For those of you who attend the U already and read the Meliorist (I mean besides the TLFs), you will have seen the excellent article explaining what humans vs zombies is. For those of you who don’t read it or who don’t attend U of L yet (you know you wanna!!), let me tell you about it. Because it’s awesome. And hilarious.
Humans vs Zombies is a campus-wide Halloween game put on by the ULSU. Students have to register (online now, which is cool) and sign a waiver, then they’re given their HvZ package: two foam balls (these are crucial!), their game ID card and a bandanna. The ID card must be on you at all times, and the bandanna identifies you as human (if it’s around your upper arm) or zombie (around your head). These are the basics of the game.
THE RULES ARE SIMPLE!! This is the zombie apocalypse!! If you are a zombie, you must tag humans to turn them into zombies as well! Once you tag them, they surrender their ID cards to you and you log on to enter your “kill” on the registration website. Humans must evade infection at all costs!! They can use the foam balls provided to defend themselves – if they hit a zombie with a foam ball, the zombie is “stunned” for five minutes, enough time for the human to head for safety!!
There is no bandana removal allowed. Once you sign up, you’re in the thick of it as long as you are on campus. There are no time outs in the zombie apocalypse, after all! But to be fair, since this is a school, there are safety zones where the game is on hold. These are places like the library, any classrooms and offices, bathrooms, the Zoo and some other places around campus.
Now, to make things more complicated, there are missions that must be completed by the players! These are top secret, sent to the players via their email. Humans have a day to complete their mission and receive a stamp on their ID card or they turn into zombies, and zombies have missions that can increase their number of kills.
I’m not registered to play, since I’m rarely on campus this semester, but trust me, I’ve been around campus long enough to see intense foam ball warfare where the human narrowly evaded infection, or a gang of zombies chase after a lone, terrified human, or humans moving together in packs, peeking around every corner, wondering where the undead may be lurking…
This is a Facebook update from a friend of mine who is was desperately clinging to his life. I think it sums up the feeling of these humans and zombies wandering around campus this week!
“Day One: Zack Moline (ULSU President) has doomed us all… Had my first encounter with the ravenous undead today. Didn’t really believe the stories until I saw them. Stiff and shambly when they’re milling about, but boy can they move when they’ve got the scent. Managed to escape into the tunnels beneath the University and made my way out a service elevator. Apparently, 9 of my friends have already been infected… I’ll celebrate on your behalf when I make it out of this.”
Today is the last day… best of luck to the remaining humans out there!!