What is Senior Assassin?
Senior Assassin is a water gun elimination game you can play with any group, anywhere, any time of year. Every player is secretly assigned one target. Soak your target and they are out, and their target becomes yours. The last player left wins.
It began as a high school senior tradition, which is where the name comes from. Friends, colleges, clubs, offices and families all play it now, and it also goes by water wars, senior tag or gotcha. It has been played on paper for years: a hat full of names, a group chat, and one person keeping a spreadsheet nobody trusts. The parts that break are always the same: reassigning targets, proving a hit happened, and knowing who is still in. That is what the Senior Assassin app takes over.
How targets work
Targets are handed out in a single loop, so every player is hunting someone and being hunted by someone else. Nobody knows who has them. When you eliminate your target, you inherit the person they were hunting, and the loop gets one player shorter. It keeps tightening until one player is left.
In team games the same loop runs between teams. If the host sets rounds, the loop is reshuffled every few hours, so nobody can wait out a hunter they have spotted.
The rules
The rules most groups play by. Copy them into your group chat, then add your own safe zones.
Everyone agrees first
Every player agrees to the rules, including the safety rules, before the game starts.
Targets are secret
Each player gets one target, handed out in a loop. Never tell anyone who you have.
Water is the only weapon
An elimination is water from a water gun, water balloon or bucket hitting your target.
Toys only
Brightly colored toys that cannot be mistaken for a real weapon. Nothing black, metallic or realistic.
Get proof
Every elimination needs a photo or video. No proof, no elimination.
Take their target
When you eliminate your target, their target becomes yours.
Respect safe zones
Nobody can be eliminated inside a safe zone. The host lists them before the game starts.
Nobody plays from a car
No eliminations from, into or around a moving vehicle, and nobody plays while driving.
Keep up the pace
If the host sets rounds, eliminate your target before the round ends or you are out.
The host's call is final
Disputes go to the host, who decides from the proof.
Last one standing wins
Or, in a timed game, whoever has the most eliminations when the clock runs out.
Every player in the app agrees to eight safety rules before their first game, word for word.
Popular variations
Most games add one or two of these to keep things moving.
- Teams
- Teams hunt teams instead of players hunting players. The host sets how many people a team can have.
- Rounds
- Targets are reshuffled every set number of hours. Hosts can also knock out anyone who makes no elimination in a round, which stops players hiding at home.
- Purge
- For a while, targets are off and anyone can eliminate anyone. In the app, Purge is a power-up. Safe zones do not protect you while one is on, but an Immunity Shield does.
- Bounties
- A price on one player’s head. Anyone who gets them collects the reward, not just their hunter.
- Immunity
- Paper games use an immunity item of the week, like goggles or swim floaties. In the app, an Immunity Shield blocks eliminations while it is up.
- Top Hunter
- A timed game: the most eliminations at the deadline wins. Eliminated players stay in the running, so it suits a single weekend.
Safe zones
A safe zone is a place where nobody can be eliminated. Agree on them before the game starts. These are the ones nearly every game uses:
- School grounds during school hours, and school events
- Workplaces, including the parking lot
- Places of worship and funerals
- Private property you do not have permission to be on
- Inside anyone’s home unless they let you in
- Sports practices and games
In the app, the host draws safe zones on the map, and every player can see them.
How to run a game
Setting one up takes about ten minutes, most of it agreeing the rules.
Pick a host and dates
One person runs the game. Start whenever your group is ready, for a weekend or a whole season.
Agree the rules
Copy the rules above, add your own safe zones, and decide whether you play for a pot. The app does not collect money, so settle the payout before day one.
Make the game in the app
Name it, pick Battle Royale or Top Hunter, solo or teams, and add your custom rules. It takes about a minute.
Draw safe zones and set approvals
Mark the off-limits places on the map, and turn on elimination approval so every elimination is checked before it counts.
Share the code
Drop the six-character game code in the group chat. Turn off open registration if you want to approve each player before they join.
Start the game
Targets go out automatically. From here the app passes targets on after every elimination.
Review eliminations and crown the winner
Check each elimination, approve or reject it, and settle disputes from the proof.