Caiden Gillen has found himself with an expanding network of friends in the past few years, and that is exactly what the high school senior wanted to facilitate for his fellow students with his senior project.

“I just wanted to teach people how to play Magic: The Gathering and have fun,” Gillen said of the popular tabletop strategy game. “I knew it would catch people’s interest.”

He explained that the game is played with customized decks of different cards, each representing various characters with unique abilities. The complexity of the game allows for a high degree of personalization in how a player approaches a match.

“The kind of game that I play is known as a Commander Deck game,” he said. “The deck I used for the games here at the school is built around one primary character. And one deck can defeat any other deck, but it won’t defeat all of them. It uses a lot of strategy.”

Gillen said he knew there were plenty of underclassmen who had some level of curiosity about the fantasy-based game but never had the opportunity to play it before. To bridge that gap, he began holding games during lunch periods for his senior project. He quickly noticed the number of players growing with each passing week as the hobby gained traction in the hallways.

As the matches progressed, he noticed something more important than the gameplay: Students were having fun and getting along, even when the cards didn’t fall in their favor.

“I knew it would catch on,” he said. “I saw that people were being nice when they weren’t winning. They were being good sports. It really is good for friendships.”

The project’s success has inspired him to look beyond the school walls. He said he hopes to continue increasing the number of local players and intends to try to get some games going at locations like the public library to reach a broader segment of the community.

“I think I got a few younger students into it,” he said. “It was fun to teach them.”

In the coming year, he plans to get his driver’s license and eventually travel to his birthplace in Sweetwater, Tennessee, to visit family. Looking further ahead, he has his sights set on a modern career path that combines his love for gaming with a desire to give back.

“Mainly, I want to become a Twitch streamer (on the Twitch platform) and make people happy,” he said. “If I can get enough subscribers, I can make enough money to be able to donate to help animals and people who need it.”

For now, he intends to stay in Wrangell for a while and continue to focus on his goals and teaching others how to play Magic. For Gillen, the cards are simply the medium for a much larger mission.

“It’s really not about playing the game for me,” he said. “It’s a lot more about seeing other people happy. If I had to give any advice to younger students, it would be: Don’t take things personal and just have fun while you can. It’s a short life, so make the most of it.”