Chris Schneck

Sometimes it’s very handy to be able to communicate your intentions to a teammate  without saying a word. This can be very hard to accomplish if there was no forethought put into the process, as you might very well appear to be just swatting flies or asking  them for the time. Yes there are standardized hand signals floating out there on the Internet, but what good are they if not everyone on your teams understand what your hand flapping means?

The funny version can be found here.

Its best to designate your own set of hand signals, as using a standardized set that is available to everyone will make it possible for players on other teams to also interpret what you are trying to communicate. Dont try and overcomplicate it, unless you play with the same group of people all the time you will again run into the problem of not being understood or miscommunicating your intentions.

Keep the series of hand signals brief, make all hand movements below your shoulders to reduce the chance of being spotted. Here is quick run through of how you might organize a chain of thought :

1. Get your teammate(s) attention - Normally I would just hold my hand about chest height and wave hello until my teamate(s) knew I was trying to say something
2. Outline the situation - Point to an area of interest and describe what it is that is in that direction that everyone should be paying attention to
3. Describe what you intend to do - Pointing again to yourself and where you intend to go, or what you intend to do to address what you pointed out in step #2
4. Describe what you want your teammate(s) to do - Pointing to your teammate(s) and tell them where to go or what you need them to do to back you up in step #3
5. Get confirmation that everything was understood - Make sure everyone is nodding in agreement or gives a thumbs up
6. Take action - Dont hesitate, you probably spent a few precious moments getting this all out, just do it at this point

As long as your entire group is on the same page to what all your hand gestures mean, you should be good to go. If you manage to get the drop on another group of paintballers and they dont see or hear you before you make your move, you have a much greater chance of success.