Over the past few weeks, one game has taken over high schools nationwide. Many senior classes of 2024 have been participating in the game as the stakes run high. Yorba Linda High School has not shied away from playing the game either. But what is the game? What’s the point? How is it played?
“The game is a highlight of my senior year, something I’ve been eagerly anticipating since I was a freshman. It’s a thrilling way to keep the excitement alive in these final months of high school,” shares Chloe Skagen (12), a senior at Yorba Linda High School.
The name of the game is Senior Assassin. At Yorba Linda High School, many of the students in the senior class have been putting $10 into a buy-in pot to play. At the start of each round, an anonymously run account on Instagram privately messages your target to you. The game’s rules are simple: assassinate your target with a silly string, submit the video to the anonymously run Instagram account within the time frame, and don’t get assassinated. Videos of assassinations can be found on Instagram with the handle “ylseniorassassin.” Other rules are stated as well: targets cannot be killed during school, at work, or when moving or on vehicles, and breaking a house is forbidden. Inflatable arm floaties provide a haven for players, not including purge days where the only safe zone is the high school during school hours. Every player must have Snapchat downloaded and their locations on it so that the assassins can locate their targets.
Over 150 players have been running wild for the past three weeks and scheming ways to stay alive to win the $1610. Many players have been stalking their targets late at night, camping out outside of their target houses, waiting outside of work, or taking advantage of purge days.
Purge days, the most intense and challenging days of the game, have seen the most eliminations. Safety is a luxury on these days, making the game a true test of strategy and nerve. Assassins have been using the high school parking lots as their hunting grounds, waiting for their targets to step out of their cars before striking with silly string and video cameras. As the game progresses and more targets are eliminated, the remaining assassins will share the prize money.
Senior Assassin allows the senior class to become more connected before graduation. It introduces seniors to people that they might never have spoken to before.
