Google Games combine fun with opportunity

From right, juniors in Engineering Chris Re, David Grayson, Alan Lynn, Kevin Chang, and Ryan Mulligan, work collectively on their Lego bridge during a contest at the Google Games. The event, planned by engineering students and Google staffers, took place Beck Diefenbach

The bright illumination from the projection screen lit up the conference room of the Siebel Center on Saturday afternoon. With stomachs full of complimentary pizza and pop, on-looking spectators cheered on the 2007 Google Games competitors as they played virtual reality tennis, baseball and cow racing games on Nintendo Wii.

"It was fun seeing everyone excited and enjoying the games," said Adina Macinca, student volunteer and senior in Engineering.

The 2007 Google Games is the first ever. After a fall 2006 dinner with University engineering students and Google staffers, the idea for the Google Games was born. After four months of planning, the fantasy finally became a reality. Sixteen teams competed in three events: puzzles, the Nintendo Wii competition and the Lego bridge building competition.

The puzzles were created by Google staff members, including one of the best Sudoku players in the world, Wei-Hwa Huang. As for Legos and Nintendo Wii, these are two items that can be found in the offices of Google employees.

"We just wanted to bring a little bit of Google culture to the campus. That is why all the games are based on things that googler's love," Google staffer Davidson Young said.

Aside from bringing the Google culture to campus in the form of games, Google also brought its culture to campus in the form of employment opportunities. Student volunteers got to see from first-hand experience what a job with Google would be like.

"I like the atmosphere," said Mayank Sekhsaria, student volunteer and senior in Engineering. "It's just so laid back and fun."

The highlight of the day, however, was the bridge building contest.

For an hour future engineers worked together anxiously to put together a Lego bridge that both appealed to the eye and was strong. "Team Aristocrats" shocked everyone in the room as their Lego bridge remained intact while supporting 102 pounds.

At the end of the day, the winners of the 2007 Google Games was team "Legs are Just Wheels With No Rims and Only One Spoke."

Google rewarded the first place team with Google duffle bags, Google head bands and a $250 gift certificate to Timpone's Restaurant, 710 S. Goodwin Ave.

Young said as long as everyone had fun and came away with a better understanding of the importance of team building, Google has accomplished their goal. He also said the 2007 Google Games were executed with little problems. Young admits that in the future Google might consider a bigger room for the event to accommodate the teams that were not able to compete due to space restrictions.

The next stop for the Google Games is Mountain View, Calif., where Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley will compete to see who will become the next Google champion.