Issue date: 9/12/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Kevin Fiscus Tony Cam (left) pulls up a seat and plays House of the Dead III in the University Union Game Room on Sept. 6. [Click to enlarge]

Neng Cha, a second-year freshman psychology major at Sacramento State, leans into position, one eye shut and the other narrowing in on the perfect shot. With one hard swoosh of the long pool stick, the cue ball rolls across the newly covered red felt, bumping a red ball just right and into the top left pocket of the pool table.

"What makes it fun is the socializing and the bragging about your skills," Cha said.

Cha said his favorite activity to play in the game room is pool. So much so, that he takes a stroll to Sac State after work to play before going home to do some homework, he said.

This semester, the game room on the first floor of the University Union is equipped with new furniture and arcade games, where students can hang out between the classes or be competitive.

Game room attendant Robby Brenner, who is a graduate student, said students are also offered a level of comfort when they decide to jump on one of the video game consoles.

The speaker chairs from last semester have been replaced with cushy, black beanbag chairs, Brenner said.

The game room will be giving the old chairs away as prizes for the 9-ball and table tennis tournaments. The next tournament is scheduled for Monday, he said.

Students can choose from an array of entertainment such as the old-school arcade games Street Fighter and Tekken 5. But the game room has also received two new arcade games: Mario Kart and Dragon Punch 2, Brenner said.

It keeps a competitive atmosphere by offering tournaments for various games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Madden '08 and Street Fighter, he said.

Gen Kinjo, a junior international business major and game room attendant, said he likes the introduction of the new video game consoles.

The game room is also equipped with pool tables. The pool tables now have red felt which was introduced this semester, Brenner said.

"It needed a new look," Brenner said about the previous worn out green felt.

The look and feel of the game room is made complete with florescent dangling lights for the pool tables, he said.

But the game room has seen its fair share of downgrades, he said, including the removal of the air hockey table and a pinball machine.

"It wasn't making any money," he said.

With the upgrades, on the other hand, students won't have to worry about a price increase.

For pool and video game consoles it still remains $4 an hour and $2.25 an hour for table tennis, Brenner said.

Matt Showers, a history graduate student, said the prices in the game room are cheaper than a lot of other places he has been to.

"It could be cheaper though," he said smiling.

For Cha, the game room is one of the best places to hang out on campus because a lot of people go there, especially his friends, he said.

"Everybody comes around here anyway," he said. "It's probably one of the best places to meet my friends without using a cell phone."

The game room hours are from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Oneika Richardson and Gia Vang can be reached at features@statehornet.com.

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