Every Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Campbell Hall Room One, a community comes together.

Established around five or six years ago, the University of Minnesota Board Gamers Club bond over board games, according to current club president Andrew Pomes.

During a meeting, students can bring their own board games or play the games provided. They then separate into groups of different games to play.

The club’s mission states, “Anyone is free to drop in and it is very casual. Bring your friends or meet some new ones, and come to de-stress and have a good time.”

A senior now, Pomes said he has been a part of the club since his freshman year.

“It’s one of the clubs that I’ve been in since the beginning,” Pomes said. “I’ve tried to come do it all the time because it’s just so much fun just hanging out playing board games.”

Pomes says he initially joined the club because of his love for board games as a kid, and he encourages people to do the same.

“It’s literally just show up with some board games to play,” Pomes said. “We have no expectations for you to show up at all ever again, but you can definitely come back if you want.”

Third-year Jason Guoin has been a member of the club for three years. He said it was hard for him at first when he did not know people, but it slowly became a community for him.

“After I started meeting people and getting to know people more it got easier because you see people here to talk to,” Guoin said. “It’s pretty much just a place to come have fun with other people looking to have fun.”

Guoin said his favorite part of the club is getting a chance to play board games with other people and he encourages others to come do the same.

“If you like games, try to get here,” Guoin said. “Want to try playing more board games, they’re fun and you should.”

Devin Everding, one of the club’s officers, has been part of the club for two years and said he joined through the club’s discord.

“I literally looked up board games on Gopher Link, and I found the discord,” Everding said. “I saw someone was playing betrayal. And I was like, ‘Hey, can I join?’ And I came and I joined.”

Everding said the club fosters a welcoming community.

“I’ve definitely seen people come and go,” Everding said. “We have a lot of new people here, and they kind of just fit right in. You can barely even tell when people are new and when they’re not.”

Everding said the club has played a big role in his life. He said the club was his first time finding a group in college.

“I found this, and I actually met my roommate,” Everding said. “He invited me to come play war games with a couple other guys. I play Pathfinder with those guys. Now, I’m close friends with all of them. I have a lot of friends here.”

The club does almost all of its communication on Discord, and the link can be found on its Instagram and GopherLink page.

Everding encourages people to show up and explore.

“It’s super, like, challenging and scary to try new things and to go to new clubs,” Everding said. “Honestly, I just did it randomly one day, and a lot of what my life is now would not be the same way if I didn’t just do something randomly one day. So I have a lot to be thankful for.”