Zombie Attack Coming to a College Campus Near You

Humans vs. Zombies, a popular game on campus sponsored by the Gaming Club, kicked off this Sunday and will continue until the final mission takes place on Friday.

Conn’s page on the Humans vs. Zombies website describes the game as “kind of an elaborate, long, drawn-out version of tag” in which humans endeavor to protect themselves from being eaten by zombies. Humans protect themselves by shooting at the zombies with Nerf guns and hitting them with rolled up balls of socks in order to stun the attackers for fifteen minutes. To stay in the game, zombies must feed on humans every forty-eight hours. By eating humans, zombies create more zombies, in turn making remaining a human in the game progressively more difficult.

Andrew Steel ’14 expressed his enthusiasm for the game. “Something about shooting people with Nerf guns is very exciting. If you enjoy the insane paranoia, torturing yourself and your friends, then Humans vs. Zombies is the game for you.”

Humans must identify themselves by wearing visible bandannas on their arms or legs. Humans that are caught and turned into zombies must wear bandanas on their heads at all times.

The game is about more than just trying to survive a zombie apocalypse; it’s about victory. Kim Marker ’13, a moderator for the game, advises participants to not quit the game if they become zombies, saying, “you haven’t experienced the game until you’ve experienced being both a human and a zombie.”

Photo from Web

In spite of a game rule that states “guns may not be used against non-player civilians,” many students who do not participate in the game have complained about having been shot. Isabel Hibbard ’14 prefers to stay out of HvZ after observing how hectic it was last year, saying, “I was shot at and I wasn’t even playing.”

Although the spirit of the game is supposed to remain generally lighthearted, many participants take it very seriously. Erika Stockwell-Alpert ’14 noted that she “apparently had a reputation for being completely insane last year.”

“The game is as much fun as you make it,” continued Stockwell-Alpert. “It’s whatever you want it to be — with zombies.” However, all students playing the game must remember to be respectful or else they risk being eliminated. The importance of this rule is illustrated in the second rule on Conn’s Humans vs. Zombies website: “Observe Wheaton’s Law: Don’t be a dick.”

The game begins with one original zombie who is picked at random from a group of volunteers. This original zombie is the only one who is able to make his first kill while disguised as a human, with a bandana on his or her arm.

There are two possible outcomes in HvZ — either the zombies starve and the humans win, or the zombies win if there are no humans remaining.

During each of the six days of the game there is an assigned mission, the difficulty of which increases each night. The most challenging of the missions takes place on the final night, and the outcome of this mission determines what group will win the game. The goal of most of the missions is to retrieve prizes or objects, such as a potion to revive two of the transformed zombies on the human side.

Many students complain that the game is too stressful or that they don’t have the time to devote to it, but Marker called it “a straight adrenaline rush for six straight days — it’s both wonderful and horrible.”

Tess Mikolajczak ’15 believes that “it’s a great way to meet new people, especially as a freshman,” because the game’s appeal transcends class year divisions. Ellery Wiebe ’12, a senior now playing her sixth game, explained that her reason for playing “is meeting people you would have never met but who you obviously have something in common with.”

According to Evelyn O’Regan ’14, “it’s good preparation for when a real zombie apocalypse happens.”

Although this interpretation might seem somewhat fantastical, Humans vs. Zombies is a fun, stress-relieving (or perhaps stress-inducing) game that many Conn students enjoy every semester.

“Ideally, we would like the entire campus to participate,” said Steel. “We want to make this as realistic as possible.” •