‘A community of people who are up for doing weird stuff’: We interviewed Lancs Assassins

If you’ve been spending much time on Lancs Instagram recently, you might have noticed a brand new account that’s taking the (Lancaster) world by storm.

Lancaster Assassins, which first appeared on April 13th, has amassed over 700 followers in just two weeks, but what exactly is it?

We spoke to the masterminds behind the page to get an insight into what Assassins is. Assassins organiser, Jack Timmons, said:  “Lancaster Assassins is a team of Lancaster University students who have created a game called Spoons.

“Players in the game will be given other players as targets to (metaphorically) assassinate using spoons as (metaphorical) weapons. They will have to simultaneously avoid being assassinated themselves.”

via @lancasterassassins on Instagram

‘We had 180 DMs’

The Lancaster Assassins Instagram page releases temporary rules every week as well as answering FAQs, providing more information about the game, and clarifying that exams are not fair game to “assassinate” someone.

The game, which officially starts on April 27th, has two £100 prizes up for grabs for the last man standing and the longest kill streak, as well as a £15 prize for the best kill caught on video.

When asked what made them come up with the game, he said: “It was one of those dinner-time conversations that got out of hand. We had heard about this game where a group of friends had each other’s names on spoons and had to kill each other but we didn’t know the rules… So we invented our own (which may be the same as the original rules but we have no idea).

“We then just created the Instagram account with the aim to see if we could find anyone who wanted to play it with us. The next thing we knew, OnlyLancs and Lancrush had shouted us out and we had 180 DMs.”

via @lancasterassassins

‘Signing up to chase people around campus wielding a spoon is weird’

“At first we just wanted to play a game. After seeing this wild response, however, the main thing we want to get out of it is a community of people who are up for doing weird stuff just because it’s fun.

“And let’s be honest, you’re lying to yourself if you don’t think signing up to chase people around campus wielding a spoon is weird.

“We will also obviously be mentioning this in every job interview till the day we die.”

The Lancaster Assassins exec is made up of Jack Timmons, Sam O’Connor Stewart, Owen Jones, Amy Smart, and Hannah Anderson.

The sign-up for this round of the game is closed due to overwhelming demand, but you can keep up with the game and any updates on future games on the Lancaster Assassins Instagram.

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