| DanLewisTN | 03 Sep 2025 2:34 p.m. PST |
I live in the US, am retired, and would like to attend a convention in England, for fun. I like WWII games, but would like to try a colonial game, and some TooFatLardie games, like Bag the Hun, Charlie Don't surf, etc. Since I have to travel far, a minimum 3 day convention would be best, if avaiable. A good size convention to make sure there is lot of variety would be good. Any suggestions would be appreciated. |
 20thmaine  | 03 Sep 2025 3:25 p.m. PST |
UK conventions are a bit different from those in America in that they tend to be single day events (Salute runs 10AM to 5PM) and don't have the convention hotel tie-ins of the big shows in the states. Colours used to be a 2 day event – but it was two days, no evening activities, and it is now down to one day. There are some weekend shows – but they tend to be more RPG focused, or big more general gaming shows like UK Game Expo where there are wargames, boardgames RPGs, family games etc : link |
| DanLewisTN | 03 Sep 2025 4:02 p.m. PST |
Oh, well that does change things. That is very different. Salute only runs for 7 hours. Thats enough time to play in two games perhaps. Strange how there are no evening activities. How much historical gaming am I likely to find at UK Game Expo? |
 Steve at The Vault  | 03 Sep 2025 4:17 p.m. PST |
It's even more different than you think compared to this side of the water. While our cons are for playing games many shows in the U.K. are more shopping centered as they play at their club nights. If you're wanting to get some playing time in you'll do better contacting game clubs and going to their club nights. |
| John Armatys | 03 Sep 2025 4:57 p.m. PST |
Not a convention, but you might like to consider WD's Conference of Wargamers, which is a brilliant weekend of wargames (although mainly not commercial games, and there are no trade stands, but there is an impressive bring and buy). You can see programmes and photos of earlier events and links to attendees' blogs here link COW 2026 is at Cranfield University from 10th to 12th July. Bookings open to non-members from early October – details are here link WD also runs VCOW, a virtual conference of wargamers, in February each year. You could try that first to see if it is worth paying to cross the Atlantic for face to face games. |
Dervel  | 03 Sep 2025 6:27 p.m. PST |
Years ago, I attended Warfare by the reading wargame association. It was much closer to a US style convention than others I have attended. I believe it is 2-3 days usually. wargamesreading.co.uk |
 Old Contemptible | 03 Sep 2025 9:33 p.m. PST |
They don't have conventions. They have shows with almost no gaming. |
| martin goddard | 03 Sep 2025 11:50 p.m. PST |
How about the Weymouth Wargames Weekend. WWW.
This might be ideal for you? Always nice to gather those from far and wide. Direct railroad from London waterloo. There will be WW2 air and land, Colonial, ancient, medieval, Vietnam, ACW etc
Now in its 10th year. link Residential. 16 gamers. Quite cheap. Gaming Friday evening, all day Saturday into the evening, all day Sunday up to tea time.
martin
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| Martin Rapier | 03 Sep 2025 11:53 p.m. PST |
". They have shows with almost no gaming." Well, that isn't actually true is it. I run games at shows, along with scores of other people. What they generally don't do is last for hours and hours and the shows don't go on for days, they are typically one day events in which shopping and chatting featur heavily. There are exceptions, as noted above. I expect to be utterly gamed out by the Society of Ancients Conference in a few weeks time, which does indeed last an entire weekend. |
| GurKhan | 04 Sep 2025 4:30 a.m. PST |
As Dervel suggested, Warfare – the show put on by Wargames Association of Reading – is a two-day show. This year it's 15-16 November. The central feature of Warfare is competition games; there are competitions with several commercial rulesets running over both days. (They're almost all sold out by now.) There are also a lot of demo and/or participation games – how many of them actually welcome participants, as opposed to being pure demos, I couldn't tell you. But of course there will be lots of traders there as well. But it's not actually in Reading any more, it's Farnborough these days… Colours – which is at Newbury Racecourse this weekend – is now, as 20thMaine says, a one-day show, mostly trade but with plenty of demo and some participation games. I'll be there with the Reading club's demo game of Maldon 991 AD, as previously run at the Society of Ancients Battleday. There are other competition-centric shows with a large trade presence – BritCon, for instance. |
| KeepYourPowderDry | 04 Sep 2025 4:40 a.m. PST |
In you fancy TFL games, they do have weekend participation events. Curry and beer featuring too. Their forum, or better still their Facebook page are the places to find out, make contact etc |
| DeRuyter | 04 Sep 2025 10:32 a.m. PST |
To add to what KYPD said here is a link to the TFL forum listing some Lard events. Something on my list when retirement day comes. There are also some big game days in the EU – Crisis for example. <url> link </url> |
| Darrell B D Day | 04 Sep 2025 3:14 p.m. PST |
Direct railroad from London waterloo. Railroad….! I'm sure our US friends are able to understand the customary UK useage of railway. DBDD |
| Tgerritsen | 04 Sep 2025 7:42 p.m. PST |
DanLewisTN, you should also be aware of the difference between participation and demonstration games. Some shows have far more of the latter, which are not open to people showing up and playing. You want participation games, which are for people showing up and playing. We don't really have that here in the US. All convention games are usually by default participation games. |
| robert piepenbrink | 05 Sep 2025 3:46 a.m. PST |
DanLewis, I'm an American who has attended British conventions, and I wouldn't dispute the comments. There really is no UK equivalent of the big HMGS shows with abundant participation games over a three-day weekend. But there's a small convention you can reach by rail from London more weekends than not, and there's much else for a wargamer to do in the UK. There are battlefields to walk, the Cabinet War Rooms, the Battle of Britain Bunker, the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum--mustn't miss Siborne's Waterloo--and warships of all eras to tour. I'd still love one more trip if I could pull it off. |
| Giles the Zog | 06 Sep 2025 6:51 a.m. PST |
Bovington for the Tank Museum, its in Dorset which is off the beaten track (or rail), but there is also Purbeck castle close by, Poole Harbour, Maiden castle and so on more than enough to keep a gamer and family happy. |
| robert piepenbrink | 07 Sep 2025 2:29 p.m. PST |
Visiting Bosworth Battlefield again is on my list if I ever get another opportunity. I've been already, but they moved it. |
| DanLewisTN | 08 Sep 2025 9:10 a.m. PST |
I've been to England on 3 occasions for business and was fortunate to visit the Imperial War Museum. You've given me a lot to consider. As far as types of games goes, Yes, Tgerritsen, I would really be interested in Participation games. I don't prefer demonstration (I have YouTube for that). As far as competition games, I have no armies to compete in FOW or Bolt Action and if I did I woudn't tote them to England in any case. The Weymouth War Weekend sounds promising but it may be too late already to make plans for that. THe first link in that message "WWW" didn't work. Of note, this event it planned at the same time as one of our 'Colonial Holidays' – Thanksgiving. I thank you all, I think it would be great fun to roll the dice with the boys 'cross the pond, make some friends, and have a beer afterward at the pub. At least that's how I imagine it might be in my mind. I'm 70 years old now and am to be fully retired in December. Not up to a lot of Tourist Travel, but a wargaming event would be my 'cup of tea'. |
| Volleyfire | 08 Sep 2025 9:11 a.m. PST |
if the British weather doesn't put you off there is Hammerhead at the beginning of March, always on a Saturday, which is entirely participation games, usually over 40 to choose from plus dozens of traders along with an excellent tabletop sale ( US version is a flea market I believe?) Air Museum literally next door, Civil War Centre in the town, Bomber Command Centre just up the A46 in Lincoln, as you pass the new life size sculpture of a Lancaster bomber that has gone up this past weekend at Norton Disney. Norton Disney is somewhere that someone called Walt once came over to visit in 1949 to see his long lost relatives ancestral home and subsequently incorporated the family crest into the opening sequence of Disney films. |
| DanLewisTN | 08 Sep 2025 9:19 a.m. PST |
Hammerhead sounds great but first choice I would opt for an event that has at least 2 days or activity. It's a long way to travel, and I don't have the legs for long walks in museums. Yes, comparison to Flea Market is spot on. I'll be attending two more events in the US this year. The local event 'Southern Front' in Raleigh NC is sponsered by the Triangle Simulation Society in North Carolina. And I'll also travel to the HMGS even in Lancaster PA call 'Fall In' which is a large event, though I've never been to it. |
