As bands of bandana-clad students roam the campus armed with Nerf guns and socks, you might be curious about what they’re doing.
These students are playing a tag-based game called Humans vs. Zombies. The weeklong game begins with three zombies tagging the humans playing the game, thus turning them into zombies.
As more players become zombies, they try to survive — without being turned into a zombie — while also trying to complete missions that take place each night.
The zombies win the entire game if they infect all of the humans, and the humans win if they are able to complete their final mission at the end of the week.
This year, there were about 400 hundred registered playing humans, said Aubron Wood, a sophomore and an administrator of the game.
Wood is credited with bringing the game to a new level at UNC after it Lucas Espinosa introduced it to the school two years ago, said Heather MacMoyle, a sophomore non-playing moderator of the game.
“This is the most active semester that I’ve seen yet, just with people participating in missions,” MacMoyle said.
Moderators of the game handle disputes such as safe zones, rule qualifications and well as if a person is in or out.
Humans are safe within most buildings on campus, but outside, the zombies seem to rule the campus.
I sat in on a zombie picnic on the quad and talked to a group of zombies about why they enjoy about playing the game.
“I’ve been involved in HvZ since high school at North Carolina School of Science and Math. It’s a great way to meet a lot of new people,” said Nick Sienerth, a sophomore.
The rest of the group agreed, saying they have made a lot of their friends through the game, including the zombies they were currently sharing their picnic with.
As one zombie left the gathering, he said goodbye by wishing his fellow zombies, “Happy Hunting!”
The zombies are open to anyone joining their ranks for coming games, especially those who have criticized them for playing.
“I would openly invite them to play. I think they would enjoy it,” said sophomore Mason Braswello.
What do you think? Are you playing this year? Let Pit Talk know by commenting below.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
