by Leah Crisman, senior editor

Many fine things were started by two guys with a shared interest: Ben & Jerry’s, Microsoft, Google; the list is extensive. Add to that seniors Mark Ebbole and Nico Schlumprecht, who founded one of Consol’s newest additions, Risk Club.

“I don’t remember who started it, but both of us were in it from the beginning,” Ebbole said. “We just kind of ran with it.”

The club held their inaugural meeting in sponsor Dianne Rister’s classroom on Sept. 4, with impressive turnout. While some filed in for a couple minutes just to watch, others considered Risk Club a new component of their regular routine.

“It’ll be my Wednesday thing, going to play Risk,” senior Travis Stebbins said. “I’ll take a timed writing and be like ‘I have to go play Risk after this.’”

Still others were more flamboyant in their devotion and joked about their love for the new club.

“I would lay down my life for this club,” senior Sam Welch said.

The setup might have been lengthy, but once in their stride, the players focused their attention to the task at hand. Personas developed quickly: the self-described dictator, the strategist, the greenhorn. The dice are dropped with a flourish to the accompaniment of loud whoops and groans.

“There’s a common rumor going around that Risk makes you deaf,” Welch said, jokingly.

Risk, for the uninitiated, is a board game involving anywhere from two to six players who battle each other for world domination. Each player must use their miniature plastic troops to conquer territories, then continents and then hopefully the entire board.

“Risk is a marriage between strategy and luck,” Ebbole said. “If you don’t have one of those things, you’re done.”

Devoted to Risk? Never heard of it before? The club welcomes both parties to their Wednesday afternoon meetings in sponsor Dianne Rister’s room 2177.

To learn more, view the following promo video, created by Ebbole and Schlumprecht: