Get your GameCube controller ready, it’s time to smash for the kids. This weekend, The Penn State Smash Bros. Organization is having a 24-hour gaming marathon to benefit the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

The group of Penn State Smashers used to be a part of Penn State’s E-Sports Club, but their membership numbers became so large that they decided to create their own organization of gamers. They are currently in the process of becoming an official club, considering they have more than 600 members.

The Penn State Smashers play a variety of smash games that are sure to bring back happy memories of that good old Nintendo GameCube collecting dust in your closet, including: Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a popular community-made smash bros. mod called Project M, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, in weekly singles and doubles tournaments. Whew, that’s a lot of Smash Bros…

The charity gaming event is being held through Extra Life, an organization that uses 24-hour gaming marathons to benefit local hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network. The Penn State Smash organizer, Khalil Hill, was contacted by a liaison with Penn State Hershey about holding a smash-a-thon, and like many other gaming communities around the country, Hill decided to participate in an Extra Life gaming marathon here in Happy Valley. 

“It’s a really great opportunity to be a part of the smash community that gives back,” Hill said. “It’s also a nice way to make your friends salty for a good cause.”

The marathon has a goal of $300, but Hill believes they can double, if not triple, that number. On top of the organization’s weekly singles and doubles tournaments that are held in Waring Commons, they also host a larger tournament once a semester called Smash Valley.

“We had 70-80 participants in its Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament,” Hill said about Smash Valley, which was held last spring. This year’s tournament, aptly named Smash Valley II, saw a significant growth. “We had 100 participants in the Melee tournament, with 2 professional players ranked top 100 in the world participating as well,” Hill said. 

There will be a five dollar admission fee to cover the entire span of the 24-hour marathon, but most of the donations will come from money matches, games in which the loser donates to charity, held by players. Most money matching donations range from $5 to $20, but there is one match where the loser will donate $100 to Extra Life. All money matches will be live streamed here.

The event runs from Saturday Nov. 7 at 9 a.m. until  9 a.m. Sunday Nov. 8 in Waring Commons, but players may enter or leave the marathon at any time. Even though the event is focused on Smash Bros., participants are encouraged to bring any games they would like to play, including board games. Plus, you don’t have to be a member of the organization to play; anybody is welcome to participate in the charity event, even if they’re only interested in a couple friendly games of Mario Kart or Goldeneye 64. In light of the recent cancellation of THON’s third canning trip, this event is a perfect way to be FTK this weekend. You’ll definitely see this Onward State writer gaming away this weekend. 

Check out their Facebook event page for more information.