Don’t be alarmed if, while walking to class or out in the wild, you witness a senior chasing down another senior with a spoon and a dream. The senior class officially began their game of senior assassin on April 7.

Senior assassin is a long-standing tradition at West High and many other high schools across the United States. The premise of the game is simple, but nerve-racking. Each participating senior will compete in a class-wide survival game, hoping to be the last senior standing. The winners will receive the pooled cash prize of $790. Competitors receive a “target” at the beginning of the game, whom they are responsible for eliminating by either tagging them with a spoon on school grounds or a water gun outside of school. With each kill, the player inherits their target’s target.

Another aspect of the game comes in the form of miscellaneous “immunity” accessories that seniors will wear to protect themselves. As the week goes on, more immunity items are added to previous ones, and the overall ridiculousness is amped up. Examples from past years include sunglasses, party hats, floaties and swimsuits.

The addition of this year’s district-wide phone policy adds a new layer of difficulty. Seniors must turn in a video of the elimination and a picture of themselves with their target while complying with all phone policy guidelines. Along with urging students to comply with school policies, the rules include information about where you can and cannot tag your targets, trespassing rules and other warnings to keep students and community members safe.

Anyone interested in staying up to date with this year’s game can check out the Instagram account that is updated each time a player is eliminated: @icwestseniorassassin.