On a sunny Friday kicking off Labor Day weekend, Ashland University played host to a legendary event that science fiction authors could have only speculated about: the zombie apocalypse.

Humans vs. Zombies, a now widely-played college game, has come to Ashland.

Orchestrated by John Moser, an associate professor of History, and with over 60 students and faculty participating campus-wide, this was sure to be a noteworthy event.

Moser, the faculty adviser for Humans vs. Zombies (HVZ), talked about how he first learned of the game.

“I was at a conference a few years ago, and I was talking with my friend Nick Proctor, who teaches at Simpson College in Iowa,” Moser said.

“He said he was organizing a game of [HVZ] and I had never heard of it, but the more he described it to me the more interested I became,” Moser said.

After encountering more faculty members across the country who were involved, it caused Moser to look into it online and wonder whether or not the same thing could be done at Ashland.

He proceeded to contact Wes Bonadio, assistant director of programs at AU, to see if a game could be set up.

Meanwhile, Jake Southwick, a student, also contacted Bonadio about HVZ. This got Bonadio’s attention. A few meetings and an administrative approval later, HVZ was born.

In the aftermath of last weekend’s event, Moser said that he hopes many more games will be played.

While he will remain faculty adviser, students will have a greater hand in organizing, planning and carrying out future games.

According to Moser, the games had turned out to be a great success without causing any major disruption.

“To the best of my knowledge nothing was destroyed, a few minor injuries (emphasis on minor), classes were not disrupted, and players in general were not bothering people who weren’t playing,” Moser said.

Although there were no serious injuries, some players voiced complaints regarding the rules of the game.

“I encountered accusation on both sides about rule violation by the other side and that was a source of frustration for me,” Moser said.

Other than small technicalities, Moser felt the game went along with relative ease.

“There were no problems that would make me not want to play the game again,” he said.

After planning this game himself, Moser hopes that students will pick up the torch and plan all future games for themselves.

“I hope the students plan everything. In fact, I would like to play in the next game,” Moser said.

While students will be planning future games, it seems unlikely that the game will extend to non-university students due to insurance issues.

This, however, won’t stop students from playing. With enough student participation, there will be more games this semester and the next.

“The best advertisement for the game is to watch the game being played,” Moser said.

After this weekend, many people seem interested in the next game. Now it is up to the students to organize and plan them.

If all goes well, it won’t be the last zombie apocalypse Ashland hosts.