Friday night is one of the quietest times on campus, but one group takes advantage of this quietness, coming together in Lloyd Hall to make some noise and play their favorite game — Super Smash Brothers.
The Crimson Smash Club hosts around 30 students each meeting, engaging in friendly but competitive rounds of Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Super Smash Bros Melee, fighting games made by Nintendo where players can battle as beloved characters from other games, like Super Mario Bros., Pokemon and Street Fighter.
Dakota Stern, a senior majoring in computer science, has been a member of the club since freshman year and now serves as the vice president.
“A lot of us have a big love for the game and are passionate about Smash Bros,” Stern said.
Before each tournament, the club president makes a bracket. Players get the chance to play at least two games before they are eliminated, as there is a “redemption bracket” for those who lose their first games. Stern said this was an effort to make the club “more accessible” to all players.
“If you’re not good at Smash, it’s totally fine to just come over and have a good time,” said Garrett Bye, a sophomore communications major and member of the club. “I feel like the number one thing that holds people back is thinking they have to be good at the game.”
The game has a large competitive player base, split into two major categories, those who play Super Smash Bros Melee, and now, the more popular Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
In September, members attended a tournament in Birmingham that had over 600 competitors. Stern described players as an “interconnected community” and said that the club competes with Birmingham players often.
“I have thousands of hours on the game. It’s like my guilty pleasure,” Stern said. “It’s really cool to have a community where we can all take part in one interest.”
Hayden Carriger, a senior majoring in math education, said he went to a club meeting before he was an official student at the University and enjoys meeting other people at tournaments.
“A lot of the time when you think of gaming clubs, you think about a lot of people not being social, but we’re a very social club,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of my friends through the club, including my roommates.”
The club has served as a sense of community for Andrew Carroll, a junior majoring in mathematics. Carroll transferred from Wyoming and said that the club helped with the adjustment of coming from a different school.
“Regardless of anything, we all have this one thing in common. We all enjoy this one thing, and it is fun for us to get to enjoy it together,” he said.
