Editing Bob Gurnsey (section)

== First organised paintball game ==

=== 27 June 1981 ===

The first widely documented organised paintball game took place on 27 June 1981 in the Henniker area of New Hampshire.[1][2]

Twelve participants took part.

The event was organised by Gurnsey, Gaines and Noel.

=== Participants ===

Historical accounts identify the twelve participants as:

* [[Lionel Atwill]]
* Ken Barrett
* Bob Carlson
* Joe Drinon
* [[Charles Gaines]]
* Jerome Gary
* '''Bob Gurnsey'''
* [[Bob Jones]]
* [[Hayes Noel]]
* Carl Sandquist
* Ronnie Simpkins
* [[Ritchie White]]

The participants came from different professional and recreational backgrounds.

These included writers, businessmen, hunters, a farmer, a surgeon and a forester.

=== Equipment ===

Each participant was equipped with a Nel-Spot 007 marking pistol.

Players also carried paintballs, additional CO2 cartridges, protective goggles, maps and compasses.

The equipment had not originally been developed for recreational paintball.

=== Playing field ===

The game took place across a large wooded area in New Hampshire.

Historical accounts generally describe the playing area as approximately 80 to 100 acres.

Four flag stations were established.

The objective was to collect the required flags and return to the designated finishing point without being eliminated.

=== Winner ===

The game was won by [[Ritchie White]], a New Hampshire forester.

White collected the required flags without firing his marker.

His victory became an important part of the sport's early history because it appeared to support the value of fieldcraft and stealth.

=== Historical accounts ===

The first game has been documented through interviews with participants and retrospective reporting.

A 2018 WBUR investigation interviewed surviving participants and compared their recollections with earlier published accounts.[2]

The investigation identified discrepancies concerning the origins of the idea, the acquisition of equipment and details of the first game.

These differences demonstrate the importance of distinguishing contemporary evidence from later recollections.