A rustle at his window. He looks out to find three shadowy figures climbing over his fence.

The dogs start barking, but it’s too late. He left the backdoor unlocked.

Seconds later, senior Maximilian Strebel was shot by his friend and fellow senior Leo Andrade.

Armed with a water gun.

In the three concurrent games of Senior Assassin played over the school year, seniors are pitted against each other to win as the last man standing. Breaking into backyards is not the full extent of the class of 25’s efforts; seniors have lied to friends, crashed dates and stalked cars to claim the final cash prizes ranging from $100 to $350.

“I’m taking it very seriously, but I’d also say that everyone else is taking the game very seriously,” Andrade said. “It’s just having fun with my friends, but I’m very competitive, and I would love to be hundreds of dollars richer at the end of the year.”

The game is hosted on the Splashin app, which assigns players a new target every week.

Each game has designated safe zones, like school, where players can’t fire at each other, and players wearing goggles are immune to elimination. Senior Maddie Spielman started a game with 32 friends after taking inspiration from the online TikTok trend.

“We all kind of knew we wanted to do it,” Spielman said. “We’ve all been friends since freshman year. I just texted everybody, and we all ended up coming together senior year to make this whole group. I don’t really have a whole lot of responsibility as admin except accepting the video [proof of eliminations] or denying. But it’s been fun seeing everybody playing the game and getting really into it.”

Andrade, who is currently tied for the lead with one kill, even recently upgraded his artillery with several varieties of water guns, including one dating back to the 90s with more firing capacity.

“I feel like Leo Andrade is gonna win because he’s really competitive,” senior and participant Andreas Strebel said. “He’s kind of an aggressive assassin. I didn’t think he would crawl over my backyard fence to get my brother Max out. It made me realize what measures people will take to win the game.”

Andreas Strebel has employed defense tactics like downloading the Ring doorbell app, keeping water guns in his car and wearing his goggles everywhere he goes.

“We were joking about having to wear our goggles at prom because some people are so locked into the game, they’re not gonna get out,” Andreas Strebel said. “The game teaches people to not think about what other people think. Sometimes wearing your goggles on your neck looks kind of goofy. But most people have learned that it doesn’t really matter. It’s definitely worth it. Sometimes we’re all hanging out and all 20 of us are all wearing goggles. It’s kind of funny. We always get asked questions about it, and get to talk to new people.”

Senior and participant in two separate Senior Assassin games, Madelyn Leung has already eliminated two of her targets in one game. Although the rules of each game differ, with one allowing off-campus lunch strikes and the other allowing parking garage ambushes, both games have changed the course of her senior year.

“People out of nowhere can ambush you, and so there’s that element of surprise,” Leung said. “I think it’s crazy how some people are always on the go. They’ll be spending three hours after school trying to get their person instead of doing homework. This past week, I tried to get my person five times, and I failed all five times.”

Yet amidst the competitive nature of the game, senior bonds have been strengthened.

“I’ve been able to connect with people that I wasn’t very close with before,” Leung said. “Senior Assassin just made everyone super willing to talk to each other. It is kind of bittersweet because I know that this game is going to last over six months, and once it’s done, it’s gonna be like, ‘Wow, we just spent our last year together making memories.’ It will be a good story to tell.”

Throughout the fun, seniors never forget why they play.

“It’s just a fun activity,” Andrade said. “Around the country, it’s just seniors that play, as a fun way to celebrate our last year together.”