On the campus of South Pasadena High School (SPHS), in addition to the ubiquitous stuffed backpacks, you’ll see students carrying around plastic spoons; plastic spoons for the game Spoon Assassin.
First introduced onto campus by the school’s Associated Student Body (ASB), Spoon Assassin has been gaining tremendous popularity lately. At least one person in each class can be seen clutching their spoon like vital oxygen. And in a sense, it is like O2 to the human body.
As the name hints, the goal of Spoon Assassin is to eliminate an opponent from the game by appropriating their spoon. This can be done when the spoon is not “on” the person’s body: in the hand, the mouth, the armpit – wherever the spoon can safely and visibly remain in the player’s possession. In the beginning of the game, each person’s special victim is chosen by the Spoon Master. When a player’s first target has been successfully assassinated, the player then becomes the assassin of the ex-victim’s victim. The game ends when one Spoon Assassin triumphs over all others.
At SPHS, several winners are bound to emerge. Right now, besides the ASB leadership, several other groups are playing their own games of Spoon Assassin. Played between teams, clubs, and friends, Spoon Assassin has become an excuse for stalking, attacking, and stealing. Though the simple purpose of the game is to have fun, some groups such as the Invisible Children Club (ICC) have organized it for a mission beyond playful triumph.
ICC, one of the largest SPHS clubs, is a student-led group that is part of the larger non-profit organization (Invisible Children) aiding civilians inUganda. Invisible Children’s mission is to “rebuild schools, educate future leaders, and provide jobs” in a country where a national conflict robs children of a family, an education, and basic human rights. The ICC’s role then is to raise awareness of this crisis and collect funds through club activities to contribute to the mother organization. Spoon Assassin was the first of the fundraisers to be conducted.
In the club’s first meeting of the year, the officers introduced the game to its members, asking for a participation fee of five dollars per person. These funds would be channeled to Invisible Children and used both directly and indirectly for children living inUganda.
Students were delighted to take part.
“I spent five dollars to have fun and help children inUganda,” said ICC member Ryan Stone.
For fun or for charity, Spoon Assassin is spreading like prairie fire among the students. If the games continue with the same pep, it may soon as well become a school tradition.
