Humans vs. Zombies gears up for another round

Students at UNCG may remember a week or two last year where the campus seemed different. Some students had bandannas wrapped around their head, others around their arm. NERF foam dart launchers were seen at hand on a regular basis. Occasionally, shouts could be heard quickly followed by a furious chase to a building, some desperate to get inside, others desperate to catch them before they did. The phenomena known as Humans vs. Zombies had taken over the campus, and it is returning again this fall.

Humans vs. Zombies is a live action game of what is essentially an enhanced game of tag. Humans vs. Zombies originated on the campus of Groucher College in 2005. Through their website at humansvszombies.org, the game has rapidly expanded to many more campus including ours in 2009. Two sides compete, the titular Humans, designated by bandannas on their arm or leg, and Zombies wearing bandannas on their head. Zombies attempt to tag Humans by touching them outside a safe zone (mostly inside buildings around campus), and Humans ward them off with NERF foam darts or balled socks that render the Zombie unable to tag someone for 15 minutes. If the Zombie is unable to tag someone within 48 hours, the Zombie dies and must leave the game. However, if the Zombie is successful, the Human will have one hour before they themselves turn to the Zombie side.

A number of in-game events will mark the week, where Humans and Zombies will have certain objectives to complete. Successfully completing an event will unlock rules changes that will benefit one side or the other, such as new weapons available to the Humans or enhanced capabilities for the Zombies. A final event will determine the winning side of the game, the balance of surviving Humans and active Zombies being critical to determining the winner.

The Modî, or organizers of the game, this semester are Jason Waffle Bostic, Sebastian Fernandez-Giraldo, Jeremy Williams, Justin Ricobaldi and Alleyne Cromwell. They manage the setting of the rules, the organization of the various events that happen within the game, and keep track of who is on what side of the game. They plan to have interest meetings in the next few weeks, where players can register, and rules meetings after that. Individual players can also be contacted there about Teams, organizations within sides that play in a coordinated manner. Once the game has been set up, it will commence for a full week on campus. The dates of those meetings will be announced, pending the Modís conclusion of discussion with the Dean of Students and the Director of Campus Activities and Programs to ensure the game runs smoothly and safely.

Non-players are encouraged to spectate and enjoy the show, but asked to neither assist nor impair players on either side, and to not be scared or panic if there are shouts or chases happening in and around campus. Despite the competitive nature of the game, the objective for everyone is to have fun, players and non-players alike.

The Mods can be contacted at [email protected], or through the Facebook group page Humans vs Zombies @ UNCG, and request that all that are interested in being players or in further information contact them through those channels. The Mods are planning to sell official UNCG HvZ bandannas to defray the costs of running the game, and they will be available for order through the above channels.