Infection
Infection
A Fun Youth Group Game
Watch the Tutorial Video
Infection is an exciting, high energy game where a small group of zombies tries to infect the surviving players.
Overview
Ideal # of Participants: 8+
Where to Play: Indoor
Age of Participants: Middle School / High School
Approximate Time to Play: 10 to 30 Minutes
Materials Needed: Dodgeballs, Pool Noodles, Cones (Optional, to define zombie respawn area)
How to Play Infection
Arm everyone with half a pool noodle, and choose two players to start off as the zombies.
The survivors should be given as many dodgeballs as you have, and they will gather on the opposite side of the gym as the zombies.
The zombie’s goal is to try to infect all of the surviving players by hitting them with their pool noodles, while the survivors try to protect themselves.
Both sides are allowed to use the pool noodles, but the survivors are the only team that has access to the dodgeballs.
Zombie Rules
The zombies are not allowed to intentionally touch a dodgeball, even if they don’t pick it up.
If a zombie gets hit by a pool noodle or by a dodgeball, they must run back to the other side of your gym and touch the back wall before they are allowed to continue their attack.
This gives the survivors an opportunity to push the zombies back and gives them a little extra time to defend themselves.
Survivor Rules
If a survivor gets hit by a zombie’s pool noodle, then they run to the zombie’s respawn area and join the zombie horde.
In the event of a tie, where two players hit each other at the exact same time, rule in favor of the survivor.
How the Infection Spreads
Each round might start off a little tough for the zombies. After all, there’s a lot of survivors and only two of them.
But as the survivors start to miss their throws and the dodgeballs roll to the opposite side of the gym, suddenly it’s not quite as easy to survive.
Slowly but surely, the zombie onslaught continues to grow, until very quickly the tables have turned and there’s only a few survivors versus a large number of zombies.
How to Win Infection
The last person standing is the winner of the round, but play until that person gets infected too.
The last person standing gets to be the zombie for the next round.
You can keep playing until everyone has had a chance to start as a zombie!
Tips for Playing Infection
- Use plenty of dodgeballs. The more dodgeballs the survivors have, the more opportunities they have to defend themselves.
- Give every player half of a pool noodle. This keeps the game simple and gives everyone a way to participate.
- Mark the zombie respawn area. Cones can help clearly define where infected players should go.
- Remind zombies about the dodgeball rule. Zombies should not intentionally touch dodgeballs, even if they aren’t picking them up.
- Emphasize the tie rule. If two players hit each other at exactly the same time, the survivor wins the tie.
- Keep playing after the final survivor is identified. The last survivor still needs to be infected so the next round’s starting zombie can be determined.
Lesson Handout
Want to make this easy to share with your volunteers or students? Download the “Infection” Lesson Handout (PDF) below!
Where Games Meet God's Word...
Most leaders just look for games to play, but miss their true value. When used well, games help teach your lesson, because experiential learning is by far the most effective way to teach a lesson that sticks.
If you want to see this principle in action, check out Uplift, our FREE youth group lesson that is built for engagement. It contains a fun game, but then your students’ experience from the game ties into the Christ-centered message you’ll teach.
