We all, at least, know one person who loves playing different kinds of games including the video-graphic ones. At AUI, the Gaming club gives them the chance to adopt this new culture of gaming.
Despite many dark clouds in the blue sky of the Fall 2020 semester, the AUI Gaming club is doing its best to bring joy to Friday nights on campus. With more than 100 active members, the club has made its way to the hearts of AUI’s new members and beyond.
The course of their evolution and secrets behind their success
The idea of having an environment for people who share the same love and enthusiasm for games came to the mind of an AUIer in Spring 2018. Due to all the challenges faced, it had to wait until Fall 2019 to flourish its blossoms into the community. The secret behind their success is said to be the idea of entertainment on campus since off-campus movements are costly and suffocating, given the situation of the current pandemic.
We are creating entertainment and fun. In fact, we are more of a community than a mere club.
Younes Boubou, treasurer of the Gaming club
As a matter of fact, the club had its elections just recently. The new board aims to improve and add up to what was initiated before. Though the main aim remains to be providing the means and space for gamers and other students to relax after each hectic week, they still dream big. “We try to motivate gamers at AUI to have teams for each game. Then, to participate in tournaments all over Morocco and Africa” says Bilal Lorlham, the vice-president of the club. In other words, the board members are willing to expand this game culture by going beyond AUI and exploring new horizons.
Additionally, the Gaming club is planning to expand its activities throughout the campus amongst students with a wide range of interests. For the coming weeks, they are planning to collaborate with other clubs to make the community wider and the culture widespread.
Friday nights at the gaming club venues
One of the several events that members of the Gaming club are proud of is their “Friday night” ritual where everyone gathers around to play their favorite game, dance, or just hangout. The four gentlemen serving as the board members of this club met and became very good friends through similar events last semester and decided to provide this opportunity for others as well.
Through social media and the friendly attitude they have, they managed to be remembered by different people, even those who are not interested in gaming. In addition, students who are not on campus do not feel left out. In fact, the club organized and carried out an online platform for them as well.
It contains rooms; each room is for a game and you can gather there to meet, play, or just talk.
Zakaria Benjelloun, general secretary of the Gaming club
Gaming Club and Dealing with Pandemic
Since the spread of COVID-19, there are many changes in the club meeting policies and settings. The latter affected the performance of many clubs. Although the latest regulations and challenges faced made it harder to keep a club active, folks at the Gaming club were able to organize activities involving dancing and games. While they use different venues for the events to avoid producing crowds, they also pay attention to the interactions between members at all times. “We split into two locations to host more than 140 members” mentioned Hachem Bouhamidi, president of the club, where 6 people sit per table and 4 people per game, Idir Moukhlis explained.
Despite the many flaws of the club’s success story, they succeeded in providing a place with a sense of belonging. While the clash of interests amongst students of different schools still persists, having fun, dancing and gaming apparently managed to unite them all together.
