Programs for Readers Who Want More Than a Movie Night

Weekly fiction serials, gear breakdowns, printable checklists and reader-submitted outbreak scenarios. Everything here is built for South African conditions and weekend-sized commitments, not full-scale doomsday planning.

Questions we get before people commit to a program

Straight answers about how the Getzombys programs run, what you actually get, and where the limits are. No fine print games.

What is the difference between the gear review track and the prep guide track?

Gear reviews are hands-on write-ups of specific kit: foam blasters, LARP props, packs and pouches, tested over a weekend or longer. Prep guides are structured checklists and walkthroughs, like the Highveld bug-out bag series, that build a loadout step by step. You can follow one without the other, but most readers start with a prep guide and then read the reviews for the items on the list.

Do the fiction serials follow a fixed schedule?

Yes. New episodes publish weekly, and each serial runs in arcs set in a specific region: Johannesburg, Durban or the Karoo. If you fall behind, the archive is grouped by arc so you can catch up without jumping between unrelated posts. Comment threads stay open on each episode ending, which is where a lot of the plot debate happens.

Can I submit my own outbreak scenario?

Readers send in scenarios regularly, and we publish a selection. A usable submission has a clear setting, a starting situation, and at least one decision point where the outcome could go either way. Vague pitches like "zombies in Cape Town" usually get skipped. Keep it under a few hundred words and send it through the contact page.

Are the printable supply lists free to use?

They are free to download and print for personal use. The lists are formatted for A4 and split by scenario: weekend kit, vehicle loadout, and coastal versus Highveld conditions. We update them when field testing turns up something that does not hold up, so check back rather than keeping an old printout.

How do I get involved beyond reading?

Comment on episodes, send in a scenario, or join a workshop session when one is scheduled. If you want to talk through a specific program before signing up, reach out directly and we will point you to the right track. Details on how to reach us are on the contact page, and our privacy policy covers how submitted material is handled.

What runs on Getzombys, week to week

Programs here are not packages you buy. They are the recurring formats we keep alive: gear teardowns, regional checklists, fiction serials and reader-submitted outbreak scenarios. Each one has a fixed rhythm and a clear place to jump in, whether you carry a blaster on weekends or just read the archive on a phone during load-shedding.

Gear breakdowns

Foam blasters, LARP props, packs and pouches. We test on real terrain, note spring wear, magazine jams and how cheap optics fog up in coastal humidity.

Regional bug-out lists

Highveld dry winters and sudden hail read differently from Durban damp. Lists are split by region, season and trip length, with printable versions.

Weekly fiction serials

Ongoing stories set in Johannesburg, Durban and the Karoo. New episode each week, with comment threads on endings and where the next chapter should go.

Reader outbreak scenarios

Submit your own setup: location, group size, what you packed. We publish a selection and annotate the choices that would break first.

If you want the wider picture of what we cover, start with capabilities or browse use cases for how readers actually apply these formats.

Field notes from a weekend kit check before a Highveld route. Every item on this table has a job, or it gets left behind.

What readers say after they actually use the guides

Feedback from people who packed the bags, ran the scenarios and printed the checklists. We keep the notes that point to something concrete: a swap that worked, a route that failed, a prop that broke on day two.

Highveld kit

I rebuilt my weekend bag using the Witwatersrand list and dropped two kilos of gear I never touched. The note about cold wind at dawn was the part that actually changed how I pack layers.

Thabo M. — Pretoria

Foam blaster test

Ran the Magaliesberg scenario with two of the blasters you reviewed. The magazine tip saved our second day. The cheap optic fogged exactly as you warned, so we left it off and shot iron sights instead.

Lerato K. — Rustenburg

Printable checklist

Printed the supply list for a coastal trip and it held up in the humidity better than the notebook I used before. Small thing, but the water storage line stopped me from overpacking bottles.

Nadia P. — Durban

Fiction serial

The Karoo arc kept me reading past midnight. What I liked is that the setting does real work: distance, heat and empty roads shape every decision the characters make.

Sipho D. — Johannesburg

LARP props

Used the prop notes for a weekend event near Hartbeespoort. The advice on reinforcing straps before a full day of running saved two pieces that would have split by lunch.

Marius V. — Centurion

Outbreak scenario

Submitted a scenario set in a Durban port and got useful notes back on pacing and supply logic. The comment thread afterward was better than most forums I have posted on.

Anele B. — Pietermaritzburg