If you see teenagers running around Manhattan Beach wearing goggles and/or shooting water guns over the next few days and weeks, you've stumbled upon the popular Assassin game being played right now by Mira Costa seniors.

The gist of the game (not an officially school sanctioned activity) is that each Mira Costa senior who is playing the game is assigned a person to "assassinate," i.e. shoot with a water gun during non-school hours, and document on video that they've shot them. Meanwhile, they need to protect themselves from the person who's been assigned to shoot them. At various times, a person can choose to wear goggles, which means that he or she is "safe" from being targeted.

The game is wildly popular, especially with this year's senior class at Mira Costa, where 444 out of 650 seniors are playing the game, one of the largest groups in recent memory. 

What's making the game even more frenzied is that each team of two players paid a $5 entry fee, so the winning team will split a highly coveted $1,100 cash prize.

"People are super excited," Mira Costa ASB President Isaac Faynsod, who is running the game, told MB News. "Obviously, a lot of people taking it very seriously."

Traditionally the Mira Costa's ASB (student government) president organizes the game, which is why the job fell to Faynsod this year.

Faynsod made a Google form back in December for people to enter the competition. Then he designed a spreadsheet and started mixing up the names "so there would be a ton of drama" in who would be targeted. That means friends were assigned to "shoot" friends, couples were turned against each other, and even twins had each other as targets. 

"You keep your target secret," said Faynsod, "so to see people backstab one another and get their own friends out... it's like reality TV, but in person."

Some of the "kills" so far have indeed been TV-worthy. One student got chased into the ocean. Another got "shot" by his own sister while studying. And one got hit unexpectedly while making breakfast. (The rules say you can't break into a house, but you can be "let in" to someone's house.)

When you finally "assassinate" your target, you must prove your conquest by recording it on video, which Faynsod then uploads to the Senior Assassin Instagram feed. 

Faynsod says that one of his favorite parts is writing the dramatic and pun-laden captions when he posts each "kill" on Instagram. 

One student "was parked in the driveway" until his assassin "put him in park for good," wrote Faynsod. Another student who was caught in a check-out line "thought she was just paying for her items... Turns out, she was paying the price."

And when one student named Mateo shot another student named Mateo, Faynsod wisecracked, "Only one could keep the name."

A Distraction At School?

The game of Senior Assassin is not new; nor is it unique to Mira Costa. A Wikipedia article on the game notes that it became widely popular in the 2010s due to its portrayal on such shows as iCarly and Gossip Girl. It first began at Mira Costa in the late 2010s. 

But the question on many adults' minds is, how much of a distraction is the game at school? And is it even safe?  

To avoid "consternation" from the administration and police, said Faynsod, the organizers set clear rules: The game is off-limits between zero period and 5th period. Other "safe zones" are inside school fences (but not the parking lot), while participating in school sporting events (but not while being a spectator), during school-sponsored events, during work hours, at performances or rehearsals, at any religious institutions, at a hospital or medical building, or driving a car. "I don't want to cause car accidents, and I don't want people running around a church," notes Faynsod. 

Given that the game is not a school-sanctioned event, Faynsod and his ASB colleagues have also tried to be mindful of staying on the "good side" of the administration. 

Through a school spokesperson, Mira Costa Principal Jennifer Huynh confirmed that she met with Faynsod last week and that they have a "good working relationship."

"It’s almost like, when you see Christmas trees and lights going up, you know Christmas is coming," he said. "When high schoolers start wearing goggles, I feel like people know it’s time for Assassin."