New Trier's Paranoia Game Stirs up Debate

The game, which is played with Nerf guns, has people around the area wondering if it's all fun and games or if it's an invasion of privacy.

Paranoia, a popular game played with Nerf guns at New Trier High School, has been causing debate since it debuted three years ago, which continued in the comments section of a Patch blog this week. The game is played as students — armed with Nerf guns — try to eliminate other players by shooting them with the toy. More than 150 students are estimated to participate in the two seasons each year (a fall and a spring league). The controversy stems from the lengths the students will go to in order to eliminate their target — including hiding in their homes, their backyards and a variety of other places in order to catch the other player off guard. There's a cash prize for the team that wins in the end.  The game does operate under a series of …

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Is Paranoia a Game We Should Condone?

Blogger Jennifer Mcquet weighs in on the popular New Trier game, Paranoia.

Teenage 'Paranoia': A Suburban Game of Nerf Guns and Optional Nudity

New Trier students play in an elimination game with strict (but peculiar) rules, like optional nudity.

Walking into someone’s home uninvited, shooting Nerf guns at one another, and setting up ambushes. That may sound like a strange combination for fun, but those are components of Paranoia, a game played by New Trier students, ages 15 to 18. While there are rules governing where and when it can be played, they may raise a few eyebrows. Participants say it's a fun way to interact, and New Trier students of all classes are going to be starting up Paranoia again right after spring break.  Paranoia is played as partakers armed with a Nerf gun who are usually members of a team that seek members of other teams and try to shoot them with the toy. The process of eliminating all opponents and finding a winner can take six to seven weeks, with two …

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Northfield Police Blotter: Paranoia Returns, Driving Violations and More

The following arrest information was supplied by the Northfield police department. It does not indicate a conviction.

Sunday, Nov. 6 Potential credit card fraud: A Northfield resident on Country Lane received a camera via UPS that she did not order. The woman suspects that someone might have used her American Express card to order the item. She called Target to decline and return the device, as well as canceled her card. Because no other charges were made to the credit card, police are unsure if this was an administrative mistake or if the purchase was made fraudulently. Thursday, Nov. 10 No driver's license: A 45-year-old Chicago man was pulled over around 12 a.m. in the 1900 block of Willow Road for driving without tail lights. Police found that although he had been in the country for the past 10 years, he had never received a driver's license. He was …

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