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Humans vs. Zombies at Ohio University

I recently gave a presentation on zombies to Professor Tom Scanlan's UC 190 course, which is designed to introduce 1st-year English majors to the research areas and creative projects of Ohio University English Faculty.1 A former student of mine who now is an academic advisor for the College of Arts & Sciences told me about the game "Humans vs. Zombies" which sounds so much cooler than the game of Cloak and Dagger I played when I was in college.

Here is an excerpt provided by my ex-student which comes from the Humans vs. Zombies Ohio University Chapter's Facebook page to which I dont have access because I don't do Facebook.

October 25th is National Zombie Day. We shall start early on Oct. 23. On this day, college students around the world are encouraged to start a game of Humans Vs. Zombies and have it conclude on Halloween. Join this group to show the world you support National Zombie Day.

This is a weeklong game of humans vs zombies. Humans may defend themselves using Nerf-approved firearms, one hit kills zombies. Invite your friends and family, this is a zombie apocalypse free-for-all.

Zombies will try to infect all the humans. Humans must try to survive until Halloween.

There will be no attacks in class buildings, dorm rooms(halls are open for attack but not bathrooms), buses, buisnesses, etc. where the daily lives of innocents may be disrupted and dragged into our brutal power struggle. If the location is questionable then use common sense and hold off.

Bandanas will be used to mark participants. Zombies wear theirs on the head or neck, humans wear them on their arm. Humans MUST wear their bandanas in such a way they can be pulled off without much effort(knotted with a bow for instance). A zombie infects a human by stealing their bandana. Simple stuff. Random people will be selected who join the event to be the first zombies, we will send a message to you asking you if you want to be a zombie.

It starts Monday, Oct. 23 2007 at 12:00am It ends Tuesday, Oct. 31 2007 at 12:00am

RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1-Players in the game will wear a bandana to mark their status as a participant. Zombies will wear the bandana either around their neck, or around their head, above their ears. Humans will wear their bandana tied in a simple knot around either their left or right bicep

2-To infect a human, a zombie must pull the bandana from the arm of the targeted human. -NOTE: if the bandana does not come completely off during the attack, but the zombie has his or her fingers wrapped around the bandana and is firmly tugging on it, then that human is infected just as if the bandana had come completely off. This rule is to ensure the safety of all participants.

3-To disable a zombie, a human may do one of two things. He or she may shoot the zombie with a Nerf or off-brand weapon that fires some sort of foam projectile. Whether they are darts, arrows or balls is irrelevant so long as the projectile is made of foam. Alternatively, humans may use rolled up socks as makeshift grenades, and throw them at zombies. Getting hit 1 time by either type of projectile eliminates the zombie until the next respawn time.

4-Respawn Times: Disabled Zombies will respawn at certain times during the day. Zombies respawn at noon, and at midnight. Later on in the game that will be changed to hourly between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. We will let all the zombies and humans know when this change will occur. Disabled zombies will remove their bandannas and are not to interfere with the actions of active players.

This rule is to make the daytime game suspenseful, but slightly easier for human survival, as would be the case during a real zombie outbreak. The night, however, should be extremely dangerous for humans because of the decreased visibility. The hourly respawn accounts for this.

5-There are no vampires! You're not a comedian.

6-Physical violence is absolutely prohibited. No tackling, kicking, punching, slapping, etc etc. There are no melee attacks for humans! Sock flails, Nerf bats and swords are prohibited.

7-Harming another player intentionally will result in an immediate expulsion from the game.

8-Public buildings, such as businesses and university buildings are off limits. -dorm rooms and bathrooms are also off limits but hallways and lobbies are included in the game, so long as the dorm is not under quiet hour status at that time.

9-The starting zombies will be selected secretly. If you don?t hear from an administrator, then you start as a human.

10-Above all, the point of the game is to have fun. So play safely and courteously. The game is played 24/7, so PLEASE wear your bandana and actively participate as much as possible.

TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!DISCLAIMER:!!!!!!!! CREATORS WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR INJURIES OR ACCIDENTS THAT OCCUR AS A RESULT OF THIS EVENT. HOWEVER THERE SHOULD BE NO INJURIES, HAVE FUN, USE COMMON SENSE, AND BE SAFE

This sounds like a lot of fun. end of article

Notes
1 If Keynote 4 (part of iWork '08) worked properly, I would offer a QuickTime version of that presentation here.

Comments

#1

I'm from Athens, but I'm not currently enrolled in OU. I want to know how to get into the game if it is possible.

Is there a meeting, or am I too late?