We’re pulling together the events schedule for our next online convention, SDHistCon Winter Quarters 2026. This convention will run from 8 a.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT to 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Saturday, Jan. 31, and we have lots of events we’re excited to announce!
Badges for the convention cost $10 and are available here. Attendees can submit events they’d like to run after purchasing a badge. Tickets for individual events are free, and will be made available at noon Eastern/9 a.m. Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 24, a week before the convention. Many events, especially seminars and presentations, will have unlimited capacity, but some particular game sessions may have limited slots available.
Our events will cover a wide swath of historical gaming, from seminars and interviews through demos of some of the most exciting titles coming down the pipe. Here are some of the things we’ve lined up so far (but there will be many more on offer; also, individual event times may change):
Mark Herman runs a teach and play for Army of the Potomac: Designer and SDHist advisory board member Herman’s Gettysburg and Rebel Fury Civil War games have won high praise, and his hotly-anticipated Army of the Potomac follow-up (more than 1,110 pre-orders through GMT’s P500 system so far!) will be on showcase at Winter Quarters. (Update: Mark will run a teach-and-play event for this upcoming game at 10 a.m. Eastern/7 a.m. PT.)
Harold Buchanan hosts a “Coffee With Harold”: One of the regular highlights of our conventions has been a “Coffee With Harold,” with SDHist founder and designer Buchanan talking with a variety of designers and other attendees on what they’re doing at the con and what they have coming up. The 2026 Winter Quarters version of this will be at 11 a.m. Eastern/8 a.m. Pacific.
David Thompson shows off a new game: SDHist advisory board member Thompson has put out an incredible array of designs to date both on his own and with design partners. Some of his published games include the Undaunted series, theValiant Defense series, 2025 Summit Award recipient War Story, Resist!, War Chest, and more, and he has many other announced titles, including Night Witches and Rebels Against Rebellion. But Thompson will be demoing something even less known this time around, at 3 p.m. Eastern/noon Pacific. (Update: This demo will be on Thompson’s Fifth Platoon, co-designed with Non-Breaking Space.)
John Butterfield showcases On Hell’s Highway: Legendary designer Butterfield (RAF, Ambush!, Enemy Action: Ardennes, D-Day at Omaha Beach) will show off his upcoming On Hell’s Highway at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. Pacific (updated time).
Dan Bullock interviews Twilight Struggle co-designers Jason Matthews and Ananda Gupta: Twilight Struggle has had an incredible run since its 2005 release, including time as BoardGameGeek’s No. 1-ranked game. Designer and SDHist board member Bullock (of Game Design Deep Dive fame) will interview Twilight Struggle designers Gupta and Matthews on that game, its follow-ups (including 2020’s Imperial Struggle, which they also co-designed), and what else they have coming up. (Update: This will take place at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. Pacific.)
Brian Train talks his 2025 games: Renowned designer Train (A Distant Plain, Colonial Twilight, Brief Border Wars) will speak to SDHist’s Andrew Bucholtz about his remarkable 2025, including China’s War, Brief Border Wars Volume 2, O Canada, Gravel, and more. Train will also talk about what’s next for him. (Update: This interview will take place at noon ET/9 a.m. Pacific.)
Volko Ruhnke demos 1943: Race to Rabaul: Ruhnke, known for GMT’s COIN series and Levy and Campaign series as well as works like Coast Watchers and Drachen, has an exciting new game coming from PHALANX. 1943: Race to Rabaul builds on the logistics-emphasizing systems used in 1944: Race to the Rhine (by Jaro Andruszkiewicz and Valdemar Gumienny) and 1941: Race to Moscow (by Gumienny), including by introducing opposed play; the game can see one to two players command the Americans and one to two players command the Japanese. Ruhnke will show off this game to con attendees on Tabletop Simulator. (Update: Runke will demo this game at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT, and will also discuss what went into this design with SDHist’s Andrew Bucholtz at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT.)
Wrap-up show with more details on SDHistNorth: As previously announced in Conflicts of Interest Online, SDHist is running a new in-person convention this year, SDHistNorth in the Twin Cities on July 11-12. (Tickets will be on sale on Saturday, March 7 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT.) Our wrap-up show will feature SDHist founder Harold Buchanan, as well as special guests with a focus on discussing SDHistNorth and what else SDHist has in the works this year. (Also see our online AmRevCon, on June 27!) This discussion will take place at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Stay tuned to Conflicts of Interest Online and our social media channels (X, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube) for further event announcements as we get closer to the convention!