Mary Bidonde, Staff Writer
On Saturday, November 4, 2023, the Dragon Lair hosted a Super Smash Bros tournament. When I got there not a lot of players had arrived yet. Eventually, people showed up and paid the five-dollar entry fee. It took them a while to actually start the tournament but when they did the players got competitive and wanted to win the twenty-dollar virtual Amazon gift card offered as the reward. The players were clearly having a lot of fun and were enjoying themselves. It wasn’t all perfect, but a pretty fun way to spend a Saturday night.
It didn’t feel like a tournament at all. It felt like people sitting around playing video games. There was no bracket to see who was playing and who was advancing to the next round. I didn’t play, but I did observe what was going on. Even after paying the entry fee the players were sitting around and waiting for what felt like ages for the tournament to begin. I got there a little after six and the tournament started an hour later.
As I observed, I noticed the gamers engaging with each other while we waited. I hadn’t been to the Dragon Lair before this event but the room itself is pretty cool and cozy. It’s a nice place to hang out if that’s what you’re after or have an itch to play some video games in your free time. The room doesn’t have any bright lights but more dimmed calmer lights that make it a great space for a post-class brain break.
When the gaming started my first thought was simply that Super Smash Bros resembles Mortal Kombat where you fight another player and you pick a character to fight as. In Super Smash Bros, you had characters such as Pikachu and Bowser against each other, while in Mortal Kombat you would have characters like Katana (my go-to) and Batman fighting each other. Different worlds of characters but the same premise. Either way, it was fun to watch the player rage and laugh at the same time.
If I were to give a rating to this event I would rate it four stars out of five. I’d give that rating because I wasn’t too big a fan of how long players had to wait for the gaming to commence after paying to play and the tournament didn’t feel like a tournament. It felt like a group of people gathered just to play Super Smash Bros. In my opinion, the Mario Kart tournament in my high school had more of a tournament feel with a bracket and there was less waiting around for it to start. However, the tournament was good for people who enjoy gaming and are always looking for ways to get out of their dorm rooms more. Make sure to visit the Dragon’s Lair right in Hunt Union.
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