Overview: Assemble the team in a small meeting room and “lock” them inside. The team members then have 30 minutes to solve a series of puzzles and clues to “unlock” the door and escape a zombie apocalypse. A volunteer zombie will hold onto a rope in the corner of the room. The zombie will start off with half a yard of slack in the rope. Every five minutes the zombie’s rope will extend by an additional half a yard. As time passes, the zombie will be able to infect/tag healthy team members. If a team member is tagged, they are then infected and will no longer be able to help the group physically “escape” the apocalypse. The infected zombies must remain in the corner of the room and will only be able to assist the team through verbal communication. Once the team solves the final puzzle and finds the key, they can escape the room safely and are free from the apocalypse! If the team does not find the final key, they will succumb to the apocalypse and each member will become a zombie!
Equipment Required:
- 1 Rope (3 yards long)
- 1 Key
- 5-10 Clues or puzzles
- Clock or Stopwatch
Space Required: Small Indoors
Group Size: 5 to 7 People
Total Time: 45 minutes
- 5 minutes to brief the activity
- 5 minutes for the teams to brainstorm
- 30 minutes for the team to solve the puzzles, find the key to “escape” the room
- 5 minutes to review
Instructions
- Before the start of the activity identify a small room in which you can host your apocalyptic adventure. A conference room is an ideal setting.
- Once you identify the room, risk assess the area and remove any potential hazards.
- Hide 5-10 Puzzles and/or clues that lead to a key that the team can use to “escape”.
- Gather the team into the room and brief the activity:
We are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and the zombies have captured your entire team in this conference room! The zombies left to gather additional healthy humans to capture…but they have hidden a key somewhere within these four walls. There is no time to waste, they will return for feeding time return in 30 minutes! You have the next 30 minutes to work as a team to find the key and escape to safety. There is one catch, the zombies left a security guard on duty. The zombie guard will be tied to the wall in the room and for every 5 minutes that you remain in this room, the slack in his rope will extend by half a yard. If the zombie touches you, you will be infected and sent to the corner of the room. Once infected, you may not physically help your team escape, you can only verbally communicate.”
- Ask for a volunteer or assign one team member to act as the Zombie. Situate this team member in a corner of the room.
- Start the timer. Make sure the timer is visible to the group and “lock” the door.
- Increase the slack in the zombie rope by half a yard every 5 minutes that the team remains in the room without solving the final puzzle.
- The activity ends when the team solves the final puzzle and “escapes” or when the 30 minutes has elapsed (whichever occurs first).
- Debrief the challenge.
