Assassin (game)

Assassin

Players	2 or more
Setup time	1–14 days
Playing time	1–10 weeks
Chance	Little*
Skills	Research Stealth Espionage
Targets are randomly assigned.

Assassin (also Gotcha, Assassins, KAOS (Killing as organized sport), Juggernaut, Battle Royale, Paranoia, Killer, Tag, Elimination, or Circle of Death) is a live-action game. Players try to eliminate each other from the game using mock weapons in an effort to become the last surviving player.

Assassin is particularly popular on college campuses; several universities have a dedicated "Assassins' Guild" society, which organizes games for their members. Game play occurs at all hours and in all places unless otherwise disallowed by the rules. Since an elimination attempt could occur at any time, successful players are obliged to develop a healthy degree of watchful paranoia.

Game play

The Assassin game has several published variants, such as the Steve Jackson rules book Killer, first published in 1982, and different guilds tend to create their own sets of rules and procedures. As such, the specific style of play is likely to vary between one group and the next.

Rules

Game hosts (also called umpires or referees) begin by advertising that a game is being set up and instruct potential players to send in their personal details. Once enough players have signed up, the game host assigns targets to the players. A player is usually told the personal details of their target as collected by the game host. The aim of the game is for players to track down and eliminate their targets until only one player remains. When a player eliminates their target, they get the victim's target(s). If only one player remains, the game is over.

Eliminations (also known as kills) occur when a target is removed from the game because of their targeter's actions. Game rules always list the actions that cause elimination. For example, an elimination could involve wetting the target with a water pistol. Targets that are eliminated tend to remain eliminated. Some rules allow players to eliminate their killer (self- defense). Airsoft pistols are sometimes used for the game, but not on campuses. A safe-zone is a place that protects a player from elimination. Safe-zones are declared by game hosts. They are picked to maximize fairness and minimize disruptiveness. You can not be killed at any time while inside of Safe-zone. Safe-zones that increase fairness are places players are required to go and places players live. Safe-zones that decrease disruptiveness are places where formal activities happen. (e.g., classrooms, religious buildings, and workplaces).

Some variations have teams of assassins hunting down other teams. This allows the team to plan out moves tactically, and you only move on once your team has eliminated the entire target team.

Eliminations made in the presence of a witness (or witnesses) might not count and might result in the publication of the assassin's identity.

Game hosts might assign certain items to be worn or actions to be performed that protect the wearer or performer from elimination. These items or actions are called safeties. The safety can last for one specific day or last for the duration of the game. By wearing silly items or performing outlandish actions, players have more fun and can spread knowledge of the game to people not currently playing.

Some games have "police forces", often composed of eliminated players, whose job is to track down rule breakers. Some have time limits on eliminations and penalize players not eliminating. Some allow non-players and eliminated players to participate, acting as informants and bodyguards. Depending on the set rules, an assassin may even be hunted by a group—this is a good way to keep the finalists busy and ensures that all those in the group remain interested as well.

Methods of elimination

Nerf darts are used in ranged eliminations.

Generally, elimination is carried out using items and methods that cause no actual damage and, in many cases, cannot be mistaken by bystanders for real weapons or acts of violence. People have been arrested by the authorities because of these mistakes.

Direct

In a direct elimination, a player uses a fake weapon to touch his or her target. Two direct elimination types are ranged and melee.

The most common ranged weapons are water pistols, NERF-type weapons and Rubber band gun. Sometimes, non-gun projectiles are used as weapons. Elimination methods often include throwing tennis balls or other soft balls, throwing balled-up socks, or shooting rubber bands by hand. Another variation is using water—one must get someone wet to eliminate them. This is extremely effective in a long-term game with many people. In some off campus games players may use airsoft pistols, but these weapons are prohibited on campus.

Melee weapons are typically fake stabbing weapons. Melee weapons are more easily concealed than ranged weapons but require more stealth to employ effectively. Melee weapons must touch a player's body to eliminate them. Common examples of melee weapons are cardboard and plastic knives, spoons, and also toothbrushes. Socks are also used, though they can double as ranged weapons as well. Sharpie markers can be used as meelee weapons by marking on player's exposed skin. Stickers can be used as well, by sticking it to a player's body.

Indirect

In an indirect elimination, a player plants an object where his or her target will be eliminated by it or changes his or her target's environment in a specific way, as defined by the variant's rules, that results in an elimination. Some variants allow "poison", which can be implemented by adding strong flavors such as Tabasco sauce to the victim's food, the insertion of an upright toothpick with a "poison" label attached, or a piece of paper placed underneath the victim's food with the word poison written on it. Rules might also cover "poison gas" or contact poisons.

Some variants allow "bombs", which may be implemented in various ways. Some require the bomb to "go off" in some way and hence might use alarm clocks or other timers. One technique may be to "e-bomb" a target by either using an e-mail or instant messenger to send a file to a target in order to kill them. This attachment may be a word document, audio file, or an image that shows that the target is dead and the assassin that killed them. Another technique is the "car bomb", where the assassin puts a tape or CD in the victim's car audio system. When the victim starts the car and audio, they will hear the assassin saying that they were just "car bombed". Another car-bomb variant allows one to shoot and kill the person while they are in the car, but, in order for this kill to be achieved, the assassin must be using the Nerf Rocket Launcher or equivalent. An assassin may also bomb a victim by sending him or her a package in the mail with a dart and/or letter saying, "You're Bombed." The victim is eliminated as soon as she or he opens the package and reads the note.

Other weapons include poisonous animals (usually a rubber spider, snake, or lizard placed within the victim's backpack or book) and various manners of simulated traps. If an innocent manages to find a trap or animal before the intended victim, there is no penalty; it simply does not function. For example, if a friend finds a rubber snake in a victim's backpack and reveals it to the victim, the victim does not die, but the killer is still in the game.

Capture

When clipped to a target's clothing, a clothespin serves as a flag-football-like objective.

In a capture elimination, a player eliminates his or her target by coming into possession of a specific item. Capture eliminations are exactly like tackles in flag football. Some common objects used as capture objectives are flags, articles of clothing, and clothespins. The winner will receive a substantial prize. Worthy of not just a physical prize, but a title.

Security fears

In 2008, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln placed a one-year ban on the Assassin Game. The administrators of the school placed the ban after the police had been called by a person who observed one student bringing a NERF gun to class.

Currently, the University of Texas at Dallas and Loyola University New Orleans can call disciplinary proceedings on a student who engages in a game of "assassin, killer, or variations thereof."

On March 31, 2009, in Fife, Washington, a Costco, several car dealerships and small businesses were evacuated when a "bomb" was left by someone playing Assassin. Several local police and fire departments responded as well as the Explosives Disposal team from the Port of Seattle, the FBI and the BATF. The bomb was a box "found in a flower bed, contained a magnet and a beeping motion sensor" with the words "bomb, you're dead" written on it. The "bomb" was defused. The man who left the package later turned himself in to authorities.

On May 12, 2009, an incident involving the Assassin game happened behind a North Hampton, New Hampshire, restaurant, where an employee spotted a man in dark clothing with a gun. He called the police, and the student in question did not resist but simply walked to his car and explained the game to the police. The man turned out to be a high school senior from Exeter, New Hampshire, waiting for another high school student to come out of her job at the restaurant with a water pistol in hand.

See also

• Humans vs. Zombies
• Killer (role-playing game)
• StreetWars
• Vampire Assassins

External links

• Assassin Game
• Further information about Assassins provided by Sassins
• Assassins Guild Documentary directed by Gary Williams
• Killer on the iPhone a worldwide version of the Killer game based on GPS data