Watch out for the zombie apocalypse. It began with one anonymous, original zombie, but now an army has formed.
Humans vs. Zombies, a four-day interactive tag competition, began Tuesday morning with one zombie and 400 humans, and the game has since infected campus.
The game, the first of its kind at Marquette, uses a set of established rules and is common across numerous college campus. The goal, depending on your side, is either to survive the apocalypse by remaining a human and completing at least two of four daily missions which are individually assigned, or to turn the entire team of humans into zombies.
Players are marked by lime-green bandanas. Humans must wear the bandana on their arm or leg while zombies wear the bandana around their heads.
Humans are ‘zombified’ if a zombie tags them. In defense, humans may use Nerf guns or rolled up socks to stun the zombie for 30 minutes.
Gretchen Keblusek, a senior in the College of Education and an employee in the Office of Student Development, helped organize the game. She said the missions are mostly physical tasks which will place humans in the zombies’ line of fire.
She also said the game is limited primarily to Central Mall and Westowne Mall.
“All indoor spaces are off-limits as well as streets,” Keblusek said. “We don’t want people running in the street. I think it makes the game more interesting.”
Keblusek said she wants the zombies to win the game.
Although the game’s website has experienced technical difficulties, preventing the number of zombies reported from being correct, more and more zombies are being spotted across campus.
Bradley Zastrow, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said everyone else he registered for the game with has been zombified. He is now avoiding his roommate, brother and friends.
“My strategy is just to run,” Zastrow said.
Beth Esmay, a freshman in the College of Health Sciences, is using the safe spaces to her advantage. Esmay said her strategy for the game is to stick to the roads and walking in groups.
Others are not afraid to run into a zombie.
Alex Whalen, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said although he tries to walk around campus in a group, he has not let the game dictate his day. He also said things become more exciting as more humans are zombified.
“I haven’t let the game affect my routine,” he said. “If I get turned into a zombie … oh well.”
Easlyn Edwards, a freshman in the College of Engineering and a zombie, said the original zombie tagged her at the first mission.
She said her plan is now to be a stealth zombie.
“If I see a human with their back turned, they will be tagged and zombified,” Edwards said.
Brittany Chylla and Emily Walsh, freshmen in the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Health Sciences, respectively, said they have been working together to avoid zombies.
Wednesday morning, as Chylla and Walsh left class, a zombie approached Walsh. She tried to stun the zombie, but missed.
Chylla was there to help and hit the zombie with a sock. She said she uses socks instead of a Nerf blaster because her accuracy is better.
Keblusek said because the game is organized through the Office of Student Development, they reserve the right to cancel the game at any point if there are faculty complaints. Thus far, no one has complained, she said.
This year’s game is simply a trial run to see if they will bring it back, Keblusek said.
Non-participant Timmy Kusnierek, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, said he wants the game to return — so he has a chance to be a zombie hunter.
“Seeing everyone run around with (Nerf blasters) makes me want to play,” Kusnierek said.