A tradition many schools have is the chance to participate in a game called “Assassins,” which is essentially a Nerf gun war. At BSM, students play as sophomores in the spring, which is just around the corner for the class of 2025.

The basic background of this game is that teams of 5 will need to complete one “kill” of another team’s member each week in order to stay in the game. You can either get out by not completing your weekly “kill” requirement, or by getting “shot” by another player. The last team standing will win the prize fund of over $1,800, and this total comes from both buy-ins and buy backs for all teams.

The rules consist of many things that are put in place to prioritize not only fairness but also safety for all players. The most important thing for players to remember is this game is not affiliated with BSM, and can at no point be played on school grounds. Some other big rules are as follows: players must only “shoot” with Nerf guns that use foam bullets, players can at no point in the game enter someone’s house without permission, and if a car engine is running, in motion or parked, no “shooting” may take place. If any team fails to follow the rules, they will be fined the first time, and automatically disqualified from the game the second time.

This year, there are currently 24 teams that have four to five players per team. Since the game has not officially started yet, and the teams are just wrapping up being formed, lots of excitement is rushing through the sophomore class. As students approach the starting date, April 15th 2023, students are looking forward to the new experiences the game will bring. “Yes, I am excited [to play assassins]. It’s just going to be fun to get to know more people in our grade to kind of bring everybody together. It’s also a competitive thing and I’m a pretty competitive person,” sophomore Dylan Popehn said.

In past years, the safety of BSM students has been one of the administration’s top priorities, and this year is no different. BSM has started to take some precautions to ensure the safety of their students and make sure everyone knows what they are involving themselves in. The school recently sent out an email to all sophomore parents to ensure safety of all students. “I think the email is necessary because I believe that some kids don’t communicate with their parents as well as they should be. And if a kid leaves with a Nerf gun and says that they’re about to go shoot another student, I believe that the parent should know what is truly going on instead of just giving the overall subject,” sophomore Eva Rahn said.

The consequences for a student’s actions and making sure people know of them ahead of time is important to the school so that no student is caught off guard with possible disciplinary infractions. This was also communicated in the email and has been expressed to students, staff, and parents. BSM wants students to focus on their academics rather than staying “alive.” “In our handbook, there is a line in there where they will have disciplinary action based on that…there are some kids that have had disciplinary action because they brought the Nerf guns on campus. We’ve confiscated things in the past so we just don’t want it to be played on school grounds because we want you to be able to concentrate on your learning,” Senior High Assistant Principal Matt Weingartz said.

The email had mixed feelings with some thinking it was a good idea and others believing it was unnecessary. While the email did help lay out the expectations for all students, it didn’t cause any teams or members to pull out of the game so far. “I don’t think it was necessary because I don’t think it’s going to change anyone’s opinion and decision on whether they’re planned or not. And they can’t really do anything about it. So I don’t know why it was really needed,” sophomore Cam Kirschner said.

On the other hand, some students had a different perspective about the game and the email that was sent out. Certain students made the definite decision not to participate due to the risks and consequences the game could bring. “It was just causing a lot of problems and with the email going out I just didn’t want to get involved,” sophomore Kate Jaeger said.

Every year there is a winning team and they utilize specific strategies to secure the win. The game is not easy to win because of how many people participate and are all going for the same goal. “Yeah, so basically, we just tried to get one kill a week because that was required. And after that one kill we would lay low and always keep a gun on us so we wouldn’t die. And then once every other team got their kill, we swooped in and tried to get the most kills. That’s where we started to win,” senior, who was one of the winners of the 2021 assassins game, Carsen Brandt said.

Nerf war is shortly approaching, leaving mixed opinions on the safety of the game and if students should participate or not. Some are very excited and others are questioning if it is in their best interest to play.