Welcome to the AGPI

The Association for Games & Puzzles International (AGPI), founded in 1985 by Bruce Whitehill, is the world’s foremost organization dedicated to the collection and preservation of games and puzzles.

As an international, nonprofit association, the AGPI is chartered to conduct research and explore the history of games and puzzles from ancient times up to the present, and to disseminate information about games and puzzles to the broadest audience possible, including the general public, the media, libraries, museums, scholars, and others. Games and puzzles offer a remarkable view of our cultural past and future!

AGPI members’ interests encompass all types of games, jigsaw puzzles, and mechanical puzzles, from all eras and from all around the world. Some of our members specialize in other pastimes and collect related playthings, from toys to tops, and from marbles to architectural blocks. Our membership includes a broad spectrum of individuals and expertise, from interested enthusiasts to novice collectors to some of the world’s most renowned historians, authors, and designers of game & puzzles. Many companies and institutions hold membership in the organization.

Originally known as the American Game Collectors Association (AGCA), the organization’s name was changed to the Association of Game & Puzzle Collectors in 1999 to reflect the broadened scope of its mission and its international nature.

Mark Your Calendars!  AGPI Convention May 10-14 2017

Pre-Convention: May 10-12

The legendary Brimfield Antiques and Collectibles Show is scheduled for May 8-14, 2017. 

The fair is located about 10 miles away from our event.

In addition to Brimfield, pre-convention activities include, for those who sign up for the package, a two-day group rate admission to Old Sturbridge Village, located about 5 miles away. This excursion is planned for Thursday afternoon and Friday (May 11 and 12).

Convention: May 12-14

Association for Games & Puzzles International Annual Convention

Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center, Southbridge, MA

Visit www.southbridgehotel.com/gallery-en.html

The Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center is located in the renovated former American Optical Company building. Room rate  is $159/night + tax. (Note: standard price that week is $209/night).

Reservations: Call the hotel directly at: (508) 765-8000. Ask for the AGPI 2017 Convention room block. Note: there are only a limited number of Double Queen rooms. Reserve a King room, unless you absolutely need two beds. The cut-off date for room reservations is April 10, 2017. However, reserve early to ensure you get the room at the group rate. If you are told the block is sold out, contact Dave Thomen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (540) 752-0887.

Besides our usual convention activities we will be presenting the Bradley-Parker Award, discussing puzzle cutter Charles Russell, and extending our table sales. Stay tuned...the registration form and much more information to come.

Click here for the 2017 AGPI Convention program

2017 Bradley-Parker Award Winner for the AGPI Convention May 10-14

 bio for E. David “Dave” Wilson

Perhaps no one is more worthy to be honored with the “Bradley-Parker Award” than E. David  “Dave” Wilson because no other individual can lay claim to having led the growth of Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, and ultimately their combination (Hasbro Games).

Dave’s game (and puzzle) career began in 1972 when he accepted the position of Vice President of Sales at Parker Brothers. Eight years later he joined Milton Bradley and, after holding key management positions in the 80s, Dave was named president of MB in 1990. In 1999, he became president of the consolidated Hasbro Games. In 2004 he was promoted 

to EVP, Global Development and President Hasbro Games Segment, a position he held until his retirement at the end of the following year.

Dave was “present at the inception” when board games became “all-family,” when adult social games became the buzz of America, when tabletop electronics were born and thrived, when Big Ben reigned supreme as America’s top puzzle brand, when Puzz3D was launched and flourished, and when classic games outlasted the fervor over video games and returned to enduring favor.

Dave’s storied career is both fascinating and instructive..

Friday Night Speaker for AGPI Convention 2017

Chris Morgan is a long-time member of the AGPI. His most recent book, The Pamphlets of Lewis Carroll: Games, Puzzles, and Related Pieces, published by the Lewis Carroll Society of North America, is an overview of Carroll’s lesser-known second career as a creator of games and puzzles, and contains puzzles, wordplay, and the wit and wonder of its celebrated author.

Chris will speak to the AGPI about some of Carroll’s game creations, including a board game called Lanrick that uses a chess board and pieces, a circular billiards game, his word games Doublets and Syzygies, and a previously unknown mechanical puzzle that he discovered among Carroll’s writings at the Princeton library.

Chris has been active in the Boston-area hi-tech industry for three decades. He has degrees in electrical engineering and computer science, and was Editor in Chief of BYTE magazine as well as Vice President of Lotus Development Corporation. He is an organizer of the biennial “Gathering for Gardner”conference in Atlanta, where magicians, scientists, mathematicians, and artists gather to share the recreational side of mathematics.

He has twice hosted the IPP (International Puzzle Party), an annual international convocation of puzzle designers and collectors. His other books include Wizards and Their Wonders, about the top 100 people in the hi-tech field, and The Computer Bowl Trivia Book. He is a member of the Grolier Club and a past president of the Ticknor Society, a Boston-based group of book lovers and collectors. He has served on the boards of the Boston Science Museum and the Boston Lyric Opera. He is also a magician, pianist, guitarist, book collector, audiophile, and photographer.