When Video Gaming Club co-founder junior Richie Stoeckel discovered his passion for gaming, he started looking for a way to share it with others.

“I had just gotten into collecting video gaming stuff as a hobby, and I talked to a few of my friends, and they were interested in the same thing. So we registered, and we got a club,” Stoeckel said.

Gaming club adviser and science teacher Peter Dangerfield said playing video games with his friends was one of the highlights of his high school career.

“I really enjoyed NHL ‘94. It was a game that, when I was a freshman in high school, we would create our own tournaments,” Dangerfield said.

Freshman Zion Chappell, another co-founder of Video Gaming Club, said he and Stoeckel looked for someone who shared their passion when searching for an adviser.

“We decided on Dangerfield because he’s a great guy, and he likes to play retro games, and all games,” Chappell said.

Dangerfield likes advising the gaming club because of his passion for video gaming.

“When I introduce myself to students, one of the first days of the semester I will throw up the fact that I own several old video game consoles that are all still attached to televisions in random places in my house,” Dangerfield said.

Chappell said the club focuses on classic games, but their game selection depends on which games members bring in to meetings.

“We’ll do a whole lot of retro, and then we will get a lot of people who bring in newer stuff, and we will play that for awhile,” Chappell said. “We usually have about two TVs going. Either we play one console or two consoles. So we play two to five games per meeting.”

Stoeckel said the club plays a wide variety of games.

“Super Mario Brothers is one we play a lot. Sometimes we play SEGA games and popular early Nintendo games as well,” Stoeckel said.

Dangerfield said he most enjoys games the students bring into the gaming club.

“(A favorite) is a really old original Nintendo Entertainment Systems called ‘Dr. Mario.’ It’s a good kind of Tetris knock-off that they brought that I really enjoyed playing recently,” Dangerfield said.

Chappell said the meetings are very relaxed, and they welcome new members.

“You don’t need any experience, you don’t need to sign up or anything. It’s just come whenever you want, come with friends,” Chappell said.

Stoeckel said everyone should consider joining the club because of its enjoyable environment.

“I think (students) should really check the club out sometime, even if you aren’t sure if you like these games or not,” Stoeckel said.

The club meets from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Thursdays in room A304 and welcomes any attendees.