On Saturday, 160 students congregated at the Hall of Presidents (HOP) for The Game Strikes Back, an event co-sponsored by The Game’s Afoot (TGA) and the Colgate Activities Board (CAB). Attendees were treated to t-shirts, stickers and mugs emblazoned with the TGA logo before starting the night off with a variety of card, video and board games in the Clarke Room. Other highlights included video game tournaments – with sophomores Patrick Doyle and Katya Kukhto and first-year Becky Anderson taking top honors in Pok?emon, junior Erik Barro and Max Staffa ’12 comprising the winning Super Smash Bros. Brawl team and senior Will Betz narrowly beating fellow senior Nik Murano in Call of Duty – a raffle, free food courtesy of the Royal India Grill and a competitive Nerf war, a mainstay at TGA events.

Overall, the night was a success, though TGA co-Consul, junior Ian Dwyer, maintains that the organization has big plans for the rest of the semester.

“TGA has always tried to be the club that gives people their first group of really close friends when they get to college and continues to bring that group together during their remaining years here,” Dwyer said. “This event was, for us, another opportunity to facilitate bonding among our members as well as others in the Colgate community. We wanted to give everyone a big welcome back, and I think we succeeded in that regard. It’s going to be a great semester, and we’re just getting started!”

Other TGA members echo this sentiment. “I thought that The Game Strikes Back was doubtlessly the best thing Colgate has held since I’ve arrived,” said TGA member Tiers Congdon, a first-year. “The food, the atmosphere and most importantly the games created a safe and fun place to hang out and meet new friends. I can’t wait to see what TGA comes out with next year!”

“It was warm,” said senior Lily Jones of the event’s atmosphere and attendees. Though Jones had previously never been to a TGA event, her experience at The Game Strikes Back suggests that TGA has accomplished its mission. TGA hopes to continue to offer this warm environment throughout the rest of the semester with regular game nights and, hopefully, an ambitious large-scale event known as Humans vs. Zombies, which is currently in the works.