TAMA HILLS, Japan — It’s a combination of “tag” and “hide-and-seek” played with guns that shoot messy paint.

A touch to the trigger unleashes a furious barrage of 17 paintballs a second.

Get caught in the crossfire, and you’re done.

For paintball addicts, the game can be the ultimate adrenaline rush.

“This is literally all I do: I eat, sleep and wait for Saturday to play paintball,” said Airman 1st Class Brandon Bergeron, 21.

Bergeron is a paintball junkie. The satellite communications technician at Camp Zama, near Tokyo, has sunk thousands of dollars into, he hopes, the best paintball equipment money can buy.

He’s not alone.

Every Saturday, Bergeron meets at Tama Hills with a group of military guys from across the Kanto Plain. And they’re as fanatical about the sport as he.

There’s Petty Officer 1st Class Redd Rawlings, 31, from Atsugi Naval Air Facility: “This is the only thing I like to do in Japan. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane.”

Staff Sgt. Donald Baum, 28, a munitions journeyman from Yokota Air Base: “As much as work and money permits, I’m here every Saturday. We’re junkies.”

The trio found each other playing paintball at Tama, which has a paintball program open to all U.S.-Japan status of forces agreement ID card holders and their guests. Games are every Saturday on the speed-ball field — a large, flat, open area with man-made obstacles — and the woods field, in the trees with hills and gullies.

Bergeron, Baum and Rawlings prefer the faster pace of the speed field, where they often unload more than 2,000 paintballs a day. They compete against other teams in five-minute matches, but sometimes split up when a lot of people show up to play.

In May, with two other team members and an alternate, they branched out beyond Tama’s fields and participated in the Shizuoka Open, one of two annual national paintball tournaments held in Japan. As one of nine five-man teams — and the only group of non-Japanese — they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

After eight preliminary games and three finals, the Americans took home first prize: 150,000 yen (about $1,250), a trophy, five cases of paint (each case holds 2,000 paintballs) and bragging rights as Japan’s national paintball champs.

“I was ecstatic,” Bergeron said. “We really just made the finals; we barely squeaked in.”

“But on the finals, we just took it away,” Rawlings said.

The tournament was played on a soccer field, about twice the size of Tama’s speed field. That took some getting used to, Bergeron said: Though it was easier to move around, with more obstacles to hide behind, “you had to worry about a much larger area.”

“We played more of ‘go and get ’em,’ rather than ‘sit-and-wait’ ” game, Bergeron said.

At Tama, the object is to eliminate the other team, Baum said.

“If you get hit on any piece of equipment, anywhere on your body, or on any of your clothing, you’re out,” he said. But the paintball actually has to break, he added — splatter doesn’t count.

On a typical Saturday, Tama’s speed field is littered with remnants of thousands of blue, green, yellow and red paintballs. The paintball shell is a thin-skinned gelatin capsule. Since the paintballs are nontoxic, biodegradable and water soluble, they completely dissolve in a few weeks, according to one of the sport’s Web sites, paintball.about.com. The paint rinses off of clothing and skin with just water.

The safety gear required at Tama — and at most paintball facilities — is a face mask fully covering the ears and chin, Bergeron said. But he and his teammates usually also wear other protective gear, like gloves with rubber padding, long sleeves and pants.

Though paintball is considered a safe sport — statistics show it’s safer than golf and badminton, Bergeron said — a paintball can sting when it meets bare skin. At Tama, competitors can set their air guns to fire paintballs at a maximum 128 mph.

Bergeron compared it to being snapped with a rubber band.

After taking a break from a round of paintball on a recent hot summer morning, Rawlings insisted that the red welts on his bare arms looked worse than they felt.

“At close range, it feels like a bee sting,” Baum said.

“That lasts for five seconds,” Rawlings added.

Paintball is played in countries around the world but is just starting to gain a following in Japan, Bergeron said. He and his teammates hope to play in another national tournament slated for November — and they’re always seeking more players. When Bergeron began playing at Tama three years ago, 10 to 12 paintball participants would show up on a typical Saturday; now, the sport attracts around 20. Baum recalled one recent Saturday when all 45 guns were rented out.

Anyone 18 or older can play at Tama; a parent or legal guardian must accompany dependents ages 13 through 17.

Bergeron calls paintball “the great equalizer.”

“You don’t have to be a super, super athlete. You’ll see a lot of much older guys come out here,” he said.

Good equipment, however, definitely gives an advantage, said Bergeron, who spent $1,200 on a mail-order paintball gun. Batteries power air through the gun; all balls go through a hopper, where a small paddle mixes and keeps a steady stream of balls ready to fire.

“It’s much easier to shoot fast … with the electronics doing all the work,” Bergeron said.

Tama also rents paintball guns — for $5 or $8 a day depending on the air tank size. Users of Tama’s fields are required to purchase paintballs from Tama: a case of 2,000 balls costs about $60. The entry fee is $10.

Still, Bergeron said, “it’s much cheaper to play paintball here than off base,” where a case of paint can cost $100 or more.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Ernie Montoya, 21, from Atsugi, is another Tama paintball regular. He says he gets an adrenaline rush from the sport’s fast pace, similar to snowboarding but also different. “It’s a ‘kill or be killed’ rush,” he said. But Montoya denied paintball is a war game.

“You feel more like an athlete than a militia member,” he said, adding, “It’s kind of like dodge ball. You just can’t throw the ball back.”

Baum says the game is a way “to leave everything behind. Your job can be bad,” but “you’re out here with friends,” having a good time.

For more information about paintball at Tama Hills, go to www.tamapb.cjb.net, or www.brandonbergeron.com.

More information on Tama Hills Outdoor Recreation Area

Open games of paintball are every Saturday, year-round at Tama Hills Outdoor Recreation Area. Games are open to all U.S.-Japan status of forces agreement ID card holders and their guests. All participants must be 18 or older, though dependents from ages 13-17 may participate if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Games times are from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Entry fee is $10. Paintball equipment — including a mask and gun — may be rented on game day. The paintballs must be purchased at Tama; a case of 2,000 balls costs about $60.

Private games, with a minimum of 20 participants and a maximum of 40, may be reserved at least 30 days in advance for $24.50 a person. Fee includes field usage, one 20- ounce air tank, 200 paintballs and gun and mask if needed.

Reservations can be made for Tama Hills at DSN 224-3413.

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