Upon entering Siddharth Singhal’s room on the first floor of Vyas, one is cleared of any doubts one may have as to why he is the man in charge of BITS Pilani’s Gaming Club. The worn out gaming mouse and keyboard suggest many a night of hard-core gaming.

Although the Gaming Club conducts just one event – Armageddon – for APOGEE, it attracts a large participation and is one of the most awaited events of the fest. This edition of Armageddon will have games like FIFA 17, DoTA 2, CS 1.6, CS GO and Blur and will be held at the VKB Mess along with Radioaktiv’s Game Lounge. “All the games except Blur will be played as a team. We have elimination rounds from which the top 8 teams will be split into two brackets. The winner from each bracket then goes head to head in the finals. This is done to ensure a fair competition” explains Siddharth.

Apart from Armageddon, the Gaming Club also conducted Crossfire earlier this semester. This was conducted as a preview to Armageddon and was targeted at first years. “Crossfire was also an effort to revive the gaming culture of BITS which is slowly dying out because of the switch from wired connections to WiFi in hostels”, says Siddharth. The club also have a gaming event during BOSM, albeit on a much lower scale. “We’re also planning to sell custom T-shirts later on this semester. You can give us your gaming tag and we’ll print a T-shirt with your tag and the logo of your game on it!” Siddharth says excitedly.

For most part of the year, the Gaming Club just hangs out and plays games together. As a member, you are expected to show up and help conduct the event. It’s not all fun and games for Siddharth though. “I have to deal with the logistics for the event and have to co-ordinate with the other clubs and departments in order to make sure everything goes smoothly. It’s hectic and tiring but a good experience” he says.

“A lot of clubs and departments have put in a lot of effort to make this edition of APOGEE more enjoyable for the BITSian populace. I urge everyone to stay back and participate in something or the other” concludes Siddharth.