October 14 – 17, 2026

Rochester, NY

Hyatt Regency Rochester
125 East Main Street

Sustaining Human Connection through Play in the Digital Age

As our lives rely more and more on digital tools, we end up spending a lot more time interacting with our phones, tablets, smartwatches, and computers on our own. Most of our time with technology is individual and asynchronous, meaning we are spending less time having meaningful interactions with other people.

This is where play comes in.

Play is not frivolous. Games have been an integral part of the human experience for thousands of years for educational, entertainment, and cultural purposes. They help us think through hard questions together. They provide moments of shared joy and alignment. They allow us to build new skills and learn crucial information in memorable ways.

This year’s conference will explore how play can be a major ingredient in ensuring that we can still have rich social lives in our digital world. Click here to read more about this theme.

We will be opening conference registration in early April 2026. More details coming soon.

The Call for Speakers is Open!

NASAGA conferences are built by the community. The sessions you experience—those unforgettable games, clever facilitation tricks, surprising insights, and creative prototypes—come from people just like you who decided to share something they were curious about.

Do you have something to share?

Click HERE to submit an application.

Applications are open from March 30 - June 22. We’ll notify speakers of their acceptance by July 10. Read more about the application process and instructions here.

Accepted speakers will receive a complementary one-year NASAGA membership and the membership rate for conference registration. Scholarships are available to offset costs if needed. Stay tuned for more details about our scholarship program.

Help us make NASAGA 2026 our best conference so far.

Who Should Attend

One unique feature of NASAGA’s annual conference is that it brings together people from many different sectors to share and learn from each other. Where do you fit it?

Educators who want engagement not just attendance.
Corporate trainers and organizational leaders.
Game and simulation designers.
Researchers and learning scientists.
Consultants and facilitators.
Applied play enthusiasts.

About Rochester, NY

Rochester has a long, understated relationship with non-digital game design, shaped less by entertainment markets and more by systems thinking, education, and play as a serious human activity. Rooted in its industrial heritage of precision, iteration, and process design, the city fostered a culture comfortable with rules, constraints, and feedback—core mechanics of tabletop games, simulations, and role-play. This ethos is most visibly preserved and amplified by the Strong National Museum of Play, which positions board games, toys, and analog play as cultural artifacts worthy of study, not nostalgia. Across community groups, classrooms, and professional training spaces, Rochester has historically treated non-digital games as tools for learning, experimentation, and social meaning—less about escapism, more about understanding how people think, decide, and cooperate within well-designed systems.

Curious to learn more about what makes Rochester the perfect city for NASAGA? Read this!

Rochester Weather in October

Mid-October in Rochester, NY, brings cool, crisp fall weather with average highs around the low 60s°F (16-17°C) and lows in the upper 40s°F (8-9°C), becoming progressively cooler as the month ends, with more overcast days and the first hints of winter approaching, though significant snow is unlikely until November.

Accommodations and Travel Logistics

Getting to Rochester

By Air:

Airport: The Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) is serviced by the following major airlines:

Allegiant
American
Delta
Jet Blue
Southwest
United

The airport is a short taxi or ride share from the hotel (4 miles, about 7 minutes), and should cost about $25.

By Train:

Amtrak Station: Louise M. Slaughter Station

320 Central Ave
Rochester, New York, 14605

The train station is a 15 minute walk or 3 minute taxi or ride share trip from the hotel.

By Car:

Rochester is located right off the New York State Thruway (I-90), exits 45 and 46.

Where to park

The Hyatt is connected to the South Avenue Garage (City-owned) at:

39 Stone Street
Rochester, New York, 14604

Garage day/visitor rates (City of Rochester posted rates): $2.00 per hr./Daily Max $10.00

More details about hotel parking can be found at https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-regency/en-US/roche-hyatt-regency-rochester/parking-and-transportation.

Justification Letter

Need help convincing your organization to support your attendance? We offer a customizable justification letter that outlines the professional development benefits of the North American Simulation and Gaming Annual Conference, including hands-on training in educational gaming techniques, networking with industry leaders, and applicable knowledge that directly enhances teaching and training effectiveness.

Simply click the link below to download the template, which you can personalize with your specific professional goals and organizational needs.

[Download Justification Letter Template]