On Jan. 26, 2025, the thrilling tradition known as the Senior Assassin, kicked off. It’s a game of stealth, strategy, and suspense, where seniors in a team of up to five become “assassins” challenged with tasks to “eliminate” their classmates using water guns. 

Seniors are granted “immunity” if they wear goggles and/or inflatable pool floaties. The last person standing wins the grand prize of four thousand dollars to split between the team.  

The senior game is happening all over the country. The event can even be considered “national” in terms of recognizing the high school students. The Millikan student community has made it a common tradition over the past few years.

To ensure safety and fairness, the game includes several key rules:

• Safe zones: Certain places and events, such as schools, school parking lots, and school events, are designated as safe and protected areas. Other circumstances like church, work, and family events are also protected from the game. This ensures that the game will not interfere with important activities or create unsafe conditions. 
• Verification: In order to confirm an elimination, players need to provide video evidence of their successful assassination. This allows the game to hold liability. 
• Time: Each group is allowed a week to try to eliminate their assinged individuals on an opposing team. Purge Day is assigned by Millikan senior assassin coordinators, Gabby Cebollero and Frida Santiesteban, every Friday night from 9 pm to 12:30 am where immunity is not allowed. Purge durations can be randomly assigned at appropriate times. 
• Protection: Seniors are also encouraged to wear either goggles or floaties to guarantee protection during vulnerable times. 

The game is orchestrated through the app Splashin, which allows seniors to stay updated and understand their tasks. 

Frida Santiesteban, QUEST senior and Co-Event Coordinator, explains, “The app shows you all [participants’] locations if you buy the premium for $2.99 a week. If you just have the regular app, you [can] see the team that you need to eliminate, and you can track their location.”

Some popular strategies of the game include:

• Disguises: Seniors can often wear different clothes to avoid recognition.
• Surveillance: Seniors frequently keep an eye on their target’s location and can establish schedules to eliminate their opponent successfully. 
• Decoys: Seniors also try using their friends or props to distract or mislead their target. Decoys help lure opponents and increase the chances of staying in the game longer by eliminating them.

Though the grand prize of four thousand dollars is motivation to competitively play the game, Senior Assassin provides a unique opportunity for seniors to bond with classmates and leave them with lasting cherished memories. PEACE senior and participant Hailey Suttle says, “I just want to make good memories while playing the game. Going into the game, you should inform your parents that if they see kids outside of their house with a water gun, they should not be concerned.” Santiesteban added, “I wanted to do this for our senior class so they can have something fun.” 

While the game is all in good fun, staff and seniors at Millikan emphasize the importance of safety and respect. “My concerns are that students potentially are running around the community with fake guns,” says Grant Robinson, Millikan Activities Director. “And in today’s society, it’s a serious type of thing, where police officers see someone with a gun that could be looked at in a different light.” 

Gabby Cebollero, PEACE senior and Co-Event Coordinator established, “The most important part definitely is to listen to the rules and not going near moving vehicles.” 

By sharing their thoughts, participants have suggested new ideas to make the game safer. 

Now with only 227 participants left, Millikan seniors are embracing the challenge and creating memorable moments that will last a lifetime, especially since they can look back on a reminiscence of their high school experience before graduating.