Running to their car, water guns in hand, students scan the parking lot to make sure they do not get shot at. This may sound like a scene in a movie, but it is the reality for all the seniors participating in Senior Assassin. Senior Assassin is a popular game for high school seniors throughout many schools, and it’s part of the senior class experience at Yutan for the third year.

“Everyone gets their own target, and you have to ‘kill’ your target using a water gun. The only thing that saves you is goggles,” senior Molly Besch said.

There are many rules to this game, like students must share their location via Life360. This allows them to get eliminated in their own home with parent permission, which was how multiple seniors were eliminated.

“Addi Smith and I went to Mason Smith’s house to try and get him out because he hadn’t left in about four days. So we went to his house and knocked on the door and tried to show him a picture of a dog, asking if he’d seen it,” Besch said. “It worked, and we got him at his own house.” 

Another senior who fell victim to this tactic was senior Nicole Wacker.

“I got eliminated by Madi Ledden. I was doing Addi Jones’ nails in my basement, and all of a sudden, I was hit with water, and I turned around, and Madi was shooting me,” Wacker said. “I was definitely shocked and mad that I got out, but it was ten times worse because it was in my own house.”

Although locations must always be one, no one can be eliminated in the school building, at work, at graduation parties or during extracurricular activities. As soon as the extracurricular activity is over, however, they are fair game, which was how senior Addi Smith eliminated senior Jaxon Wood.

 “I saw he was messing around in the parking lot after they got back from a golf meet, and I was by the discus ring watching (my sister) Kinsley throw at the meet, so I had Anna Peterson record me eliminating him,” Addi Smith said.

Another general rule is that video evidence must be submitted for the elimination to be counted. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to get the elimination on camera. The first time I tried to eliminate someone, I didn’t have my camera angled the right way, so it didn’t count,” senior Maddie Fenn said.

While some students have focused on eliminating their targets, others have focused on staying safe and protecting themselves.

“I always check my location and other people’s location before leaving the house or getting out of my car. I always lock my car if I’m in it or not,” Fenn said. 

A new experience added this year was mini-games, where the seniors were put into teams, and then two of the three people had to be eliminated for the whole team to be out. This has caused some issues for players’ statistics.

“I’ve technically gotten five people out, and one of them was Jaxon, but since we’re in groups, he got to go back in,” Smith said.

Some groups decided to keep their alliance, even after the team’s mini-game ended.

“Addi Smith, Lexi Bisaillon and I have a contract where we can’t get each other, and the person who breaks the contract has to buy the person they got out frozen yogurt,” Fenn said.

The chaos of Senior Assassin has led students to be on alert at all times, which has led to multiple exciting moments for the senior class.

“A fun moment was probably getting Lexi out because it ended up being just a coincidence that we were in the same place, and they were all distracted because they were trying to get Jaxon and Turbo (Tyler Keiser), so I got her,” senior Madi Ledden said.

As the competition continued, students found themselves in similar situations while trying to eliminate their targets.

“Me, Addi Smith and Lexi Bisaillon went to McDonald’s to get out Maddox Wentworth and Carson Jurey, and we got them out, then we went back into my car,” Besch said. “We went through the drive-through to get McFlurries, and Gionni Conti came up and tried to open the car door to ‘kill’ Lexi.”

Many students believe Senior Assassin has possibly created some tension between friends, but it has also brought them closer together.

“I think it’s really brought our class together this year because we’re a pretty competitive class, so we bonded over each of us attempting to win,” senior Lexi Bisaillon said.

Other seniors shared this outlook on Senior Assassin.

 “I am really glad I decided to be a part of Senior Assassin,” Fenn said. “I have made so many fun memories with friends trying to get people out, and I feel like it has brought our class closer together.”