A “zombie infection” overtook Florida Polytechnic University during the week of Sept. 8, slowly spreading from three infected students to nearly all the players in a campuswide Humans vs. Zombies Nerf dart battle.
The epic biannual event, hosted by the Nerf Tech student organization, had about 135 participants this semester, and featured an apocalyptic roaring ’20s theme, complete with characters, costumes, and a “speakeasy” in the Innovation, Science and Technology Building.
“I look forward to this every semester – it’s really a highlight of being on campus,” said Liam Kinkade, a senior mechanical engineering major. “We even have people come back who graduated in years past.”
The moderated game of outdoor tag has play and safety rules and is played at campuses across the country. It includes both independent battle and complex nightly missions.
“Humans,” identified by bright armbands, are infected and become “zombies” if they are hit by a foam dart, joining the ever-growing pack of infected human hunters. If a human tags a headband-wearing zombie, however, the zombie is only stunned and unable to play for a short while.
Graduate student Renato Silva ’25 spent his week attacking and defending himself from the growing horde of zombies, hoping to make this the fifth time he’d make it to the end of the event as one of the few surviving humans.
“It’s about strategy, thinking and trusting people,” said Silva, who is pursuing a master’s degree in engineering management and received a bachelor’s degree in business analytics from Florida Poly in May. “You can’t win this thing alone. If you don’t have anybody to have your back, you’re not going to make it.”
Beyond the strategic battles, the game is a welcoming way for students to make friends and get active on campus, Kinkade said.
“A big part of this is there are different levels of engagements, so for some players, it’s just a fun game to play while you’re getting to class and they’re not really into the missions, but some of us do take it pretty seriously,” he said, wearing an artillery vest loaded with foam darts and other equipment. “But in the end, it’s a super-fun game, and I’m just in it for the fun.”
