(Alissa White -- The Beacon)
By Luke Riela, Staff Writer -- riela14@up.edu
Since the game started last Monday, Assassins has claimed the imaginary lives of 45 Villa Maria Hall residents.
According to junior Kurt "The Godfather" Berning, co-director of the game, Assassins is a free-for-all competition in which players with chosen nicknames attempt to "kill" the rest of the participants by placing a green sticker on a target without him noticing for 15 seconds. As a guide, players are given an ordered list of targets that changes daily.
"Players must go down the list and eliminate everyone," Berning said.
According to Berning, players may not be killed while in their own dorm rooms, in study areas, in the bathroom, during Mass or during sporting events.
Some assassins strategize around these safe zones to stay alive in the game.
"You want to get as fast as possible from safe zone to safe zone," freshman Sergio "Lt. Serge" Rangel said.
Berning said one player was planning out all of his routes to classes to minimize the risk of getting tagged while away from safe zones.
According to Ben "Big Daddy" Helms, hall director of Villa Maria Hall, residents will try to declare some areas unofficially safe during activities.
"They'll call safe zone for 20 minutes while they play video games, but that doesn't really mean anything," he said.
According to Berning, in Assassins you can't trust anyone to cut you a break. Berning says people have been killed cutting cakes, signing cards for a birthday and even during a serious talk about a relative's death.
"It's a game about opportunity, regardless of the situation," Berning said.
Even good friends won't hesitate if they have the chance.
"I killed one of the bros. It was tough, but I had to do it," freshman Jason "Fried Rice" Celino said.
While there are certain safe areas, Assassins is fueled by the sense of danger.
"Assassins is all about paranoia," Berning said. "People are a little more reserved when the game is going on."
Residents commented on the tensions in Villa Maria Hall.
"People get suspicious when you're standing next to them," Celino said.
Rangel added, "you do a lot more turning to see who is behind you."
Even trying to get a wrap at The Cove can be a frightening experience for assassins.
"When you're in line and there are people standing right next to you, it gets pretty scary," Rangel said.
Helms pointed out the social nature of the game, despite the tension.
"It gets much more paranoid, but much more active as well," he said.
Helms said the game gets students involved who don't typically take part in events.
According to Helms, students may actually spend more time socializing in the lobby than they did before because they are waiting for their target to show up.
"It provides a really fun environment," Helms said.
According to Berning, the game began with 75 participants.
"The majority of Villa is doing it," Helms said.
However, many players are eleminated at the game's beginning because they don't know how to survive or don't try to, according to Berning.
"Not everyone is as devoted, or they don't know how to protect themselves," he said.
Helms said many of the freshman fall soon after the game begins.
"Freshman usually don't get all that is entailed with Assassins."
According to Berning, there are quite a few players who are set on winning and know how to do it.
Rangel took someone out with a landmine, a sticker placed upside down for the target to step on. That's just one technique.
"The most effective way is to throw a sticker into their hood," Rangel said.
Freshman Garrett "Gunther" Athman tried attaching the sticker to a nerf gun bolt, but he was taken out before he could make use of it.
According to Berning, many assassins are eliminated at the end of the week because players are required to get at least one kill each week.
"There's always a frenzy at the end of the week because people are trying to get their one kill," Berning said.
Berning said after a kill, the assassin must submit the information of the assassination, including a rich narrative on how it was performed, and they certainly get creative:
According to a daily Assassins "communiqué" e-mails, one narrative spoke of a chariot, a silenced RPG and defending orphanages from bears.
It may be all fun and games, but players take winning to the extreme.
"I think it's special because of the amount of devotion and planning the guys put into it," Berning said. "The defending champion moved out of Villa, so the title is up for grabs."
ROTC students cannot kill or be killed in uniform
Honor among assassins: The guidelines for Villa's Assassins game
Kill must take place without target noticing for 15 seconds
No kills in the bathroom, class, The Library, Franz computer rooms, study rooms, in one's own dorm room, during Mass or during sporting events
Assassins must get at least one kill each week
Hall receptionists are safe during their shift
(Alissa White -- The Beacon)
