Three weeks of the class of 2023’s game of Spoons have gone by, and there is still no end in sight. With surprises at every turn, it’s time to recap what has transpired in the last week, from rule controversies to Mr. Cherokee to Sara and Julia’s epic twin swap. 

If you don’t know the general rules of Spoons, check out the first week of Spoons article! 

Similar to the second week, the third week brought another change in the rules. From now on, players will have less time to get their targets out. This week, the time window is five days long, starting Monday morning and ending Friday night, rather than the full week that was given in the previous weeks. 

The annual Mr. Cherokee contest was held at the end of this time window on Friday, January 27, so it became a hotspot for Spoons-related actions. Due to the large number of the senior class in attendance, many players took it as a last opportunity to get their target’s spoon before the window closed. Many players arrived at their downfall at the event or at related after-parties, including two of the Mr. Cherokee contestants that had just been on stage!

This week’s dramatic ending at Mr. Cherokee has created great uncertainty for next week. Many players who were likely contenders to win the game had their spoons taken away from them. Due to this, the final rounds of the game are becoming considerably unpredictable. 

The third week also brought more controversies over the rules. Some people have been coming back from vacation and believing they can play Spoons, even though they have missed a large chunk of gameplay. Most of these players have been eliminated naturally, but it still poses the question of if such behaviors are permitted. Players can miss up to two consecutive weeks of school and still play as long as they get permission, but they still get to advance further in the game than others who attend school every day.

Another argument about the rules stemmed from players missing an extensive amount of school for other reasons. Should they still be allowed to play, even though their targets can’t get to them during school hours? Due to a large number of out-of-school eliminations, the general consensus is yes, they still get to play. However, their “predators” need to work hard outside of school to get them out, which gives the predator a significant disadvantage.

In the last two weeks, a trend has emerged of players surrendering their spoons to their predators. This is done because they have grown tired of the game and want relief from worrying about their plastic cutlery, or they happen to be friends with their predators and want them to advance further into the competition.

As this week comes to an end, there is a rough estimate of 30 players continuing to the fourth round. This is a dramatic decline compared to last week’s 65 and the nearly 300 players that started three weeks ago. 

As many players and fans will recall, a set of twins swapped places last week to ensure the other got their target out on time. Their names are Sara and Julia Kilroy, and they agreed to speak about their experience. 

By Friday, January 20, Sara Kilroy was still in the game, while her sister Julia had been eliminated. By this point, there wasn’t much time left for Sara to get her target and secure her spot for the next round. To Sara’s luck, her target sat two seats away from her twin sister Julia in her English class. 

Julia had originally envisioned the idea that they should switch.

“Sara and I both get mixed up easily,” Julia stated. “Therefore, by the end of school on Thursday when Sara did not get her target out I brought up the idea that we could switch… With this idea came the plan that if Sara did not find a chance to get her target out during the morning classes on Friday, after lunch when I had my English class we were going to switch.”

Julia presented this idea to her teacher, who permitted them to swap for a small portion of the period. 

The first half of the day came and went, and Sara still had not stolen her target’s spoon. So as the first class after lunch began, they swapped backpacks and Julia laid low in the bathroom while Sara took her place in the English class. They had already discussed where she was supposed to sit and she kept her head down so she could remain unnoticed. 

“At this point, I was committed,” Sara began, “I was nervously texting my friends talking about when the best time to try and get her [target] out was. The class started off with a conversation of everyone’s weekend plans and all I could do at this point was wait. I saw several opportunities but knew I only had one chance to get her [target’s] spoon.”

Many opportunities came and went, but Sara waited to try and take the spoon.

Her opportunity arrived when “Charlotte, the only person in the class that knew, tapped the back of my chair. I immediately looked over and saw [her target had] placed her spoon down to grab something from her bag. Without a thought I lunged over a desk to hers and tapped her with mine, saying ‘Spoons.’”

Her target was, understandably, shocked. Sara explained that she and her sister swapped places, and the whole class audibly exclaimed “ohhhhhh!”

Sara and Julia’s advice to current and future players of spoons is to “take all the chances you can to get your person’s spoon, but watch carefully for the right moment to strike.”

Hopefully, players of the future will be inspired by their story and come up with their own creative ways to stay in the game. 

Good luck to everyone who made it to the fourth week of Spoons! As always, our information comes from our interviewees, personal accounts, and our resident Spoons expert Jason Buczko. If you have any stories or experiences you want to share for next week’s article, email me at [email protected].