Kids make up games all the time but for the Strategy Club, making games is no child’s play. Started by sophomore George Rao back in February, the club creates original games.

“Members of Strategy Club undergo the unique experience of working in small teams to design an original board game from start to finish,” Rao said. “At the end of the year, teams get the opportunity to play their original games at the Strategy Festival, simulating a formal release.”

On Friday, the club is planning to go to the Village at Stonebridge to play their games with the residents.

“Our main goal is for the event at the senior living center to be a good experience for everyone,” Rao said. “Teams are working hard to put the finishing touches on their games in preparation for May 26 so we can showcase the creativity and hard work of our teams.”

Beyond the visit to the senior center, members of the club get to learn about the strategies of board games while also getting to practice real world strategies like planning and teamwork.

“My favorite part of this club is having fun with friends as well as developing games,” sophomore Philo Lin said. “This is the first time I actually created a game myself and I learned a lot from the experience like the difficulties of making a game such as balancing a game to make it fair as well as creating a difficulty that matches the audience.”

For club sponsor and art teacher Pernie Fallon, Strategy Club is a chance for students to build better relationships with one another through a common interest of strategic thinking and game-making.

“It’s brought a lot of people together that probably might not have crossed paths if they didn’t have this similar interest in strategy and learning that through board games,” Fallon said. “It’s a mix of interesting and intelligent people who might have not gotten to know each other.”