- SET UP THE CHAIRS AND PLAYERS: Arrange the chairs in a scattered formation around the room.
Have each player sit in a chair, ensuring that one chair remains empty. - DESIGNATE THE ZOMBIE: Choose one player to be the “zombie”.
Have the zombie stand up and move to the opposite side of the room from the empty chair. This empty chair is the zombie’s target. - EXPLAIN THE RULES TO THE PLAYERS:
Zombie’s Goal: The zombie must try to reach and sit in the empty chair.
Players’ Goal: The seated players must work together to keep all chairs occupied, ensuring there is no available seat for the zombie to sit in. - BEGIN THE GAME: The zombie starts moving “zombie-style” toward the empty chair. Seated players must pay attention to where the free chair is and be ready to move if the zombie gets close to it.
- COVERING THE FREE CHAIR: When a seated player sees the zombie approaching the empty chair, they must stand up and move to occupy it before the zombie can get there.
Important Rule: Once a player stands up, they cannot return to the chair they just left until they have sat in another chair. This creates a new free chair in the position they just left.
The zombie now redirects their movement toward the new empty chair. - ZOMBIE’S PERSISTENCE: The zombie continues to walk toward any free chair, adjusting as the empty seat shifts around the room. The zombie must stay in character, moving with a steady, “zombie” shuffle to add suspense.
- ENDING THE GAME: The game ends when the zombie finally manages to sit in a free chair. Select a new player to become the zombie, and play again.
- VARIATION: Add more than one zombie to make the game even more challenging, or add rules like “no talking” for extra suspense!