An Australian group called IRL Shooter will at the end of the month be holding an event called "Patient Zero", which is basically aimed at giving you the experience of playing a zombie shooter, only in real life.

Starting October 31 in Melbourne, for AUD$125 you'll get access to the "game", which sounds a lot like the blood-soaked offspring of theatre and a shooting gallery. From the outset the whole thing is neck-deep in role-playing, with customers given a military-style briefing before being let loose in an installation crawling with zombies—ie. actors in full make-up—who are out to eat your face off.

There are video game-like objectives to complete, like rescuing civilians and retrieving data, while players will be encouraged—but not forced—to act like a team.


Originally planning to use Airsoft guns for a truly authentic experience, the organisers have had to switch to laser tech, the weapons looking like fairly badass replicas of M4 carbines.


A single "game" lasts around ninety minutes. While it's got the potential to be campy as hell, with the right people it could also be the best thing ever.

Patient Zero [IRL Shooter]