A new club dedicated to playing cards has joined the ranks of ASU's student organizations.
The Trading Card Game Club, which began this semester, provides a space for members of the ASU community to come together and play various card games such as "Magic: The Gathering," "Pokemon," "Yu-Gi-Oh" and more.
The club holds weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at the Student Pavilion in room 220. Since forming, the club has 23 members is always looking for more.
Ben Walker, a molecular bioscience and biotechnology sophomore, said he founded the club with a friend with whom he often played "Magic: The Gathering." But over time, Walker said they got tired of playing against each other and wanted to find others with similar interests.
“I went home one day and I started to look up all the stuff you need to do to make a club — going through the process, seeing it’s not that bad,” Walker said.
He said once their application was approved, they began to establish their new club and determine what their club was going to be about.
Walker said all players, regardless of experience level, are welcome to come play and learn.
“Every single game requires at least two players so if you want to play a game and don’t know anyone, that’s what we are here for,” he said. “We are growing every day and students can sign up whenever."
Walker said he tried to emphasize that while TCG is a club, it's also just a bunch of friends having fun.
He said the club's goal for the future is to have bigger events and gatherings such as a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" tournament.
Julian Acuna, a junior studying biochemistry, said he had been looking for students at ASU to play "Magic: The Gathering" with for about a year.
He said that he met Walker on Reddit during this search and when he got news of a trading card club forming, he had to join.
"There's people here of all different ages and all different majors, you might never meet these people in any situation," Acuna said. “You get together, you play a fun game (and) it’s also a way to decompress after school.”
He recommended that students should come out and try the club and said that attendees don't even need cards because people lend out decks and provide information about the games.
“So, come on out and hang out," Acuna said. "Everyone is cool.”
Brendan Hillier, a senior studying interdisciplinary studies, said he likes being able to play outside his friend group.
“I like how I can play against new people, get different ideas and learn new tactics,” Hillier said.
He said that people should come and give the club a try even if its out of their comfort zone because it's entertaining.
“I know it’s a little off-putting, that it’s like this big nerd thing," Hillier said. "Honestly, it looks like that but when you get into it, it’s a lot more fun.”
Reach the reporter at nurquiza@asu.edu and follow @urquiza_natalie on Twitter.
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