Welcome to Happy Days Corporation
Zombie Leaders
They work among us.
A facilitated card game of hidden roles, influence and deception. Can you work out whom to trust—and save the organisation before the Zombie Leaders take over?
8–25 players · One facilitator · Play and discussion
Online purchasing coming soon. Currently being tested and refined through trials.
Happy Days Corporation / Staff briefing
Something isn’t quite right.
Things used to be good here. Now two groups are competing for control of the organisation. Each player has a secret role, and nobody knows quite whom to trust.
The Zombie Leaders
Convinced of their own superiority, they work behind the scenes to remove the people standing in their way.
The Organisational Citizens
Trying to identify and remove the Zombie Leaders before it is too late—while keeping the place functioning.
How it works
One facilitator takes the role of Department Manager, guiding the organisation through a repeating cycle of days and nights.
By day
Everyone discusses what is happening. Accusations, alibis and competing accounts circulate as players try to work out who is acting for whom.
The group votes to dismiss someone it suspects of being a Zombie Leader.
Choose your colleagues carefully.
After hours
The Zombie Leaders act in secret. Other players use their roles to protect colleagues, investigate suspects or influence what happens next.
When morning comes, the Department Manager reveals the consequences. Then the cycle begins again.
Not everyone is working towards the same goal.
And afterwards? Step out of character and examine what happened: who gained influence, how trust developed and how group interests shaped people’s actions.
Happy Days Corporation / Personnel records
Meet your colleagues.
Some protect the organisation. Others have different priorities. Open a personnel file to meet a few of the roles you might encounter.
The Zombie Leaders Open file Close file
Convinced of their own superiority, they work in secret to eliminate the colleagues standing in their way. The organisation’s interests are not necessarily their interests.
The Sycophant Open file Close file
Formally an Organisational Citizen, but identifies with the Zombie Leaders. Being part of one group does not always mean that is where your loyalties lie.
The Integrity Officer Open file Close file
Can investigate a colleague to discover whether they are an Organisational Citizen or a Zombie Leader. Knowing something and persuading others are different challenges.
The HR Advisor Open file Close file
Can protect an employee from attack by the Zombie Leaders. Deciding who needs that protection is another matter.
The Union Representatives Open file Close file
Know who their fellow representatives are and work in solidarity against the Zombie Leaders. Revealing those identities can have serious consequences.
The Organisational Citizens Open file Close file
The backbone of Happy Days Corporation. They must work together to identify the Zombie Leaders and keep the organisation functioning.
A selection of the game’s roles. The facilitator chooses the role combination to suit the group size and version being played.
More than a game / The research
Some ideas refuse to die.
“Zombie leadership” describes leadership ideas that persist despite evidence against them. Haslam, Alvesson and Reicher use the term to challenge enduring assumptions about exceptional individuals and their supposed entitlement to lead.
The game brings a social identity perspective into play: how people’s sense of “us” shapes whom they trust, whose interests they advance and how they act together. It creates a shared experience to examine in discussion afterwards.
After the game
- Influence
- Who gained influence—and what made others willing to follow them?
- Identity
- Who became “us” and “them”—and how did that shape trust and cooperation?
- Group interests
- Whose interests did people advance—and when did these conflict with the organisation’s?
Haslam, S. A., Alvesson, M., & Reicher, S. D. (2024). Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(3), 101770.
Read the research paper
Playing together
Bring it to your group.
Use Zombie Leaders in a workshop, university class or team development session. Give people time to play, then explore what their experience reveals about leadership and working together.
- Players
- 8–25 players, plus one facilitator.
- Facilitation
- One person acts as Department Manager, explaining the rules and guiding each day and night.
- Timing
- Allow for a briefing, gameplay and a debrief. Playing time varies with group size, roles and the pace of discussion.
- First game?
- Start with fewer specialist roles and a short practice round.
For another layer of play
Zombie Leaders Ultra
Ultra adds Action and Axiom cards to the hidden-role game, bringing particular leadership ideas and behaviours into play.
Action cards introduce Zombie Leadership actions and responses from the Anti-Zombie Leadership Alliance.
Axiom cards give players who have completed in-game training a way to challenge and neutralise matching Zombie Leadership actions.
Your next move
Coming soon.
Zombie Leaders will be available to buy online soon. We’re currently running a range of trials to test and refine the game. Email us and we’ll let you know when it’s available.
Let me know when it’s availableEmployee handbook / Practical questions
How many people can play?
The instructions provide suggested role combinations for 8, 12, 16, 20 and 25 players, plus one facilitator acting as Department Manager.
How long should we allow?
Timing depends on group size, the roles included and the pace of discussion. Allow time to explain the rules, play and discuss the experience afterwards. Tell us your available time when you enquire.
Who facilitates the game?
One person takes the Department Manager role, guiding play and managing the day and night phases. They should read the instructions beforehand. A short practice round with fewer specialist roles can help new players get started.
When will the game be available to buy?
Online purchasing is coming soon. We’re currently running trials to test and refine the game before release. Email Blake at blake@synact.com.au and we’ll let you know when it’s available.
© Alex Haslam, Nik Steffens, Tarli Young, Zoe Walter & Blake McMillan