Play the "Assassin" Game!

To play the "Assassin" game you will need a large group of willing people The game is played over several days for the most fun.

This is a great game for summer camp!

Step 1: Choose Your Leader

Once you have got your group of people, you will need a leader who keeps track of who has been eliminated and who is still "in" the game. The leader also keeps a note book and invites those eliminated to write a brief account of how they were "had"! The leader does not play any part in the actual assassinations.

When you have your leader, he or she invites as many people as possible to play the "game". Not everyone will want to play, so don't push it. The idea is that one person is left at the end of the game, who can then be delared the winner.

When the participants have been identified the leader makes a small card bearing each participant's name. These are then distributed to all the players, making sure that no-one gets his or her own name! Only the leader knows the names of those taking part! It is important to maintain as much secrecy as you can. Also each participants does not tell anyone - even their dearest friends that they are in the game. Then the fun begins.

During the next few days as everyone goes about his or her camp activities it is every participant's task to "assassinate" the person who name is on the card they have been given. Assassination is quite painless, it just means tapping the person on the shoulder very quietly and telling them they are "out"! When the person is "out", he or she gives his or her name card (the name of the person they were going to eliminate) to the person who has "assassinated them. That person then goes on to try to eliminate the next person, and so on and so forth....... until one person remains.

Comments

[basementhacker]

We play a game similar to this at school, except instead of cards, we use spoons. You have to touch the person with the spoon to "kill" them. Everybody's spoon has a person's name on it, not your own. That is the person that you have to eliminate.
Lots of fun, played during school hours (while people are not in class of course) and really challenging.
Thank you for the Instructable!

[connormwalsh]

i have played this game as wel but the way we played is the leader makes up task's such as have this person help take out the garbage and when you get them to do it then they die and pass on the taks and person they were supposed to kill.

[JGWalrus]

We used to play this in High School. Once a year our gym teacher would give us each a name to go after. It had to be on school property, not in a classroom during class, but all else was fair game. Throw in the mix that we had 4 "houses" -like harry potter- and 216 students and it was a blast.

[Clutchpowers2]

This the same thing that was in a book called spray but with water guns?

[I3uckwheat]

awesome to bad camp is over i could of did it then that would of been cool

[stinkymum]

There's always next year! I just got back from camp and there were over 50 participants. The most kills were 7 by several people. It was great fun! All the winners got a pennant this year - hurray!

[I3uckwheat]

going to be a counsoler next year!

[Whales]

 doing this at band camp next year. If played right this will be hilarious.

[Mock26]

Back in the 1980's Steve Jackson Games put out a rule book for a game very similar to this game that you have described. Back in the 1990's I played varitions of this game at Boy Scout camps from Buffalo to Boston. Great game, but not an original idea.

[Usswilliam]

What Happens If You Assassinate Someone Who Is Supposed To Assassinate You?

[bythenumbers]

ah, ideally, you win. The game works as if everyone is in a big circle, and you're assigned to kill the person to your right. Eventually, you're down to two people, and one will succeed in killing the other before the other gets their kill accomplished. Hence, assuming you are the first of those last two and not the other, you win.

[stinkymum]

I doubt there is a so called "original" game or sport in the world these days. I am sure the ancient Britons, Romans and other "oldies" played variations of every game now known to man. It's all in the variations now, isn't it?

[WarFreak131]

I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure you didn't "invent" this game. The AP Physics kids at my high school played the exact same game, just with a different method of assassination. We used stickers to show who's been assassinated, and special rules, like you have to be alone with the person to assassinate them. Or to do it in broad daylight in front of everyone, it had to be either 12.11 AM or PM, or you had to wear goggles, sandals, and underwear on your head. And yes, people actually complied with the latter.

[stinkymum]

According to the rules for entry, it states: The games can be variations on existing sports, but they need to be original. This entry qualifies under that statement. There are many variations of a basic game and this is an original variation on one of them. By the way if you played the exact same game with different methods of assassination and special rules, I fail to see how it can be "exactly" the same as this variation

[N1CK4ND0]

who wins?~!

[Thundertydus]

Damn! Why'd you have to put " and " around The Game? I just lost!

[Musketeer #1]

I played this game at camp! Another way to get someone out could be tapping them with a spoon or saying a code phrase.

[NinjaSloth]

at my school we play a game where we carry around red markers that are washable, sneak up behind people interested in playing and write on their necks(like slitting their throats)and we see who all can manage to "stay alive at the end of the day" and you only can do that to people who are interested in playing. I thought it was an original idea

[NinjaSloth]

yes i realize i said interested in playing twice.......

[stinkymum]

I have heard of that variation. Bottom line, it's a good game

[bakenbitz]

My sister set up one of these at her school, but they used water guns.

[I3uckwheat]

faved

[matthewabel]

We play this with our staff every summer. We also have a version of sock wars - Capture the Flag, only to tag people, you throw a sock filled with flour at them.

[canida]

Lovely!

Did you see the Sock Wars version of Assassin? To tag people, you knit socks and send them through the mail. Sounds right up your alley.

Loved the parrot, by the way! I hope you'll be posting some pirate costumes for Halloween?

[stinkymum]

I thought you were kidding about "sock wars", but I checked it out - it they have another one I am going to sign up! Killing people with a pair of socks is my idea of violence!

[canida]

Glad to give you another good excuse for knitting. ;)

[stinkymum]

Sock wars! Well I think I have already participated in tea cosy wars, hat wars, mitten wars and afghan wars! However, I just sent these items with my best wishes to everyone I knew - no assassinations were involved! As for the pirate costume - here's one in advance!

[canida]

Wow, that's a good one! Just add parrot. ;)

[stinkymum]

parrot has been added.

[canida]

Oh good heavens. It looks like he's about to go for your eyeballs! Quick, grab some sunglasses.

[spasysheep]

I play a different version of this, where as well as a name on the card, there is a location and an item that you have to kill them at / with (I.E. Joe / Torch / Drinking Fountain would mean tap Joe with a torch when he was at the drinking fountain). brilliant fun at nationwide youthgroup camps (Woodcraft! Woo! (http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/)) with hundreds of people playing. I haven't heard of keeping a log of how people were killed before - good idea though.

[explosivemaker]

........"no violence is involved".........the other ninjas will have mixed thoughts about that.....

[stinkymum]

Violence isn't fun, therefore there is no place for it in this game.

[James (pseudo-geek)]

WHO SAYS VIOLENCE ISN'T FUN?!? I find it quite entertaining. jk, jk.

[stinkymum]

Good luck in the Army, and take care.

[James (pseudo-geek)]

ARGG I was kidding about the violence thing, but I AM joining the Army in a few months.

[stinkymum]

Yes I know, I read your bio and that's why I wish you the very best (and thank you!)

[James (pseudo-geek)]

ah, ok. ty :)

[explosivemaker]

......I was just FOOLN......I agree there doesn't have to be violence in everything.......the nerf idea was a good one though, and that's not very violent.....

[James (pseudo-geek)]

ban nerf guns! people have died while using them! we need to ban sidewalks too, J.B. Hunt (owner of a large trucking company) died from slipping on an icy sidewalk.

[Ptr_V_2]

Remember playing this in high school with water guns. Loved the look on the faculties face when they saw 17/18 year olds having a water gun match in between classes.

[James (pseudo-geek)]

hahaha

[DarfnageL]

I love this game. My school did something like this but we called it the Spork game, and you got people out by poking them with the spork and whoever collected all the sporks at the end won. We actually got sporks banned form the school XD

[hankbobs]

I used to play and organise a game much like this in high school, difference was we used those little plastic disc guns. This added a couple of twists: 1) the guns were banned at school, so you had to find a way to conceal the guns. Getting caught eliminated you from the game. 2) You could only eliminate people between periods, you couldn't barge into someone's class and start firing. 3) If the person about to be assassinated saw your gun before you fired on them, they would yell 'gun', and you would not be able to attempt again until the following period. In this case they would also know who you were and the game would get even more difficult. 4) with kids in 4 grades playing, the yearbook and asking around became keys to success, as you often did not have a clue who the next person was on your list. This of course was 10 years before Columbine, these days someone shouting 'GUN' in a high school would probably cause a bigger stink than it did back then. But still, it was a really really fun game. Great entry!

[=SMART=]

Nice Instructable, This is the "tame" version :P When i was at scout camp we played this, but because everyone was 16+ we did full contact pain version, in this version "assassinating" someone meant they had to agree they were dead, at that age people get VERY competitive which generally resulted it the use of violence in order to get the victim to submit , e.g. I want to assassinate Mike who is reading a map, i get a log/big-stick and smack him in the back of the legs - legs buckle - falls to ground and i get him in an arm/head lock until he agrees he is "dead" OR i could put loads of tabasco in his food and take all the water/milk and hide it so he has to agree he has been "poisoned" before he gets any relief in the form of a drink. If all the players are creative in there assassinations and dont take the violence too far the game is great fun ad can last for weeks after the camp has finished

[=SMART=]

btw that says Tame at the top not lame, i just realized it looked like a L instead to a T

[panzer]

thats a cooool gamee... i'll mention it wen i'm camping

[The Rocketizer]

That sounds really fun. Thanks for posting

[theRIAA]

iv'e only heard of it played with nerf guns. this way sounds fun too.

[Spl1nt3rC3ll]

We have a yearly Senior tradition at my school, one I'm quite looking forward to (if it doesn't get banned, seeing as businesses are slowly putting up signs). It's called Nerf Wars, and it's essentially the same game. You are eliminated by getting shot with a nerf gun, and the whole town is the battleground. People go through great lengths to eliminate their target, I've heard many crazy stories about extremely dedicated assassins. There's a cash prize for the winner. _{I plan on camping out on top of a building frequented by my target, or dressing as an old man with a cane gun. Hopefully it isn't banned by then.}

[stinkymum]

I believe there are many variations on this theme, but I don't know if any others keep a note book on how everyone was "hit". It makes very interesting reading at the end of the game and is a dead giveaway on people's varying personalities (i.e. good sports and bad sports, and everyone in between!) This is one of the best parts of the game!

[Aar000n3y]

I've heard of a variation on this game too

It's pretty big, it's called street wars, it lasts three full weeks, eliminations can happen 24/7, and it's played on a city-wide scale. Pretty crazy stuff. Oh, and eliminations are made by water guns and water balloons! I've heard of people even modifying water guns to fit up their sleeve so they can go under cover and eliminate their target.

If it ever comes to Chicago again I really want to rent an apartment and play

[Ward_Nox]

for street wars there are safe zones, 1 block in all directions from the targets workplace vending machine squirt guns are great for street wars cause there tiny

[pyro13]

See we play an assassin game too, but it involves a baseball stadium full of people, a bottle of airsoft pellets, and a bic pen tube. You peg people in the back of the head without them noticing =D

[benthekahn]

One of the best games ever. When I played you couldn't kill anyone during meals and between the beginning of dinner and the end of breakfast. Also to kill people you had to tap them with a spoon.