After one month of competition, the schoolwide Tap Out game concluded March 18 with Jason Salmeron ’22 as its winner.

Salmeron said his victory surprised him but he credits his success to the strategies he utilized.

“To be honest it feels funny that I actually ended up winning because I was really exposed and walking around freely most of the time,” Salmeron said. “But I would say my most-used plan was just having awareness, walking briskly and scanning potential hunters around. I looked behind my shoulders and was aware of any person who had their phones out.”

Senior Prefect Jason Thompson ’23 said Prefect Council was eager to organize Tap Out because they sought to improve school spirit and cohesion within the student body.

“[Tap Out] is an annual event that helps bring the student body together and gets everyone really excited and a little nervous, so bringing it back to a campus where many students hadn’t played because of [the] COVID-19 [pandemic] was a daunting yet exciting opportunity,” Thompson said.

Participant Arize Nwike ’23 said he enjoyed competing in the game because it introduced variety to his daily life.

“I really liked having to search around for my targets, especially when they were people I rarely interacted with, as I had to really work to find them on campus,” Nwike said. “My favorite part about Tap Out was how it spiced up the monotony of my schedule, as sometimes [the school day] can sometimes become rinse-and-repeat, and the days can pass by me.”

Nwike said he thinks the event would benefit from providing the student body with periodic updates.

“An idea I had that would make the game more interesting for spectators would be showing Tap Out content on the Wolverscreens,” Nwike said. “For example, at a set time during the school day, there could be a public announcement for those who had been tapped out on the Wolverscreens, as well as the video submitted of them getting tagged. I feel it would allow for greater community involvement in the game, even for those who were tapped out early.”

Thompson said he wishes the student body stayed engaged with the game longer and thatPrefect Council has learned from this year’s competition.

“I feel that we could’ve tried to keep the hype going for a little longer to get deeper into the game before slowing down,” Thompson said. “But with a group [that] has mostly never played Tap Out before, I feel that next time everyone, Prefect Council included, will have a better idea of what to expect.”