Grindzone modes explained: rules and how to win each

Grindzone has four modes. Elimination is first to 5 points with no respawns. Center Flag is first to 3 flag hangs with a 5 second respawn. Team Deathmatch is red against blue for 5 minutes with a 3 second respawn. Free For All is everyone against everyone for 5 minutes with a 3 second respawn. Here are the exact rules for each and how to win them.

Grindzone modes at a glance

In every mode, one paintball hit takes a player out, and in the three team modes your paint passes through teammates without hitting them. If you are new, start with How to play Grindzone for the controls.

How do you pick a mode?

Choose a mode in the lobby before you press STEP ON THE FIELD. In a shared room, the host's pick is the one everyone plays, along with the host's bots-per-side setting. When a match ends, the host's NEXT MATCH button starts another match in the same mode. Other players see "WAITING FOR HOST" until the host starts it.

How does a point start?

Each team starts on its station, a glowing pad at the middle of its back line. A countdown runs (READY, 3, 2, 1) and nobody can move or shoot until the buzzer. Elimination and Center Flag replay this start at the beginning of every point, so you get many breakouts per match. Team Deathmatch and Free For All have one countdown at the start, then play runs nonstop until the clock hits zero.

How does Elimination work in Grindzone?

Elimination is classic speedball: one hit and you sit until the next point, and the first team to win 5 points wins the match.

Elimination rules

• A point ends the moment one team has nobody standing while the other still has someone. The team with players left takes the point.
• If both teams run out of players at the same time, the point is called "EVERYONE OUT, RERUN" and nobody scores.
• There are no respawns during a point. When you are out, the camera follows a living teammate. Click to switch to the next one.
• After each point the camera orbits the field for 4 seconds, everyone is reset to their station with a full hopper and four pods, and the next countdown starts.
• The first team to 5 points wins. The top of the screen shows "POINT 3" and "first to 5" so you always know where the match stands.

How to win Elimination

• Staying alive is worth more than getting a hit. A 1 for 1 trade keeps the numbers even, but going out early leaves your team a player short for the rest of the point.
• Watch the top left counter ("3 red · 2 blue standing"). When you are up a player, slow down and hold your lanes. When you are down, you need to move before they close in.
• Do not reload in the open. A pod takes 1.4 seconds, which is plenty of time to get hit.
• When it is you against one, use the minimap and the hit feed to work out where they were last seen, then take the side of the field they cannot cover.

How does Center Flag work in Grindzone?

In Center Flag, a yellow flag sits at the 50, the center of the field. Take it, carry it to the other team's station, and hang it there. The first team to hang it 3 times wins.

Center Flag rules

• The flag starts at the base of the center bunker on the 50. Walk into it to pick it up. Either team can take it.
• To score, carry the flag to the other team's station at the far end and step onto it. That hangs the flag and wins the point for your team.
• The carrier moves at 90% speed, and the top left of every player's screen names who has the flag. On your screen it reads YOU HAVE THE FLAG. HANG IT.
• If the carrier is hit, the flag drops on the spot where they were hit, and anyone can pick it up from there.
• Hit players come back after 5 seconds at their own station.
• Hits do not add to the score in this mode. Only hangs count, though your eliminations still show on the scoreboard and in your stats.
• After a hang, the point ends, everyone resets to their station, and the flag goes back to the 50. There is no clock. The first team to 3 hangs wins.

How to win Center Flag

• The 5 second respawn means a hit on the carrier buys time, not a win. Hit the carrier, then cover the spot where the flag dropped.
• Do not all run for the flag. One player takes it while the rest hold bunkers that cover the carrier's route.
• Carry the flag down the side of the field where your teammates are, not the side with the most opponents. The minimap shows where your team is.
• Bots chase the flag and run straight at your station once they have it. If a bot has the flag, put a player on the lane in front of your station.
• Your station is where your team respawns, so a carrier trying to hang there runs into everyone who just came back in.

How does Team Deathmatch work in Grindzone?

Team Deathmatch is red against blue for 5 minutes. Every opponent your team hits adds 1 to your score, and the team with more eliminations when the clock runs out wins.

Team Deathmatch rules

• The clock starts at 5:00 and counts down at the top of the screen.
• Every hit on an opponent scores 1 for the shooter's team.
• Hit players come back after 3 seconds at their own station.
• When the clock reaches zero, the team with more eliminations wins. Equal scores end as a TIE GAME.

How to win Team Deathmatch

• Because you are back in 3 seconds, a trade costs you very little. Take more shots than you would in Elimination.
• Respawns happen at your station, so the opponents who just went out will come back from their end. Hold bunkers that face their station and catch them on the run.
• Keep your hopper topped up between fights. You get a full hopper and four pods every respawn, so do not save pods.
• If you are ahead with a minute left, pull back into tall bunkers and make them come to you.

How does Free For All work in Grindzone?

Free For All has no teams. Everyone, bots included, is an opponent, and the player with the most eliminations after 5 minutes wins.

Free For All rules

• The clock starts at 5:00.
• Every player you hit adds 1 to your own score.
• Hit players come back after 3 seconds at a random open spot on the field, not at a station.
• The top of the screen reads "you vs best": your score on the left and the highest score among everyone else on the right.
• Your jersey uses the color you set in the lobby, since there are no red and blue teams.
• With the default 4 bots per side, the field fills to seven players in all.

How to win Free For All

• The minimap shows every player still in, not just teammates. Check it before you leave cover.
• Respawns land anywhere, so nowhere is safe for long. Keep a bunker between you and the open middle.
• Let other players fight each other. Two players trading paint are both looking at each other, not at you.
• Watch the right-hand number at the top. If the leader is pulling away, you need to take more risks in the final minute.

Which Grindzone mode should you play?

• New to the game: Team Deathmatch. The 3 second respawn lets you learn the field and the controls without sitting out.
• Want real speedball: Elimination. Every point is a fresh breakout, and one mistake costs your team.
• Want an objective: Center Flag. It rewards teamwork and smart routes more than aim alone.
• Practicing aim: Free For All against bots. Targets come from every direction.

Frequently asked questions