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St. Cloud State University
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Saintcon Festival to push buttons
By Nick Hanson
Published:
Thursday, October 17, 2002
"Grab a controller and start forming calluses on your thumbs, blow the dust off of the old magic cards sitting in the bottom of your closet, grab a book and start reading to stimulate the mind. Do something to prepare," said gamer Matt Hoffman as he set down his Playstation 2 controller.
Gamers rejoice. The 13th annual convention of brains over braun, commonly known as the Saintcon Gaming Festival, is slated for the upcoming weekend.
Participants will duke it out all weekend in a variety of methods that range from board games to video games to card games.
Sponsored by the SCSU Games Club, the convention will feature long time classics as well as a few new games.
New to the convention this year is a LAN party. Contestants will hook up their computers to one another and jam against their enemies via network.
"Students should bring their own computer and video games they want to contribute to the LAN party," said Ben Rice, secretary of the Games Club.
"Anything that's classified as a game goes. If you can bring it we'll play it." Rice said.
Like always, there will be a huge Magic the Gathering card tournament. A Magic: the Gathering expert will come in and lend his expertise and vast array of cards to the tournament.
Another familiar feature will be a miniature metal figurine game called Battletech, which will have participants battling for the Blackmountain cup.
Other festivities include tournaments in video games Smash Brothers, Melee and Dance Dance Revolution.
There will be prizes for the tournament winners.
When not preparing for the Saintcon tournament, the Games Club remains busy all year.
The organization gathers twice a week in the Sauk-Watab room in Atwood Memorial Center. Tuesday nights are reserved for video games and card games like Magic: The Gathering. The club has an impressive collection of gaming goods so people don't need to bring their own accessories.
"We can provide any gaming system that is out there," Rice said.
The other meeting night, Wednesday, is role-playing night. It is usually dominated with Dungeons and Dragons combat.
Eric Voegli, President, said the club is a great way to relax and enjoy gaming for a night.
"The Games Club is for anyone. Just show up." Voegli said. "It gives students a room to goof off while they are hanging out with friends. It offers students a way to get to know each other."
The clubs size remains stable at about 30-40, but Voegli said more are always welcome to come. However, for now, the club is getting situated for the big weekend of Saintcon.
The Games Club tournament kicks off in Atwood Ballroom Friday, 6 p.m.- 12 a.m. It continues through the weekend Saturday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m and Sunday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
"We usually get anywhere from 100-300 people to show up for Saintcon," said Robb Smith, member of the Games Club.
" I hope a lot of people will come and check it out," said Amee Wendt, PR representative of the game club.
"There will be prizes for the winners of tournaments. People can get together and learn a lot about some games."
