If you find yourself wanting to share in your gaming hobby with other enthusiasts, from Mario Kart to Magic: The Gathering to Uno, Stan State’s Gaming Club could be the place for you.

Gaming Club exudes the comfortable atmosphere of hanging at a friend’s house to play games. 

“Gaming Club is a recreational club that brings people together on different avenues of gaming. We’re a community of people who come together to experience a thing that we all love, which is gaming.” said the President of Gaming Club, Maya Gomez (Psychology, Junior).

Some of the video games played during the meetings include Super Smash Bros: Ultimate, Mario Kart, and Mario Party. However, video games are not the only games played at Gaming Club. Members often play Magic: The Gathering, Uno, and other board games alongside the video games they play. 

Gaming Club has also been known to host tournaments of all varieties.

Student Event Coordinator of Gaming Club, Audra Martin (Studio Arts, Junior) said, “We do host tournaments, like Smash at Stan, which is a Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournament. It’s a great chance to test your skills and win a cash prize! These are usually held once a month.”

While Gaming Club has been growing increasingly popular for their video game tournaments, they also have been gaining traction due to their sports tournaments that they hold.

“We also sometimes do a sports tournament, like our recent Badminton tournament that we just had. The way we decide for which sport we play, too, is that we leave it up to vote with our members.” said Martin.

Getting started as a member in Gaming Club has never been easier. With there being no requirements or obligations after joining, many students find it to be a club worth checking out. 

One particular student, Derek Bakker (Liberal Studies, Senior) stated that he was greeted with open arms when he arrived at Gaming Club for the first time and that it felt nice to be able to get out of his comfort zone.

“I have never been a super outgoing person, but being welcomed by a bunch of people who liked the same video games as me helped me start conversations I would have struggled with otherwise,” said Bakker.

Gomez encourages students who may be interested in the club to check it out, as you never know if it might be for you.

“Cast your preconceptions aside about the way a certain gaming club might look. Keep an open mind, maybe attend one of our meetings and see if you click with people! There are a lot of kind people in our club that are willing to welcome anyone with open arms, it’s a good environment for anyone wanting to make friends,” said Gomez.

Gaming Club meets every Wednesday or Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., depending on the schedule the club has for the week. The meetings take place in MSR-130. Members or students interested in joining can keep up to date with Gaming Club’s events and meetings through their Discord server.