The EWU Gamers Club provides students and community members with an opportunity to socialize with friends while playing a variety of video and tabletop games.

The club was founded in 2009 by Nicolas Eggers and Chris Grimm.

Gamers Club president senior Lorna Harris said the club started out mostly playing “Magic: the Gathering,” and it was Egger and Grimm’s idea to begin stocking “Magic” cards in the EWU Bookstore.

Since the addition of “Magic” cards to the Bookstore, program coordinator John Austin said he has seen a lot of growth in the store and the club. “The Gamers Club is a huge success for the bookstore,” Austin said.

Harris has been president of the EWU Gamers Club since 2013 and has tried to grow the club into a community where anyone can come to play games and make new friends.

During her time as president, Harris has transformed Friday Night “Magic” to Friday night game night. The change allows students and community members to bring any game or games they like to the event. “We used to only have pre-releases and sometimes Friday Night ‘Magic,’ if it would happen, but since I took on the presidency it has been every single Friday we’ve had our game nights,” Harris said.

Austin said he feels Harris turned the club into something students and community members can get passionate about. “The club has grown a lot in the last few years, and it is because [Harris] has worked tirelessly,” he said.

Under Harris’ leadership, the club went from having no professional standing running “Magic” events to being an advanced-class organizer for Wizards of the Coast, the company that produces “Magic.”

EWU junior Drew Goodman regularly attends the club’s Friday game night. Goodman said he enjoys playing “Warhammer 40,000,” a tabletop war game played with miniature figures, at the game nights. Goodman attends the game nights for a variety of reasons and always enjoys himself. “It helps me socialize and is a lot of fun,” he said.

In February 2016, the Gamers Club will host its annual “Game On” event in the PUB MPR. The event is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 12. For more information about this and other events, visit the EWU Gamers Club Facebook page.

Goodman and Harris said they would like to see more people attending Gamers Club events and interacting within the community. “I would like to see a bigger community of people that accept each other for who they are,” Harris said.