Senior Assassin is an unofficial competitive high school game in which seniors use water guns to eliminate their assigned targets while trying to avoid being eliminated themselves. Many schools across the United States play Senior Assassin, usually during the spring before graduation. Princeton Day School participates in this tradition. Seniors get into groups of three, their “team” for the game. In terms of the rules, seniors aren’t allowed to eliminate their targets between 12–6 a.m. on weekdays. They are prohibited from eliminating their targets at sports events, even if they are walking to their car. Eliminations are not allowed at school sanctioned events either, the only “Princeton Day School” place seniors can eliminate their targets is at Princeton Day School parties. For the prize, each person puts in 10 dollars and the total sum goes to the winning team, which is split among the three winners. Senior Arden Reilly said, “We each put in 10 dollars, I think there are 84 people playing, and the winning team will split the $840 three ways.”
Senior Assassin, although not the same as it is today, dates back to the 1970s. The game became more popular in the 2010s, mainly because of social media and mentions of the game in shows. Princeton Day School has a Senior Assassin Instagram account, called “pds.senior.assasin.26.” Even though it isn’t affiliated with Princeton Day School, seniors submit videos of their eliminations, and the team eliminations are posted after each round.
Seniors participate in Senior Assassin for several reasons, including competition, bonding, and creating final memories with their grade before graduation. Senior Jess Salguero remarked, “I think it’s a great way to end off senior year. It’s also a great opportunity to have some grade competitiveness and to have fun with your friends.” Similarly, Reilly replied, “It seemed like a lot of fun, and I think I’m also very competitive, so I want to win.”
Overall, Senior Assassin isn’t just a game–it is a tradition that helps seniors bond before they graduate. Salguero’s advice to future seniors planning to participate in Senior Assassin is to “pick your team wisely–choosing your friends isn’t always the best bet if you’re trying to lock in and win.”
