Since the dawn of time, seniors at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School have participated in the Spoon Game: like the Hunger Games, but with white plastic spoons instead of weapons, and social humiliation instead of death. After a brief COVID-induced hiatus, the Class of 2022 has the opportunity to compete against each other in the Spoon Game for a lofty cash prize ($755 of pooled entry fees: half for the winner, half for a charity of the winner’s choice). Winning the Spoon Game, however, is much easier said than done.

The rules are complicated. Each player has a target to eliminate, and an assassin—someone trying to eliminate them. To get their target out, an assassin must tap them with their own white plastic spoon while their target is either not holding a spoon, keeping an additional spoon on their person, or holding a broken spoon. Additionally, any player caught with two spoons in their hand can be eliminated by anyone. “Safe zones” where players can’t be eliminated have been established, including bathrooms, classrooms during class time, sports practices, and workplaces during shifts. Notably, hallways, lunch, clubs, and, yes, homes, are not safe. According to Spoon Game lore, especially dedicated players have found their way into their targets’ homes to secure the kill. No matter what, getting an elimination takes focus—and some luck. For senior Tyler Chueh, a combination of both resulted in two quick kills. His first two targets both being in his first period class, he just had to find the right moment and stay alert. It didn’t take long: “When I saw the time was right, I struck,” he told the Register Forum. 

The Spoon Game isn’t just luck, though—through alliances, betrayals, and manipulation, players (and administrators) have taken it from a friendly competition to a chaotic string of murders. As senior Ilinca Hirtopanu put it to The Register Forum, it’s “play dirty or don’t play.”

Despite its nature, the game has always served as a source of school spirit. It was for this reason that senior Faria Amin became an admin, telling the Register Forum she wanted to ensure that “we could all have a bit of fun before graduating!”

Not only is the Spoon Game something that seniors enjoy, but it is a final chance for the class of 2022 to get to know their classmates before the caps fly off in just a few months. Just one week in, Hirtopanu has already talked to some classmates for the first time. Her friend has even “gotten a lot closer to her target because they have a joke out of him being her target.” 

Long months of trials, tribulations, and outlandish wildcards face the 100 or so Spoon Game-ers still alive … but only one can win. Keep your eyes on a swivel and your enemies close, because players are willing to do whatever it takes to be crowned the “Spoon Game Champion”!

This piece also appears in our March 2022 print edition.