The Art of Gotcha

The annual game of Gotcha set off right after Sunday sit-down on April 6th, in which students were suddenly wary of everyone around them while simultaneously trying to search up their targets on DAinfo. That evening, I got two of my targets out and called it a day, knowing that if I was cautious for the remainder of the week, I’d survive the first round. However, on the next day at 6:30am, I met my fate right outside Johnson—a swift end to Gotcha for me.

Gotcha is a school-wide game that the Communications Office and two students, usually those who won the game last year, organize. Each student is assigned a target, and they must whisper “Gotcha” to their targets to get them out. However, if anyone else hears the person say “Gotcha,” then the target is safe. To stay in the game, players need to get their target out before the week ends, after which a new set of targets is assigned. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no limit to the number of targets you can get in a week. This may lead to unnecessary outs, but it is all for the sake of the game, right?

After all, if everyone stopped hunting after they secured their first target, Gotcha would be as stagnant as a pond.

Melinda Aznar-Klein ’25, who won second place last year after a first-place tie between two seniors, shares some advice that led her to victory. Whenever she would leave a safe zone, she would always be with people so that they could hear any potential “Gotchas.” She said that her favorite strategy was to “go up to people and talk to them and make them think that I don’t have them.” This tactic gave her targets a false sense of security the next day, and once her target felt safe, that’s when she would strike.

Another strategy is to confidently walk up to your target like nothing is going on, and discreetly whisper into their ear as you walk past them. Don’t even look back as you get them out—you’ll know if you got them out. However, if you and your target have a noticeable height difference, good luck.

The secrecy surrounding who has who as their target can encourage some students to stay in dorms (safe zones) longer than usual because you never know when a surprise attack can hit, which is why Aznar-Klein says that “being on defense is really important.” It can be daunting, being assigned a target who you might have never seen before, but she advises that “if you get an opportunity, (you always will because you’re always in this tight-knit community) get your person.” Gotcha helps build bonds between the Deerfield community.

Aznar-Klein believes that “the biggest pro of [Gotcha] is meeting new people.” She added, “you get paired with a random person, you have to learn about them, their lifestyle, and where they spend their time.” She said that she connected with so many people through Gotcha and it’s still something they “joke about to this day.”

Through betrayal, schemes, and ambushes, Gotcha forms new bonds between people who otherwise might never have crossed paths through these few weeks of target hunting.