On any given day, if you were to take a walk outside the Senior Commons at lunchtime or during a free period, you might see a mass of students playing the new game that is sweeping the class of 2015: Juicio (pronounced: who-ee-see-oh). The game was invented by Jeremy Langsfeld ’15, Nick Slade ’15, and Jackson Rider ‘15 in a moment of class spirit. “We wanted to unite our grade, so we [a group of senior boys] started out by just playing four square, but as more people started playing it got more intense,” Langsfeld said. “Eventually, it got so crazy, we changed it, and we made it our own game.”
Juicio was created early last year. Despite its four square roots, it became something more. “The game started becoming more about karma, so it became Juicio,” Nick Slade ’15 said. “We got the name Juicio from Jackson, who thought it meant ‘karma’ in Spanish, but it didn’t… We just kept calling it that,” Langsfeld said. “The way the game works is, well, it’s basically four square but with your feet.” In four square, each player has a square to play in, and if the other players can get the ball to bounce twice in an opponent’s square, that player is out. The players rotate to fill the vacancy and a new player rotates in. Juicio is similar to four square in that there is a king square that you try to get to by winning in and rotating through other squares. You get out if the ball bounces twice in your square. You can also lose your spot if you kick the ball out of bounds.
Since its creation, Juicio has been modified and enhanced by several game “traditions.” Players will jingle their keys (or whatever is in their pockets) when the king kicks a bad serve. “It’s meant to jinx the king,” Jason Hou ‘15 said. The game even has its own mascot, the Juicio Rock. “We just chose a rock and named it the Juicio Rock,” Langsfeld said. Since being chosen, the rock has become a special part of the gameplay, possessing supposed prescient powers. “It has a hole. You speak into it and ask it a question,” Emery Whitfield ‘15 said. “For example, I’ll ask, ‘Will Maclain get out?’ and then I’ll place it in his square and wait for the rock to answer.” Additionally, frequent Juicio players have given each other nicknames. Ethan Marcilla ‘15 goes by several, including “Garden Feet” and “Belligerent Bush.” Langsfeld, as creator of the game, aptly goes by “King of Juicio.” Another tradition includes fervently clapping when someone must chase down the soccer ball. “It’s motivation to get the ball,” Langsfeld said.
Though normally played on four squares, Juicio can also be played as six, eight, or ten square variations. The current Juicio players have even picked out another location to play their game: the basketball court near the Music Building. The large court has many squares available to play a massive game of Juicio…that is, if there are enough players. “We are trying to get more people to play so we can play 34 square [Juicio],” Langsfeld said.
To join in on the excitement, simply visit the Music Building patio. “We play every day, fifth/sixth [periods]; it’s the best thing ever,” Slade said. Anyone is welcome to play, and the current Juicio players will be happy to explain the rules.
Additional reporting by Caroline Bay.
