On a recent Friday night, FAU students teamed up and shot at each other for hours.

The last survivors were then declared the winners and given $25 gift cards.

Such are the benefits of being good at Halo 3.

On Sept. 3, at the Boca campus’s Coyote Jack’s, the first of five gaming tournaments to be held during the fall semester took place. Thirteen teams of two signed up for the Halo 3 two-on-two competition.

Student Government’s Program Board, with the help of Deerfield Beach-based company GameWars, put the tournament together. Program Board and GameWars have been working together for three semesters now.

Mobile gaming stations complete with linked high-definition TVs with HDMI setups, Xbox 360s, and controllers are wheeled into Coyote Jack’s for each tournament, according to Matthew Kochman, owner and co-founder of GameWars. They just plug them in, and they’re ready to go.

“Halo 3 is generally one of the best turnouts,” said Don Singh, co-founder of GameWars, who was at the event.

There was more than just Halo 3 at the event, however. Other stations had games like Madden NFL 11, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Street Fighter IV, FIFA World Cup and Rock Band 2.

There were more than fifty people at the Sept. 3 event, but people like Halo 3 finalist Josh Schmantowsky, a freshman computer engineering major, felt like it could be bigger.

“The tournament was well run,” he said. “It could just use more people.”

For the first-person shooter tournaments, the format will be two-on-two death match.  Madden and Brawl are one-on-one, and Guitar Hero will be a full band performance on the Coyote Jack’s stage.  All tournaments will be double elimination if time permits.

If you want to go:

– What: video game tournaments

– Where: Coyote Jack’s in the Boca Student Union

– Who: open to FAU students

– Time: 7 p.m.

– Dates:

Friday, Sept. 17 – Madden

Friday, Oct. 8 – Guitar Hero

Friday, Oct. 22 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Friday, Nov. 5 – Call of Duty

– How much: free