panic
People are always trying to hide something. Everyone has secrets, but sometimes people are not the only one to have them. Sometimes even places have secrets, and Shadyland's was a game named Panic.
No one knows who invented Panic or when it first began. But every summer the graduating seniors risk their lives competing in a series of challenges that force them to confront their deepest fears for the chance to win life-changing money. Anyone can play. Only one will win.
The game is open to all recent graduates of the latest senior class of the four highschools ⸺ Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin High ⸺ of Shadyland. The game runs directly after graduation and throughout the summer, until a winner is determined. That winner gets a humongous cash prize usually between 20.000£ and 30.000£. Panic has several elimination rounds, and each one ratchets up the fear quotient. Not everyone wants to play so, seniors who do not play Panic are free to watch much of the game as entertainment.
The main rules of Panic are three, and they're pretty simple:
rule number one.
• never speak of the game with
non-concurrents or adults and children.
rule number two.
• never record, tweet or publish anything about the game on the internet.
rule number three
• don't panic.
If one does panic — and exits a challenge — they are thrown out of the game.
Panic is managed by a pair of unknown judges and hosted by at least one emcee. Judges use clues and subterfuge to communicate game developments in plain sight. Panic ends when two finalists compete in a head-to-head challenge. The winner gets the entire cash prize.
the anonymous judges manage Panic and attempt to use insider knowledge to ensure the game is extremely personal and scary for each contestant. There is a guiding hand over the proceedings. But, depending on the last challenge, it is extremely difficult for the judges to pre-determine who will actually win — only who will get to the finals.