Room Reservation

We have a block of 60 hotel rooms reserved for our workshop at a discounted rate within the conference hotel. Reserving a room is on a first-come first-serve basis. We will attempt to enlarge the room block as needed but cannot promise rooms will still be available. The next closest hotel is a 10-15 minute walk.

All discount-rate rooms must be reserved by July 22, 2019.

Because the conference runs 9AM-5PM both days, it is recommended you arrive on August 21 and leave August 24th (3 nights). If you do wish to fly out on August 23, we recommend booking a flight departing after 7PM.

Additionally, if you have the funds available for a one-day vacation, it is strongly recommended that you stay one extra night so that you can spend all day August 24th at the Minnesota State Fair. The MN State Fair is the second largest in the United States (yearly attendance of 2 million) and is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in traditional Americana, including everything from fried-anything-you-can-imagine-on-a-stick to live butter carvings of Miss Teen Minnesota. A free bus is available to the State Fair directly from UMN campus, where the conference will be held.

Important: Please do not reserve your room until you have received confirmation that a seat at the conference has been reserved for you. At present, only those individuals invited as “priority invitees” and presenters are confirmed. The first of confirmation e-mails for general registrants will be sent by Monday, June 3.

Reserve your room online here!

OR reserve a room by phone:

  • Call 612-379-8888
  • Press 1 for Reservations
  • Ask for the Game-based Assessment Interdisciplinary Workshop

Hotel Details


Travel Information

Flying into Minneapolis

Minneapolis is one of the Twin Cities alongside St. Paul. Both are served by Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). MSP is one of Delta Airlines’ hub airports, meaning you can get a direct flight to MSP from most major cities in the United States.

Internationally, Delta is a part of SkyTeam, so the most direct flights will generally be through SkyTeam partners including AirFrance, Alitalia, China Airlines, KLM, and Korean Air. Direct Skyteam flights are available from Seoul, Tokyo Haneda, Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Keflavik, and Paris, as well as numerous locations throughout Mexico, Canada, and Central America. Additionally, Condor serves from Frankfurt roughly twice a week, and Icelandair serves from Keflavik.

MSP is also served by several discount airlines including Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, and Sun Country, as well as by JetBlue.

MSP Airport → Metro Transit → GBA Workshop

  1. Once you collect your bags, follow the blue and red Metro Transit signs to the light-rail train station.
  2. Buy a normal fare ticket from the kiosk at the station.
    • There are no fareboxes on trains. You must pay for your ride before boarding the train.
    • Fare is $2.00 during normal hours and $2.50 during rush hours.
    • Tickets remain active for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
    • For more information on how to purchase a tickets at a ticket machine, please click here.
  3. Board a Metro Blue Line train to Minneapolis.
  4. Ride the Blue Line to the U.S. Bank Stadium stop. Exit the train.
  5. Cross to the other side of the platform.
  6. Board a Metro Green Line to St. Paul.
  7. Ride the Green Line to the East Bank stop.
  8. Walk one block east (walk one block to the right of the station) and the Graduate Minneapolis should be across the street on your left
    • You will see a Starbucks on the outside
    • If you hit Sally’s Saloon, you’ve gone too far

From the East Bank station to The Graduate Minneapolis

Additional Visit Information

Taxi Companies

  • Uber and Lyft are the most-used ride-sharing apps within the Twin Cities metro
    • Typically $23-$30 for individual rides
  • Eagle Taxi and Limo: (612) 216-5550
  • Chey Cab and Car Service: (612) 805-1295

Public Transportation Routes and Information

  • Learn more about Metro Transit
  • View the metro transit stations here
  • Download the Metro Transit smartphone app (Android and iOS compatible)
  • Download the Nice Ride app to rent bicycles for the day

Places to Eat in the Area

Things to do

  • Minnesota State Fair
    • The “Great Minnesota Get-Together” will be running from August 22nd to September 2nd.
    • Attendance last year was over 2 million people. The highest daily attendance in the history of the fair was 270,426 visitors on Saturday, September 1, 2018.
    • There is free transportation from UMN campus via an express bus directly to the fair location.
    • There are plenty of shows, rides, attractions, and food!
    • You can purchase tickets here.