Airsoft is sport or recreational pastime in which players participate in the simulation of military- or law enforcement-style combat using replicas of real firearms.

The roots of airsoft come from Asia, specifically Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

There is currently a growing interest for the sport in the USA an Europe.

Fundamentally, airsoft is a game where the objective is to “hit” or “tag” other players with the projectile fired from the airsoft gun. Unlike paintball or laser tag where hits are almost always obvious, however, Airsoft games usually function on an “honor system”.

The most frequent form of play is team-based, involving such mechanics as capture the flag, siege, or the carrying of some other objective to a designated area without being eliminated in the process.

Being hit with a BB on bare skin is usually only mildly painful, but at its worst, it can be dangerous or even lead to serious injury (such as when being hit in the face). Therefore, a standard of safety guidelines and equipment has evolved in the airsoft community. Like many competitive sports, airsoft inherently involves a certain risk of injury, but it is the consensus of most players that airsoft is a fairly safe activity when appropriate precautions are observed.

Airsoft was developed in Japan in the late 1970s to provide an alternative for gun hobbyists because local laws prevented individuals from privately owning firearms.

In the USA their few limits to owning airsoft guns, however in Canada the rules are more stick.