Moderator Vernon Nguyen is currently classified as a human.
Once per semester, zombies invade the Texas Tech University campus looking to shoot any human who crosses their path — with Nerf dart guns.
The local Humans vs. Zombies group began the event on Monday. According to game moderator and marketing major Vernon Nguyen, the Tech chapter is one of many nationwide.
“It started at Goucher,” Nguyen said. “Then it slowly started branching out, and then it finally came to Texas Tech in 2009 when Paul and Lauren, our founders, decided to get together and be like, ‘Hey, let’s do this thing!'”
Nguyen described Humans vs. Zombies as a giant game of Nerf tag. Students playing as humans try to tag zombie players with either Nerf darts or socks. If the zombie is hit, the player is stunned for 10 minutes before being allowed to try to attack another player. Zombies try to attack humans the same way. Players wear the green bandana around their arm if they are a human and around their head if they are a zombie.
Nerf guns are the primary weapon of choice in Humans vs. Zombies.
As for ways to play the game, the moderators agreed every player has a preference for methods. They said there is not a particular Nerf gun that works best, and many people just use socks as their ammunition.
“Essentially, it just lasts from seven to seven every day,” Nguyen said, “and the goal is to get around campus without getting killed by zombies. Or, if you’re a zombie, the goal is to kill as many humans as possible.”
The three moderators help to log kills in the game throughout the week. Some moderators will travel around campus looking for the action, but one always stays at the headquarters in the Student Union Building. Billy Riegler, another moderator and engineering student, is in charge of the source page, which tracks all of the kills as reports come in.
“As of right now, we have 110 zombies and 331 humans,” Riegler said.
There are more than 400 participants in the game this semester, including two professors, according to Nguyen. The moderators said the cold has caused the game to be more challenging.
Moderator Billy Riegler is in charge of the source page.
“Many times people will be like, ‘Oh, it’s so cold,’ so they’ll be more encouraged to stay inside,” Nguyen said, “but we try our best to encourage gameplay by having people do escort missions, and people just, encouraging community, and telling people ‘Go and play! Have fun! Meet people!'”
Nguyen said there are benefits and disadvantages to playing in the fall semester. He said there are more freshmen trying to get involved in the student group in the fall. Nguyen said in the spring some students are too busy to play the game.
The Humans vs. Zombies game will end on November 14 this semester. Follow along with the action on the Zombie Raiders Facebook page.
About Sarah Self-Walbrick
