Conventions

Conventions are one of the best ways to meet new people who are passionate about gaming! Learn about new games, play your favorites, and sometimes even talk to the developers who made them! Feel free to check any of these events; kids and adult kids of all ages are encouraged to join!

Con of the North (Minneapolis, MN)

Con of the North is Minnesota’s longest-running, all volunteer-run game convention. Come participate in tabletop roleplaying, board games, card games, miniature wargames, live-action RPGs, networked computer games, and more!

For more information, check out their website here.

Gen Con (Indianapolis, IN)

Founded in 1967 by original Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax, Gen Con is the largest and longest-running gaming convention in North America. Tens of thousands of gamers from around the continent gather in Indianapolis, IN to celebrate their passion for tabletop RPGs, board games, and much more!

To learn more, check out their website here.

CSGA will be traveling to Gen Con 2023! More details coming soon.

Speil ’23 (Essen, Germany)

Speil is the international hub for all things tabletop, immerse yourself in the worldwide board gaming community located in Essen, Germany!

For more information, check out their website here.

Contact Us

Chess & Strategy Game Association Board of Directors

Give us a call today to learn more about our upcoming events!

Bill Nara
651.208.8762
bill.nara@csga-enrichment.org

Rich Weber
651.307.2851
richardmweber@comcast.net

Jeff Hahn
jeff.w.hahn@outlook.com

Julie Miller
djjamiller@me.com

Our Mission

We exist to provide opportunities for young players to get together to learn new games, strategies, and tactics at open events and competitions. We also promote a growing community of chess and strategy game players that value learning, teaching, and fun through playing games that foster creativity, analysis, socialization, fair play, mental challenges, and connectedness.

Our Story

The Chess & Strategy Game Association, CSGA Enrichment, was founded in 2014 by Executive Director Bill Nara, a former high school teacher, who saw a great need for before and after school programs and summer programming for students in K-12.

As a youth, Bill participated in programs based on his personal interests and found these programs were no longer offered to students. He began CSGA programming with chess and strategy games with 5 students in one school district.  As the program grew, CSGA brought on Associate Executive Director Jason Lavine, and expanded CSGA into more school districts.

It became apparent that additional programs beyond chess and strategy games were needed to meet the needs and interests of students. STEM programs including coding, 3D printing, robotics, and rocket building, and cultural and arts classes including cooking, young writers workshop, rock band, and Improv, and specific interest programs such as crafting, knitting, and fishing were added. 

More recently, online program options have been introduced for chess players and students interested in personal finance and the stock market. CSGA wants students engaged in self motivated activities that could lead to entrepreneurship. CSGA is currently operating in over 11 school districts reaching over 1,200 students.