The Human Playbook

Descriptions of how to survive zombie attacks

General Guidelines

• First of all, you have to know yourself and your stengths and weaknesses. Be honest, do you suck at throwing socks? Do you have trouble being alert when there are many people around you? Do you often forget to watch your back or stop paying attention to anything else if you see a zombie? Are you slow?

• Always try to do something that a zombie wouldn't expect, or something that would make them have to rethink what they're trying to do. For example, if zombies are trying to back you into a corner or surround you, rush one of them before they can get you into a position where they can rush and not give you enough time to sock them all. Just pick a zombie, run at them, scream "HAZZAH", and toss a sock... now the tables have turned.

• Faking a throw is key. Especially if your low on socks, and especially if the particular zombie(s) are nimble, fake a throw, but make it believable. Then when they dodge the sock you didn't throw, actually toss your sock and you'll have a much better chance at hitting them because they'll either be in midair or just confused or just not ninja enough. Knowing how a particular zombie reacts to a sock being thrown at them is key to predicting what they will do next and adjusting your throw to actually connect. When you fake throw a sock, take note of what the zombie does: does he/she jump? duck? dodge to the left or right? If a zombie likes getting low, see the next section.

• Always watch out for the dive. Really good zombies will often do acrobatic things in order to dodge your socks and tag you. This may include (but is not limited to) jumping in the air, jumping off of objects (roofs, cars, etc) and diving at your legs/feet. If a zombie looks like he/she is capable of such trickery, be ready for it. The best way to defend against a dive is to just aim for their waist or even a little lower when throwing a sock if they're running at you. This will ensure that when they hit the floor, the sock will still hit them.

• Know the safe zone rules. Now that humans are allowed to throw out of safe zones at zombies, why not take advantage of that? Grab a hold of an unlocked door handle or jump quickly past the treshold into a building and just launch sock after sock at the zombies trying to get you. You won't have to worry about being tagged. Drive-by sockings are awesome for just this reason. (make sure that the door handle you grabbed is not locked, because then it's just considered part of the wall, which is not safe)

• Anything not directly on your body can help protect you. Other than your base layer of clothes, pretty much anything else can be used to impede a zombie's chase, confuse them, or put something in between you and your attacker to prevent a tag. Take off your jacket and toss it up in front of the zombie to give you enough time to get to a sock and hit the confused zombie (keep in mind that if the zombie catches your jacket, hitting the jacket=stun). Also, an umbrella is surprisingly hard to get around, especially in a narrow alleyway. Reliable sources have confirmed that for next round, like zombies, anything that a human is carrying that can be picked up easily (like a backpack, coat, etc.), is taggable... be aware of this!

• Remember, zombies are dumb, but never take this for granted. They can (under proper leadership) use complex tactics to try to get you to make a mistake, such as use a decoy, come at you from multiple directions, trap you in an area with few exits, or stage scenarios to give you a false sense of security. See the next section.

• Zombies lie and manipulate. Just because you are paying attention to x number of zombies, you should NEVER stop checking elsewhere.

• Don't stuff your pockets with socks so that you're going to have to wrestle them out and waste valuable time.

• Lie. Tell the zombies that you have backup coming so that they will spread out more and be more vulnerable, or even so they'll be more paranoid. You could also tell them that you know a secret exit, or that you know someone in the building who is going to help you out. Never tell zombies the truth about anything, especially when it involves your habits, when/where you work, when/where you have class, where you live, or even what your real name is. There are some zombies who are awesome at stalking and if you give them any information at all, they'll know a lot more.

• Patience is a virtue. If you can afford to wait out the zombies and summon backup, do so if you are unsure of your ability to get out of where you are trapped. Make sure if your backup is picking you up in a car that the doors are unlocked, a player in round 3 got tagged after she tried to open the passenger door of her rescuers car.

• See the tips and tricks page for great ways to evade zombies.

Defense Against Zombies By The Numbers

• One Zombie - if you are carrying enough socks to make sure you get him granted that you miss a few, go for it! The zombie will probably backpedal or run away because it isn't worth it for them to get stunned most times. Watch out though, don't let the zombie lead you anywhere that you can't see very well or don't know if there could be somebody hiding around a corner.

• Two Zombies - What they're probably going to try to do is either come at you from opposite directions (front and behind or both sides) or just rush you together as fast as they can and hope you're not quick/accurate enough to hit them both. What you want to do here is separate them and stagger their distances from you. If they're right in front of you, Circle around so that one is further from you than the other, then try to sock the one closer to you. If one is in front of you and one is behind, step sideways so that you never have to turn your back to one of them. You'll want to either get out of there as fast as possible, or sock one so that you only have to deal with the other. And remember, you should never assume that the zombies you can see are the only ones present!

Specific Scenarios And How To Deal With Them

• Footbridge: Because of all the bushes surrounding either end of the bridge, this is a highly dangerous area. Act as though there is a zombie behind EVERY tree/bush/hill/trailer and you will be safest. Paranoia is key! Zombies will probably try to corner you on the bridge itself -- so don't assume there were none at the entrance if you make it on safely, they may just have waited for you to pass. Either walk sideways along the length of the bridge or check your back frequently -- you don't want to get rushed from behind.

• Stone Bridge: because it's so far out of the way, both humans and zombies are rare sightings on this bridge; this being the case, you can assume that unless it's a particularly important night, zombies aren't going to waste their time coming up to this bridge if they haven't got the forces necessary. If they ARE there...

• Suspension Bridge: The suspension bridge can be a very dangerous place IF the zombies are stalking it. if you are on the bridge itself it is extremely hard to see if anyone is waiting at either end, especially at night. If coming from the west/central side it might be better to take the footpath rather then the metal stairs and sneak along to see if any are waiting on that side. If coming from north it might be better to take a sidestreet and find a spot where you can observe the bridge for several minutes, chances are one or or more zombies will stand up/move bushes/talk etc to give away their presence. Always check your back, and if you get caught on the bridge try to charge one group of zombies and run. Otherwise good luck

• Olin Hall: Olin Hall has a lot of exits, so any camping effort by the zombies will have to involve a significant number of them. If you get pinned down in Olin, the zombs will likely have someone posted inside with you, but remember, zombies cannot tag out of safe zones, so if you clear an exit by socking from in the safe zone, run out of the door, turn around and sock the zombie who was inside with you once they step out of the door. Backup is recommended if you get pinned down in large numbers at Olin. Of course you can always wait out the horde, a player in round 3 survived Olin Hall by waiting 4 hours. Hint: snack machines in the basement.

• Cornell Store: Become friends with the employees so that you can hide somewhere the zombies can't find you.

Other ideas for this page:

consolidate the tips and tricks / human playbook into one comprehensive page!!!

just because you are paying attention to (x number) of zombies, you should NEVER stop checking elsewhere -- could be distraction technique

different tactics for buildings around vs no buildings around... do you have access to a safe zone?

when you might not want to go into a safe zone.

watch out for fake battles, fake humans, and decoys

always sock every zombie you see no matter what

use the "leave me alone" tactic wisely

always sock humans you don't know, they could be z0's