Typically, unsuspecting humans don’t know when or where a zombie apocalypse will arrive, but here at Kent State University, there are signs.
In late August, the Kent State Navigators’ annual Zombie Apocalypse event, now in its fifth year, offered fun ways for humans to survive an invasion of campus and defeat zombies – if they followed the rules.
Humans and Zombies
There are detailed rules for both human and zombie participants, who must be at least 16 years of age and have signed a liability waiver and a media release. Participation is limited to the first 400 people to arrive before the game begins.
Humans wear a caution tape armband that must always remain visible. Zombies wear the caution tape as a headband. Zombies can discuss strategy with their fellow zombies “in a loud whisper” but are not permitted to text or use map apps.
This is an outdoor activity, and humans and zombies are prohibited from entering buildings, except for bathroom breaks.
No scooters, bikes or other transportation is allowed.
How the Game Works
Gameplay is much like a traditional game of tag. If a human is “tagged” by a zombie, they become a zombie (after allowing five seconds for the zombie to “eat your brain”). Newly spawned zombies must then wait 30 seconds before moving their caution tape from their arm to their head and beginning their hunt for humans.
Humans are grouped into teams of four to five people with assigned positions of one “navigator” and several “artillery” bearers who carry the team’s weapons. The “weapons” are a limited supply of marshmallows that, when thrown at a zombie, will cause them to crouch down and cover their eyes for 10 seconds before respawning. Zombies are also responsible for collecting thrown marshmallows “so the black squirrels don’t eat them and become obese.”
In an emergency, a team member can volunteer to sacrifice themselves to a zombie or zombies to allow the rest of their team to escape.
The Quest for the Cure
The human teams are on a mission to visit several stations designated as “labs” to collect components of a “Zombie Cure.”
But the gameplay comes with a clever twist. Buck Wilson, campus director for Kent State Navigators, said, “The storyline for the game was they had to get to four different labs to unlock the two secret vaults with the cure. Then, they had to collect the cure and reach the extraction point. The twist was when they got the extraction point, they realize they only have HALF of the cure, and they need to pair with someone from the other vault to complete the set."
Already Looking Forward to Next Year
Kent State Navigators is a Christian organization on campus that states its mission as: “We want to build a meaningful community and discover our purpose by learning the way of Jesus, all while having a ton of fun in the process!”
The Zombie Apocalypse is an event that students look forward to all year. Wilson said, “Every year people have a great time and always ask us to play again soon. But we only do it once a year.”
