The PennZone

HURST, Texas - PennZone -- Mensa members are congregating next week in Portland, Ore., making it the center of the board game-playing universe as they participate in one of the nation's most respected tabletop games competitions: American Mensa's Mind Games®.

The four-day board-game-judging marathon, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Portland April 24-27, draws Mensans and their guests from across the country to vote on the year's five best new-to-market games to be awarded the coveted Mensa Select® seal. Past winners include Scattergories™, Trivial Pursuit™, and Taboo™. The Mensa Foundation is sponsoring this year's event.

A Mensa Admission Test session – REGISTER HERE – will be held prior to the event from 6-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23. (Journalists may test for no charge; contact Charles Brown for more information.)

While round-the-clock fun and games for the 400 Mind Games participants, it's also serious business. The competition, founded in 1990, offers games manufacturers the chance to have their games reviewed by some of the nation's most avid game-players — members of American Mensa. The global board games market was valued at $14.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $32 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights. North America dominates the market with a 41.6 percent share, and the U.S. board game market is expected to generate $2.8 billion in revenue in 2025.

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2025 Mensa Select games will be announced on April 28. 2024 winners are available here.

About Mensa Select®

Awarded annually by judges comprised of Mensa members, the Mensa Select seal indicates that a game is distinctive, challenging, and thoughtfully designed. These games are a good value for the price, easy to comprehend and play, and, above all, fun! Look for the Mensa Select seal when purchasing your next game.

About American Mensa

American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top 2 percent on an accepted standardized intelligence test. Mensa has more than 45,000 members in the United States and more than 140,000 members globally. For more information about American Mensa, visit americanmensa.org.