Nuketown Zombies — Black Ops 2 Zombies Easter Egg Guide

In this guide: full main-quest walkthrough, recommended loadout, side Easter eggs & songs, boss strategy.

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Black Ops 2 · 2012

Nuketown Zombies

The Nuketown test site as a small survival map. No boss quest — but a couple of neat side Easter Eggs.

Released 13 Nov 2012 No main questBonus map
Last reviewed 8 Sep 2026
Documented here8 walkthrough steps · 9 side Easter eggs (incl. 3 songs) · 3 weapon builds · 7 named areas · 1 source cross-checkedCounted from this page, not estimated. We publish what is documented rather than a percentage of what might exist — nobody can honestly claim to know the full list.

Quick answers

How do you complete the Nuketown Zombies Easter egg?

The run breaks down like this:
  1. No power switch — the 4 perks and Pack-a-Punch crash-land from the sky in a random order
  2. Open the central red truck (3,000) for the AK-74u, Claymores, Bowie Knife and Galvaknuckles
  3. Song: Samantha's Lullaby — the 3 teddy bears
  4. Song: 8-bit Re-Damned — hold the population sign at 15 and grab the shed power-up
  5. Song: 8-bit Coming Home — shoot the heads off all 28 mannequins
  6. Hear all 5 Richtofen TV transmissions → round-25 blue eyes
Each stage is written out in full — with the exact locations, the order things must be done in and what to do when a step refuses to trigger — in the walkthrough below.

What are the main areas on Nuketown Zombies?

7 are documented: Cul-de-sac, Yellow House, Yellow House backyard & power-up shed, Green House, Green House garage, Green House back garden & fallout bunker and The population signs & central clock. Knowing the names matters more than it sounds — most guides, including this one, describe locations by area name rather than by direction.

How many side Easter eggs are on Nuketown Zombies?

9 are documented here — song, mechanic, free weapon, collectible and version. Each one has its own steps rather than a one-line mention, so they can be followed mid-game.

When was Nuketown Zombies released?

13 Nov 2012.

Key areas

Cul-de-sac

Spawn, in the middle of the map between the two houses. The red truck is here — 3,000 to open, with the AK-74u, Claymores, the Bowie Knife and Galvaknuckles inside — and the yellow bus at the end of it holds one of the three teddy bears.

Yellow House

Two floors, with the second teddy bear on the top bunk of the upstairs bedroom. Perks and Pack-a-Punch land at fixed spots around the map, and several of them are on this side.

Yellow House backyard & power-up shed

The shed door costs 3,000 and hides a power-up that rotates as the central clock ticks over. Take that power-up while the population sign reads exactly 15 and you get the 8-bit “Re-Damned”.

Green House

The living-room television plays the five Richtofen transmissions — round 3, then random rounds through 9, 17 and 22, then round 25. After the fifth the zombies' eyes turn blue and Richtofen replaces Samantha as the power-up announcer.

Green House garage

A crawl-in space that can hold one of the perk or Pack-a-Punch landing spots. It is tight and slow to get out of, so it is a bad place to be caught mid-round.

Green House back garden & fallout bunker

The third teddy bear is behind the fence out here. Melee the bunker door for one of Marlton Johnson's fourteen quotes, one per round — the audio is very quiet even at full volume, so players often think it has not triggered and melee it again.

The population signs & central clock

The Nuketown signs act as a running kill counter and the clock in the middle of the map tracks it; that clock is what drives the shed power-up changing. Nothing on this map has boardable windows, so there is no Carpenter power-up and no window duty — you hold lanes instead.

What to do

  1. No power switch — the 4 perks and Pack-a-Punch crash-land from the sky in a random order
  2. Open the central red truck (3,000) for the AK-74u, Claymores, Bowie Knife and Galvaknuckles
  3. Song: Samantha's Lullaby — the 3 teddy bears
  4. Song: 8-bit Re-Damned — hold the population sign at 15 and grab the shed power-up
  5. Song: 8-bit Coming Home — shoot the heads off all 28 mannequins
  6. Hear all 5 Richtofen TV transmissions → round-25 blue eyes
No main Easter Egg. Nuketown is a compact survival map — but it packs three musical EEs, the five-transmission Richtofen sequence and the Marlton bunker. There is no power switch: perks and Pack-a-Punch fall from the mushroom cloud in a random order (listen for the siren and fireball, and never stand on the landing pad).

Before you start

What to have in hand before step 1 — from the loadout notes, from the walkthrough itself, and from the map's own quest documentation where the gate is never stated in a step.

Know before you load in
  • No power switch at all. The four perks and Pack-a-Punch crash-land from the mushroom cloud on a randomised schedule; solo gets Quick Revive immediately.
  • No boardable windows anywhere on the map, so there is no Carpenter power-up — you hold lanes rather than repair windows.
  • The population sign is a live kill counter (0–99, wrapping) tied to the centre clock, which is what cycles the shed power-up.
  • There is no special/Hellhound round on this map — zombies are the only enemy type.
  • Co-op vs solo changes only the perk-landing timing (step 1); everything else on the map plays the same either way.
  • The map's setting reappears, unrelated, in Black Ops 7: Nuked (Season Four) reuses the post-nuke Nuketown layout inside Paradox Junction, Survival and Cursed Survival, but it is a separate map on a different engine, not a remaster of this one.

Where your run will differ

Gathered here so you meet them before they cost you a run rather than after — quoted word for word from the guide below, or researched from the map's own quest documentation.

Solo or co-op

What changes with your player count. The rest of the guide is the same either way.

  • “In solo, Quick Revive lands immediately and the rest drop on random rounds 3–5, 6–9, 10–14, 15–19 and 20–25, each 30…” step 1
  • “In solo, Quick Revive lands immediately; the rest drop on random rounds 3–5, 6–9, 10–14, 15–19 and 20–25 (each 30…” Crash-landing machines

Full walkthrough

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The quest in the order this guide runs it — tap any step to jump to it, and it fills in as you tick steps off.

1
Anywhere on the map — listen for the siren

Learn the crash-landing order

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There is no power switch. The four perks (Quick Revive, Jugger-Nog, Speed Cola, Double Tap II) and Pack-a-Punch fall from the sky one at a time, in a random order, each marked by a siren and a fireball. In solo, Quick Revive lands immediately and the rest drop on random rounds 3–5, 6–9, 10–14, 15–19 and 20–25, each 30–120 seconds into the round. Pack-a-Punch costs 5,000 once it has landed.

Tip: Never stand on a landing pad when the siren sounds.

Quick win: Knowing the round bands lets you roughly plan when Jugger-Nog is likely to land, even though the order itself is random.

2
The cul-de-sac, centre of the map

Open the red truck

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Pay 3,000 to open the central truck door. Inside: the AK-74u (1,200), Claymores (1,000), the Bowie Knife (3,000) and the Galvaknuckles (6,000).

3
The yellow bus (cul-de-sac), the Yellow House upstairs bedroom, the Green House back garden

Samantha's Lullaby: the three teddy bears

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Hold interact on each, any order: in the back of the yellow bus by the right-hand window; on the top bunk in the Yellow House upstairs bedroom; behind the white fence in a hole in the Green House back garden. Once all three register, Samantha's Lullaby by Kevin Sherwood plays.

4
The Yellow House backyard power-up shed; the population signs and centre clock

8-bit Re-Damned: the population sign and the shed

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Open the shed door for 3,000. A power-up inside rotates as the centre clock ticks over — each kill drops the population sign by one, and it wraps 0 to 99. Walk into the shed power-up while the sign reads exactly 15 to trigger the 8-bit Re-Damned.

Tip: Watch the centre clock rather than the sign alone — it is the cue for when the shed's power-up is about to change.

5
Both houses, both backyards, the cul-de-sac, including out-of-bounds sightlines

8-bit Coming Home: the mannequin sweep

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Shoot or melee the head off every one of the 28 active mannequins — they are drawn from 54 possible spawn points, so the exact set differs every match. Three commonly-missed spots: inside the Yellow House power-up shed, on a couch behind the Galvaknuckles truck, and in the window of the unreachable house left of the Green House.

Quick win: Sweep for these while training rather than as a dedicated side trip — most sit on your normal running lines.

6
The Green House living-room television

Richtofen's five TV transmissions

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Five recordings play in sequence: round 3, then random rounds through 9, 17 and 22, then round 25. They are Richtofen narrating the Moon Easter egg happening at the same moment in the story. After the fifth, the zombies' eyes turn blue and Richtofen replaces Samantha as the power-up announcer.

Confirmation cue: The zombies' eyes turn blue after transmission five.

7
The fallout bunker behind the Green House

Marlton's bunker and the bus horn

+

Melee the bunker door for one of Marlton Johnson's 14 quotes, one per round — reused lines from his TranZit character. The audio is very quiet even at full volume, so listen closely rather than meleeing again, which is the mistake most players make. A distant TranZit bus horn also plays on a random round between 5 and 10.

8
Either backyard, running a circuit that passes the stairs

Hold-and-train plan for high rounds

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A HubPages high-round guide trains in a circle through either house's backyard, choosing a line that passes each staircase so there is an escape route up if the train gets too close. Loadout: a Ray Gun plus a light machine gun — the two offset each other, in the guide's words, with the LMG supplying punch and a deep ammo reserve while the Ray Gun handles crowds. All four perks are treated as essential, not optional.

Tip: Create a crawler deliberately for a breather to reposition or check the shed clock, but don't let it linger — it still counts as a live zombie.

Quick win: Opening the shed (step 4) also raises how often power-ups drop in general, according to the same guide.

Side Easter Eggs & extras

Everything beyond the main quest. Tap any entry to open the full how-and-where breakdown.

Song

“Samantha's Lullaby”

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Hold interact on the 3 teddy bears: behind the fence in the Green House rear garden, in a window / seat of the Yellow bus in the cul-de-sac, and on the top bunk of the Yellow House upstairs bedroom. Once per match.

  1. Hold Use on 3 teddy bears, in any order
  2. Spawn — in the back of the yellow bus, by the right-hand window
  3. Yellow house — upstairs bedroom, on the top bunk bed
  4. Green house backyard — outside the map behind the white fence, in a hole in the garden
  5. 'Samantha's Lullaby' by Kevin Sherwood plays
Song

“8-bit Re-Damned”

+

Open the Yellow-backyard power-up shed (3,000), then hold the Nuketown population sign at exactly 15 (each kill drops it by one; it wraps 0→99) and walk into the shed power-up while 15 is showing.

Song

“8-bit Coming Home”

+

Shoot or melee the head off every one of the 28 active mannequins (chosen from 54 spawn points each match) — sweep both houses, both backyards and the cul-de-sac, including the out-of-bounds sightlines. Three commonly-missed spots: inside the Yellow-House power-up shed, lying on a couch behind the Galvaknuckles truck, and in the window of the inaccessible house left of the Green House.

Mechanic

Crash-landing machines

+

There is no power switch — the four perks (Quick Revive, Juggernog, Speed Cola, Double Tap II) and Pack-a-Punch fall from the sky one per round-interval in a random order. A siren and fireball mark each; PaP costs 5,000 once it lands. In solo, Quick Revive lands immediately; the rest drop on random rounds 3–5, 6–9, 10–14, 15–19 and 20–25 (each 30–120s into the round), so you can roughly plan your Jugger-Nog timing.

Free weapon

The red truck

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The central truck door costs 3,000 — inside are the AK-74u (1,200), Claymores (1,000), the Bowie Knife (3,000) and Galvaknuckles (6,000).

Collectible

Richtofen TV transmissions

+

Five recordings play from the Green House living-room TV (round 3, then random rounds through 9 / 17 / 22, then round 25). These are Richtofen narrating the Moon Easter Egg happening at the same time in the story — a neat lore hook. After the fifth the zombies' eyes turn blue and Richtofen becomes the power-up announcer.

Collectible

Marlton bunker & bus horn

+

Melee the fallout-bunker door behind the Green House for one of 14 Marlton quotes (one per round) — the audio is very quiet even at max volume, so players often think it didn't trigger; listen closely rather than re-meleeing. A distant TranZit bus horn also plays on a random round between 5 and 10.

Mechanic

No special round

+

There is no Hellhound or other special round on Nuketown Zombies — zombies are the only enemy type.

Version

Nuked (Black Ops 7)

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BO7's Nuked (Season Four) reuses the post-nuke Nuketown setting inside Paradox Junction, Survival and Cursed Survival — a separate map on a different engine, not a remaster of this one.

Common Nuketown Zombies questions

Direct answers to the specific things players look up mid-game — part locations, puzzle steps and more.

Is there a power switch on Nuketown Zombies?

No. The four perks and Pack-a-Punch crash-land from the mushroom cloud, one per round interval, in a random order. Listen for the siren and the fireball — and never stand on a landing pad.

When do the perks land on Nuketown?

Solo, Quick Revive lands immediately and the rest drop on random rounds 3–5, 6–9, 10–14, 15–19 and 20–25, each between 30 and 120 seconds into the round. That is loose, but it is tight enough to plan your Jugger-Nog timing around.

What is in the red truck?

3,000 to open the central truck door. Inside are the AK-74u at 1,200, Claymores at 1,000, the Bowie Knife at 3,000 and the Galvaknuckles at 6,000.

Where are the three teddy bears?

In the back of the yellow bus in the cul-de-sac, by the right-hand window; on the top bunk in the Yellow House upstairs bedroom; and in the Green House back garden, behind the white fence in a hole outside the map.

How do I get the mannequin song?

Shoot or melee the head off all 28 active mannequins. They are picked from 54 possible spawn points each match, so it is a different sweep every game. Cover both houses, both backyards and the cul-de-sac, including the out-of-bounds sightlines. The three most commonly missed are inside the Yellow House power-up shed, on a couch behind the Galvaknuckles truck, and in the window of the unreachable house to the left of the Green House.

What is the power-up shed for?

3,000 to open, in the Yellow House backyard, with a power-up inside that rotates as the clock in the middle of the map ticks over. Take that power-up while the population sign reads exactly 15 and you get the 8-bit “Re-Damned”.

What are the TV transmissions in the Green House?

Five recordings from the living-room television — round 3, then random rounds through 9, 17 and 22, then round 25. It is Richtofen narrating the Moon Easter egg happening at the same moment in the story. After the fifth, the zombies' eyes turn blue and Richtofen replaces Samantha as the power-up announcer.

Why can't I hear the Marlton bunker quotes?

Because they are extremely quiet, even at maximum volume. Melee the fallout bunker door behind the Green House and you get one of fourteen Marlton quotes, one per round. Listen carefully rather than meleeing again, which is what nearly everyone does.

Why does the Carpenter power-up never drop?

Because Nuketown has no boardable windows anywhere on the map. There is nothing to repair, so Carpenter has nothing to do. Debris and rock falls block the old multiplayer routes instead, and you hold lanes rather than working windows.

Visual guides & sources

Screenshots and exact part locations live in these — open one on a second screen.

Map discussion

A shared community board for Nuketown Zombies — posts are public, saved on the server and visible to everyone across devices. Handy for strategies, spawn variations you've noticed, or steps to double-check. Please keep it civil and on-topic.

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Part of the Zombies Easter Egg Codex — step-by-step Call of Duty Zombies Easter egg guides for every map. Open Nuketown Zombies in the interactive codex for the solvers and map discussion.