Right, a few of you may remember this from last year. Twice a year, my campus runs a game of Humans vs Zombies, which is fundamentally a giant game of tag. Since I received two PMs asking about whether I'd be playing again, I figured I'd write up a thread and report every so often on the events of the game. First, some background
Rules
Basically, if a human shoots a zombie with a nerf gun, tags them with a foam sword, or throws a sock (*shrug*) at them, that zombie can't tag anyone for 15 minutes. If, on the other hand, a zombie tags a human, that human turns his three ID cards over to the zombie. These ID cards are used as "food" for the zombie, each card is enough food to supply one zombie for 48 hours. Food must be used within a few hours of the kill, so each dead human sustains three zombies for 48 hours. That human also joins the zombie horde.
Classrooms, academic buildings, eating facilities, and actual dorm rooms are off limits, but everywhere else, at any time, is fair game. New this year is the concept of "missions", activities that human players can do to earn rewards. Rewards are mostly unknown at this point, but include allowing the use of foam swords and bayonets. Those that were here last spring remember how critical a foam sword was to human survival, given my dorm layout, so these missions are basically a way to force human players to leave their rooms. What the missions actually entails remains unknown.
During the first three days of the game, no identifying markers must be worn, while three zombies are chosen randomly and allowed to feed. After those three days, all humans must wear a green armband, while zombies where a green bandana on their heads. For this reason, the incubation period is fairly dangerous to humans, since the three original zombies remain hidden for three days (all zombies converted in the incubation period must immediately wear their headbands.)
Last Game
Last game featured a new and improved zombie threat: coordination. A very skilled and dedicated zombie mob formed, targeting humans and hunting them down. At the peak of the game, that group occasionally numbered in the twenties, while the largest known survivor group numbered all of three. Last game too featured the development of the foam bayonet, pioneered and used to great effect by my group. The weapon of choice was a Nerf Maverick with a foot long foam bayonet on the front, featuring excellent range, rate of fire, and close-quarters effectiveness. Armed with this, we repeatedly forced our way out of our dorm against ten to fifteen zombies many times a day, through the one narrow chokepoint. Eventually, as the largest and most active survivor group, we gained a pretty kickass reputation, before finally being brought down while heading to an entirely voluntary final showdown. Misreading the rules, we thought we were safe going to the battle, but were sadly mistaken, and killed. However, the turn time allowed us to participate in the final fight with the other few active humans, leading to a victory. From there, the game stagnated. Most of the remaining humans were holed up in their room, doing the smart (but very lame and very boring) thing, while the zombies starved. Eventually, eight humans, out of the original 250, survived.
This game
One hour and fifteen minutes ago, the incubation period began. The zombies are coordinated and dedicated (indeed, the founder of the premier zombie group asked myself and a friend if we wished to join, since we were clearly so interested in taking the game seriously), and so should pose an excellent threat. Further, this time the good zombies all know my name and face and have expressed an interest in killing me. To make things worse, foam swords are currently not allowed and I have a schedule that does not allow me to work with any of the members on my hall, so I shall have to run alone for quite a few times.
Basically, it should be an excellent game.
edit: Pictures coming up tomorrow.
Rules
Basically, if a human shoots a zombie with a nerf gun, tags them with a foam sword, or throws a sock (*shrug*) at them, that zombie can't tag anyone for 15 minutes. If, on the other hand, a zombie tags a human, that human turns his three ID cards over to the zombie. These ID cards are used as "food" for the zombie, each card is enough food to supply one zombie for 48 hours. Food must be used within a few hours of the kill, so each dead human sustains three zombies for 48 hours. That human also joins the zombie horde.
Classrooms, academic buildings, eating facilities, and actual dorm rooms are off limits, but everywhere else, at any time, is fair game. New this year is the concept of "missions", activities that human players can do to earn rewards. Rewards are mostly unknown at this point, but include allowing the use of foam swords and bayonets. Those that were here last spring remember how critical a foam sword was to human survival, given my dorm layout, so these missions are basically a way to force human players to leave their rooms. What the missions actually entails remains unknown.
During the first three days of the game, no identifying markers must be worn, while three zombies are chosen randomly and allowed to feed. After those three days, all humans must wear a green armband, while zombies where a green bandana on their heads. For this reason, the incubation period is fairly dangerous to humans, since the three original zombies remain hidden for three days (all zombies converted in the incubation period must immediately wear their headbands.)
Last Game
Last game featured a new and improved zombie threat: coordination. A very skilled and dedicated zombie mob formed, targeting humans and hunting them down. At the peak of the game, that group occasionally numbered in the twenties, while the largest known survivor group numbered all of three. Last game too featured the development of the foam bayonet, pioneered and used to great effect by my group. The weapon of choice was a Nerf Maverick with a foot long foam bayonet on the front, featuring excellent range, rate of fire, and close-quarters effectiveness. Armed with this, we repeatedly forced our way out of our dorm against ten to fifteen zombies many times a day, through the one narrow chokepoint. Eventually, as the largest and most active survivor group, we gained a pretty kickass reputation, before finally being brought down while heading to an entirely voluntary final showdown. Misreading the rules, we thought we were safe going to the battle, but were sadly mistaken, and killed. However, the turn time allowed us to participate in the final fight with the other few active humans, leading to a victory. From there, the game stagnated. Most of the remaining humans were holed up in their room, doing the smart (but very lame and very boring) thing, while the zombies starved. Eventually, eight humans, out of the original 250, survived.
This game
One hour and fifteen minutes ago, the incubation period began. The zombies are coordinated and dedicated (indeed, the founder of the premier zombie group asked myself and a friend if we wished to join, since we were clearly so interested in taking the game seriously), and so should pose an excellent threat. Further, this time the good zombies all know my name and face and have expressed an interest in killing me. To make things worse, foam swords are currently not allowed and I have a schedule that does not allow me to work with any of the members on my hall, so I shall have to run alone for quite a few times.
Basically, it should be an excellent game.
edit: Pictures coming up tomorrow.
