All week long, NIU students have been battling outside of classrooms and residence halls to determine who will be the ultimate survivor: Humans or Zombies.

According to the Humans vs. Zombies rules listed on NIUHvZ.org, Humans vs. Zombies is a game about zombies with two sides: Human Resistance and the Zombie Horde. The goal for the Resistance team is to outlast the zombies until they all starve to death; the goal for the Zombies is to infect all of the Resistance and turn them into zombies.

“Well it’s a great way to meet other people,” said Stuart Glasset, president of NIU Humans vs. Zombies. “There are currently 135 people playing the game. It’s also a great way to learn the campus if you aren’t familiar.”

Everyone starts as a human, except for one person who looks like a human but is actually a zombie, said Cat Yimet, the group’s treasurer.

Their official title in the game is official zombie (OZ). The OZ has the ability to keep their identity a secret; however, if they present themselves as zombie they have to stay a zombie. Humans wear a camouflage armband with duct tape and zombies wear an armband around their heads.

Zombies turn humans by making physical contact. Humans can stun zombies with marshmallows and by poking with a melee weapons.

“After [the Feb. 14 shootings], the game stopped being played at NIU because it used to be played with Nerf guns,” said Drew Price freshman undecided major and a player of the game. “Mid-last semester I found out that they used to play it here, and I wanted to bring it back. I made a Facebook group to see if anyone was even interested.”

It turned out for Price that some of the e-board members from before the ban were still on campus. They all got together to approach the Student Association to get the club back.

“It took a lot of time to get the weapons approved,” Price said.

According to the HvZ rules, the game is now played with Nerf melee toys, marshmallows and socks to battle against other players.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Humans and the Zombies were tied evenly, Yimet said. The final showdown will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday in Central Park as long as it isn’t raining.

In the event of rain, the showdown will be in the Douglas Circle.