StreetWars

StreetWars: A 3 week long, 24/7, watergun assassination tournament.

OK, it's not my cup of tea, let alone my gun of water. It's Stuart Brand's concept of "Soft War" gone wet. (see this article for an excellent description of New Games in its heyday.) And though I prefer games where we practice peace rather than play war, play is play, and playing with war is something we need to do as long as there are people who take war seriously.

"StreetWars is a 3 week long, 24/7, watergun assassination tournament that has already taken place in New York City, Vancouver, Vienna, San Francisco and is now coming to Los Angeles (March 14-April 3).

At the start of the game you will receive a manila envelope containing the following:

* A picture of your intended target(s)
* The home address of your intended target(s)
* The work address of your intended target(s)
* The name of your intended target(s)
* Contact information of your intended target(s)

"Upon receipt of these items, your (or your team's) mission is to find and kill (by way of water gun, water balloon or super soaker) your target(s).

"You can hunt your target down any way you see fit; you can pose as a delivery person and jack them when they open the door, disguise yourself and take them out on the street, etc.

"If you are successful in your assassination attempt, the person you killed will give you their envelope and the person they were supposed to kill becomes your new target. This continues until you work yourself through all the players and retrieve the envelope with your (or your team's) picture(s) and name(s). Then you win. CashÂ?but first live in fear."

If fear is what you want to live in, semi-pretend, relatively inconsequential fear is probably the best fear of all. Be sure to read some of the participants' stories, such as these from the historic battle of Vancouver.