A Gathering of Gamers (AGoG)
For all the info, see our flyer.
The 2025 Dates:
Start: Friday, February 14th at 3 pm
End: Sunday, February 16th at 3 pm
Add AGoG Weekend @ Westin North Shore Hotel
The Location:
Westin North Shore Hotel
601 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Wheeling, IL 60090
1.847.777.6500
The AGoG Event:
Join us for a relaxing weekend of games and hospitality. Bigger than a house party, smaller than an RG; just hundreds of Chicago Area Mensa's games*, plenty of tables, and well over a hundred friendly, albeit competitive, players. At AGoG, you can play all your favorite board and card games, including Euro/German games as well as party games and classics, or bring your own to share with friends. Food and non-alcoholic beverages are provided throughout the weekend.
The Registration Rates & Deadlines†:
Adults (18 and over):
- $90 through Friday, Jan. 3rd
- $110 through Friday, Jan. 31st
- $120 at the door
Youth (9 to 17):
- $55 through Friday, Jan. 3rd
- $65 through Friday, Jan. 31st
- $80 at the door
Non-members: add $5 to the rates above.
Child (8 and under):
-
Free with Parental Supervision
(Please note that baby-sitting will not be offered)
† Payment must be received by deadline to qualify for discount
Age as of Friday, Feb. 14, 2025
Includes admission to the
Monthly Gathering
on Saturday evening.
To register by mail, please print and fill out,
our form
and mail it along with your check to the address on the form.
Unaccompanied youth 12-17 must have a parent/guardian present at registration to sign the appropriate form.
Tap/Click here to register now for AGoG! The registration page has all the instructions about registration. After Friday, January 31st, you can only register at the door for AGoG — cash or check only.
Refunds – Cancellation and refund requests must be received by Friday, January 31st (an 8% service fee will be subtracted). Cancellation and refund requests received after that date will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, based on circumstance and event viability. Contact our registrar .
The Hotel Rates:
Rooms at the
Westin North Shore Hotel are available for a discounted rate of
$122 per night through
January 24th.
Book online or call 1.847.777.6500
and ask the hotel to book a room for the “Chicago
Area Mensa A Gathering of Gamers (AGoG)” group rate.
(Warning: The hotel has been known to change the cutoff date with little or no notice.)
If you have any issues, please contact our
Hotel Liaison .
The Games:
Check out our list of games (which is missing a couple of oldies for which the BoardGameGeek has no entry) but we have over 385 games!
Board to Pieces: The Journey of Board Game Creation
Are you a board game enthusiast who’s ever wondered how those captivating games make their way from a simple idea to your tabletop? Get ready to embark on a journey through the exciting world of board game creation with our witty and insightful session, “Board to Pieces: The Journey of Board Game Creation", hosted by Jason Brooks, just after the announcements at 7:30 PM. From brainstorming to play-testing, graphic design to manufacturing, Jason will give you a peek behind the curtain to share all of the magic that goes into getting your favorite game (or possibly one of your ideas) to the table!
During the session, we’ll navigate the twists and turns of bringing game concepts to life — complete with examples of games in various design states. You’ll learn about the importance of theme vs mechanics, eye-catching prototypes, and the long, yet important, process of gathering invaluable feedback through play-testing. Discover how collaboration with talented graphic designers and artists give games a visual identity that pops. Plus, we’ll dive into the world of crowd-funding and manufacturing, sharing tips, trials, and tribulations that have the potential to buoy or bust any game design along the way before reaching eager players everywhere. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or a curious newbie, this talk promises to be a treasure trove of information, sprinkled with humor and practical advice. Join us to learn how your favorite board games ultimately make it to your table. See you there!
Jason Brooks (Brookspun Games) has designed and published tabletop games for nearly a decade with his first game — Legacies — successfully funding on Kickstarter and sold out of its first print run. His second board game — Clandestine — just funded on Kickstarter and will arrive on tabletops in Fall 2025. Prior to board game design, Jason’s primary hobby was competitive Scrabble where he ran clubs and tournaments in Chicago and reached expert status on the tournament scene before moving on to play (and eventually design) a wide variety of games.
For his day job, Jason has spent ~30 years as a process and technology consultant helping companies find better ways to get things done and solve problems. His wife and four children love his hobby and how busy it keeps him, but have grown weary of always being asked to be the initial play-testers for new designs.
The Saturday Program:
Board to Pieces: The Journey of Board Game Creation hosted by Jason Brooks. The Monthly Gathering is being held in conjuction with AGoG so expect additional people to show up Saturday evening. The fee for the MG is included as part of the AGoG registration fee. The MG program is, of course, games-related. Tap/Click on the blue button on the right for all the details.
The Volunteer Opportunities:
To schedule and host a game or tournament of your choice or to help with the set-up/breakdown and other tasks, contact agog@chicago.us.mensa.org .
Mensa members can also sign up for the CHICAGO AREA MENSA AGOG-NOTIFY community (aka email list) to get email 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 Emails 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 email 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 email 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 email list that would work for everyone.
The Contacts:
Questions? Post them on Facebook or email the AGoG Chairs Hieu N. and John (Dewey) B.
The AGoG Details:
The AGoG Discord Channels:
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. To join our Discord server, use this Invitation Link.
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.
After you register, come join the chat in the first of the AGoG channels listed on the Chicago Area Mensa Discord server and plan for gaming with attendees in advance of the in-person event! If you haven’t used Discord or haven't used our CAM Discord Server, tap/click on the Discord button on the left for more information.
The Meals and Refreshments:
The following will be provided:
- Friday: Dinner
- Saturday: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Dinner: Please don't take extra helpings to share with your MG friends; then there might not be enough for all the AGoG registrants. - Sunday: Brunch
- Around the Clock: Snacks, Beverages, etc.
- Saturday: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
As a gentle reminder, please help us out by cleaning up after yourselves and your families. Remember, we do not pay hotel staff to clean up. Nor do we want to ask volunteers to touch anyone else’s waste.
The Directions:
AGoG and the February Monthly Gathering will be held at the Westin-Chicago North Shore Hotel at 601 North Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling. The hotel is located on the east side of Milwaukee and the main entrance is at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Wolf Road (just south of Lake-Cook and north of Dundee Road).
Book your room today! The hotel is offering a special AGoG room rate of $122 through Friday, January 24th. The rooms facing east enjoy a great view of the Forest Preserves. The hotel is located just west of the Des Plaines River and is steps away from the Des Plaines River Trail leading into the Potawatomi Woods Forest Preserve. There’s also a pool and workout equipment.
There’s plenty of free parking both on the north and the south side of the hotel. The south lot is closer to the meeting rooms.
The hotel offers a shuttle service from the nearby METRA stations . Please call them well in advance to arrange a pickup given staff shortages have increased wait times. Otherwise use one of the ridesharing services like or Uber .
The Past:
Check out the photos from AGoG 2024, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, or 2010.
(she won anyway)