Senior assassin

Last updated

Senior assassin
Other namesSenior Water Wars
Years active 2010s–present
Genres Assassin game
Players2 or more
Playing timeno limit
Chancesome
Age range 12th Grade and senior year students
Skills Accurizing, hiding, observation, running, sleuthing
Materials required Water gun

Senior assassin (also known as Senior Water Wars) [1] is a form of the assassin game often played between students in 12th grade during their senior year before graduation. The game rules follow that participating students must "assassinate" or eliminate their target, a fellow participating student, by squirting them with a water gun within a given time period. While rules often vary by school, most games are played bracket-style, with the winner of the game receiving a jackpot prize of all eliminated player's entirety fees. Games are not sanctioned by the school, and are not allowed to take place on private property or school grounds. Despite these precautions, the game has been condemned by some authorities for reasons often revolving around students safety and those unfamiliar with the game, resulting in prior incidents.

Contents

Rules

Becoming popular across the United States in the 2010s likely due to its portrayal on shows like iCarly , Gossip Girl , and social media, [2] [3] the game is most commonly played between high school seniors in 12th Grade. [1] Games are started near graduation in the months of either April or May, in which participating students who pay an admission fee are assigned another participating student as a target, who they must "assassinate" or eliminate from the game by squirting them with a water gun, all while being hunted themself. [1] Targets must be assassinated within a given time period, or the hunting student is eliminated. [4] Oftentimes, video evidence or a secondary witness of the assassination is required for it to be counted. [1] [4] Such videos are often posted on major social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to promote the game and for entertaining content. [5] [6] When a winner is decided, the admission fees are awarded as a jackpot. [1] Games are not sanctioned by the school or police, and are not allowed to take place on private property or school grounds, especially during school hours. [1] [7] [8]

The rules of the game often vary slightly by school, but the main objectives underlined above remain the same. [1] [9] Researching on social media and asking friends for information about a target is a key element to the game, and likewise giving disinformation to throw hunters off track. [10] To assassinate a target, students are made to employ multiple ambush tactics: most often including waiting for a target to leave for work or go to their car, hiding in bushes outside of a targets house, and/or making deals with siblings or friends to be let into a targets house. [1] To avoid this, a commonly used tactic is to have non-participating siblings scan the areas of a possible ambush prior to a participating a student's arrival. [4] [10] Places often but not always considered out of bounds for assassinating a target include the school's campus, other school's campuses, in the targets workplace, in the target's car (especially while in motion), and in the target's house, unless they are let in. [4] [11] The game has been criticized for more extreme and often more dangerous ambush tactics: including chasing after targets by car, [9] boxing in a targets car with their own, trespassing through private property, and placing GPS trackers on targets items. [11]

Variations

Some schools play a version of the game where instead of individual students competing for the jackpot: groups of two students, or two or more teams of many students, are formed, with the winning team splitting the prize money among themselves in the event they win. [1] [10] [12] Some schools also play a version where half of the jackpot goes to the winner(s), and the other half goes towards a charitable organization. [1] Other versions of the game allow for 'power-ups' which can protect you from being eliminated while using them; a common example being wearing goggles or inflatable armbands, but may also include cowboy hats, tutus, and other embarrassing accessories. [10] [12] [13] In relation to power-ups, these versions of the game also often use a 'bounty board' or 'hit list', which as opposed to being eliminated, a student is placed on in the event they couldn't assassinate their target within the given time frame. [12] [13] Students on this list either become the target in 'purges': a weekly event in which power-ups become useless for those on the board, and everyone still in the game gains the ability to assassinate them, or immediately become everyone's target all week. [12] [13] To get off of the 'bounty board' and likewise avoid the 'purge', a fee can be paid, which gets added to the final jackpot. [12] While these versions of the game are popular, some students have argued the excess of rules makes the game harder to play and get in to, [14] while others have stated it leaves more room for the exploitation of loopholes which make the game more entertaining. [13]

Less commonly, some schools allow the use of water balloons and water bottles in addition to water guns, [11] or Nerf guns [7] [13] and gel blasters as opposed to water guns. [15] According to Fox News , paintball guns and airsoft guns have also been used in rare occasions. [6]

Reception and controversies

"It's just seniors trying to have fun as their year closes out. It's not meant to be harmful in any way. It's meant to be a fun game"

Sachin Patel, student of and organizer of the game at Reading Memorial High School,in a May 2023 statement about the game [11]

"Though this may seem harmless on the surface, while in possession of an item resembling a firearm [...] the opportunity for mistaken identity and possible tragic outcomes is very real."

Superintendent of Henderson County Public Schools Mark Garrett,in a May 2024 statement about the game [16]

While widely regarded by students as a fun game to play before graduation, [11] some authorities has condemned it, as it has attracted a decent amount of controversy since its inception, often revolving around students safety and those unfamiliar with the game. [1] [2] [6] [17] Students trying to stealthily eliminate their target, especially at night, have been confused with burglars with real guns, sometimes resulting in police involvement. [4] [16] In 2017, three students in Hopkinton, Massachusetts were almost charged with felonies after attempting to ambush a target in what they thought was their garage, but instead belonged to an elderly neighbor unfamiliar with the game, who locked them in and called the police. [8] In 2023 in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, a school was evacuated after it was reported a student brought a weapon to a sporting event there, which turned out to be a water gun. [7] In 2024, a two students in suburban Chicago attempting to eliminate their target in a local restaurant were held at gun point by man with a concealed carry firearm after confusing the situation with a robbery, as the students were using water guns which looked nearly identical to real ones. [7]

Other controversies revolve around the game's name using the word "assassin", which has been condemned by some as sounding 'tone deaf' in wake on recent school shootings in the United States. [11] Police have stated using brightly colored water guns which can't be mistaken for a real gun can help minimize the risk of being mistakenly reported. [7] [18] Never aiming a water gun at people uninvolved in the game, displaying water guns in a threatening manner, and practicing common sense are likewise also recommended to minimize risks associated with the game. [9] [18]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Deminski, Jeff (March 23, 2023). "What's Senior Assassin And Why Is It Taking Over NJ High Schools?". New Jersey 101.5 . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Towe, Jazmin (June 10, 2024). "'Senior Assassin' Is Meant to Be a Fun Game for High School Seniors, But Is It Dangerous?". Parents . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  3. ↑ Alaimo, Kara (May 26, 2024). "Opinion: The 'senior assassin' game is all good fun — until it isn't". CNN . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Kane, Gavin (May 26, 2018). "Everything you need to know about Senior Assassin". The Friar's Lantern . Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  5. ↑ Coblentz, Emilee (May 1, 2024). "'Senior assassin' trend: Authorities warn that teen game could have deadly consequences". USA Today . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Eberhart, Chris (April 30, 2024). "Trending 'Senior Assassin' TikTok game 'could get someone hurt or killed', police say". Fox News . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Perez, Walter (April 24, 2024). "'Senior Assassin' game results in potentially dangerous misunderstandings, police warn". 6 ABC . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Hopkinton Police Surround 'Senior Assassins' Who Entered Wrong Home". CBS News Boston . May 3, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Fisher, Alex (April 10, 2024). "What is the 'Senior Assassin' game and why are Chicago-area officials warning about it?". NBC 5 Chicago . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Bachara, Samantha (March 25, 2022). "How to win Senior Assassins". Blueprint . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bean, Ethan; Grande, Alec; Tapscott, Harry (May 23, 2023). "Senior Assassin: Innocent Fun or Dangerous Tradition?". The Orbit . Archived from the original on April 28, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Pinello, Sophi (February 2, 2023). "Senior Assassin". CV Student Media . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Mason, Emelia; Cherny, Maya (June 16, 2023). "The tricks and trade of the senior assassin game" . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  14. ↑ Oswald, Javen (April 10, 2024). "Senior Miles Murphy: Ultimate senior Assassin". Central Times . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  15. ↑ Burnett, Cameron (June 5, 2024). "Kansas Walmart shooting started as high school game 'senior assassin'". KSL-TV . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Hensley, Dean (May 8, 2024). "Superintendent, sheriff's office warn about social media sensation 'Senior Assassin' game". Times-News . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  17. ↑ Lukert, Luke (May 7, 2024). "Viral 'senior assassin' game has Va. high school officials concerned". WTOP-FM . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  18. 1 2 O'Connor, Kyra (August 18, 2024). "Multiple Valley police agencies warn communities of 'Senior Assassin' game". 12News . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
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