Gotcha!

I remember in high school seeing posters advertising something called "Gotcha!", but I never really knew what it was until it had already begun. Gotcha! is essentially a massive game of tag, except every player is assigned a specific target and there is someone targeting them at the same time. You can find out more about gotcha by visiting www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin_(game)

In my highschool's version of Gotcha!, in order to eliminate your target you had to get them wet somehow - whether it be with a squirt gun, a hose, or a cup of water. Needless to say it sounded like a lot of fun, but unfortunately it was too late for me to join since the game had already started, so I had to sit this one out.

Fast forward to my Spring Semester of my freshman year up here at Utah State University. I was living on campus, and one day I saw a big poster in our hallway advertising a game of Gotcha! I think I was the first one signed up to play! This game didn't use water however - I think it was because they didn't want students to have water guns up on campus or anything. Instead we used chalk. At first I thought it was kinda funny. But then as the game began and we saw how it worked (you'd mark your target with the chalk to "eliminate" them, I thought it really was a good idea. Not only did it NOT leave you soaked after you got eliminated (and upset if you'd just spent the morning getting all ready) but it was easy to clean up the chalk mark! I didn't end up winning that game, but I enjoyed playing. I thought it would be fun to play again sometime.

Fast forward now to last year. I roomed with my friend Dave from high school (who incidentally played in the Gotcha! that was put on by our school) and we talked about playing it a little bit and thought it would be fun to setup a game of our own. It didn't go much further than that, but still I kept the idea in the back of my head. Dave and I roomed together again this year and when I brought up the idea again of organizing our own game, Dave said "Let's do it!" and we began making plans.

Now let me tell you, organizing a game like this and figuring out all the logistics is no easy task! Dave and I have spent countless hours going over different rules, situations, and even legal documents (to make sure we weren't held liable in case of an accident) in preparation to start this game. We've sent emails to the residents living in the same apartment community as us, and over 60 people responded within a few days stating that they definitely wanted to play! We even created our own blog for the participants to visit to find out the rules and how to sign up. Check it out: www.usugotcha2008.blogspot.com. Dave, X, and me all drew up separate logos for Gotcha! to put on fliers and the blog. X's ended up totally being the best, and that is her drawing above.

So next week our registration begins, and we are planning to start the game the week after. We'll make laminated 3x5 cards with the pictures and names of each player and assign those out to the various players as their "targets". And we decided to use chalk! :) All in all it should be a lot of fun. A lot of work too, but I think overall it will be a great experience. I'm glad that I had Dave here to prod me into this, because now I can check "Setup a Gotcha! Game" off my list of things to do before I die.