Gaming on the Plains
Do you remember spending nights in your dorm room or your parents’ basement crowded around the TV with your friends, laughing and shouting at each other as you played your favorite video games together?
Cobber grads Evan Balko ’12, Jake Kohl ’12, and Eric Lillehaugen ’11 do. But Lillehaugen says as gaming has matured and changed, much of the experience has moved online and the opportunities to share those moments with friends have become rare.
Out of a desire to bring back a more communal gaming experience, Balko and Kohl created and hosted the first Games on the Plains event at the Prairie Den in downtown Fargo in October 2015. Gamers of all ages and levels of expertise showed up to enjoy an evening of playing their favorite games or trying out new ones together, reminiscent of LAN parties past.
Since 2015, there have been three events and the planning team has expanded to include Lillehaugen and Brandon Cuddigan. Last fall, the team added a fundraising element to the event, partnering with Extra Life, a national charity that benefits Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. Attendees helped raise $1,500 for Sanford Children’s Hospital during the 24-hour gaming event in November.
Games on the Plains events happen twice annually: once in the spring and again in the fall.
The free all-ages event takes place in the Prairie Den coworking space above King House Buffet in downtown Fargo. Gamers are invited to use the consoles set up at the event or bring their own PC or console.
Anyone with even a passing interest in video games is encouraged to attend, try out the virtual reality demonstrations, fuel up on snacks and hang out.
“At the end of the day, we’re just here to put on a party and play some games,” Lillehaugen says. “We know we have an awesome community of gamers in Fargo-Moorhead; we hope that attending our events provides an opportunity to share their passion and develop their own bonds and friendships.”