The Merges Group, LLC

08/24/2025

Packed house for our screening of the Wicker Man at ! Thanks to everyone who has come by! See you tomorrow!

08/22/2025

We are at all weekend with our Nic Cage themed party room! Come by and watch Nic Cage movies all weekend! We are in room 117

02/17/2025

Exciting news! We have 4 new Role Play Adventures beginning in March! There has never been a better time to visit us to see if our groups may be the right fit for your needs! DM for more information!

02/17/2025

That’s a wrap!
We concluded our marathon weekend at Con of the North 2025! Our goal was to run 2 events every minute of Con! We successfully managed this task with our amazing crew of 4 staff, 5 volunteers, and support from several individuals in our program! In conclusion we managed to run 37 events! Thank you to all who braved the heat of our room! We appreciate everyone who joined us in this experience! Now to rest then it’s back to groups on Wednesday!

02/15/2025

Con of the North day one has been great!

We got lots of games in and met wonderful new gaming friends! Thanks to every who played in one of our Friday Events:
Ankh, Cards against Humanity: Family, Frag 3D, Wings of War, Ravine, A Gentle Rain, King of Tokyo, Forbidden Island, Battlebots, CULTivate, Dracula 1897, Cthulhu Death may Die

Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be playing:
Apples to Apples, Cards Against Humanity Family, Tsuro, Paleovet, Dungeon Mayhem, Telestrations, Frag 3D, Ravine, Superfight, Prey Pursuit, Savage Worlds Role Play, Massive Darkness 2, Dracula 1897
So basically,something for everyone!

We will try to remember to take more pictures tomorrow!

02/06/2025

Con of the North is next weekend!
We will be in Studio 12 presenting games the entire weekend. If you see Cardboard Nic Cage and put banner, you are in the right place!
Feel free to stop by and ask any of our wonderful staff and volunteers about our programs!

12/05/2024

Our new Fantasy Role Play Adventure will begin January 2025! This group is geared toward ages 14-22 and will be perfect for anyone new to Role Play! We have two open spaces! So, if you are an aspiring adventurer and have always wanted to try a Role Play campaign, this would be a great place to start! Contact us for more information!
We also have many other groups for adults and teens!

11/15/2024

Now enrolling for all winter gaming groups! Contact us to schedule a visit and find your perfect group!

06/14/2024

04/07/2023

We are BACK!
The Merges Group is happy to announce that we are back to offering our full selection of groups IN PERSON! Openings will be available in June. Please follow our instagram updates as we have limited access to Facebook.

10/30/2020

We are sorry to bring you the news that Michael Ysker, an important staff member in the FunJoyment program, recently passed away. Michael was extremely important in the creation of our “extension” groups — namely the role play groups and the miniature games groups. He developed the formats and was involved in training the staff that now continue that work.

Michael had battled significant health issues in the last many years, and had to step away from leading Saturday groups last year. We all had hoped that his health would improve, but it was not to be. He leaves us with the legacy of the role play groups, and the materials he developed to be able to continue to do the miniature games. His dedication to the program and the enthusiasm he demonstrated for using games as way to help young people with ASD develop comfort in social situations will continue to inspire us in our work as we move forward.

Michael’s family has asked that people wishing to honor his work and his legacy contribute to the FunJoyment Groups Scholarship Fund. If you wish to do this, the information is below.

We will continue to lead the groups knowing that Michael is looking on and enjoying seeing everyone learn, grow, and laugh.

For donations in:
MEMORY OF MICHAEL YSKER

Checks may be made out to:
ANSWER

Checks must be made out to ANSWER and mailed to our office:

John Merges
4820 Minnetonka Blvd
Suite 200
St. Louis Park, MN 55416

10/30/2020

Hi Everyone. We will try to keep this page a little more updated. Since March we have suspended all in person services. We have made health and safety a priority.

In April, thanks to the hard work of our staff, we were able to get Role Play groups up and running online with great success.

John Merges is currently offering online therapy. Let us know if you are interested in this service.

Most of our staff are back with us and now providing one on one online services. Whether it be a social interaction, school support, job support, individual support, we offer a whole host of opportunities.
Please contact us if you would be interested in working with your favorite staff person!

Role Play groups are currently waitlisted but let us know if you are interested in joining the waitlist!

We are not currently offering any other format of group online due to lack of interest. Don't hesitate to contact us if you do have interest in some form of online group, we may be able to put something together for you!

Thank you all for sticking with us during this difficult time! We look forward to the day when we can see you all in person again!