A Gathering of Gamers (AGoG)

If you do find a lower rate for the Westin hotel via some travel websites or memberships which you may have such as AAA, please let the AGoG team know by contacting our Hotel Liaison .

When events result in more rooms being booked, it helps keep AGoG prices down by allowing us to negotiate space at a better rate, which benefits all the attendees at future events.

Mensa members can also sign up for the CHICAGO AREA MENSA AGOG-NOTIFY community (aka e‑mail list) to get e‑mail updates (no more than one a month, except during the 30 days prior to AGoG). CHICAGO AREA MENSA AGOG-NOTIFY is a community in Mensa Connect. If you haven't used Mensa Connect, visit our Group E-Mails webpage to learn more about using it.

To join, visit Mensa Connect My Communities which gives you access to the Communities in Mensa Connect. Use the search input field at the top of Mensa Connect My Communities page and enter "AGOG" followed by tapping/clicking on the button. If you are a member, you'll see member to the left under CHICAGO AREA MENSA AGOG-NOTIFY. Otherwise you’ll see a Join button on the right that enables you to do that.

If you are a member, to remove yourself from the community or to change your e-mail address/frequency just for this community, tap/click on the CHICAGO AREA MENSA AGOG-NOTIFY community name, and then tap/click on the Settings button to the right of CHICAGO AREA MENSA AGOG-NOTIFY. You’ll see the options shown in the image to the right where your e-mail address for this community will be displayed in the grayed-out area.

Note: This list is limited to Mensa members only due to American Mensa’s restrictions — CAM is investigating options for an e‑mail list that would work for everyone.

Already a CAM Discord member?

Simply open up the Discord app, look for the CAM icon on the very left, and tap/click on it. You’ll often find fellow gamers online even when no official CAM event is taking place.

New?

A few days before the event, check out the Introductory Guide to Discord as well as our CAM Discord FAQ for instructions about downloading the Discord app on the device you’ll be using, and registering yourself. Read the doc and/or peruse the various questions and answers to familiarize yourself with our customized version.

The Invitation Link is needed only by new CAM Discord users. All Mensa members can access the CAM Discord Invitation Link via our Contacts webpage using their American Mensa login credentials. The CAM Discord Invitation Link is also included in your AGoG Registration Confirmation e-mail (contact our Chairs  if it wasn’t). It will also be available here as of Tuesday, February 14th.

After tapping/clicking on the Invitation Link, the Discord app you installed will open. You must acknowledge the displayed Code of Conduct to see all the rooms (aka channels). Do this by tapping/clicking on the emoji symbol at the bottom that best describes Your membership category. Once you’ve done that, you’re in and won’t need an Invitation Link again.

When you join a Discord event you won’t automatically see all the participants like in Zoom when the host lets you in or you join a meeting in progress. Instead you’ll scroll down and find the channel specified as part of the event info, in this case, in one of the many AGOG channels. You get to see the list of names indicating who is in the channel before you tap/click on it to join. And if there is someone presenting, you’ll need to tap/click on the presenter’s feed or double-click the Live button next to the presenter’s name to enlarge the feed.

It may feel weird at first but the learning curve is pretty short and chances are you’ll like it better than Zoom and choose to use it to video call a fellow Mensa member/group who is part of the CAM Discord community and definitely to play online games while chatting with everyone participating.