An "honor system" is employed whereby the players rely on each others' honesty to admit to being hit, because unlike paintball, the plastic pellets do not leave a surface mark distinguishable at a distance. Depending on the muzzle velocity of the gun and distance from which a person is shooting, the person on the receiving end of the shot will usually feel the impact but the pellets will sometimes not be felt by a player at very long ranges or when running strenuously, therefore it is important to have Marshals.

Dishonest players who fail to follow the rules or acknowledge their hits run the risk of being labelled and ostracized as "zombies" by the local airsoft community. Players are also expected to be discrete in transporting or carrying their gear so as not to unduly alarm the general public and force the law enforcement agencies to investigate an incident involving airsoft guns.