- Intro
- 21/08/2025
Alternative program offers student both calm and challenge
Tangent Track, the alternative to loud parties with nothing but booze and beats is winning over a small—but steadily growing—group of students. On Wednesday night, Luna was buzzing with activity: from crafting to intense music solos. But the real eye-catcher? The mountain of board games hosted by the Knights of the Kitchen Table.
“I don’t feel like being surrounded by drunk people,” says a student in a Cheops shirt. “I’ve heard Stratumseind is super packed,” adds another first-year. “I get overstimulated easily, and honestly, this is already crowded enough,” admits a prospective Electrical Engineering student. “Playing games actually helps me get to know people better than hanging out in a bar.”
And that’s why some Intro kids choose Tangent Track on Wednesday night: the low-stimulus alternative. On Monday and Tuesday, the activities took place in Neuron; this evening, Luna was the place to be. On three floors, different associations served up a mix of cozy and creative fun.
On the ground floor, Hubble Community Café was filled with the buzz of a pub quiz. One floor up, creative students had turned an otherwise dull lecture hall into a cozy spot by streaming digital fireplaces on big screens.
At long tables, Stitch taught students how to crochet, knit, and embroider. “Here, let me show you the magic loop,” one board member offers to a boy who has never held a crochet hook before. In the same room, association Glyph guided students in making their own zine—a tiny booklet folded from a single page, filled with self-drawn stories.
For chilled-out tunes, the Coronazaal was the go-to spot. Quadrivium, the student music association, had set up a piano and brought along other instruments, open for anyone to play. Spyras Hadjicostis sat down at the piano and performed Fedora by Czerny—no surprise it sounded great, as he’s been taking piano lessons for twelve years back in Cyprus. “I went to a party last night, but tonight I just needed a breather.” His audience: mostly Quadrivium members and a handful of relaxed Intro kids.
Blood
Meanwhile, in Quadrivium’s rehearsal room, no music—just laughter and plotting. Students raised their hands, then closed their eyes at the game master’s cue. “We’re playing Blood on the Clocktower,” explains Jet Verschiere of the Knights of the Kitchen Table. “It’s a social deduction game, like Werewolves, but bigger. One round can last up to ninety minutes. We play it every week at the Knights.”
The Knights are always strongly represented in Tangent Track. “We basically dominate the alternative program,” says Tim Heiszwolf of the Knights’ Intro committee with pride. He’s pleased with the turnout: “On Monday we counted 90 visitors, Tuesday 80, and tonight more than 60 again.”
Gaining traction
The idea of offering quieter evenings at TU/e isn’t new. Back in 2023, Lighthouse organized a program in Lab 1 (see Cursor’s coverage: Intro 2023 | Rather play games than party). The following year, the CIC introduced the first Tranquilo Track, featuring board game nights and art workshops “for Intro kids who like to take things a bit easier.”
Second-time Intro kid Martijn Oosterom (last year Applied Physics, now Electrical Engineering) confirms that the alternative program is becoming better known. “Last year I didn’t join. I wish I had known about it, but my Intro parents never mentioned it. Stratumseind is still the mainstream option. But I’d rather be here—I get overstimulated quickly. Honestly, even this room full of students playing board games feels a bit much for me.”
He could have opted for the Scala kitchen, where Niek Peters was quietly baking poffertjes for the students. “Vegan poffertjes,” he stresses, as a board member of the Vegan Student Association, which already counts nearly fifty members. “Would you like some?”
More low-stimulus activities
Scala is organizing Luna Underground for the third time, where students can spend Thursday night in a relaxed way with even more games and workshops.
Outside of Tangent Track, Studium Generale is also paying attention to quieter options. Anyone not in the mood for the All TU/egether Festival on Thursday afternoon can watch films at the Zwarte Doos. During the Master Kick-Off there’s even a low-stimulus bar on Stratumseind, Altstad, where you can, for example, play pool. And during the Vibes Festival on August 27, the organizers will set up quiet corners with beanbags.
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