Load up the Nerf guns and keep your eyes on the lookout.

Senior assassin season is back.

A time-honored tradition that students look forward to throughout high school, Cal High’s senior assassins kicks off this Monday.

The game consists of teams of two seniors who are assigned targets that they aim to eliminate to advance to the next round. Teams buy into the game for $20 per person and must send videos of their Nerf guns to the game administrators, known as “godfathers,” for approval.

The game runs until the last pair of students is standing.

But the game’s competitive nature can create safety concerns on the roads and around town.

“[The game] causes people to do things like driving fast, [and] driving cars without seatbelts,” School Resource Officer Stephen Akacsos said. “[Students] are still learning the rules of the road.”

The high-pressure situations of trying to make a “kill” or survive an assassination, combined with civilian traffic on the roads, has caused vehicle pursuits in the past, not only endangering the students involved, but also other civilians.

“[My senior assassins partner in high school] drove over a planter to get out of an apartment complex,” Akacsos said. “He drove over it very fast and ended up rolling his car into someone’s living room.”

In an effort to create a safer environment for players and civilians, the rules dictate that students in moving vehicles, cannot be shot by a Nerf gun. But students have used this rule as a loophole to avoid being shot while walking around in public.

“I’m going to have a scooter in the back of my car always,” senior Charlie Cohen said. “I’m going to get it out of the backseat, open the front door, put the scooter down, and start riding off so that even if someone is waiting for me, they can’t shoot me.”

Many students feel that because of the no-getting-eliminated-while-in-a-moving-vehicle rule, students will be safe on the roads.

“I don’t think any accidents will happen,” senior Rohan Kalavar said.

Not only are there safety concerns about the roads, but there’s also concerns about privacy and public awareness.

“I am worried that everyone’s going to know where [my partner and I] live,” senior Seanna McGowan said.

Leak accounts have been appearing on Instagram, exposing the players of senior assassins. Some students have become concerned about their privacy, while others have accepted this as part of the game.

“[Address leaks are] bound to happen every year, so nothing crazy there,” Kalavar said.

Many students believe they must surrender some of their privacy in order to experience the thrill of the game.

“There’s a 100% chance of [my address getting leaked] because I have a bunch of friends [playing the game],” Cohen said. “I have a brother… I am going to have him go around my house and make sure no one is camping and stuff.”

Not only will home addresses be leaked, but also places of employment and extracurricular activities.

“I’m worried I am going to leave work and they’ll be right there,” McGowan said.

McGowan’s concerns are shared by her partner.

“I am scared people are going to be camping outside my practice,” senior Sabine Chang said. “[Stalking] is going to happen, but I am ready.”

The rules include a comprehensive list of no-shoot zones, detailed in the 2026 Senior Assassins Handbook, which aims to make the game enjoyable and safe.

These rules separate the game from academic instruction time.

“I’ve never seen it impact [or] interfere with our education at all,” English teacher Ginger Clark said.

Cal is a safe zone from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., meaning nobody can be eliminated from the game during that time on campus.

The game is not affiliated with the school, but only Cal students can play.

The school does not sanction or sponsor the game and can take disciplinary action if the game takes place on campus.

“Any type of gun, weapon, Nerf like, that’s not what we come to school for,” Principal Demetrius Ball said. “If we see those Nerf guns, we’re taking them. You may not get it back, or your parent will have to come and pick it up.”

Disciplinary action can include having Nerf guns confiscated, parents contacted, detentions assigned, or privileges such as Senior Ball being revoked.

While the games are popular amongst the seniors on campus, the general public is generally not aware senior assassins is taking place.

“It can be very concerning for community members who are unfamiliar with it,” Clark said. “If it is going to happen, like a game of tag, it needs to be sweet and innocent, and people need to know it is going to happen.”

The lack of public knowledge often leads to many concerned people calling to the police.

“They see a kid hiding in a trashcan with a gun in the morning, they are going to call the cops,”Akacsos said. “[It] puts the student in danger.”

Akacsos said the San Ramon police department receives about 15 calls per weekend while the game is happening.

Each incident is met with the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe.

“If the information we have is that you have a gun, we are going to have our guns first,” Akacsos said.

Akacsos warned members of the senior class to be cautious while playing the game by using brightly colored Nerf guns and following the rule that doesn’t permit vehicle pursuits.

Even though the game is not affiliated with Cal, there is a common misconception that leadership students make and facilitate the game as anonymous “godfathers.”

“I am class president, I get accused of running the page, which I don’t,” senior Abbey Arteaga said. “It’s a weird conclusion that everyone in leadership does run the page, or someone in leadership does, but that’s not the case.”

The senior class’s discontent with the current godfathers’ handbook led to threats being made to people like Arteaga, who some thought was running the account.

“They’re just complaining about the rules, which I have no control over,” Arteaga said.

Because of the controversy about the rules, such as the inability to use scooters as secondary transportation, multiple accounts appeared on Instagram competing for player interest in the creation of another senior assassins game.

“The godfathers were going to take too much,” Cohen said. “They wanted to take 50%, which was 20% more than the first place [winner].”

The pot distribution of the original account, @cal.assasins.26, was changed to reflect the desires of the players, with 50% going to first place, 15% for second place, 5% for third place, and 30% to the godfathers for administration purposes.

The most significant impact of the controversy was player hesitation. The differing rules and distributions led people to be unsure of which version of the game to sign up for.

“Even if the other one has better ratios, if there’s only 10 people doing the other one there’s nothing in the pot,” Cohen said.

Many players stuck with the original account after their initial concerns were addressed.

“Most [concerns] have been covered by the account on Instagram,” Kalavar said. “Any questions or nuances [I used to have], I have the answer to.”

Although there are concerns about senior assassins, the time-honored tradition continues as students remain excited to hunt down and “kill” their classmates.