Photo by: Michael Krebsbach
On a cold afternoon in early spring, he purposefully continued along down the winding path that would soon lead him to his final fate. He was not alone. Two hooded figures followed closely behind him. When they were finally there, it was much larger than he had expected. The mouth of the cavern was only a few feet wide but opened into an elaborate labyrinth of chambers.
The smell of sweat from toiling minions in a far off tunnel mixed with the smell of poisoned food that sat near the front of the chamber, just one of the many traps that lay waiting for him.
Suddenly, out of the darkness emerged a giant troll accompanied by an axe-wielding ghost. The battle had begun. The fighting continued, the players conquering deeper and deeper into the cave, as the brave adventuring Paladin failed to defend his kingdom in the darkest, most evil dungeon of the land.
He fell to a demon’s +7 attack as he faintly heard the heroic last words coming from nearby: “Hey, did anyone remember to bring the snacks for tonight’s meeting?”
While this story may seem like a crushing tale of defeat, it is actually someone winning a board game called Dungeon Lords. The game is played by four competitors, each trying to build the largest, most evil and monster-filled dungeon by collecting resources, creating defenders and laying traps for invading knights, rogues and paladins.
This is just one example of a game played by the Board Game Club. Ranging from two or more hour fantasy games such as Dungeon Lords to 20-minute games of Scategories, the club caters to all types of interests, including war games, board games, fantasy games, word games, role playing games and trading games.
The Tuesday night gatherings usually begin around 8:30 p.m. by hulling a large wheeled cart full of almost 40 board games into the Driscoll Commons. Usually 10 to 25 members show up to partake in the one of the many games played.
Board game club president Jane Carter said that the club has a problem of sometimes playing too late into the night.
“Usually we get kicked out of Driscoll at midnight and have to continue playing in Nagel, sometimes until three or four in the morning,” she explained.
The club originally started in 2005 with several student enthusiasts playing the game Settlers of Catan, a turn-based resource-collecting and exploration game. They would play every week and began to find that there were more and more interested students.
Founding father Spencer Wagner said that the club was created as a substance-free alternative club that “really appeals to face-to-face comradeship.”
The club has branched out to more than just Settlers of Catan with a plethora of games such as Dominion, a popular card game representing elements of a Kingdom. Board game club attends local tournaments and game conferences and has managed to hold on to their Settlers of Catan roots by winning two “Catan Cups” and owning a customized 3-D Catan game board.
The club has also recently worked on a community outreach project where they go to local venues and teach people how to play several of their favorite board games. They are always looking for new members and are open to any interested students.
