For the first time this semester, Catan Club and Chess Club joined forces for side-by-side gameplay Oct. 30 on the Academic Quad. According to Chess Club event coordinator Alexander Nguyen (senior), the meeting was also known as C².
Nguyen said Catan Club and Chess Club generally have separate member bases, despite both clubs centering around strategy board games. According to Nguyen, a collaborative event was first on their list for the semester, and many of the tables the two clubs had set up along the quad were filled.
“We believe having a club should be more than just the club itself; [a club should] welcome as many people as possible to come do the activity,” Nguyen said. “The easiest way to start is to bring in clubs which have other audiences, especially with something as closely related as [chess and Catan because] they’re both board games. If you love one board game, you’ll probably love a different one.”
Chess Club president Rogan Gibbons (senior) said although there was some mixing between the clubs, participants mostly played the game they were most comfortable with. Gibbons said due to the length of Catan games, many Catan players migrated to chess after their original games ended.
“Because I’m in Chess Club, I play chess all the time,” Gibbons said. “I definitely get enough of that in my life. So I wanted to learn from people who’ve been playing [Catan] a lot and play in a good competitive environment. Catan is really fun, and I’m going to start playing more.”
According to Gibbons, Chess Club had the idea for the event in Spring 2026, but he and the other members were too busy to organize it. Gibbons said this semester he reached out to Catan Club president John Eleveld (senior) to pitch the idea, and the two e-boards began meeting two weeks in advance to discuss event logistics.
Since the event was the Friday before Halloween, the turnout was lower than it could have been, according to Gibbons. In the future, Gibbons said he wishes to hang up more flyers and send an outreach email further in advance to be able to gauge interest in events beforehand.
“I think the people who were there had a good time — that was the feedback I was hearing from everybody,” Gibbons said. “It was a really comfortable and fun space to be in for people to just walk through and say ‘hi.'”
According to Catan Club co-president Nathan de Silva (junior), Chess Club was a big inspiration for Catan Club because of their lively e-board, member base and active social media presence. It felt natural to host an event together, according to de Silva.
“Gratefully and very fortunately, we’re all friends with the chess guys,” de Silva said. “It’s just a matter of just saying, ‘Hey, let’s do this thing,’ and it’s also an excuse to hang out with friends.”
According to Gibbons, Chess Club usually hosts joint meetings three to four times per semester and they are often looking for organizations and clubs to collaborate with.
“I think collaborations are a great way for multiple clubs to get exposure at the same time,” Gibbons said. “It’s a really good way for you to attend your club’s event, but at the same time meet a lot of new people and try something new in a safe environment.”
Nguyen said the joint meeting originally involved Cheese Club, who planned on handing out cheese as waiters to the Catan and chess players. However, they withdrew due to budget constraints.
De Silva said the event gave some club members who were often unable to attend Catan Club’s Sunday meetings another chance to play.
“Every event we have goes well because you’re just playing Catan, you’re just hanging out with people,” de Silva said. “If not that many people show up, we’re not really concerned about that. What’s valuable is just providing the opportunity for people to come together.”
Contact Corrina Kuo at ckuo2@oxy.edu
