By KATE PIERCE
News/Managing Editor
With the stress of the semester weighing on students, The Geeks of the Round Table are providing an opportunity to destress by competitively playing Super Smash Bros 4.
“The goal of Geeks is to provide a relaxing environment to play board games and video games, or watch anime, with friends and fellow peers,” said Nikos Assimakopoulos, the president of the club. “We want to provide a break from all the college stress.”
The “Smash Tournament” will begin at 7 p.m. on Feb 14 in Albertus Hall Room 101. Players of any skill level are welcome to attend and participate in the tournament, as beginners can learn how to play and experienced students can continue to enjoy the game.
“Newbies have nowhere to go but up when they go to tournaments,” said Theodore Stabile, the public relations officer of the club.
Both the standard Wii controllers and Gamecube controllers will be provided to suit players’ preferences.The tournament will running with a double elimination tournament bracket.
“When you lose your fist round you go into a second bracket where you can have a second chance by fighting the other defeated players to climb back to the top,” said Stabile. “The grand finals will be between the winner of the regular bracket and the winner of the defeated bracket.”
The winner of the final match will receive a prize of a $25 gift card for Gamestop. Other upcoming events for the club include a chess tournament in March, a Studio Ghibli event in early April, and in late April they will be hosting their largest event of the year – a massive role playing came they call “the Mega Game.”
“I think my favorite thing about participating in Geeks is getting to hang out with the friends I’ve made through the club,” said Daniel Gauvin, a general member of the club. “There’s a place for everyone in the club, and likely a game that caters to your individual brand of nerd.”
The club was originally called the Board Games Club, but the members felt that the club name should reflect the variety of nerdy outlets the club provides.
“We decided to change the name to go with the Golden Knights theme, and Geeks of the Round Table became the name,” said Assimakopoulos.
Regular meetings are held at 2 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday. A typical meeting begins with announcements, which is followed by some kind of game play for a few hours. Some of the games they play are King of Tokyo, Cash and Guns, Battlestar Galactica, and anything else that club members bring themselves.
“We are one of the few clubs that don’t require a certain amount of attendance days to become a full member,” said Assimakopoulos.”We are happy to accommodate commuters and resident students alike.”
One of the only challenging aspects of participating in the club is learning the rules for each game. However, in an open environment where many people are learning at once, it is typically more fun than difficult.
“When you join geeks there’s a couple things you can expect; fun and noise,” said Gauvin. Depending on the game being played, it can get kind of rowdy.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a relaxing way to hang out and play whatever you want, so I suggest it to everyone, just for the fun,” said Assimakopoulos.
