ASSASSINS Friday! No one is safe!

Today for our "Friday Distraction," the four of us coordinated a big game of "Assassins." We started some buzz around the office on Tuesday, when we sent around a cryptic email saying:

This Friday, get ready to play the first-ever game of Ogilvy Assassins. Please email us by the end of Tuesday if you are not going to be in the office on Friday - as this will affect the game. Rules and directions will be explained at a later date. And watch your back. You never know who may be trying to off you.

So today we came in at 8 a.m. to start setting up the game. Because we are limited to staying in the office building, we had to make a unique set of rules - and then had to get them translated into Portuguese (just to make sure there was no confusion). Here are the rules to our little Assassins game:

THE OBJECT OF THE GAME: Be the last person alive (i.e. the last person with his/her balloon unpopped)

• The balloon at your desk is your life. Protect it. Guard it. Love it.
• You may only "kill" your target.
• You "kill" your target by popping their balloon.
• If you are "killed," you must surrender your envelope to the person who killed you.
• Do not tell anyone who your target is. I repeat, do not tell ANYONE who your target is. One last time, DO NOT TELL ANYONE WHO YOUR TARGET IS!
• All "kills" must be reported to the judges.
• Once your "kill" is confirmed by the judges, you will inherit your kill's target.
• "Kills" may be made any time of the day on Friday, assuming your target is in bounds.
• All "kills" must be made on Ogilvy property.
• You may not "kill" anyone if they are in a safe zone. Safe zones include: bathrooms, elevators, stairwells or buses/cars.
• If the game is not over by 7 o'clock on Friday evening, it will continue on Monday.
• The judges of the game are Lauren, Maria, Travis and Elyse. Whatever their ruling is on any questionable elimination is final.

People got really into the game - creating silly balloon-popping contraptions, taking their balloons with them everywhere (some even tied their balloons to their belt loops)! It got a little messed up because a few people came in very late (because they had been at the office working until 6 am). So yeah - we probably would have started the game later in the day to make it more fair - but oh well. Live and learn.

My favorite part was the "Graveyard" we made for all the assassinated players. Lauren did a great job designing it - and my mad handwriting skillz helped make it look extra scary!

Oh - and a big Congratulations to our 2 winners, Felipe & Rafael M.!!! It was a jumpy, paranoid day for all of us :)

Pictures to come!

- Elyse