearing vests with
sensors that are triggered by the guns that the players use to hunt each other
in a dark labyrinth with neon lights.

Once again, the rates have been set up reasonably to agree with the wallets of most people. Go Karting starts from Rs 200 for four laps and can go up as far as Rs 500 for 15 laps and Laser Tag is priced at Rs 200 for a game time of 10 minutes.

Even on a busy Monday afternoon, people showed up in flocks to play and it can only help the cause of the manager, D C Bharti, who said “If it carries on in such fashion, I for one will not be surprised if we have to expand our operations”.