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Students unwind, engage at 'game night'

By Amy Boxrud '89
May 18, 2007

With the busy pace of life on a typical college campus, it would be easy for students to overlook the value of playing board games. Some might see it as an idle pastime or just a childhood activity. But a group of St. Olaf students have found "game night" to be the perfect way to unwind and engage -- both mentally and socially.

GameNightPlayers
St. Olaf students Emily Klock, a religion major, and Paul Tveite, a mathematics major, play the game "Puerto Rico," a role-playing game set in the early years of the island's development by European settlers.
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Josh Laison is the St. Olaf faculty member who facilitates this increasingly rare occurrence: college students sitting down to play games together. Twice a month, Laison brings out his ever expanding collection of board games, along with snacks and sodas, as a dozen or so "regulars" show up in a Science Center classroom to relax, connect with fellow students, and -- perhaps most importantly -- have some fun.

In an era when "gaming" conjures up images of a lone player in front of a computer screen in a dimly lit room, these students find low-tech games a satisfying alternative. And while experiencing a "virtual" community suffices for many computer gamers, game night participants create the real thing.

With its origins in the Mathematics Department (which has since been renamed Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science), game night primarily attracts math and computer science majors, but all are welcome. It began a few years ago, when visiting professor Dave Molnar shared his interest in games (and his impressive game collection) with his math students. But when Molnar moved away from campus to his next teaching job, game night lost momentum.

Hanging out
LaisonJoshMath
Laison
Laison revived the idea this year when he arrived at St. Olaf from Colorado College, where he also had facilitated a game night. He saw it as an opportunity to strengthen an already healthy sense of community within the Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science Department, to get to know his students better and to relax a bit himself. "I enjoy hanging out with my students," says Laison. "And it's enforced play time for me."

The group passes over such mainstream games as Monopoly and Yahtzee for more interesting, less common choices. The most popular games with the group are those with simple rules, but that offer the potential for complex strategy. "The games we play are less random," says Laison. "They call for a deeper level of skill." Laison's wife, Stephania Fregosi, who attends game night whenever her schedule allows, adds, "These games aren't difficult to learn. They allow for deep thinking or shallower thinking. A great game can be played by anyone." (Although Laison will be moving to Willamette University next year, he hopes that the game night group will continue by gaining official "student club" status.)

GameNightGames
Game night participants choose from a variety of game titles.
Several areas of mathematics are represented in the games. "Ticket to Ride," with a railroad theme, utilizes the mathematical concept of networks, providing players with strategic and tactical decisions. "Blokus," an abstract strategy game with tetris-shaped, colored pieces, calls upon geometric and visual skills. When playing "Set," students wrestle with discrete mathematics to identify sets of three cards, which are either all alike or all different in their attributes. "The Settlers of Catan" puts economic theory to use as players vie to be the dominant force on an island by collecting raw materials to build settlements, cities and roads.

"It's both a mental break and a mental challenge," says mathematics major Paul Tveite '07. "It's a break from thinking about things that matter, but it still engages your mind."

The complexity of the games, combined with the sense of community that is fostered, keeps students returning to game night over and over. "It's more social than watching TV," says Emily Klock '07, a religion major and a game night regular. "And it involves a little more thinking."

--Amy Boxrud '89 is a freelance writer who lives in Northfield.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.