With $795 on the line, Summit seniors have been gearing up for the start of senior assassin. Wednesday, April 10 marked the beginning of the game, with seniors receiving their target at 8 a.m. through the Splash App that each player downloaded. Though it is not the first year of the contest, seniors are taking it extra seriously this year due to the large prize pool that will be given to the winner. All players contributed the $5 buy-in fee that was required to participate.

Participants such as Lauren Hartrich are starting to get a bit nervous as the first round begins. 

“I may have felt overconfident. Now that it’s started, the nerves are settling in,” said Hartrich.

The rules of the game are simple: each week, players get a new target and they must shoot their target (with a water gun) before the next round while avoiding elimination themselves. Players do not know who their assassin is, which creates an advantage for the assassin, who also has their target’s location at all times. There must be video evidence of the elimination uploaded to the app that each player had to download to enter the competition. Laws must be followed of course. If participants have goggles or floaties on, they can’t be eliminated. School, work and sports practice are all safe zones, but apart from those places, it’s fair game to assassinate a target anywhere else.

159 seniors are signed up for the games with 22 assassinations throughout the first day and 137 remaining players. Often, seniors will team up to get the best chance of completing their tasks and furthering themselves in the competition.

“My chances of winning are 1/153 at the moment. Hopefully, it gets higher,” said Hartrich.

The games have just begun and nobody is safe. Watch your back and trust no one, it’s only a matter of time until the winner is crowned.