Before paint was invented, paintballers had to shoot individual crayons from bows and launch sidewalk chalk out of catapults. Take aim with paint with today's Groupon: for $27, you get a paintball package for two at Capture the Flag (a $80 value). The package includes:

• 150 paintballs
• Tippmann 98 long-barrel paintball guns and equipment rental for two people

At Capture the Flag, paintball duos compete in myriad game types, all played across 19 playing fields built on 116 acres of dense forest and open terrain. Once equipped, gunslingers can choose to compete head to head or team up, outline strategies, and fire paint at other groups of players and hoards of stampeding colouring books. For two to six hours, markers fire colourful ammo at speeds up to 260 feet per second as players duck, weave, and crawl around obstacles such as tires. (Groupon holders can upgrade to a gun with faster ammo speed for an additional charge.) Friends track each other's movements during games of fox and hound, and kids claim their parent's territory in capture the flag. During matches, eyes search for opponents from behind an included face mask, and the occasionally provided camouflage and chest protector guard torsos from being painted with their opponent's self-portraits.

Between games, players can swap battle stories at an outdoor patio area, where paintballers quench thirst with complimentary beverages such as fruit punch, iced tea, or hot chocolate before ducking below tables to fire at an unlimited supply of hot dogs from the barbecue. During colder weather, a fireplace warms bodies in the indoor lounge. Additional paintballs may be purchased for $0.10 per ball.

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