How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?

[BigNorr]

I would build a defensible compound with a group of people I know well so there is trust. I believe in safety in numbers as you will have extra sets of eyes and more firepower to bring to bear. Ideally the setup will be on an island only reachable by boat. Walls will be built around the perimiter with a deep ditch right outside of it with smaller rings of walls further inside to retreat behind. Housing will be setup in teh form of treeforts with ladders that can be pulled so and everyone will have at least 1 gun and 1 melee weapon as even if more zombies are attracted few can get to you fast. Gardens shall be setup to produce food along with keeping a selection of animals that can be bred to keep meat along with an assortment of nonperishable food that can be saved for if food is ever too scarce. If new members wish to join our area they shall be quarantined for several days to ensure they are not infected.

[dabest]

I would build a defensible compound with a group of people I know well so there is trust. I believe in safety in numbers as you will have extra sets of eyes and more firepower to bring to bear. Ideally the setup will be on an island only reachable by boat. Walls will be built around the perimiter with a deep ditch right outside of it with smaller rings of walls further inside to retreat behind. Housing will be setup in teh form of treeforts with ladders that can be pulled so and everyone will have at least 1 gun and 1 melee weapon as even if more zombies are attracted few can get to you fast. Gardens shall be setup to produce food along with keeping a selection of animals that can be bred to keep meat along with an assortment of nonperishable food that can be saved for if food is ever too scarce. If new members wish to join our area they shall be quarantined for several days to ensure they are not infected.

yes i agree but i don't think you really thinking about reality do you know how hard it will be to get like 10 guns and plenty of ammo? also you will need plenty of gas for the boat and finally if you do get to an island and wipe out the zombies on it i doubt there will be any zombies coming besides the humans that got infected (not meant to hate just trying to be realistic )

[Cosmic Fury]

I agree with BigNorr in the fact that there is more safety in numbers, and that a group should be built of trustworthy people.

If it were ideal, I would build a group consisting of a core of intelligent, agile individuals, who are used to stuff like climbing, using swords, ranged weapons, and the like. The main body will consist of the rabble -- in other words, those who know nothing but how to fight with basic means.

The intelligent ones would of course HAVE to be fit, well-equipped for their field of expertise, and quite naturally saved until things really get nasty. They will be the "elites" of the group, led by one who has a lot of experience with strategy (and that I do have).

Jobs will be assigned by the core leadership to those according to their talents, and if there is nobody talented at a certain job/skill/weapon's use, then the one who sucks the least will be allotted that job/weapon/whatever-it-is.

-- Gathering, will be naturally allotted to those too weak, slow, or unintelligent to be suited for anything else, and will naturally not be very high up in the social ladder. They will likely to be the first to die/get infected in the event of a zombie infestation/invasion.

-- Hunting, will be assigned for those who are quick, and have good aiming so that ammunition is not wasted. They will not be the strong ones, but they'll be the fast ones. These same people will also be used to snipe at rival human colonies (if necessary) and will scout for any zombie activity while abroad in their search for food.

-- Fighting, will ONLY be assigned to those with the brute strength to do it 24/7. This job will not be assigned to those who are invaluable to the group, but rather only assigned to those bulky enough to take on a zombie infestation/invasion and take down a number before going down themselves. These members will be somewhat expendable, but nevertheless valuable in keeping watch 24/7 upon the camp/settlement.

-- "Housekeeping" is assigned to those who are ill-fit for anything else, yet healthy enough not to infect their fellows. Everyone will start here, before being assigned ANY other duties, to determine where they will be placed, if away from housekeeping. These people are merely for making sure that the overall state of the camp/settlement is liveable, and that food is kept where the elements and even animals cannot damage them. In the case of zombie infestation/invasion, these people will make sure that the troops are well-fed, and that everyone that they are assigned to keep track of is back at camp by curfew, or when an attack happens.

-- Leadership duties will be assigned like the military does. Everyone else are grunts, and the core leadership and the officers are the command. After initially picking the core people the leader (idealistically me) keeps around himself, ALL promotions may be earned through merit only. Most of the leadership will be confined to camp, or else in command of hunting groups, gathering groups, and even the housekeeping and fighting groups. In the case of an infestation/invasion, the Officers will be at the front or at where their stations are located, rather than in the command location, where the Captains (the core people/leadership) and the General (the leader, again idealistically me) will be at most of the time.


I know this can use work, but this is taking into mind that there are NO MORE than fifty people at the camp/settlement at any given time.

[Japengo]

I agree with BigNorr in the fact that there is more safety in numbers, and that a group should be built of trustworthy people.

If it were ideal, I would build a group consisting of a core of intelligent, agile individuals, who are used to stuff like climbing, using swords, ranged weapons, and the like. The main body will consist of the rabble -- in other words, those who know nothing but how to fight with basic means.

The intelligent ones would of course HAVE to be fit, well-equipped for their field of expertise, and quite naturally saved until things really get nasty. They will be the "elites" of the group, led by one who has a lot of experience with strategy (and that I do have).

Jobs will be assigned by the core leadership to those according to their talents, and if there is nobody talented at a certain job/skill/weapon's use, then the one who sucks the least will be allotted that job/weapon/whatever-it-is.

-- Gathering, will be naturally allotted to those too weak, slow, or unintelligent to be suited for anything else, and will naturally not be very high up in the social ladder. They will likely to be the first to die/get infected in the event of a zombie infestation/invasion.

-- Hunting, will be assigned for those who are quick, and have good aiming so that ammunition is not wasted. They will not be the strong ones, but they'll be the fast ones. These same people will also be used to snipe at rival human colonies (if necessary) and will scout for any zombie activity while abroad in their search for food.

-- Fighting, will ONLY be assigned to those with the brute strength to do it 24/7. This job will not be assigned to those who are invaluable to the group, but rather only assigned to those bulky enough to take on a zombie infestation/invasion and take down a number before going down themselves. These members will be somewhat expendable, but nevertheless valuable in keeping watch 24/7 upon the camp/settlement.

-- "Housekeeping" is assigned to those who are ill-fit for anything else, yet healthy enough not to infect their fellows. Everyone will start here, before being assigned ANY other duties, to determine where they will be placed, if away from housekeeping. These people are merely for making sure that the overall state of the camp/settlement is liveable, and that food is kept where the elements and even animals cannot damage them. In the case of zombie infestation/invasion, these people will make sure that the troops are well-fed, and that everyone that they are assigned to keep track of is back at camp by curfew, or when an attack happens.

-- Leadership duties will be assigned like the military does. Everyone else are grunts, and the core leadership and the officers are the command. After initially picking the core people the leader (idealistically me) keeps around himself, ALL promotions may be earned through merit only. Most of the leadership will be confined to camp, or else in command of hunting groups, gathering groups, and even the housekeeping and fighting groups. In the case of an infestation/invasion, the Officers will be at the front or at where their stations are located, rather than in the command location, where the Captains (the core people/leadership) and the General (the leader, again idealistically me) will be at most of the time.


I know this can use work, but this is taking into mind that there are NO MORE than fifty people at the camp/settlement at any given time.

So uh, you basically want a Marine platoon?

[rasterbee]

I disagree that there is safety in numbers.

More people means more space required to live, more food required to survive and more noise. More noise brings more undead. More people to infect means more infected. More infected around you means you're more likely to be bitten by someone you know, love and trust.

[BigNorr]

yes i agree but i don't think you really thinking about reality do you know how hard it will be to get like 10 guns and plenty of ammo? also you will need plenty of gas for the boat and finally if you do get to an island and wipe out the zombies on it i doubt there will be any zombies coming besides the humans that got infected (not meant to hate just trying to be realistic )

Guns I can get with the help of my military buddies assuming the breakdown of society and them not being killed in the initial attempt at containment we should be able to secure enough weapons and ammo to get by, plus we will have our melee weapons as backup. Since most of my friends are military they will already be highly disciplined and trained in combat so as to give us an edge over rival gangs of uninfected bandits and zombies alike. As for gas for the boat nothing says it needs to be gas powered or even far offshore, all it needs is natural barriers to prevent or slow coming attackers. Another thing to keep in mind is you only have to make due with your supplies for a limited time, survive a year or two and the zombie threat will die off.

Think about it, zombies are nothing more then reanimated corpses that can infect you with their virus they carry with a bite or scratch. Their means of reproduction is also their food source so in order to create new zombies they have to injure a human and yet not enough that the human can't escape and be eaten. They are also going toe to toe with their biggest predator every time they go to infect someone or create a new zombie which means they are being killed off. You also have to keep in mind corpses do not do well in extreme heat or cold since they have no real way to regulate their temperature so in the first winter in northern regions zombies would freeze solid and thus no longer be a threat, while in warm regions they would decay faster in the hot sun and thus be rendered harmless faster. Even if they are not caught in a poor climate they are still decaying corpses which means after a not too long period of time they will have rotted to the point where they cannot see or hear effectively and thus cannot hunt. Also the body loses any ability to heal itself and thus every injury sustained slows it further, if it tears a muscle that muscle can no longer contract to allow movement and that will not heal, if it breaks a bone, then same deal that bone can no longer support the body so a broken leg will no longer allow it to walk. They also are relying off basic instinct so traps are easy to setup and kill them as they cannot strategize. The bones will also become brittle over time so that things as simple as a baseball bat will cave in their skull with a single blow and kill them.

I think the bigger threat will be other regular people who are now no longer prohibited by institutions in place to enforce order and so they will be more apt to try and kill or steal to get ahead in this new world. Once the zombies are dealt with establishing contact with others and rebuilding society will be the biggest challenge to face.

On a side note to those who disagree with safety in numbers adn think it increases the chance of infection spreading through the camp. This risk can be reduced by keeping people in groups of say 5 (2 is too few since 1 couple persaude the other to keep a bite or zombie attack a secret) every encounter with zombies would have to be reported and the people involved would be quarantined individually until it is established they are not a risk as well as examined for bite or scratch marks. These groups of 5 would also have seperate, fenced off, sleeping areas. This way if infection does break out and someone zombifies in the middle of the night only the 1 group is at risk. This also ensures group accountability to report anyone who may have the slightest risk of infection so they are quarantined and do not shred up the little group.

[Fresh420]

Norr has a pretty good idea..an Island is secure don't think Zombies can swim..and if zombies are on the island prolly won't be many so a hand full of people can and would prolly be able to take them out with ease...rasterbee Numbers are the best way to survive like in war we don't send just one man to battle 1000's do we so a group of people well trained or not trained but can be taught and trained will be a nice way to go on an island..you need people that know how to grow crop how to hunt/fish or what ever is needed..i would rather be with a group of people then by myself..i like your idea and what you would do Nor its realistic

[JOJ]

Wunderwaffe Dg-2 and Thundergun...nuff said....

[rasterbee]

You guys are so silly and childish. You can't go get guns from your military buddies. If you don't have a gun right now, then you don't have a gun. If you plan on going around and collecting everything you want after it happens, you're gonna die.

Where is this island? How are you going to build walls? Most all of you think this is a joke and just talk about impossibly ridiculous reactions. This is serious business and none of you will make it. Anyone who survives the first week will be extremely lucky, I probably won't survive the first week.

You only have what you actually own right now. You might be able to go hit up a Wal-Mart or liquor store or gun shop or Home Depot, but you'll be forced to compete with everyone else who is still alive and has that idea and all of the undead that were shopping and currently wandering around inside and near the stores.

[Cosmic Fury]

So uh, you basically want a Marine platoon?

I think it's safe to say that the essence of the group is extremely militaristic, but hey, it's more likely to work than a guy leading a group of rabble while saying "Kill them all!"

You guys are so silly and childish. You can't go get guns from your military buddies. If you don't have a gun right now, then you don't have a gun. If you plan on going around and collecting everything you want after it happens, you're gonna die.

Where is this island? How are you going to build walls? Most all of you think this is a joke and just talk about impossibly ridiculous reactions. This is serious business and none of you will make it. Anyone who survives the first week will be extremely lucky, I probably won't survive the first week.

You only have what you actually own right now. You might be able to go hit up a Wal-Mart or liquor store or gun shop or Home Depot, but you'll be forced to compete with everyone else who is still alive and has that idea and all of the undead that were shopping and currently wandering around inside and near the stores.

THANK YOU!!! At least I own a sword, and the chances are that by the time you ARE able to tackle the nearest Wal-Mart or any other supercenter, their gun and ammunition stores, along with much of their imperishable food, will be already pilfered. The closer you live to one, the better chance you've got at getting supplies early and fast.

I myself own a working sword (an inexpensive katana), but no gun. While this may seem pathetic in the end, it certainly isn't at first, as a sword is way better than a knife if I'm to join the competition whilst raiding every place I can, to stock myself up on necessities.


Also is the problem of food. Most in the cities will be either dead within the month, zombified, or will have fled elsewhere in search of a reliable source of food, as it's going to run out in those places fast.

If you have a gun, you live because you can hunt. If you have a gun, then you live because you can defend yourself AND your day's food from attack. If you've got a gun, then you've got a fighting chance against most zombies, as you're able to finish off the decay by blowing their brains out. If you have a gun... Then you control even your competition -- in other words, if another human decides your vulnerable... POW POW POW!!!


This will only be possible with ammunition, which I reckon might last the world as we know it about a year, or about that time half the zombie population will have died off due to decay, and humans will be almost extinct from starvation, zombie attacks, rival humans, natural predators, and other factors. After you run out of ammunition to the point that you are no longer able to even access it, then you need bladed weapons, such as a sword.

As raster said, think about actual life. What's the most you can do in that terrifying first week, and first month? You're only one person with a car that can only run for so far before going empty, and your credit card can only get so low (if the servers still work) before being declined. Gas will run out in the pumps eventually, so it's only a matter of time before being forced to go on foot...