Gallery • 4 Photos

Photo by Mathias Hoefferle
Alex Screaton looks at the giant, jumbo sequence game in some confusion wondering why the game is so big. According to Hammond-Laux, “Any game is fair game.”

Board game club was new to Stillwater Area High School this semester. It was created for a group of students to get together to play board games after school in English Teacher Laura Hammond Laux’s room. The club plays a wide variety of games including Bang and Catan. Catan was voted number seven for top strategy games by listverse.com.

Board game club is for students with an interest in playing board games to get together once a week to just play games. They play every Friday for a few hours. People are welcome to come and go as they please on Fridays.

“Board game club is just a club where people who share an interest get together, like any other club, although we are significantly more rad. We have snacks, we socialize, we play board games,” said senior Drew Maiers. Although socializing is a part of the club, it is not the only reason students are there.

The club is different from other clubs, for example sports organizations are extremely different because they know what they will be doing and it is always structured very strictly. Board game club is more open and has a more friendly and outreaching environment.

“It’s not quite like many of the other clubs at SAHS. It’s just having fun and playing games. I suppose if the point of other clubs is to have people who are genuinely interested in something get together and hang out, then it is; but there is just a really friendly dynamic I haven’t experienced many other places,” said senior Holly Fena. With sports clubs they are often very exclusive and that is the opposite with board game club.

The club was created when a group of students all had a similar issue, nobody to play board games with and ever since then the club stuck. It began with a small group of students and has not stopped growing since.

“I was actually ranting about how I have no one to play Monopoly with one day, and then a few other people mentioned similar problems, so we decided to just, play board games,” said Fena. This club has experienced a better turnout than the first members could have ever imagined.

The club plays a variety of games, but it is not just about playing the games. It helps students by preparing them with real life skills. It gives them tactics that most people would not think about if they had not been playing a board game strategically.

“It makes you able to think things out more logically and prepares you for real life situations,” said Maiers. Another person who saw a difference since he began playing the game was senior Benton Happel.

Happel first saw the changes that he made to his life in the little things. He found himself noticing small details or watching the other players moves to try and find out what their strategy for the game was. Card games have really helped him change his strategy, but he also became more aware of the things around him outside board game club.

“Personally, I’ve been learning card games like Hearts, Spades and 500. I’ve started to pay attention to smaller details in each game instead of mindlessly playing,” said Happel.

The club has turned out to be a great addition to the schools currently existing clubs. It not only is a fun experience for students, but it also teaches them valuable life skills. It teaches students to become more aware of their surroundings and to always know the next players move.

Fena said, “I joined and helped set up the club because I genuinely think life needs more board games sometimes. Whether you win or lose, it’s just a game, and it’s going to start over again any way, so you keep smiling.”