Beginning Sunday, Youngstown State University’s Urban Gaming Club will host its campuswide survival game, Humans vs. Zombies.
After two years of being denied the chance to play by the YSU Police Department, the Urban Gaming Club finally received permission to bring the game to campus. The game will run through April 26.
Nick Uroseva, founder and president of the gaming club, said the game was first presented to YSU Police two and a half years ago.
“The new chief of police was more willing to hear us out and was impressed with our organization. As long as we keep them in the loop, they don’t have a problem with us running the game,” Uroseva said. “There will be a lot students that aren’t playing the game, so police needed to sign off on it.”
YSU Police Chief John Beshara said he believes the YSU needs to host more events like Humans vs. Zombies.
“We’ve met with the Urban Gaming Club to make sure we have definite rules and are confident they will work out well,” he said. “Most events held on campus won’t experience any incidents. We want to have events for people affiliated for the university.”
Uroseva and his group have traveled to play the survival game at various colleges and universities in the region— Ohio State University, Penn State University and Slippery Rock University, to name a few.
Uroseva said he’s excited to finally play on YSU’s campus.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from students. Most people are as excited about it as we are,” he said.
Players will begin the game as “humans” and will attempt escape the “infection,” or tag, by a designated zombie. As the amount of infected players grows, it’s harder for the humans to remain untagged.
The elaborate game of tag requires each player to stun zombies with a foam dart blaster or a clean, rolled-up sock.
Two scenarios indicate the winning team. Humans can win by lasting through the game without being converted into a zombie, or the zombies can convert every human in play into a zombie.
Bert Amoline, YSU junior, has been playing the game since his second year of college and has been traveling to different universities ever since.
“My favorite part of the game is being a zombie. I’m actually in charge of getting the zombies where they need to be,” Amoline said. “We encourage players to put on makeup, but it’s not a problem if they don’t.”
Amoline said the weeklong event is a great way to meet new students.
“Players don’t need to change their schedules; you play between classes and take breaks whenever you want. You don’t need to commit a lot of time to have fun with it,” he said.
Students interested in playing can visit http://www.hvzsource.com/ysu to register or find information tables set up by the Urban Gaming Club in Kilcawley Center.
All players are required to attend one safety meeting before the start of the game to be eligible to play.