Senior Assassin is a game played by teenagers nationwide and is an even bigger deal here at Deep Run High School. It is a yearly competition in which seniors pay money to participate in the month-long game to win a cash prize. Like most years in recent memory, over half of the senior class participated to win this year’s pot of a $3000 cash prize. The way to enter the game is by reaching out to Deep Run’s Senior Assassin Instagram, drhssa24, and paying the $20 fee for the first two rounds.
The game is one of survival, in which each person is given a target they must pursue in hopes of taking them out of the game by spraying them with a water gun before each round ends, while also being hunted as a target themselves. The first two rounds allow the players to buy themselves back into the game, but after the second round ends, only the people who won the previous rounds may play. Some students also pay bribes to other participants to break stalemates. The more money students are willing to put up for the game, the more success they might find.
For most schools, wearing swimming goggles or floaties is considered out-of-bounds and prevents a student from being targeted, but for Deep Run students, wearing nothing but your undergarments is what considers you safe. Meaning, that players need to take off their clothes, wearing only their undergarments, so they can avoid being taken out even if they are shot with water.
This year, the people hosting Senior Assassin seemed to make it so most people’s targets are close friends, which caused tension in friendships and even some relationships. A game that is meant to be enjoyable isn’t supposed to be breaking people apart right before senior year, but Senior Assassin tests the limits.
The game began roughly two weeks prior to AP exams, which are a vital part of Deep Run’s coursework as we are a school that prides itself on providing these many classes and exams. For some, classwork slowly slips their minds as they only focus on their targets.
Some students wait hours outside of their target place of work, or even their homes, waiting in the dead of night for a singular chance to take them out. Hours are spent lurking and waiting for a singular chance, the only thing infiltrating their mind being the best way to get their target. It disrupts neighbors as some students blast music late at night to try and provoke their target.
It’s frustrating to see that they do not care about who they are disturbing or bothering just to hit their target. People deserve peace and quiet nights, but it’s being disrupted by the game forth. Even business owners are being disrupted by the constant lurking of high school students around their establishment in hopes of taking out their target. From the videos posted by friends on the Instagram, it is clear that this isn’t just a singular occurrence, but rather multiple posts of people waiting outside of other’s houses, either blaring loud music or just inconveniencing neighbors in the process.
Although it is all fun in games, it is best to take into consideration who else you are affecting as you seek that $3000 prize—disrupting neighbors, friendships, and even relationships all for the chance of winning a little extra cash for graduation.
