The E-sports Club at CSUB held Operation: Mash of Monsters in the Student Union multi-purpose room. on Oct. 23. The event involved a costume contest, board games, DIY mask painting, lanyard sales, and a much-anticipated Super Smash Bros. tournament.

Student Jennifer Vandever expresses how the activities advertised by the club met her expectations as they had numerous fun board games such as Monopoly, Magic: The Gathering, Cards Against Humanity and many more. She also states that she was excited for the “Smash tournament the most and face mask painting.”

According to club president Jesus Barajas, the event was initially intended to be a “welcome back to campus” occasion, considering that it will be plenty of students’ first time attending in-person classes. However, it was delayed because of the lack of resources and shortage of time. Eventually, the event evolved into a Halloween-themed one, but it was still limited by “COVID restrictions and funds,” Barajas explains. Operation: Mash of Monsters, with a maximum occupancy of 50, enjoyed a great turnout with 31 attendees.

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Sync Coordinator, Ed Webb shares how he volunteered to ensure COVID protocols were being maintained. His tasks included: “checking students using Checkpoint, checking COVID screenings on phones end explaining guidelines regarding mask wear, social distancing, and food.”

Vandever believes the event did a good job at implementing COVID safety procedures as “they made sure, if you need to eat or drink, you go somewhere else outside to do that. [Also], all the supervisors [we’re] looking to see that everyone was wearing their mask.” Both Barajas and Vandever state the Smash tournament as the highlight of the event. Barajas was glad “a lot of people participated,” and he was impressed by all the players’ “skill range.” He also appreciated everyone’s sportsmanship and camaraderie. Vandever says her favorite part of the event was “getting to win a round in the smash tournament.” Webb discusses how he “en-joyed it very much when there were gasps and cheers during the tournament matches. It felt good to hear ‘signs of life’ again.”

Already satisfied with the event’s outcome, Barajas would only make minor changes given the chance. He says he would have chosen longer cables for easier access and given clearer instructions “about how the event is being run. Vandever only wishes that there could have been “another Nintendo switch or PlayStation games set up” to allow more people to partake in other video game options.

In order to stay updated to similar events in the future, Barajas says, “Students can stay in [the] loop… read club announcements, speak with other students, play games… and participate in virtual activities” by joining their Dis-cord server. Webb says he “would like to encourage clubs to hold more events. The Office of Student Involvement is willing to help them navigate COVID protocols so events can be fun AND safe, and not just one or the other.”To keep updated with the E-sports Club, follow their Instagram, @csub_esports, and their Twitter, @CSUBEsports.