If you have any questions, ask a mod or sub-officer. We’d far rather you ask a question than have you assume incorrectly, even if we’ve already answered it.

No realistic-looking weapons/gear. We are playing a game of tag. Make sure your gear doesn’t lead others to believe otherwise.

No vehicles. If you do not rely on a device for your standard movement, it's a vehicle. This list includes, but is not limited to, cars, scooters, boats, horses, hovercraft, roller skates, nonplayers, players, and moderators.

Do not involve nonplayers. We’re here to play the game; they are not. Please do not involve them in any way.

Moderators have the ability to over-turn any rules listed and to implement new rules.

Gear

Blasters

Must be brightly colored. No realistic or steampunk designs. See Rule 5.
An Orange tip is required.

If your tip is not orange, temporary orange tape can be applied for our event

No overly long exposed brass/aluminum/pipe barrels
120fps average limit for short-length darts, full-length darts, rival, vortex, ultra, and other similar ammo types
60fps average limit for Mega
60fps average limit for Mega-XL
Hardcap for each ammo type is 5fps above the average cap
Other unusual ammo types will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
No nerf Hyper or 3rd party equivalents
No bow-powered bows

Bow-powered bows are defined as blasters powered by tension that do not have a latch point

No Melee, Paintball, CO2, HPA, Green Gas, or Airsoft equipment

Airsoft scopes and other non-firing parts are fine, so long as they don’t break any other rules, such as Rule 5
Paintball, CO2, HPA, Green Gas, Airsoft and realistic looking blasters are not allowed on campus at all

All blasters, regardless of whether they are stock, must be tested and approved at a chronograph

Moderators reserve the right to ask any player to re-chrono their blasters if suspected to be above the FPS cap
If you are using a blaster that has not been approved, you will be asked to remove the blaster from play immediately

If the blaster hits above the FPS cap, you will be removed from the game

You can chrono up to 5 blasters at one time

After they are chronoed, you can return to the back of the line and wait to chrono more

Do not point blasters at nonplayers or give your blasters to nonplayers!
Blowpipes are not allowed

Darts

Foam must be twice the length of the tip
The tip of the dart must compress

In the case of rival, the full ball must compress

No homemade darts
No marshmallow or other edible ammo/equipment
Worker Darts will be allowed for the UMBC HvZ Day Invitational

Socks

A sock is…

A literal (clean) balled up sock
OR a continuous piece of cloth rolled/taped in a ball-like fashion

Part of the cloth must be visible if taped

OR an object made of closed-cell foam
Must fit in a 4x4x4 inch cube, while being a minimum of 1x1x1 inches

A sock is NOT…

a thrown dart, rival ball, or other piece of blaster ammunition

Bandannas

Humans must wear an orange bandanna between their shoulder and elbow
Zombies must wear an orange bandanna around their head while unstunned, and around their neck while stunned

Zombies can also visibly hold their bandanna to indicate they are stunned

Bandannas must be clearly visible and unobstructed
Orange Bandannas will be provided for free at sign-ins
Neon green/yellow bandannas indicate a Moderator
Blue bandannas indicate a Submod
Pink bandannas indicate a Medic

Eye Protection

Eye protection is mandatory for this event
Eye protection can be provided free of charge for all players
Glasses may be used as eye protection
Full face masks are allowed, but require Moderator approval

If asked by any campus staff (Police, Professors, Janitors, etc.) you must remove your mask to identify yourself

Other

Walkie talkies are allowed, but players must stay out of Moderator channels and UMBC Staff/Campus Channels
Flashlights are allowed, so long as they aren’t shined at other people and aren’t mounted on blasters
Communicating via phone is allowed
Laser pointers are not allowed
Whistles are not allowed for standard players
Drones are illegal to use on the UMBC campus. Do not use drones for any purpose, including photography

Human Rules

Starting Conditions

Players may start with any blaster type (electric, non electric, etc.)
Blasters may only be loaded with a maximum of 6 pieces of ammo

Players may use blasters that have a higher capacity than 6 pieces of ammo, just loaded with 6 ammo until the full unlock
Players may carry blasters with them that are loaded with more than 6 pieces of ammo but may not use them until the full unlock

Players will earn an unlock with their group mod to gain full access to all legal equipment

Stunning

Humans can stun zombies with approved blasters, throwing a dart/rival ball/vortex disk, or approved socks

Zombies hit are stunned for the duration of the stun timer
Only one dart, rival ball, vortex disk may be thrown at a time
You can throw multiple socks at once

You can also throw a sock and a single dart at the same time

Ricochets do not count as stuns
A dart/sock must hit the body, clothing, or accessories of a zombie to stun them.

Hair counts

Zombies are stunned until their stun timer reaches zero
Stunning a stunned zombie resets their stun timer to the full amount

Dying

When tagged by an unstunned zombie, a human become a stunned zombie for the duration of the stun timer

Status Conditions

Humans can be afflicted by various status conditions from ZNPCs and equipment
If a human is rooted, they cannot move for 30 seconds

They can still use equipment
They are allowed to pivot
If able, a human should indicate they are rooted by taking a knee

If not able, indicate this through some other way

If a human is asked if they are rooted, they must answer honestly

If a human is disarmed, they may not use equipment to stun zombies for 30 seconds

They can still move freely
If a human is asked if they are disarmed, they must answer honestly
If able, a human should indicate they are disarmed by holding their blaster over their head

If not able, indicate this through some other way

Do not point your blaster at zombies to make them think you can actively use your blaster

A human can be simultaneously disarmed and rooted

The timers are independent and it is up to the player to keep track of both timers
Counting mentally and keeping track with an actual timer are both valid means of tracking your disarm/root timer

Zombie Rules

Being Stunned

Once stunned, Zombies will remove their bandanna from their head and have it visible (ie holding or wearing around neck)
Stunned zombies may not kill humans
Stunned zombies may only approach humans if they are in a group of zombies in which at least half are unstunned

Stunned zombies may also move towards humans to interact with a respawn point

This does not include players who have a Respawn Bandanna

Stunned zombies may not communicate any game information other than the fact they are stunned and their stun timer

They cannot provide information via any method of communication, including phones and other methods of wireless communication

Stunned zombies must leave a hold area if asked
Stunned zombies cannot take an action to block stunning equipment
Stunned zombies should make an effort to clear areas of play to avoid collisions and injuries
Stunned zombies must tell humans they are stunned if asked, but are not required to give their present stun timer
Zombies may unstun at any point after their stun timer has expired by moving their bandanna securely back onto their heads

Counting mentally and keeping track with an actual timer are both valid means of tracking your stun timer

Killing

Zombies kill humans by tagging them

Tagging is a touch on the body, clothing, or accessories of a player.
Tagging can only be done with your hands or with a noodle

Tagging with a shield is not allowed

Zombies cannot tag blasters that are being actively used (in hand)

Blasters not in use are fair game

Zombies with a blaster in their hands may not kill humans

Zombie Equipment and Power-Ups

Zombies may only have one piece of zombie equipment or Power-up at a time
Zombie equipment and Power-ups may be freely passed between unstunned zombies, unless otherwise specified
Power-ups and equipment must be handed back to moderators at lunch break

Administration

Moderators

Moderators are marked by a neon-yellow bandanna on each of their arms
Moderators facilitate the game and may play an in-game role
Moderators have final say on any in-game and administrative decisions

ZNPCs

A Moderator who interacts with humans to the benefit of the zombies
ZNPCs marked with an additional neon-yellow bandanna on their head
ZNPCs cannot be stunned through standard means
If a ZNPC is stunnable or killable, Moderators will communicate how

Submods

Submods are marked with a blue bandanna on the arm in addition to their orange player bandanna
Submods are players who will help facilitate disputes and safety needs

Submods have the authority to make the final call over any disputes not directly involving them
Submods have the authority to direct players away from nonplayers and other hazards

Submods are out of play when managing a dispute and will remove player markings as required

Medics

Medics are marked with a pink bandanna on the arm in addition to their orange player bandanna
Medics are players who have been trained to deal with emergency medical situations
If you or another player is injured, get the attention of a medic

If there are no medics around, get the attention of a Moderator or submod and they will contact a medic

Medics are out of play when managing an injury and may remove player markings as required

Game Stop

Game Stops are called by the blow of a whistle, followed by “GAME STOP”

“PAUSE” is not a game stop
“HOLD” is not a game stop

Game Stops end when an authorized member calls “GAME RESUME”
Game Stops are called in scenarios where safety has become a concern (severe injury, nonplayer interference, etc)
During a Game Stop, the game is paused

Humans may not reload
Zombies’ stun timers pause
Players should not move unless directed

Only Moderators, submods, and medics are authorized to call and end a Game Stop

Area of Play

Buildings are out of play

You may not enter a building with the purpose of gaining an in-game advantage.
If you enter a building, you are out of play

You cannot communicate game information
You must drop any objectives you are carrying prior to entering

If you enter a building, you must come out of the same door you entered

Within the area of play, there may be several outdoor no-play zones

These should not be entered for any reason
In addition to anything marked on the map, all construction sites are considered no-play zones
If you need to get out of play quickly for legitimate reasons, enter a building instead

Within the area of play, there will be several no-blaster zones

In these zones, players may not use their blasters

Throwing ammo and using other equipment is fine

Safe Zone

The Safe Zone will be designated by several orange cones and a Safe-Zone moderator
Humans cannot be killed and zombies cannot be stunned while in the safe zone
While in the safe zone, humans and zombies cannot use equipment or powerups and zombies cannot make kills
Once a human leaves the safezone, they must wait a minute before re-entering
Zombies are stunned for 15 seconds upon exiting the safezone
A player is considered in the safezone once any part of them is touching the ground of the safezone
The sidewalk surrounding the safezone is a no-linger zone (ie not for passive standing)

Players are still in-play in the no-linger zone

Objectives cannot enter the safe zone unless specified

Player Conduct

Safety

Be spatially aware
Refrain from screaming
Be aware of non players

Avoid moving through or charging through them
Do not involve non-players in gameplay
This includes but is not limited to, firing at, pointing blasters at, charging at, using as “meat shields”, intentionally asking for or obtaining information from a nonplayer, or enticing a nonplayer to interact with an in-game objective

Zombies should strongly avoid charging up or down stairs at the humans
Humans should avoid firing at zombies on stairs
Stairs should not be used as a choke-point
Stairs are still in-play

Avoid Excessive Force

Includes but is not limited to

Full body tackles or body checks
Shots intentionally aimed at sensitive areas

Upon first violation, you will be warned

Any additional violation may result in being asked to leave, being asked to take a break, or other repercussions
Should this violation be intentional, you will be asked to leave immediately

Disputes

Disputes are a method of conflict-solving when two players (i.e. a human and zombie) are unable to agree on the result of an interaction (i.e. a tag or stun)
Disputes are not for:

Instances where a human thinks they stunned a zombie, but are unsure and cannot confirm
Slips, trips, or falls that result in the tagging and death of a human
Disputing the death or stun of a player(s) that does not involve yourself
Gaining an in-game advantage in any capacity in any role

If two players are unable to agree on the result of an interaction, the following steps should be taken first:

Remain in the immediate vicinity of the interaction and look for evidence of a stun - for example, ammo or socks at the feet of the zombie, or lodged in the zombie’s clothing or hair
Call upon an available Submod to help moderate the situation
Ask other players within the vicinity of the interaction if they witnessed a stun prior to tag

If two players are unable to agree on the result of an interaction after investigation has occurred, the following recommendation is provided:

Use an agreed-upon but fair method of deciding the result - Rock-Paper-Scissors, or a Coin Flip are easy to use methods

Players should not leave an unresolved dispute

If a player does this, contact a Moderator

If players witness a dispute ongoing, we ask that they steer clear and allow the dispute to resolve before interacting with involved players

Moderators may revoke a player’s ability to dispute if disputes are proposed in excess, potentially resulting in the (in-game) death of the player

Other

Minors

All players must be 12 or older
Any player under 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian at all times.

If an under-16 player dies, their guardian must also go with them and become a zombie, as well as any other minors that guardian is responsible for, and vice versa, unless there is another guardian on the same side as the under-16 player

NOTE THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO DESIGNATE SOMEONE AS A GUARDIAN WHO YOU DO NOT TRUST IN ORDER TO STAY HUMAN