Residence halls see increase in ‘retro’ board game playing

There are many choices for old-school entertainment in Larzelere Hall.

Residents can test their skills as amateur detectives while playing
Clue, see how many shapes they can twist their body into during a game
of Twister or recall childhood memories courtesy of Sweet Valley High.

These are just some of the offerings found among the approximately
60 games in a cupboard in the Larzelere Hall lobby, said Andy
Vansteenkiste, a hall desk employee.

“A lot of people like to check them out, get their friends together,
have a good time, play some games,” said Vansteenkiste, a Sterling
Heights junior.

Sign-out sheets in Larzelere showed at least one game being checked
out every day from Jan. 9 to Jan. 23.

Larzelere is just one of several residence halls on campus offering
board games for students to play.

Scategories and Twister are among the most requested games,
Vansteenkiste said, and there also is a high demand for cards, chess
and checkers.

“If you’re living in the dorms and you don’t feel like going out,
just walk down the hall and get friends together and just have a good
time playing games,” he said. “It’s a break from video games and TV and
the computer – it reminds you of your childhood.”

Auburn Hills sophomore Courtney Frailey regularly checks out games
in Larzelere. She said they are old-fashioned and fun to play.

“They’re kind of childish and you can just be goofy and fun,”
she said.

Battle of the Sexes is a board game Resident Assistant Leeah Custer
said she has seen played often in Robinson Hall.

The Greenville junior said the nearly 20 board games behind the
front desk in Robinson are a good source of entertainment for bored
students.

Monopoly is the most requested among the approximately 20 board
games in Barnes Hall, said desk employee Sara Taylor, a Montrose junior.

Taylor said she gets a request to check out Monopoly about
once a week while she is working.

The time period directly before exams is the most popular time for
playing board games in Barnes, she said.

“When people need a break from studying they’ll get a group of
people and be like, ‘Hey, let’s just play a game,’” said Taylor, a
self-proclaimed experienced Monopoly player.

A couple years ago she said she played Monopoly from about 4 to 7
a.m. with a group of friends who also worked the desk.

“We’d pick up the game the next night because we never finished it,
and it’s just one of those – it’s forever going and it’s just fun to
play,” Taylor said.