A group of 24 acting seniors battled it out for the last time in a multi-day game of “Assassin.”
The game began March 20 and started with students being given a water gun with their target’s name on it. The rules outline that the players may “assassinate” their target at any location or time, except for during rehearsals or classes, or in someone’s home or vehicle.
Once a player assassinates their target, they are assigned the target of the assassinated player. The cycle continues until there is a single person standing.
The winner receives $20, with second place earning $10 and third place walking away with $4.
Onnika Hanson, acting senior, won third place in the game Sunday after Narvaez eliminated her.
The game ended Monday with a final battle on the quad between Samantha Buzonas and Narvaez, acting seniors. Narvaez was the ultimate victor.
Katy Yates, acting senior, proposed the idea during Spring Break.
“It was just something I have always wanted to do with our class,” Yates said. “I thought it would be a lot of fun, and it seemed like the perfect time to do it.”
Reily Preston, acting senior, said she was interested in the game from the beginning.
“We wanted to do something fun that could get us through the end of the school year,” Preston said. “I was immediately like, ‘Oh yeah, let’s do it.’”
Preston said, the longer the game went on, the more complicated it got.
“When you shoot someone, you automatically get that person’s next target, so things can get tricky,” she said. “You have to really keep up with it. We’ve all pretty much figured out who has who, so now it’s just about being really sneaky, and figuring out their schedule so you know exactly when to ambush them.”
Natalya Fisher, acting senior, said the game got fiercely competitive, with students constantly keeping track of what was going on and keeping others updated.
“It’s been crazy,” Fisher said. “We have a group chat, and people will text it and say things like, ‘Oh my gosh, people are chasing each other across campus,’ or ‘There’s a showdown going on outside the caf.’”
Preston said students who were not directly involved in the game were having a good time keeping up with it.
“Other students love it,” Preston said. “People who aren’t even playing will come up to me and be like, ‘Are you still alive? Did you die yet?’”
Yates said the game has been a bonding experience for the acting seniors.
“We’re bonding, but in a really exciting way,” Yates said. “Everyone playing is a senior and is about to graduate, so really it’s one last fun thing we get to do together. And with senioritis kicking in, it’s something cool we can focus our attention on.”
Preston said she is glad to have enjoyed this unique experience as her senior year comes to a close.
“I didn’t even realize how competitive I was before this,” she said. “I’ve really lost myself in this game. I feel like a mob boss, like Jack Nicholson’s character in The Departed. It’s just been such a great time.”
Yates said she would be delighted if the game caught on and became a campus tradition.
“It would be really cool if people from other majors ended up doing their own versions,” she said. “People are getting a kick out of it, so it would be really nice if it kept going.”
“I would just like to say that the only reason that I won is because I wanted this game to be over,” Narvaez said. “So I killed as many people as possible.”
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