There are a lot of ways people in movies and series enter a room. Now some of these might not be a bad idea, but most are. In this article, I’ll give you the know how of clearing a room from the undead. Because I don’t know the size of your group, I’ll make the safe bet to say it’s a one or two man show. When your group grows, this is still an effective tactic. But you can make several teams to clear a whole building. This tactic will not work for clearing a building with hostile people in it, just zombies!

Okay, here we go… When you approach the building, look through the windows, check the backyard, the shed and all possible entrances. You then block these if possible. You will never, under any circumstances, just kick in a door and move in. There can be several zombies inside, or just one on the floor that bites your ankles, or one behind the door that immediately grabs your arm. To prevent this, you first scout the rooms. Either through windows on the outside, a peephole or by trying to look under the door. Do only attempt this last thing if you’re covered. This due to your vulnerable position. If none of this is possible, just knock on the door. Not bang on it, just knock. If there are zombies inside, they’ll be startled and move around, trying to get through the door. You now know where they are. This works very well at a front door. You just knock on it hard a few times and walk back to a vantage point to make sure nothing sneaks up on you.

Next thing, if no sound, open the door or kick it in if you have to. Take one step back and raise your weapon. Wait for a zombie to still appear, this in case they didn’t come to the door. Now check the floor and move in. Turn to the side of the room as soon as you move in, while still moving forward. If there is danger to the side, you move away from it before smashing its head. Open closets in the room the same way, but without walking into them of course…

In case there are zombies inside, you open the door and move back. Smash the first zombies head in and move back again, repeat until they’re all dead (again). Make sure to check your back every time really fast after you smash a skull. When walking into a room and being surprised by a zombie that didn’t announce his presence when you knocked, only bash his skull when there are no other options. Move right back out of the room, this prevents being cornered by zombies.

When executing this tactic with two people, move in together and make sure you both know who takes left or right. In this case you can’t move back if there’s a surprise zombie. This might leave your partner unprotected, or you might even get in each others way while moving out.

It’s important to practice these tactics. Before you establish a base and grow your own food, you’ll be living of the remains of society. Room clearing and CQB (Close Quarter Battle) will be of great importance!

Now, go get practicing…