Thursday nights are known for being college favorites, but instead of heading to Harry’s or Northgate, a group of friends had the idea to find entertainment in an older pastime — playing board games.
Texas A&M Tabletop Troupe, or T³, is comprised of a group of students who meet every Thursday night from 8 p.m.  to midnight in the MSC basement to play a variety of board games. While the club does have active members, anyone is welcome to stop by and play.
Larry Vernier, chemistry junior and president of Tabletop Troupe, said Tabletop Troupe has existed unofficially since his freshman year.
“We used to just hang out and play board games, but as the number of people that wanted to play board games started growing we realized that the places where we were playing weren’t big enough,” Vernier said.
James Dietz, chemistry junior and executive of advertising for Tabletop Troupe, said the idea for the club grew out of wanting to start a board gaming community.
“We always enjoyed board games, board games were a community thing,” Dietz said. “Larry came up to me and then we all met together and Larry said ‘Hey I really want to create a community around board games’ because we had experienced this bonding experience through them.”
Cole Hutton, food science and technology senior and treasurer of Tabletop Troupe, said he has learned a lot about the people he is with through board games and has seen Tabletop Troupe grow over time.
“Games bring out a lot in people,” Hutton said. “We still get people who come all the time … One of our biggest attendances was like 40 or 50 people and we had basically half of this [MSC basement] area to ourselves and that was really cool to see.”
Syed Anwar, chemical engineering sophomore and member of Tabletop Troupe, said Tabletop Troupe is one of his favorite clubs because it provides an avenue for people to play games and make friends — although one game is never on the table.
“The thing about physical board games is that it brings people together. You’re eye to eye and facing them and you have to be nice, a little vicious, sort of assertive that you want to win but at the same time you have to be kind about it,” Anwar said. “Every person I’ve played with here — I know their name, I’ve hated them, I’ve loved them. It’s just one of those experiences where board games brings people together … But we do not play Monopoly here, we like all hate Monopoly. It destroys friendships.”
Vernier said the club collects dues from members to fund Tabletop Troupe’s board game library, but the club is focused on more than just games.
“The most rewarding thing about being in this club is the people. These people I hang out with every week and if it wasn’t for board games we probably would have never met so I am very thankful for that,” Vernier said. “The board game club is not even really about the board games it’s about the people you meet playing board games … You learn things about the people you play with but you also learn things about yourself.”