The Class of 2025 hopes to go out with a bang (or splash) with Homewood’s inaugural Senior Assassin tournament this spring.
Sixteen teams and 125 players battle with water guns and surprise attacks in a single-elimination bracket for the chance to win the $625 prize pot. Participants use Snapchat to record their “kills” as well as track potential victims via the app’s location service Snap Map.
The game dates back to 1982, according to Canada’s National Post, when the role-playing game Killer: The Game of Assassination introduced the rule set that evolved into Senior Assassin. Since then the competition has made its appearance on many hit shows of the 2000s including Gossip Girl and iCarly.
The recent resurgence of this game on social media has inspired students to start tournaments of their own. Senior Ethan Coburn created a version for Homewood kids as a way to bring friends together and begin a senior tradition.
“I sat down for lunch one day with some friends, thought up some rules and texted the class of ‘25 Groupme so anybody could play,” Coburn said. “We sent out a Google form for people to make the teams, and it just kinda went from there.”
Coburn organized six to eight people per team and created a page of rules designed to keep the game consistent for everyone. Initially, confusion about appropriate places for eliminations caused division, but consistent communication helped the game continue smoothly.
Seniors Jackson Reaves and Stuart Compere made it to the championships starting the week of March 9. Their team welcomed the game as a way to combat senioritis and step outside their comfort zones.
“It’s our last year together,” Compere said. “We’ve known some people for 12, 13 years, others since middle school, and we’re going to disconnect with most of them. I think it’s important to have one last thing where we all get to have fun together, laugh and make some good memories.”
Although they were hesitant to share everything, the duo emphasized that several strategies were at play to bring home the prize.
“The biggest thing is always trying to stay on your toes about where Snapchat says you are,” Reaves said.
One strategy they use is the after-work pickup. When someone gets off of work, opponents will often access their location on Snap Map and wait outside to catch an unsuspecting player. To combat this, teammates will organize times to pick each other up and prevent elimination.
“[Opposing teams] will see the Homewood sticker on your car and sometimes they’ll sit right next to the car or a couple feet from it to try and block you in,” Reaves said. “They’ll make it a war of attrition, and it’s like ‘Who’s going to wait here longer?’ That happened to me in the first round.”
Tournaments like Senior Assassin have made their appearance in the news lately due to the incidence of car crashes and trespassing violations. A high school football player participating in Senior Assassin in Nassau County, Fla. was shot in February when he was mistaken for a home invader, leading to increased scrutiny of the game by concerned families.
In light of incidents like these, senior Morgan Maddox believes transparency is the best way to stay safe while having fun with friends.
“Letting your parents know what’s happening is probably good,” Maddox said. “If your parents don’t know why people are in your backyard or at your house then that could be where things go wrong.”
Setting boundaries is also important. Eliminations are not allowed to happen while someone is working, on school grounds, attending a sanctioned practice or convening at a place of worship. Wearing goggles also protects players from being targeted, but only until 7 p.m.
A benefit of group activities like Senior Assassin is to instill lasting, positive memories in participants.
“I think it’s fun because it brings groups of people together that they probably would never know or be in communication with,” Maddox said. “It’s so cool because I think it could possibly bring the senior class together.”
Considerable effort is required to keep the game running smoothly, but organizer Coburn hopes the tradition will continue for younger classes to enjoy.
“I’ve been talking to some of the juniors and I think they’re gonna try to keep it going,” Coburn said. “I’m excited for it because as it progresses, younger kids will hear about it, and by the time they’re seniors, they’ll understand how to play the game. Then it won’t be as complicated.”
