Amazing Place, Don't listen to John T he is a KAREN. It's a super friendly place and have a lot of options on fields. Prices are reasonable and guns are good for rentals. read more

Badlandz Paintball Field - The night before paintball - Paintball Near Me - Crete, Illinois

It was a decent experience but they don't mark teams so you don't know who's on your team in the middle of a game. Most places I've gone to they will give you and arm band or something so you can tell who's on your team and not on your team. read more

This place is great for beginners all the way to advanced. This being my first time, I loved the structure and guidance they provided for us newbies! You learn by the end of the day whether your the type of player to bum rush the opposing team unleashing multiple paintballs or hide in a bush or fort. You really get your money's worth. Multiple courses to play on and they have a food court. Tried the bacon cheese burger, it was better than drive thru good! Play by the rules here and everyone has fun! Don't forget to check in on yelp, they sometimes offer check in deals to this place:) read more

YOU READY?!?!? 3...2...1...GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! From newbies to professionals, this place has it all, it's no wonder this places exceeds it's reputation. Woods ball, speed ball, hyper ball, are all located fairly close to the parking lot. The referees are exceptional at what they do, paint checks, velocity checks, and separating the newbs from experienced (unlike FOX Paintball), and are real easy to get along with. Open games, where all people can play, the ref's do a good job of teaming you with your buddies as well as making the teams even. In private games, they are well organized with other staff so that you can get to the field of your choice. The cost to play is inexpensive compared to some other places (Challenge Park Xtreme). Also, check online for coupons/deals and for events that can save you money on an outing. Most of the players there are there to just have a GOOD TIME, making it a great place for potential new comers to the game become easily addicted. read more

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Great paintball experience, lot of different fields to try out. Great for first timers. Safety refs were awesome! Wear clothes you definitely don't mind getting paint on, be sure to layer up if you bruise easy. The paintball stings a bit you'll get over it but don't let someone tell you it doesn't hurt LOL ! We didn't eat there but they have a little grill. The lady taking the waivers wasn't very friendly but i will assume because we were a larger group she may have been frustrated by adults not filling out the paperwork correctly. Also the rental masks smell like old dish water, it's actually pretty gross lol just prepare yourself for it! read more

Badlandz Paintball Field - Paintball Near Me - Crete, Illinois

Looks like my last post got deleted somehow but should remain available on yelp... I frequently attend Badlandz and own their membership. The course overall is good and the staff is awesome but beware coming to this field before rain as they dont have the best field management yet, and after rain the best fields are essentially like flooded fields like armies due to subdue their enemies. Needless to say and unfortunately not the best paintball conditions. Run Dye M3+ and Shocktech Autococker read more

The worst field I've ever experienced. I went there primarily because its website advertised that they would divide players into 4 groups beginner 1, beginner 2, advanced 1 and advanced 2. What a joke. There is only 1 ref, for almost 30 open play players. Seriously, ONE ref, for ALL non-private group players, with vastly different skill and equipment levels. How can they divide? When playing, the two sides have no armbands. Seriously, no armbands. How can you identify your teammates and enemies when you are playing with other 40 strangers, without yellow armbands??? This only ref was also incompetent in dividing groups. Most of the "advanced" people were from the same team training there, so the ref put them together. Fine. He then pulled more guys with their own equipment into their team, to make the two sides with equal number of players. What a joke. All the rentals are on the same side, practicing being the moving targets for $500+ paintball markers. They ran games EXTREMELY slow. Average wait time was at least 20 minutes between games. The longest was 40 minutes, and everyone was waiting for that one ref. All other refs seemed to be assigned to private groups. They advertised that they are able to successfully regulate players' shooting speed (balls per second) and velocity (FPS). What a joke. None of the employees was checking anyone's gun, and my friends and I were shot with EXTREMELY hot guns. We had the worst swell after playing. Still hurting. We've played enough paintball to know what it feels when being shot by a 300 FPS gun. Many people, actually most people with their own guns there, were shooting hot. As Arista O. pointed out, the (only) ref couldn't care less about this situation. The fields are extremely "rustic". Not enough man-made bunkers to make it fun. ANY field, around Chicago, has better fields than this place. Trust me. In the end, I feel cheated by the false info posted on their website. It seems that there are a lot of private groups there. If it's cheap, private game is always fun. Avoid their open play, at all cost! read more

This place is fun for the price and way more laid back then CPX. You can bring you're own paint, cheap entry fees, reefs are mostly laid back and will let you decide maps (when possible) I do wish they'd update the maps more and have some more urban options. But this place has always been a reliable go to park since I was a little kid. Leave the drama, high prices, and armed cops at cpx. read more

There's a difference between approaching a group to explain that your own paintballs are not allowed during a private match (after a match was played), and aggressively approaching the group to forcefully try and remove the paintballs from the trunk of our car! If the staff would have approached us in a different manner then we would have given an appropriate tip along with a positive attitude back. Unfortunately this place is the first and last time I will ever be coming. Do not recommend at all. Go to CPX or paintball explosion instead. Save yourself the time and headache! read more

I've been to Badlandz twice and both were with Groupon tickets. Paintball is not cheap and the Groupons cut the price in half. Definitely grab some of those before you go. You rent the gun, mask (bring cleansing wipes) and get 500 paintballs for $24. However, they only hold a certain amount of equipment for Groupon holders, so get there early. As for the place itself, Badlandz is pretty...rustic. About 75% of the courses are in a wooded area (some courses are flat, others are full of hills and valleys). My friends and I went during the middle of summer, on a 90 degree day. The woods were full of mosquitoes and god knows what other bugs. Bring bug spray! Best advice I will ever give you. The other 25% of the courses are in an open field with metal tubes and inflatable shields. I had way more fun playing in those fields. Less mud and bugs, more cover. I should note that the second time my friends and I went to Badlandz, the weather was much nicer. So less bugs, but more people. If you're a first timer, you might be intimidated by all the regulars. They ALL wear camouflage or black and have super fancy equipment. Luckily for us, they do not let the more experienced players play with the newbies. Also, your first instinct will be to team up with people you know (there are always two teams), but I suggest you play opposite sides. It is way more fun to hit a friend! Last, but not least. Be prepared to get bruises. Getting hit does sting a bit. If you're worried about that, then don't go. No one likes a whiner. read more

Solid place for paintball. Games run throughout the day and the waiting period between games is enough to get you restocked and reloaded but no so long that you end up taking a nap. The one downside is that many kids/teens are here and either don't know the rules/etiquette of paintball or don't care enough to follow them. A lot of teamkills from kids shooting anything that moves and shots in the chest from surprised teens at 10 feet when you sneak up on them and ask them to surrender. Other than that, great places. Refs are fair and involved. Highly recommended if you can go on a day when the number of kids are low. read more

Whether it's paintball or airsoft, GREAT FUN is to be had here! It definitely is worth the drive. Pack a lunch or eat there while taking a break from the outdoor fun. Parents: if you can't "hang" at the level of marksmanship of your kids, you can drop them off and go shopping nearby. There's Walt's for groceries or a Culvers too! Good times for all levels and all size groups! read more

Did the kid parent day and it was alot of fun. You need to dress in layers to cushion yourself from hits but it was fun and my 10 year old enjoyed it. We were secluded from the older participants and able to play at a kid friendly pace. Our Ref and leader was great. By its nature it may draw abit of a rough crowd but we had no problems. If you have a younger child who wants to try it, I would suggest this Kids Day for you and your child read more

Takes forever to get checked in. Needs to work on a better process of getting private parties checked in.

Do not go here if you buy paintball USA tickets. They treat you like you're broke, and say they have no available equipment simply because they know they can rent the same equipment to someone who walks in and pays more. Maybe don't sell your shit tickets if you ain't going to redeem them. "First come first serve". Got here at opening and no equipment available. Hire better service people, my toddler has more common sense than the employees working there. read more

This place has great prices and good fields. The one thing I really like about this place is that it has plenty of 4500 and 3000psi air stations and they always put you at the max level (unlike CPX). I also love that you park near the staging area and can keep all of your stuff locked in your car while you play. You can also tailgate here (unlike CPX). If you have a private game you also get the free pic for your party (unlike CPX). There's no indoor bathroom (portapotty) and the fields aren't as elaborate as CPX, but it's definitely worth it the price of playing here. Your pocketbook will thank you, trust me. read more

It was awesome the refs were very chill very fun place to go I went today and had the best time of my life would go again 100 percent

This was my first paintball experience... I am still bruised shoulder to legs. Despite this, I had a blast with my friends. Badlandz has a pretty extensive selection of playing fields and it seems very reasonably priced. The employees are friendly and down to earth. Getting there was a bit tricky cuz they had an off road that you had to maneuver around but it's not far from the city, maybe 45 minutes. I do wish they had running water to wash the paint and grime off and an actual functioning restroom instead of porter potties,... I hate those. read more

I came here a few weeks back with a group of 8. We had a groupon and most of us have never played. It was actually a lot of fun and pretty well organized for as crazy as it was. We got to play several rounds in different areas. The refs do give you instructions and are actually very nice if you pay attention and follow the rules. I don't know if I would play paintball again, but I would recommend going here if you were looking for a place for a large group. They were very accommodating. My only complaint is that it is so far from the city. read more

My experience at Badlandz was very good. The staff especially are extremely friendly and helpful. They all took a little extra time to answer questions, show you how to do things, and make you feel welcome. Really, the only slight problem is that there aren't enough referees. They are trying to fix that and are actively seeking to hire more refs. The refs we had did a great job though, and they were diligent about velocity checks. That's a big deal to me. The quality of my marker was excellent; even after bonehead moves on my part that could have seriously fouled the barrel, it fired reliably. The fields were fun, the price was right, and even the strangers I played with were cool. I hope to be back many times. read more

Super fun place to play! Paintball in Chicagoland is amazing! http://try-paintball.com read more

If you are looking to host a big group, Badlandz is great! Recently hosted a private event with them for 50 people of mixed experience (many who had never paintballed before) and we all had a great time! Variety of fields and games to play which was awesome (we played 5 different ones I believe). Also very well organized when dealing with large groups! read more

We chose Badlandz Paintball to host a private party play for my brother's birthday and We dont regret it. They have many fields from woodsball , speedball, and hyperball. The ref was really nice and helpful. He made sure we were having a good time and made sure everyone was being safe. Paint price was pretty good . It was drizzling when we played, so out mask kept fogging up and there were plenty of puddles so boots or cleats are recommended . Maps are great no deadzones to get pinned down or advantage spawns. Overall, really great time here and will be back for sure! read more

I was there today. I am livid. I was sent away, with my two sons, 10 and 11 yrs of age, because they had private parties coming in, no time for our business. THE POINT: WE PRE-PAID! "RENICK"/THE BADLANDZ TOOK OUR MONEY AND PROVIDED NO SERVICE IN RETURN! I'm out 75 dollars plus time and auto. THE OWNER, told me that's just too bad. NEVER GO HERE. While we signed waivers, men came in and realized their private party would have to wait, so with the f-bomb flying out of their mouths, they ordered more beer from their incoming buddy, to drink in the parking lot while they waited for guns and ammo. My 10 and 11 yr old heard all this. The reason I prepaid: it was a Groupon. Mr "Renick". Give me back my money, ok... extend the offer as I suggested, ok,...BUT TO TELL ME THAT ONCE YOU HAVE MY MONEY YOU OWE ME NOTHING!!!!????? Sir, we have a problem. read more

Came here on a Sunday to accompany a group of 10 first timers with their Groupons. I had been out of the game for almost 5 years (last time I played was at SCP in Northern California). Picked up a new 2010 Proto PMR and some gear to last me the weekend since I was getting the rest of my gear shipped from home. Let me just say from online/phone call research, Badlandz is by far the best field near Chicago. PROS: + [Price] If you're a walk-on with your own gear and paint, all you pay is $25 admission for all day play and air + [Price] Paint is $45 for the cheapest case, and extremely reasonable in the higher tiers (comparison is $40 in pro shop, $90 at CPX!!!) + [Price] They offer food and it's dirt cheap + [Fields] Would be nice if they had more speed-ball fields, but they do have one inflatable field and several plastic pipe fields; I have never played woodsball before I came to Badlandz, but the handful of games I did play were interesting enough (they take longer and waste more paint due to the sheer size of the playing fields) + [Staff] People working the shop front-end are very nice. Refs are fun to chat with. Any questions about anything, you should direct to your nearest ref. I asked the ref "Jose" if I could use my Nelson paint that was white fill (against BYOP policy), and after checking to make sure that the fill wouldn't stain he let me use my case *whew* Future reference, MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE ONLINE BYOP RULES! + [People] Unlike the fields I'm used to back home in California, people here are a more varied mix of woodsball players and first-timers. There were only a handful of people dressed for speed ball. CONS: + [Facilities] God forbid you ever need to do a #1, or #2, just know that it's all porta-potties here. There is a single pink porta-pottie for the ladies which is cute, but ladies, that one probably is gonna be pretty heavily used + [Facilities] Like most outdoor paintball fields, Badlandz offers you the bare minimum. There are several picnic tables sprinkled around the edges of the parking lots to prepare, but there is nothing covered so be aware if it's a forecast of rain/snow Hands down, Badlandz is the best field for the money, fields, people, and experience. I seriously had SO many questions when I first started paintballing years ago, and I want WAY MORE people to join me in paintballing, so if you have any questions at all about paintball from costs, to how the equipment works, to how much it really hurts, send me a message :] read more

I have played paintball a few times in my day. I may not look like it, but it is a game that I enjoy. That being said, I know a little bit about the rules and etiquette involved. I came here with a group, and all of us ended up with some very significant bruises because at least one person was shooting really hot. When five of us approached the ref to tell him this, his response was "well, you're probably just playing with someone who has a better gun, if he does it again, just shoot 'em in the face". It has nothing to do with the gun. It's how high you have the pressure turned up, and they weren't measuring this at all. Despite our warning, the ref ignored us, and shortly after, as we were leaving, someone else got really hurt. Several days later, my friends and I still look like we were all in a car accident. I have a bruise on my leg that takes up the whole thigh and spots where blood wept through unbroken skin.... This is not supposed to happen..... Perhaps this is just a review of one bad ref. I hope that is the case. But I will not be going back here. read more

When kids are left to attend other kids there will always be a problem. This was My first and last time playing at this facility. I booked a private game for my son's birthday. I had four players come join the party. As the rest was explaining the rules and regulations of the facility. One of the questions was can we use our own paint. And turn the rough answered yes this is a BYOP facility. Then later to three games in another rough then snatches one of the players paint hopper off of his gun. Causing all of the paint to spell out on the course. Like some gangster or something. Causing a huge commotion. Saying we ALL needed to purchase their paint to play. Which is totally crazy why is it OK for a walk on games to use BYOP. But private games are forced to pay extra to use their paint. Furthermore what gives these kids the rights to touch anyone or their property. And doing things in this manner unsupervised things can go bad very quickly. Not to mention there is a large array of poison ivy on the property one of the kids had an allergic reaction to poison ivy which I will be uploading a picture of. This facility is very poorly ran and very poorly supervised. There needs to be a ADULT to manage these kids the oldest person on this property was no older then 19.i will never return to this place again nor will my son and his friends. A shame a kids birthday had to be ruined by one person Napoleon complex. Any of my future events will be booked at paintball explosion or CPX read more

Badlandz Paintball Field - Poison Ivy and Oak. All over the property. Poor kid - Paintball Near Me - Crete, Illinois

Wasn't really thrilled with the place. Not having some sort of armband or team marking backfired on me several times. My pro carbine had to be checked for bps, seriously. They dont allow white fill paintballs which we had so when one of the refs spotted us throwing them away it was like an alarm went off and they were scowering our gear the rest of the day when all we did was follow the rules and throw them out to begin with. I don't want to play here again. read more

One word describes badlandz "Awsome " best time ever booked a private party for 10 for 48 bucks not bad including mas gun and 500 balls make sure you ask for referee adam he was super cool we played at our own pace he never complained once so he deserved the tip we gave him at the end def a cool place to go with friends and family next ti e we will be taking the grill and cooler read more

Had my b-day event there... had a ball!. Great price, the staff was really about us having the most fun for our money. My whole party of 8 was would give this place a 4 out of 5. read more

I've been playing paintball for over 10 years and have visited many fields in the past decade Badlandz does a very nice job at very nice price point. Friendly staff, staging area and the great air stations will keep me coming back can't for the big game in July. The only reason i did not give all 5 stars is that the Airball feild which i prefer to play kept on deflating through out the day. read more

Great staff, friendly referees, and reasonable prices. went to the place in Joliet and they charge almost a hundred dollars for a box of paintballs. @ Badlandz it cost us half that! We will be back! read more

Always a bunch of regulars at this place if you know what I mean. Always someone who keeps shooting you after you scream "OUT!" and you know they know it. Always someone you shoot many times who pretends he didn't feel it at all. Always advanced players sneaking into beginners' games when the ref says beginners only. Always people with $600 markers opening up the air all the way so they can shoot you from 200 yards away. The staff doesn't care to enforce rules during matches. They will light a fire from boxes when it's -30 out, and they really care for your safety. It's a good place to get introduced to the sport; I just think I'm done with this facility. read more

My bootcamp instructor got a good deal on Groupon and scored some tickets for the class to go to Badlandz as an excursion. We do group outings every month and since I have never been paintballing, I decided it was about time! It was some serious fun! We had the advantage of having enough people in our group to do a "private party" , which means we played only against each other within our own group, and didn't have to play with all the scary, "professional" assassins with high powered guns and super professional equipment. Those guys are WAAAAAAYY into paintball. We spent about 4 hours there and played about four 20 minute games, with lots of breaks in between to laugh about how it went, brag about who shot who and even had a healthy snack provided by our fearless organizer Bootcamp Dave (the YMCA instructor). Bree, our referee, was kind as can be and was always on hand to make sure we were safe and following the rules. We loved how she gave Dave a little deserved sass when he got out of line! The whole experience was very fun and it's only about an hour away! I am going to try to rally some friends and go again! read more

For the parent waiting for the kids, thus is a peaceful woodsy place to be. Staff & fellow paintballers are all polite & accommodating. We will be back- often!! read more

Badlandz is a great field for any level player. I enjoy it because of its laid back style and freedom to bring your own paint. They have woods ball and speed ball courses to add variety. I enjoy the field every time I come and I highly recommend Badlandz. read more

Went there with a group of 10 guys today. Overall, a good experience. Only complaint was that the rental equipment was not very good and often times needed to be repaired. Nice staff read more

I went The Badlandz this past weekend with friends for their BIG GAME and all I can say is.... WOW!!!! The staff was very helpful and accommodating. Some of my boys didn't have their own gear and had to rent. They had no problems with it and worked flawlessly all day... hell, they even got a few shots in on me. There was plenty of staging space. We got there, set up shop (grill, tent etc.) and was pretty comfortable, considering the crowed that was there, which also wasn't a problem except for the initial long registration line. But those guys kept them running pretty smooth and steady so it wasn't so bad. The refs were all over it out there! Calling people out and making sure games sessions ran as smooth and steady as those registration line. I've played before but most of my friends haven't. So I know that along with crappy gear, crappy paint can ruin a day of paintball. But the G.I.Sportz paint we got shot GREAT!!! All in all, The Badlandz is a pretty nice field with a great staff that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone. read more

This place is great. Unlike CPX where they are just in it for the cash. This place is staffed by people that love to paintball. The prices are really fair and I have had a great time everytime I have been out. read more

Went to play a big game at badlands yesterday 11/30. I played once here a couple of years ago and had no issues. Well I had about 3 cases of left over paint varying in color. I had pink, green, yellow and white. Only reason I came to this field was to shoot all my old paint. Well they ended up canceling the big game because no one showed up. So we just had to play open play. They did the briefing and explained how some colors is not allowed. Most field do not allow red paint so I knew that was one of them. However when they said white fill isn't allowed I was dumbfounded. Someone asked why it wasn't allowed and the head referee claimed because white fill hurts the environment and stains people's gear and clothing. I call bs on that. This field just wants you to buy their paint. So I had already filled most of my pods with white paint. The head ref then stated that you will be kicked out if your caught with white paint. I then emptied all my pods that had white paint in them and switched it out. Well once I got to playing I believe I shot someone and ref stated I had white paint. Well I forgot to empty the hopper completely. I had a couple white balls left in there. Well I got yanked off and was explaining to the ref that my Valken graffiti paint all have the same shell. My white filled graffiti looked exactly like the shell of some green filled graffiti. So the head ref handed me off to a african American ref that begins getting loud with me and is not listening to the situation. He goes on a rant about how he knows that my team plays at another field that uses white fill. He was not letting me speak at all and begins poking me on my arm. I simply ask him not to touch me because I don't know this individual and I don't like people physically touching me. Well that angered him more and he said "oh you wanna play like that?" He then stated he was going to cut my wristband. I then said fine cut it but before you do let me explain what had happened. I explained the situation and he then agreed to not cut it and let me keep playing. Why did it have to get to that point? I played a couple of games with my buddies and left. Oh also I do not understand as to why this field did not use armbands for any games. No one knew who was on whose team. It was just all a mess. Anywho I will not be coming back to this field what so ever. Save yourself from the frustration and go to great fields like paintball explosion, blast camp or cpx. read more