After a difficult year full of cancelled events due to COVID-19, Algonquin seniors scrambled to eliminate their “targets” in this year’s “Senior Assassin,” a game of truces, wits and skill.

Although the game, which usually begins in April, had a late start in May, the seniors threw themselves into the normally-annual game (it did not happen last year due to COVID) known as “Senior Assassin.” The pool total was over $1200 from the players’ payments. Because the first, second and third place winners each got a percentage of this pool, seniors hunted down their “targets” at a swift pace. 

The game is quite simple: each player is assigned an initial target whom they must eliminate by squirting with a water gun. When they successfully eliminate their target, they then inherit that person’s target to hunt down. Certain places are off-limits for playing, such as school, sports events and after-school jobs. The winner(s) were determined by the player(s) with the highest “kill count.”

The game seemed to be a major hit among this year’s senior class. Senior John Sadek, this year’s organizer or “warden,” thought that the increased enthusiasm for the game this year was due to the lack of activities available to his grade in the past year.

“A big thing is that we had nothing to do, so it’s like why not make it for people,” Sadek said. “It’s been great so far this year. There’s been at least three people getting out a day.”

A seven-page document on the specific rules of the game was written in order to keep the game safe and fair. However, Sadek expressed concern for the amount of people that asked him questions about what is allowed or not allowed.

“It’s frustrating sometimes, knowing that it’s all laid out in the rules,” Sadek said. 

Sadek described the experience in general as being one that brought him closer to his classmates, as he got to interact with people who he normally would not interact with.

Some seniors said that they have been looking forward to the experience of Senior Assassin for a long time, so playing it during a pandemic made it even more special and exciting.

“[Senior Assassin] is probably one of the top things I was excited for coming into high school,” senior Jake Clancy said, who became the winner of the game this year with over 30 kills.

“I’ve been saving my water gun from when I was little,” senior Jordan Chastanet said. 

Additionally, there were some thrilling aspects of the game that seemed to not only come from its competitive nature, but also from the fun of feeling like a real-life assassin.

“I feel like the secrecy is really fun,” Chastanet said. “I do feel like a spy.”

Clancy expressed that he is relieved to finally have won, because he can now leave his house without feeling paranoid. 

Whether it was driving by their “target’s” house or hiding in their bushes, the game had some ‘sketchy’ components to it that raised concern in teachers and parents.

“Some of the adventuresome aspects of it can also have a worrisome safety impact,” Principal Sean Bevan said. “I think it makes parents nervous; it makes adults nervous.”

However, Sadek said that he was thankfully able to maintain overall safety and respect throughout the entirety of this year’s game.

“We had zero problems with law enforcement, which I was worried about and is what normally causes most senior assassin games to shut down,” Sadek said.

Another reason the seniors committed themself to a seemingly obscure game was because of the way it unified them as a class.

“We’re finally actually doing something together,” Chastanet said. “We have an Instagram account [@gonkseniorassassin2k21] where I feel like the whole grade is following. Even though we’re not fully together, we’re still doing something as a grade, as a community.”

The game itself, no matter how far they made it, was a fun way for seniors to interact with their classmates and create some, hopefully playful, competition.

“I encourage all juniors to participate next year and would like to thank everyone who made this experience possible,” Clancy said.