See You in July! • 2026 AGPI Convention • Minneapolis
Minneapolis is the venue for the AGPI's 2026 annual convention, our first convention in Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes!
AGPI Director Nadine Sehnert is our 2026 convention host. Contact her and our convention team at
The main AGPI convention events will take place from Friday evening, July 10, 2026 through Sunday noon, July 12, and will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Minneapolis Airport located at 2020 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, Minnesota 55425 • +1-855-605-0318.
The reservation group code for members to get the AGPI convention room rate is 90E. We suggest that you make your room reservations now!
The AGPI group room rate is $139 per night (from as early as Monday 6 July through as late as Friday 17 July). This special rate will remain the same for the Puzzle Parley following AGPI events and you can keep your same room. Rooms must be booked by Thursday 25 June 2026.
Across the street from Ikea and the Mall of America, and five minutes from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) International Airport, the DoubleTree hotel offers a free airport shuttle, free parking, an indoor pool, a fitness center, restaurant, and complimentary wifi.
Post-convention activities will take place from Sunday 12 July afternoon through Tuesday 14 July evening.
Fees for attending the 2026 AGPI convention (for meals and events, separate from the room prices) and online payment options will be posted here shortly.
Members attending the AGPI convention may be interested in also attending the Puzzle Parley, held in the same hotel from July 17 through 19, 2026. Room rates will be the same and participants will be able to keep their same rooms.
We're looking forward to seeing you in Minneapolis!
Main Convention Program
Friday – July 10, 2026 • Evening
12:00 – 4:30 pm • Registration: Noon to 4:30
5:00 – 6:00 pm • Happy Hour
6:00 – 7:30 pm • Buffet Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 pm • Facilitated Panel Discussion: "Minnesota Games and Puzzles - Past and Present"—local game and puzzle designers and dompanies discussing the past, present and future of the game and puzzle industry in Minnesota.
9:00 - ? pm • Puzzles, Games and Mingling
Saturday – July 11, 2026 • Morning and Afternoon
7:30 – 9:00 am • Board meeting
7:30 – 9:00 am • Buffet Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 am • General Meeting
9:30 – 10:00 am • Show & Tell
10:15 – 11:00 am • Martin Grider • “Exploring Recursive Puzzle Games”
At the intersection of action puzzle video games and abstract strategy board games there are an infinite number of discrete geometric puzzles. The game is not to solve the puzzle (because there are always multiple solutions), but to pick the best one from the current position. You might not know if you picked a good one until the end of the game. In both kinds of games, solving a single puzzle leads to a new puzzle. In fact, it is the output of the previous puzzle that becomes the input of the new one. Puzzles are recursive. Solving these kinds of puzzles over and over again lets people experience a state of intense concentration called flow. Martin will explore these idea with many examples in both digital and physical games.
Martin Grider is a game designer and contract software developer especially interested in the intersection of digital and physical games. Martin's game studio, Abstract Puzzle, showcases his game releases (including digital ports of his board games) on its website: http://abstractpuzzle.com. Read more about his process and game designs on his blog: http://chesstris.com.
11:00 – 11:15 am • Break
11:15 – 12 noon • Mirek Stolee • “Hybrid Games – The relationship Between Board Games and Technology”
Today, "hybrid" is a term primarily used to describe board games that use traditional physical pieces in conjunction with digital technology. However, games have long incorporated technological components. This presentation uses contemporary research on hybrid games as a lens to examine historical examples. By analyzing various forms of hybridity present in The Strong Museum's collections, from slide projectors to VHS tapes, the presentation expands our current understanding of the relationships between board games and technology.
Mirek Stolee is the curator for board games and puzzles at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. He is also a Texts & Technology PhD candidate at the University of Central Florida. His dissertation is a local history of live-action escape rooms in western New York.
12 noon • Lunch on your own: Try some IKEA meatballs across the street! Or head over to the Mall of America food court
1:00 – 1:30 pm • Setup for Table Sales
1:30 – 3:00 pm • Table Sales
3:15 – 4:15 pm • Live Auction
4:15 – 5:30 pm • Break
5:30 pm • Group Photo
Saturday – July 11, 2026 • Evening
6:00 – 7:00 pm • Dinner
7:15 – 7:45 pm • AGPI Outstanding Achievement Award: Mary Couzin, Senior Vice President of the Toy Association, Founder/Lead of People of Play
After inventing, self-producing and licensing her own toys and games, Mary turned her passion for invention to help other inventors through DiscoverToysandGames.com, the world's largest co-op of toy and game inventors.
In 2003, Mary launched the Chicago Toy & Game Fair (CHITAG) with a plan to create the largest American celebration of play. In 2006 she introduced the Toy & Game Inventor Conference to help new inventors connect with industry experts, and in 2008 the Toy & Game Innovator of the Year Awards (TAGIEs) to honor and celebrate toy and game innovators. Tracks for professional inventors, design students, social media and play in education have been added to the conferences through the years. Thinking to celebrate play in an edgier way, she launched PlayCHIC, a toy and game inspired fashion event in 2011. 2006 saw the debut of the Young Inventor Challenge which has over 250 kids competing from around North America and overseas. It’s all about encouraging inventiveness and creativity in kids!
7:45 – 8:30 pm • Guest Speaker: Julien Sharp, U.S. Commercial General Manager, Asmodee Group
(Program Description and Bio to come)
9:00 - ? pm • Puzzles, Games and Mingling
Sunday – July 12, 2026 • Morning
7:30 – 9:00 am • Board meeting
7:30 – 9:00 am • Buffet Breakfast
9:00 – 9:45 am • Bob Finn - “AGPI and Technology”
9:45 – 10:00 am • Break
10:00 – 10:45 am • Speaker #2 (to be determined)
11:00 – 11:30 am • 2027 Convention Preview
11:30 am • Raffle prize winners and wrap up
Post-Convention Activities
Sunday – July 12, 2026 • Afternoon
12:30 pm • Visit to downtown Mississippi River Area
Lunch On Your Own & Time to Explore!
2:00 pm • Mill City Museum
Mill City Museum was built within the ruins of the Washburn A Mill, the flagship mill of the Washburn-Crosby Co. (later General Mills). It was the largest and most technologically advanced flour mill in the world when it was completed in 1880.
5:00 pm • Leave for Dinner (group dinner, pay on your own)
Sunday – July 12, 2026 • Evening
7:30 pm • Ben Orlin • “Unauthorized Biographies of a Few Simple Games”
Ben Orlin is a math teacher and the author of four books, including Math with Bad Drawings (which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide) and Math Games with Bad Drawings (which Alex Bellos in The Guardian described as "destined to be a classic"). He credits not the bad drawings (truly bad!) but the great games.
Ben will share a few of his favorites in this interactive presentation and explore their far-flung origins, everywhere from Japanese schoolyards to Minnesota classrooms to Argentine puzzle magazines to California dorm rooms.
He has written for The Atlantic, Popular Science, and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, their two daughters, and his debilitating sweet tooth.
9:00 pm - ? pm • Puzzles, Games, and Mingling
Monday – July 13, 2026 • All Day
10:00 am • The Escape Game Escape Rooms, Mall of America
1:00 – 4:00 pm • Local Board Game Collections Tours
Visit two local board game collections:
- Nadine Sehnert and Mike Tangedal will open up their home to show their collection of over 4,000 vintage and modern board games.
- Marla Moyer’s collection was started by her late husband, Rich.
5:00 • Dinner on your own
7:00 • Mike and Nadine’s Game Show Night!
9:00 pm - ? pm • Puzzles, Games, and Mingling
Tuesday – July 14, 2026 • Morning and Afternoon
9:30 am – 11:30 • Franconia Sculpture Park
Franconia Sculpture Park is the preeminent, artist-centered sculpture park in the Midwest. Founded in 1996, Franconia provides physically and intellectually wide-open spaces that inspire new ways of thinking through access to contemporary sculpture, installation, and land art. Located in the scenic St. Croix River Valley of Minnesota, Franconia operates a 50-acre outdoor museum of 100 sculptures, active artist residency program, and a depth and breadth of community arts programming for a diverse and engaged public.
11:30 – 4:00 • Stillwater, Minnesota – lunch, shopping and exploring on your own
Stillwater is considered the Birthplace of Minnesota and voted one of America’s Most Picturesque Towns by USA Today Travel. Located on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, visit this rivertown’s historic downtown district year-round for an abundance of things to do.
The puzzle and gaming room in the hotel will be open for all from Friday afternoon through Tuesday night.
