Board game club experiences exponential growth after single year
“I realized there was this whole underground thing where people would hang out and play board games, so I just decided to make a club,” Club president Stephen Baggett said of the club's beginnings.
Courtesy of Jonathan from the Publications Office
Membership has exploded for Lee20, the new official tabletop game club on campus, since its first meeting last fall.
The club started with just three people and a dream of connecting people through games, and in the year following, their success has only grown. Now, over 100 people regularly meet in various buildings on campus to play games.
Club president Stephen Baggett said he was constantly hearing students make plans to play games at the PCSU or SMC. Inspired by his family’s love for board games, he resolved to make an official outlet for gamers on campus named after the Dungeons & Dragons 20-sided dice, the d20.
“I realized there was this whole underground thing where people would hang out and play board games, so I just decided to make a club,” Baggett said.
Baggett and the few other members were worried that the club’s initial meetings would be a flop considering the “nerd stigma” sometimes attached to game groups, but the first event had a bigger turnout than they expected, with 84 people showing up to their opening game night.
According to Bagget, the club is unique in how active the members are outside of the scheduled events. Only about three big events a year are advertised to the campus, but the members connect every few days to meet and play their favorite games.
“It’s cool to see the community be really active,” Baggett said. “It’s changed my life having a group of friends to just chill and play games with.”
Junior English major and Lee20 member Jalen Cupp said he, as an introvert, often had a smaller circle of friends. Since getting involved in the game club, he has had more interactions with peers at Lee both in and out of club events.
“There’s a lot of people on campus who are looking for friends, and it’s a great way to connect,” Baggett said.
Senior Lecturer of Theatre and Theatre Technical Director Catherine Mantooth said she expects the club to thrive in the future years, fostering adventure and creative outlets for gamers. When the club was looking for a faculty sponsor, she said she filled the position in part due to her own love for Dungeons and Dragons—and because she saw the benefit of a having a game club on campus.
“Hospitality and imagination are at the center of gaming communities everywhere, especially at Lee20,” Mantooth said.
The key to this feeling of community, according to Baggett, is the club's ability to promote face-to-face interaction. Gathering around a table with family or friends and duking it out in classics like Monopoly or Uno is a timeless experience where, in our current age, many of our interactions tend to be online.
“We aren’t sitting down with people anymore, and that’s super important,” Baggett said. “As humans, we’re made to interact.”
Some of the popular tabletop games played in Lee20 include Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan and Exploding Kittens. While the club is open to everyone from beginners to experienced players and invites people to bring their own games, the club asks the members about personal games beforehand to monitor the content of what’s being played. To keep within community covenant guidelines, the club does not allow Cards Against Humanity or anything with explicit sexual content.
For more information about Lee20, follow the club on social media at @lee20club or contact them directly at lee20club@gmail.com.
