Bowdoin Board Game Club: It's Not Just Who Wins and Who Loses

Video footage by Busra Eriz ’17

In 2014, first-year roommates Greg Koziol ’17 and Bobby Choi ’17, and their friend Tim Long ’17, decided to launch a board game club. Although it started out as a group of friends who simply wanted to get together to play games, the endeavor grew into something much more than that. Today, about 435 students are on the email roster, and the club, which began with just five games, now has around 40.

Koziol admitted the success of the club came as a bit of a surprise. “We ended up being super dedicated to it,” he said. “It’s become wildly successful, in my eyes.”

The club leaders have created a logo for their increasingly popular Board Game Club (to print on sweatshirts and T-shirts), which Choi explained symbolizes what the club aims to foster—an inclusive, welcoming group.

“We have a great community that I love,” Choi said. After saying the board game club is “very near and dear” to his heart, he added that he’s pleased it will continue at Bowdoin after he and the other leaders graduate.

Club members meet on Saturdays, from noon to 4 p.m., at the Smith Union to play games. Last Friday, the club also held a well-attended game night in Jack Magee’s Pub, where leaders served up pizza and lots of cards, dice, and strategy.

Admissions has also asked the club to host prospective students. “I’ve had prospective students tell me, ‘I wasn’t sure if I fit in at Bowdoin until I came to this event’,” Koziol said. “And people applying actually mention [to Admissions] that the Board Game Club is something they would want to do if they came to Bowdoin.” He added, “That’s an incredibly—really, really great thing to hear.”​