High school seniors across the country often celebrate their final year of high school with unique, unofficial traditions. For Lakewood High School seniors, one of those traditions is Senior Assassin, a voluntary student-run game that combines strategy with stealth.
The game is managed through Splashin, an app developed by PixelForge Studios LLC to make the unregulated game safer and more structured. It allows participants to see their target’s locations every ten minutes. If a student buys a premium membership, they get live location updates. The app also notifies players of a purge and when they’ve received a new target.
The goal is simple: be the last one standing. At Lakewood, students are assigned a new target every week. To get other players out, a squirt gun, water bottle, or any other water projectile must be splashed on the opponent. Students must have clear video proof for the elimination to count.
To stay in the game, seniors use specific safety gear. Wearing swim goggles on their foreheads or over their eyes, floaties on their arms, or being in a safe zone provides students immunity. Safe zones include school hours and school-sanctioned events, work, and places of worship.
During a purge, goggles and floaties do not provide protection. Most importantly, players are strictly prohibited from getting anyone out while either party is driving.
Elimination isn’t always the end. During the game, student organizers can drop med kits, which revive previously eliminated players. Last year, a med kit was dropped into Lake Erie at Edgewater Beach, prompting students to use boats to reach it.
The stakes are high this year, with the opportunity to win a cash reward of $590. Each of the 123 players is required to pay an entry fee of $5, which goes towards the pot.
“We took everyone’s payments; I counted up all of the money to make sure we had everything,” said Paisley Norris, Lakewood’s Student Body President and one of the game’s administrators.
Norris runs the game alongside Senior Class President Piper Polen. During the game, they are in charge of sending purge notifications, releasing med kits, and reviewing elimination videos.
“We make sure everyone is following the rules and step in when someone turns in a video, and you can’t see the person getting out, or somebody’s doing something that isn’t allowed,” Polen said.
A major goal of the organizers this year is to limit the game’s duration. The game has gone into July in previous years, causing students to lose interest. “The problem we run into every year is that it goes on for too long,” Norris said. “We’re hoping that we’re done before we graduate, so we’re going to try to call more purges.”
As of writing, 21 players have already been eliminated. The Senior Assassin Instagram page, lkwdsenior.assassin26, has posted the elimination videos for everyone to view.
Currently, senior Tessa Carlin has the most eliminations with three. “I am impressed with Tessa Carlin’s strategy because she has the most eliminations right now. She also got two in one day, which is shocking,” said senior Greyson Walter.
While the school district is not affiliated with the game, it remains a defining tradition for senior year. It allows students to interact with others they may not have met, even if they are in the same grade.
“It helps with getting to know each other and having more fun with each other,” said Walter.
Senior Assassin has only been running for six years, but the hope is that it continues to bring students together with shared memories for many years to come. “It is something that all of the seniors will remember,” Polen said.
