Under new management, Break Point Games seeks higher score
Manager Jim Konecny calls Break Point Games in the student commons VCU’s best-kept secret – but with this week’s nightly tournaments, Konecny is trying to change that.
Mechelle Hankerson
Assistant Spectrum Editor
Manager Jim Konecny calls Break Point Games in the student commons VCU’s best-kept secret – but with this week’s nightly tournaments, Konecny is trying to change that.
Break Point began its latest rounds of game tournaments on Monday, Nov. 15 with a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament. The week continued with an air hockey tournament on Tuesday, pool tournament on Wednesday and wraps up tonight with a spades tournament at 7 p.m.
Winners from the tournaments receive half of the evening’s collected entry fees – $10 each – but Konecny, who is a recent VCU hiree, said that “We’re going to be looking at bringing in sponsors to get students to come down and not just potentially win earnings, but also maybe a goodie bag.”
Though nothing is set in stone for the Break Point yet, Konecny plans on enacting a number of changes to the often-forgotten game room.
“For right now, it’s going to be (me) looking to see what’s worked in the past (when deciding on changes),” Konecny said. “I’ll also be looking to students and staff.”
Konecny hopes to bring in aspects from the Association of College Unions International (ACUI), which helps organize national tournaments in games like the ones featured in Break Point. ACUI tournaments typically begin at a school-wide level and move to regional and national levels, where winners get paid trips to other colleges to compete.
While Break Point already boasts 10 pool tables and recently added two arcade consoles that feature over 100 games, Konecny does hope to expand what the room offers to students.
“My biggest priority is to get more games down here,” he said. “If pool isn’t their game, but they like to play video games, (we want to) get groups down here, relaxing and sitting on some couches.”
Konecny plans on relying on student surveys to see what kinds of games would be best-received by students, and hopes to eventually have a video game station as part of the space. He also wants to look into what kinds of consoles are most popular among students and take into account what games students would want to play.
Konecny has made hints as to offering “free” days in the game room during upcoming school breaks, but nothing has been finalized yet.
