By Sebastian Moronta, Staff Writer
These days, “gaming” can manifest itself in all sorts of ways, and there’s a group on campus that loves them all: the UMass Dartmouth Gaming Society.
This group has had a presence at UMass for 11 years, and serves as a place for any and all to play games together. There are four meetings a week on all weekdays except Wednesdays, and each night has a theme centered around the most popular kinds of games among members.
Mondays, the group meets in LARTS 215 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for card game night.
This is where card games of all sorts are played, the most popular being trading card games like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic: The Gathering. All other card games are welcome.
Tuesdays, the gaming society hosts an Anime Night from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in LARTS 117. Each week, the group showcases a few selections from different shows each week, as well as a few semester-long series.
This semester the group is running through Full Metal Panic and No Game No Life. The content shown is entirely dictated by the group, so if attendees have an interest in a show that’s often what’s played.
After a day off on Wednesdays, the big night of the week is Thursday.
These nights, the group meets in LARTS 206 to play any kind of game they fancy. Members bring dozens of board games and video games to play, and they range from complicated marathons like Delve to simple favorites like Cards Against Humanity.
Thursdays are general game nights, so any and all games will find a table provided the means and friends to play.
Finally, on Fridays are League of Legends nights in LARTS 117. League of Legends is a multi-player online battle-arena (MOBA) video game, and one of the most popular in the world with over 100 million players signing on per month.
The game has a large following on campus, and as the community grows the Gaming Society provides a place for old and new fans to play together.
Apart from the weekly meetings, the group hosts a few larger events each year.
This past Halloween the group celebrated by playing horror games, and watching spooky anime.
In the spring, the group observes International Tabletop Day by gathering for a night of classic tabletop games.
This past Saturday, the Gaming Society hosted Power Up, their annual charity event. It’s a 12 hour gaming marathon in which all are invited to play games with a donation of $15 worth of toys, or a simple cash donation of that amount.
The group donates all the proceeds and toys to Toys for Tots, in conjunction with the Department of Public Safety’s annual toy drive.
The Gaming Society has a facebook page @UMDGS where folks can get updates on meetings and contact group members.
The group’s president, Toby Young, senior electrical engineering major, wants the group to be a welcoming place for all players.
“Bottom line is, we’re here to give people somewhere to play games. We just want people to have fun, there’s no strict attendance, come when you can and play.”