As senior year is coming to an end, many are overwhelmed with school work to the point where they have no motivation to finish their work. So, what better way to stay motivated to focus on school than by participating in an engaging and fun game? An entertaining game this year, the class of 2026 decided to participate in is called Senior Assassin. Senior Assassin is a popular game played among graduating seniors that has been around since the 1980s. Senior Assassin is a way for the class of 2026 to experience bonding and talking to classmates whom they might not talk to every day. Our Assassin game commenced on April 10, 2026, and will end on May 1, 2026.

     The senior class officers, Katie Hurst, Hailee Roeske, and I, planned out all of the rules alongside the administration staff here at Lewis Cass. We also decided to use the app Splashin.  According to an article by Kaya Bradford, one of the rules is to eliminate someone, and that person must be sprayed with a water gun that is vibrantly colored. We followed this classic rule, along with charging $5 to everyone who wanted to participate. We decided to make the prize for the winner a cash purse. After talking with the administration staff, no eliminations could be made on school grounds or at school events. Another rule we had was not to get someone while working or during church. We also thought it would be appropriate to create the rule of no trespassing. The obvious rule we followed was that participants must wear goggles or floaties at all times, and that they must be visible to prevent elimination. Also, participants must always have their locations on and not leave their phones at someone else’s house. The last rule the seniors had to follow was sending in videos when eliminating their target.

     Many of the 2026 seniors had goals set in their minds when it came to Senior Assassin. Senior Landon Raderstorf stated, “I decided to play senior assassin because of the first-place winner prize and the thrill of the game.” While the prize is a nice bonus, I would have to agree with Landon on playing for the fun of it. According to fellow senior, Julian Davidson, “I believe I am going to win the whole thing, but there needs to be purges so people are not wearing their goggles at all times. A strategy for the game, senior Ally Berry stated, was “I am going to try and get people at their house if I can, or after work.” I think this strategy could work, but I feel like people will just start wearing their goggles in their own homes.

     While I am technically in charge of this game, I wanted to participate, so Katie and Hailee decided not to play. Katie Hurst stated, “I decided not to play senior assassin because I live kind of far away, and there needed to be a person running the account.” Hailee Roeske added, “Some advantages to not playing are that I do not have to worry about being stalked by someone, and then being out in public and getting soaked.”

     After playing for about a week, some of the seniors have complained that there are too many rules. At first, there were not many eliminations because everyone would constantly wear their goggles. To make eliminations easier, since they were challenging at the start, Katie, Hailee, and I decided to have a purge day. A purge day meant goggles and floaties do not count. After seeing the results, many people got eliminated, including myself, during the purge day, because players could not protect themselves. According to a foreign exchange student from the Czech Republic, Karolina Rerichova, “I felt disappointed that I got eliminated so soon, and I couldn’t bedazzle my gun, but I also feel relieved, because now I don’t have to eliminate my friend that I teamed up with.” I would have to agree with Karolina because I feel very relieved, and I do not have to worry about someone constantly following me. Many of the seniors have also started teaming up to try to eliminate their targets. I think this is a good strategy, but I do not think it is fair and can stab someone in the back. 

     Overall, I was surprised by the number of seniors who wanted to participate in Senior Assassin. I also loved seeing how dedicated people were to getting their targets out. While I may have gotten out, I look forward to seeing who walks away at the end with the cash prize. Make sure to tune in to the Kings’ Cast to see who wins!