Wargame Developments

Home | The Conference of Wargamers | The Nugget | Free Rules | Where to meet us | How to join | How to find out more | Feedback | Links

The Conference of Wargamers

New Directions In Wargaming

In 1980 Dr. Paddy Griffith, who was then a lecturer in War Studies at RMA Sandhurst, organised a conference entitled "New Directions In Wargaming". The conference was held at Moor Park College near Farnham, and lasted over the weekend of 23rd to 25th May 1980. It was at this conference that Wargame Developments was founded, and it set the pattern for all the subsequent conferences.

The First COW

The Moor Park conference was such a success that it was agreed that an annual conference should be organised, and in June 1981 the first COW took place. Because Moor Park College was unavailable, an alternative venue was sought and thus began WD's long association with Knuston Hall Residential College for Adult Education.

COW and Knuston Hall

Knuston Hall has proven to be a popular venue because its facilities suited the organisation's needs and requirements, and its location - in the Midlands - made it accessible from almost anywhere in the UK. However in early 2022 Northamptonshire City Council (who operate the Hall) informed us that it would be closed for the foreseeable future and so COW 2022 was held on 8-10 July 2022 at the UK Defence Academy, Shrivenham.

Each conference includes plenary/core, workshop, and practical sessions.

COW2023

It is currently planned that COW 2023 will take place on 7-9 July 2023, but we don’t yet know where it will be! The default option is to return to the Defence Academy at Shrivenham but we are also considering other options for 2023 and onwards. If you have any ideas for suitable venues for COW please contact Tim Gow (details on the back cover of the Nugget).

For the moment, we are assuming it is COW business as usual, so please let Tim have details of the session(s) you want to offer for COW 2023, wherever it is. Tim will provide a regular updated session list in the Nugget each issue. If you have sent Tim a session and it’s not on the list, please send it again! Tim will accept session details by email and WhatsApp.

Note that we are NOT accepting deposits or attendee bookings yet. Please keep an eye on future issues of The Nugget for details.

We look forward to seeing you not only at COW 2023, but before then at the WD Autumn Virtual Gathering and of course VCOW 2023!

Please note that only existing members of Wargame Developments
who have booked and paid for a place may attend COW