Button mashers welcome: Green Door Smash wants you
For students still looking to find their footing this semester, Green Door Smash offers something different: a weekly gathering at Marshall D’Avray Hall, room 116 — built entirely around fighting games and the people who show up to play them.
In 2010, a group of University of New Brunswick (UNB) students bonded over Super Smash Bros. Melee and decided to build something around it.
Fifteen years later, it's still running and still baiting in students.
Ryan MacKay, a history and digital media creative arts major, has competed in Smash Bro tournaments since he was 13 and now helps run the events.
“My role as an event organizer is just to facilitate that and provide an amazing experience for players and just have people come and build a community,” MacKay said.
Most players come from St. Thomas University (STU) and UNB, though high schoolers show up too. MacKay said the appeal was never really about being good at the game.
“You might not do well your first time, but it's that idea of keep coming back, keep improving,” he said. “You could be the shyest newcomer and you'll find a scene that will appreciate you.”
The local event has grown from grassroots meetups at game stores into bigger tournaments like Fredericton’s Finest, which pulls in players from across the Maritimes.
Behind the scenes, third-year software engineering student Jordan Longstaff runs the Smash Ultimate bracket. He discovered the group in his first year.
“I did really bad, I wasn’t very good, but I had a great time,” Longstaff said. “I kept coming back—I kept making friends.”
Running the bracket comes with its own challenges. “I'm very friendly with everybody, so when I have to put on my serious pants, it's not fun,” he said.
Beyond Smash, Green Door also runs Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Strive and a rotating slot for Tekken and BlazBlue voted on by the players.
“We listen to the people,” Longstaff said. “If you guys keep signing up and giving the numbers, we’ll give you what you want.”
Fourth-year student Aidan Van Droffelaar showed up to his first event last week, roped in by his roommate. He hadn’t played Smash in years and forgot his controller.
“Everyone’s really nice and I did better than I thought I would too," Van Droffelaar said. “This old dog still has a few tricks left.”
He lost every match but came close a few times.
“I was expecting to get three-stocked, but I got two stocks on every single game," he said. “Just never won a game. Next step is winning.”
Green Door Smash runs every Friday and is active on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Discord under the same name. Posters are also up around campus.
Van Droffelaar said he plans to keep coming back.
“Seems like a good community, everyone seems nice,” he said.
His advice for anyone else considering it: “Join. The more people, the better. And if you're really bad, don’t worry … just join, because that means I can beat you."
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