"Assassination" Game to Trick People into Being Nice to Each Other on the Mall This Weekend

Senators Obama and McCain may finally have taken the gloves off last night in the final of their three Presidential debates, but here in Our Nation's Capital on Saturday, the tone will take a turn for the civil, at least for a couple of hours. From 2 to 4 p.m., an unknown number of hunters and, like, hunteds will play a most dangerous game of cat and mouse in a web of intrigue where there can be only one victor and everything will change in the blink of an eye. Well, most of that probably won't happen, but there will be a big game of Cruel 2 B Kind, "a game of benevolent assassination."

From the Cruel DC website:

When the game begins, players are assigned three secret weapons. Your weapons may be serenades, compliments, or friendly greetings. Bystanders will see them as nothing more than random acts of kindness. Other players will recognize them as deadly acts.

Your targets are unknown to you. Players have no uniform, know the terrain as well as you do, and can blend in seamlessly. The only way to tell a bystander from another player is by bringing your kindness to bear against them. An innocent will be charmed; an assassin, slain.

So, bascially it's a big scam to trick you into being friendly to people who might not even be playing the game. But hey, we could use a little more indiscriminate love in this town. And with a little luck, a few of the "innocent bystanders" who get caught in the complimentary crossfire will be tourists who'll go home and try to persuade their neighbors to stop referring to Washington as though it's some kind of disease.

Registration is free if you want to join up. You can read more about the history of the game here.