This is a game. This is intended to be fun. It is easy to design e.g. a totally fail-safe bomb, which is placed onto a door so that the person inside has no chance of avoiding it. This kind of thing is not done: all assassination attempts must - at least in theory - be avoidable by a sufficiently paranoid victim.
If the umpires decide a weapon was unfair, the event did not take place.
No real harm must come to the victim, bystanders or property.
Weapons must not look authentic or cause problems with bystanders.
Physical contact between the assassin and the victim is forbidden. The only exception to this is using a knife (see knives) for obvious reasons.
Weapons that have not been explicitly allowed are forbidden. The umpires can at their discretion allow weapons that are not on the list of allowed weapons. The decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and BEFORE the assassination attempt.
The umpires appreciate imaginative weapons and usually will reward them with extra points. Weapons seen in previous tournaments include e.g. spears, blowpipes, chainsaws and poison gas.
If the umpires have announced that no other weapons will be allowed, no other weapons will be allowed. Begging won't help.
REPLICAS OR OTHER GENUINE-LOOKING WEAPONS ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. These may cause considerable stress to bystanders and therefore also cause a severe security risk. In many circumstances authentic-looking weapons are also illegal and may lead to police action.
However, weapons must be recognizable as weapons that are part of the game. E.g. non-pistol-shaped things that spray water are not weapons.
The weapon must be operational/loaded when using the BANG-rule (see below), and the weapon must be drawn out at the time of firing.
Pistols
A water pistol is the default weapon. Your water pistol contains water and does not look like a real gun. Otherwise the choice of the water pistol is up to you: a small gun is easy to carry concealed but won't have much of a range. A Super Soaker or some equivalent carries far, but will make it difficult to approach your target discreetly.
Foam dart guns are allowed as well. Intentional ricochet shots are forbidden to preserve realism.
Airsoft weapons are forbidden.
AIMING FOR THE HEAD WITH ANY PROJECTILE SHOOTING WEAPON IS FORBIDDEN.
The "Bang-rule": Soaking people with water is not always necessary to commit the murder. If you can get within one meter of your target and can point at your victim with the water pistol or any other allowed simulated gun and say "BANG" (or "PUM" in Finnish) in a loud voice, the target is dead. This naturally means that your target must still be within one meter from you when the phrase ends.
Bombs
BOMBS MUST ALWAYS BE PRE-APPROVED BY THE UMPIRES.
Sending simulated bombs by mail is forbidden.
Leaving simulated bombs unattended in public places is forbidden.
A bomb must do something real, e.g. beep or make a bang either triggered by a timer or the victim. (For example, the bomb may react to transferring or opening the package, a wire entering the bomb being pulled etc.) It is forbidden for the assassin to remotely explode her own device with, e.g., a cell phone.
The bomb must not be set to detonate in a manner that would be impossible for a totally paranoid victim to detect or evade. On the other hand, if your visiting friend places a ticking package under your bed, you're in for a rude last awakening.
If you wish to defuse a suspicious package, contact the umpire responsible for weapons. After this, the bomb will become harmless immediately. However, this leads to a penalty of -2 points. Alternatively, you can try defusing the bomb yourself or let it be.
No side of the bomb package must be shorter than 5 cm.
The kill radius of a 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm package is three meters in unblocked line-of sight space. (E.g. a table between you and the bomb might be sufficient protection depending on the circumstances.)
The kill radius of a 20 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm package is eight meters in unblocked line-of-sight space. This is the longest possible kill radius in the game.
Other kill radiuses must be negotiated with the weapons umpire.
Each bystander victim in an assassination by bomb leads to a penalty of -2 points. The bomb must not have more than 4 bystander victims per intended target, otherwise the assassination will fail and the assassin will become wanted.
The poison letter must contain a note that includes a greeting of your choice, signed by your alias, and the following text unchanged:
"This is a simulated MOCK poison letter that belongs to the Helsinki University's Society of Human hunters' (http://www.salamurhaajat.net/en) Assassination Tournament [insert season and year here]. If you read this, and are not aware of the on-going game, a mistake has been made, and we ask you to report it via email to the address hallitus@salamurhaajat.net. Our sincere apologies!" (Or the same in Finnish: “Tämä on simuloitu myrkkykirje joka kuuluu Helsingin yliopiston salamurhaajien (http://www.salamurhaajat.net) salamurhaturnaukseen [insert year here]. Aine kirjeessä on käsivoidetta. Jos luette tätä, ettekä tiedä pelistä, on tapahtunut virhe ja pyydämme, että ilmoitatte siitä osoitteeseen hallitus(at)salamurhaajat.net. Pahoittelumme.”)
Car bombs have special conditions. It is particularly crucial that you contact the umpires and explain your plan.The main point is that the bomb must under no circumstances come off and cause a hazard to the traffic.
As an example of a simulated bomb, you may take a look at the bomb used in the 2004 game, the Hiramatsu bomb.
Food poisons
The only allowed food poison is vinegar which must be present in food or drink in sufficient quantity to be noticed by the victim. If it is practically impossible for the victim to spot the added vinegar, the poisoning didn't happen. The assassin is not required to compensate the victim for the food she spiced, unless she is caught in the act.
When poisoning drinks, note that onlookers may misinterpret the situation. For this reason, you can “poison” the beverage by attaching a piece of tape or a sticker with a clearly marked black X on it on the bottom of the glass. If the victim fails to notice the mark before drinking, you can inform them and the assassination will count as successful.
Contact poisons
THE ONLY ALLOWED CONTACT POISON is a hand lotion of your choice which must be slathered to the target surface in a layer thick enough to be noticed by your victim.
Sending poisoned letters by mail is forbidden. The poisoned letter, magazine etc. must be delivered personally to the victim’s mailbox.
The poison letter must contain a note that includes a greeting of your choice, signed by your alias, and the following text unchanged:
"This is a simulated MOCK poison letter that belongs to the Helsinki University's Society of Human hunters' (http://www.salamurhaajat.net/en) Assassination Tournament [insert season and year here]. If you read this, and are not aware of the on-going game, a mistake has been made, and we ask you to report it via email to the address hallitus@salamurhaajat.net. Our sincere apologies!" (Or the same in Finnish: “Tämä on simuloitu myrkkykirje joka kuuluu Helsingin yliopiston salamurhaajien (http://www.salamurhaajat.net) salamurhaturnaukseen [insert year here]. Aine kirjeessä on käsivoidetta. Jos luette tätä, ettekä tiedä pelistä, on tapahtunut virhe ja pyydämme, että ilmoitatte siitä osoitteeseen hallitus(at)salamurhaajat.net. Pahoittelumme.”)
Poisoning doorhandles is forbidden if it can be reasonably assumed that someone besides the victim uses the door. E.g. it is allowed to poison the doorhandle of a victim who lives alone, but not the doorhandle of a lecture room.
A surface covered with contact poison can be safely handled with gloves, tongs and the like.
Knives
The only allowed simulated knife is a strip of soft, pliable cardboard, at least 15 cm in length and covered with aluminium foil. The blade must not be bent or folded. To avoid injury, the umpires recommend adding a handle.
Throwing knives must be approved by the weapons umpire. Never aim for the head.
Other close combat weapons must be approved by the weapons umpire.
A knife is the only exception to the no-contact rule: it is used by touching the victim's torso CAUTIOUSLY.
As can be deduced from the above, the knife is strictly a matter of style: it has no benefits compared to other weapons.
Animals and other exotics
Small toy animals that are generally known to be poisonous (spiders, snakes and the like) are automatically allowed. Other suitable animals can be approved by the umpires. The animal must wear a black band around its neck and carry a note telling who it is, who it came from and what it did to the victim.
Venomous animals are lethal if they touch bare skin.
Contact the umpires if you want to use a heavyweight weapon. A heavyweight is a simulated heavy object that can be dropped on the victim. The weight must be soft and light, so that it doesn’t cause any harm to the victim. The umpire may approve as a heavyweight e.g. a beach ball or a light pillow.
Permission and additional instructions are requested BEFORE the assassination attempt. The weapon umpire is responsible for the allowed weapon choices in the game; contact him/her, or her, if you wish to use special weapons. Remember that s/he has every right to both accept or reject the suggested weapon idea and the decision is final.
Miscellaneous notes
If a toy is used to simulate a weapon, it will be handled like a simulated weapon all the time. It is explicitly forbidden to e.g. ask for permission to use a plush spider as an attack animal,then introduce it to the victim as a plush toy and inform the victim (who was admiring your alleged plush toy) that he is dead (i.e., use gloves or tongs yourself as well when handling poisonous objects).
