Rules
Rules for Humans vs Zombies Spring 2011, Version 4.0
These rules supercede any other written source, such as moderator handouts).
Table of Contents
- Human Objective: Survive and defend! Remain human for the entire game and win the Final Scenario.
- Zombie Objective: Eat brains! Turn all humans by the last day of play or win the Final Scenario.
- A brightly colored bandanda, preferably one of the free orange ones distributed by moderators.
- Good sportsmanship
- Recommended equipment for Humans:
- A Nerf or Buzzbee blaster
- Koosh balls or clean balled up socks (for throwing)
- Buzzbee swords and homemade swords (see requirements)
All safety rules are strictly enforced. Players violating these rules will be banned. If you see anyone breaking these rules, report it to in-game-moderators immediately.
- Do not involve (or intimidate) those not playing.
- No player may solicit help of any kind from non-players.
- Do not play outside campus limits or in safe zones.
- No realistic blasters. Blasters have orange tips under Federal Law. Do not paint over these tips.
- No roughhousing. Tackling and wrestling are bannable offenses.
- No playing near traffic. Be aware of roads and crosswalks.
- Staircases and stairwells are off-limits for any kind of physical contact. While players may fire blasters on staircases, zombies may not grab bandanas nor may humans use foam swords on stairwells. In addition, humans may not linger on stairs.
- Players may not block doorways with objects or their bodies, including when they are inside buildings.
Last, but not least:
- Use your common sense. Keep the NAS Mantra in mind, and engage in sportsman-like conduct.
In the event of serious player injury (or suspected injury), yelling "Medic!" is a signal to players to halt gameplay in the immediate area. This rule is not to be taken lightly. When "Medic!" is called, gameplay should stop, and in-game-moderators should be contacted immediately. Players ignoring or abusing the "Medic!" rule will not be tolerated. Keep in mind, this is an emergency protocol; it should not be used frivolously.
Anyone in these locations/events is safe. For the purposes of these rules, a player who has at least one foot touching the ground within said area is inside the safe zone. While in a safe zone, a zombie may not turn humans, and a human may not be turned. Foam swords, koosh balls, and blasters may not be used in safe zones. In addition, players must put away blasters and may not display them while in academic safe zones.
- Inside the Stamp Student Union.
- Inside administration and academic buildings, including the academic sections of Queen Anne's and Marie-Mount Hall
- Classes, indoor or outdoor
- Inside dining halls
- Inside recreation centers
- Inside bathrooms (yes, port-a-potties count)
- At SGA-sanctioned events (both during them and during on-site preparation for them, such as at during marching-band practice or while setting up outdoor activities for an unrelated club)
- Anywhere, twenty minutes before and after athletic events for those who are attending said event
- Inside elevators
- Inside living areas (such as individual dorm rooms or apartments suites).
- Dorm hallways are in-play areas unless announced otherwise.
- Please keep in mind that university policy forbids "tailgating" into dorms; zombies may not follow a human into a dorm in which they do not reside unless invited by someone who does.
If you would like to request a safe zone not listed here due to special circumstance, please contact an in-game moderator with details.
Humans who are turned are out of play for a designated “incubation time” before they officially become zombies. They should put away their blasters, swords, etc. during this time.
Zombies who are inactive are briefly out of play.
All players are out of play for twenty minutes before and after an event scenario.
In addition, players may go out of play by removing their bandanas if circumstances warrant it. For instance, health or safety concerns and outdoor classes or projects are legitimate reasons. This is at the discretion of the players. However, players are asked not to abuse this privilege by going out of play for frivolous reasons, such as walking to class with non-player friends. Players may not go out of play for tactical reasons, e.g. to escape an ambush.
Players who are out of play for ANY reason may not do anything to affect the game. They are temporary non-players. Just as players are not allowed to solicit help from non-players, players who are out of play may not give any aid to players (e.g. scouting, acting as lookouts, reporting locations of members of the other team).
Transportation and Artificial Propulsion
Artifical Propulsion is defined as: Any mode of transportation other than one's own two feet, such as cars, buses, skateboards, bikes, scooters, rollerskates, and heelies.
- Anyone on artificial propulsion is out of play for an amount of time after removing/leaving this propulsion, and he/she considered inactive until this time is up. The timer is 10 seconds for humans and 60 seconds for zombies.
- If a human leaving artificial propulsion fires a Nerf blaster, throws a projectile, or uses a foam sword at or on a zombie before 10 seconds have elapsed, that human immediately returns to play.
- A player touching any part of a parked in-service bus or on board a bus is out of play until ten seconds after ending contact with said bus.
- Artifical propulsion is never allowed during scenarios
- No playing near traffic. Be aware of roads and crosswalks.
Players who use wheelchairs due to disability or injury are not considered to be using artificial propulsion. Wheelchairs are treated as “substitute feet.”
Projectile Devices:
- Nerf and Buzzbee brand dart blasters with unmodified Nerf or Buzzbee brand darts
- Thrown koosh balls
- Balled-up socks
- Balled-up socks may be used as projectiles provided they have not yet been worn and are kept clean
Melee Devices:
- Foam swords that are approved and signed by in-game moderators (see below)
- Buzzbee swords are automatically approved as long as they are unmodified
- Nerf brand Mace. (Nerf swords and axe are not allowed.)
Other:
- Flashlights:
With the exception of stock "red dots" on blasters such as the Recon or Nightfinder, which are not blindingly bright:- Players cannot wield a flashlight or other light source at the same time as a blaster or melee device.
- No light may be attached to the head, belt, blaster, or anything else to fix its direction. It must be hand-held.
- Do not aim flashlights directly at other players. Players should only need to aim them at the ground.
- Blinding opponents with flashlights is unacceptable. Offending players will be warned. Multiple offenses will result in confiscation of the flashlight until the end of the scenario.
- All players are encouraged to bring a small flashlight for post-scenario dart sweeps.
The following melee devices are permitted:
- Only one of the following:
- Unmodified Buzzbee brand foam sword
- Unmodified Nerf mace
- Two Buzzbee brand short foam swords
- Homemade foam swords constructed as follows:
- A one-handed sword must have a handle of no more than six inches, and a blade between six and twenty-five inches.
- A two-handed sword must have a handle of exactly eight inches, and a blade no more than twenty-three inches.
- If a player wields two foam swords, the combined length of the two blades may not exceed twenty six inches.
- The blade must be padded.
- The sword must have between three and four inches of padded pommel.
- The sword must have a cloth cover on all striking surfaces.
- Any foam sword with a core must have padding extending at least two inches past this core.
Rules for Using Melee Devices: These rules are for safety. Players found violating these rules will be banned.
- Foam swords and other special equipment must be inspected and signed by an in-game moderator before use. Two-handed swords must be tested for two-handed use.
- A sword may be failed by a moderator for any reason, if a sword is failed the only moderator you may appeal the decision to is the president of the club.
- Foam swords without moderator signatures will be removed from play. Please note that foam swords used in previous years are not necessarily approved for 2011.
- Even “veteran” foam swords must be re-signed.
- Using an unsigned melee is intensely dangerous. Players found using an unsigned melee device will be immediately banned from play, appeals can be made only to the president.
- Homemade melee's may be passed for only certain kinds of use (e.g. One-handed swings only, no stabbing, etc.) Using a sword in an unapproved manner will be treated the same as using an unsigned sword.
- Exercise restraint with equipment. Do not swing foam swords with excessive force or aim for a person's head, face, or groin.
- Foam swords may not be thrown.
- No player may wield more than two foam swords at once (though a player may carry any number).
- A player may not wield a foam sword and a blaster in the same hand.
- A player may not wield multiple swords in one hand.
- A player may not wield both a foam sword and the Nerf Vulcan at once (though a player may carry both at once).
Use of homemade melee devices is an extra responsibility. It is the players responsibility to make sure that their melee remains in reasonably the same condition as when it was signed. Any modification to a melee requires that it be rechecked and resigned. Any use of damaged or later modified melee will be treated like the use of an unsigned melee.
Irresponsible use or use of unsigned melees shall be treated as harshly as a player purposefully physically harming another player.
Using items from this list is a bannable offense. In-game mods will never approve any of these items for play.
Banned Projectile:
- Paintball guns and airsoft guns
- Slingshots
- Unapproved modified Nerf or Buzzbee darts
- The Nerf Big Bad Titan
Banned Melee:
- Unpadded or inadequately padded swords
- Unmodified Nerf-brand melees, such as the N-Strike swords, axe, or longsword
- Unsigned homemade swords
- Fists, feet, elbows, knees, or any other part of your body used as a means of attack
- Melee devices that are affixed to the body or blaster (e.g. no “wolverine claws” or bayonets)
Additionally, armor and shields of any kind may not be used.
No player may assist players of the other team.
- Each human must wear a bandana on his/her upper arm (above the elbow).
- If an active zombie grabs a human’s bandana or the upper arm on which the bandana is worn, that human has been "turned."
- The turn should be obvious to the human. Zombies should establish a firm grip on the bandana or upper arm so that humans know that they have been turned.
- This is especially important for zombies who are making multiple turns in quick succession.
- Zombies are not allowed to turn by hug and may NOT tackle a human in an attempt to turn them.
- Once turned, a player is out of play for twenty minutes and may not follow or move toward humans.
- During these twenty minutes, a player cannot act in favor of zombies, and he/she cannot communicate with zombies.
- At the conclusion of twenty minutes, a turned player becomes a zombie.
- During scenarios, there is no set “incubation period.” Players who have been turned become zombies as soon as they drop of their equipment at a designated location.
- Zombies must wear bandanas across their foreheads.
- They may not wear bandanas covering the tops of their heads or covered by hats/hoods. Please use free in-game moderator-distributed bandanas to reduce confusion.
- Apart from their bandanas, zombies may not carry visible HvZ equipment (such as foam swords or Nerf blasters) at any time.
- If you have been turned recently but have not had a chance to unequip yourself, conceal your equipment or temporarily remove yourself from play.
- Zombies are forbidden to hoard Human darts and projectiles. While all players are encouraged to return stray darts to the ammo drop box, collecting darts simply to keep them from humans is theft and will not be tolerated.
- A good rule of thumb is: if you see a dart lying on the ground and no human nearby is intending to pick it up, collect it and bring it to the drop box at the next scenario.
Stun times:
- If a zombie is struck by a legal projectile such as a Nerf dart or koosh ball, he/she becomes inactive for two minutes.
- If a zombie is struck by a foam sword such as a buzzbee sword, he/she becomes inactive for five seconds.
- Inactive zombies that are hit with a projectile have their stun timers reset to the projectile stun time.
- The timers overlap. They are not additive.
- If an inactive zombie (with more than 5 seconds on the stun timer to go) is hit with a melee, the timer continues to count down the longer time.
Inactive zombies may not:
- Turn humans
- Pursue humans
- Move in the direction of humans
- Act as shields for their active teammates
- Obstruct crowds of players or non-players
- Contact other zombies via any form of remote communications (e.g. cell phones, walkie-talkies, signal whistles, etc.)
- Do anything else to affect gameplay—inactive zombies are briefly out of play.
Inactive zombies may:
- Move to avoid obstacles and hazards
- Continue on their way to class or any other important non-game-related engagement
- Dodge shots to keep the timer from being reset
Inactive zombies must:
- Remove themselves from the fray of combat
- Indicate that they are stunned by clasping their hands over their heads
- Get off the phone if they were stunned while on the phone
Except for the circumstances mentioned above, inactive zombies should not move from the area in which they were stunned.
Active zombies may not pretend they are inactive, i.e. put their hands above their head to give humans a false sense of security, when they aren't actually stunned.
Inactive zombies are not required to tell humans how much time is left on the stun timer. It is the responsibility of humans to stay alert.
- Bandanas must be worn as described while playing.
- Any player not wearing a bandana is out of play (and thus not truly playing).
- Players should wear their bandanas as often as possible while outside safe zones, as the game is largely pointless otherwise.
- (Note: in-game moderators may at times wear their bandanas around their necks; this indicates that they are out of play, on moderator business.)
- Players should wear clothing that contrasts their bandanas (e.g. do not to wear orange shirts underneath orange arm bandanas).
The game will have "scenarios" throughout, of varying length and importance. The game culminates in the Final Scenario, which is the finale to the game (assuming zombies have not already turned all humans by this point). Scenarios will introduce new objectives but will not change game rules.
There are three types of scenarios: daily scenarios, event scenarios and long-term scenarios. Event and daily scenarios are generally fast-paced events that take place within a single day or afternoon, whereas long-term scenarios set up objectives that may last an entire week.
- Do not attack Scenario NPCs--moderators or officers 'playing a part' for the sake of the scenario--unless specifically instructed to do so.
- For event scenarios, players of both teams are out of play for the twenty minutes prior to the event, as well as for the twenty minutes afterwards
- Artificial propulsion may not be used during a scenario.
- Players may not enter buildings for tactical purposes during scenarios, although they are always allowed to enter buildings to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. They must enter and exit by the same door.
Some scenarios will employ the RETREAT POLICY.
- If the humans feel like they cannot complete the mission, they may request a retreat, thereby saving their numbers, but failing the mission.
- The retreat request will most likely end up with a zone in which the humans must retreat to.
- Players (zombies especially) are likely to find darts on the ground in play areas. Please return these darts to the designated Ammo Drop Box for the current semester.
- If it does not have a permanent location, please bring any darts you find to a moderator at a scenario or CTF.
- This is the first clause of our Mantra. Only because so much of it was ignored in the last few games do we reiterate it here.
- This game is depends on the honor system. Without it, it cannot be run. By putting on the bandana, you are expressing an intent to play and a promise to play by the rules. Breaking the rules disrupts the game for all other players.
- While extenuating circumstances may allow players to go out of play voluntarily, players are asked not to abuse this privilege by going out of play for frivolous reasons. In addition, players who are out of play are reminded that they may not aid their teammates in any way.
- Furthermore, players should not:
- ignore stuns or turns.
- abuse the staircase or event rules.
- act maliciously toward their opponents.