New Club Rebirth

Back in 2006, a club called EGG, short for Eagles Gaming Group, was founded to create a space for students to gather together and play board games. Due to a lack of available leadership, the club ultimately was forced to disband in 2019, however the bygone club name remained up on the Oklahoma Christian University webpage. Eventually, one student discovered it and decided to take action. 

Therron Kidd, an electrical engineering major and a sophomore at Oklahoma Christian is the driving force behind the club’s revival. He spoke with the Talon about this decision and its beginnings:

“So, I really like board games, [and] I know a lot of people that also really like board games on campus. So, I was looking at the [Oklahoma Christian] website, and there was an Eagle gaming group,” Kidd said. “I emailed Professor Smith…[who] was one of the sponsors, and I asked if it was a board game club, and if so, how could I join it?”

Upon reaching out, Kidd discovered the club had been disbanded years ago. Yet due to the inquiry, Professor Pat Smith offered to sponsor the club again, with one condition: the club must be student-led.

“So that’s what I found, [and] I put together a group of students to [do it],” Kidd said. “I kind of gauged interest in the dorm I was in, along with the [Computer Science] students, and they all said they would love to be a part of the board gaming group.”

Not everything remains the same as the old club, though; several new changes have been made.

“A big part is we are more board game focused. Originally, they did both board games and tabletop systems like Dungeons and Dragons… Additionally, as previously mentioned, it is now student-led,” Kidd said. “We have four officers that deal with meeting notes, running the meetings, reaching out to people, and filling in any role that needs to be filled.”

The officers of EGG are Therron Kidd, aforementioned, Seth Peace, Connor Wiggs, and Gideon Mallinson. Peace and Mallinson assist with the running and scheduling of EGG events. Theron is tasked with PR, and Wiggs works as a fill-in for any absent officers and general help such as game atmosphere monitoring. In an interview with the Talon, Connor Wiggs was asked about one of the main goals of the group.

“We’re just meant to be a group to help people connect and socialize through board games and card games and have fun together,” Wiggs said. “We meet every Friday at 6:45pm in room 208 of the Harold Science Hall (HSH).”

When asked about future plans for the club this semester and even the year as a whole, Kidd said, 

“I think potentially, if we have enough interest, we might expand back into Dungeons and Dragons… We’re smaller [so] maybe in a few months. This first semester, I just want to have enough people, and we’re already on track with that… Next semester we’ll try and start to do events… We haven’t done any [mini events], but the plan is to have certain theme nights or reach out to Student Life and have events,” Kidd said.

Thus far, the club has only met twice. Attendance numbers range from around 10 to 15 students with a current return rate of 75 percent. Event details and updates are currently being announced over Discord, but in addition, physical flyers will be up around campus shortly, and an expansion to an email list is being considered as well. 

In response to a question about what students should expect from EGG Kidd said, 

“To me, it’s pretty casual,” Kidd said. “I hope they have time to relax and almost detox from all the homework. I want to have people meet each other through these games because, to me, board games are a great way to meet people. That’s why I met a lot of my friends.”

Board games and materials are supplied by the officers and their sponsor. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own games as well, regardless of personal interest in playing or not. Games such as Root, Stifling Dark, and Flux are a few examples of what has been played so far.