After switching club advisers and a semester break, the members of the Bridge Club look forward to having more people become involved.
Lecturer of Biology Angie Pytel took over the Bridge Club when the previous club leader, Associate Professor of History Paul Moreno, moved to Washington D.C. to work on the W.H.I.P.
Pytel said she learned how to play bridge herself when she was 7 and enjoys seeing students excited about playing bridge.
“It is great to get young adults enthusiastic about a card game that most people think is reserved for white-haired ladies,” Pytel said. “It isn’t just about socializing. The game is challenging and requires great skill. It is ever-evolving in bidding styles and defensive strategies.”
Sophomore Carrie Blanton, Bridge Club vice president, said she believes that all the characteristics people love about other classic card games can be found in a game of Bridge.
“It has all the things that everybody loves,” Blanton said. “It has betting, and winning, and you can add in trash talk if you like (we do a lot of that personally in our games).”
However, avid card player and junior Sydney Bruno said, although somewhat similar to Euchre, Bridge still remains unlike any other card game she has ever played.
“It has a lot more hidden strategy,” Bruno said. “So it’s kind of similar, but I think it’s just a much more sophisticated game than a lot of [other card games].”
Meeting on Fridays from 4 to 5 p.m., the club practices new strategies and teaches new member the rules and tactic used to play.
“It would be fun to have more [members], and it’s a very non-committal activity,” Blanton said. “We play for an hour [but] it goes by quickly because we all are just talking and laughing and playing.”
Club members said they hope new members will join and discover the challenge and enjoyment they found from playing Bridge.
“If you have any interest at all at least come to one meeting because we love to teach more people to play,” Blanton said. “It’s a really fun game and it’s a good game to learn.”