Thank you to everyone who came to our online SDHistCon Winter Quarters 2026 convention on Jan. 31! As we look ahead to our upcoming conventions (SDHistAmRevCon online on June 27, with tickets on sale now, SDHistCon North in the Twin Cities July 11-12, with tickets going on sale March 7 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT, and SDHistCon Summit in San Diego Nov. 6-9, with tickets going on sale August 8 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT), it’s worth showing off some of what happened at Winter Quarters. Here are a few of the historical gaming interviews, panels, and demos that took place over the course of a full day’s schedule of demos and seminars:

Innovation in Wargaming: Past, Present, and Future: Mike “Zilla Blitz” Smart hosted a remarkable panel with designers Jerry White and Volko Ruhnke and writer/podcaster Grant Linneberg (of Pushing Cardboard) specifically focused on innovation in historical games, from its roots to what’s happening today:

20 Years of Twilight Struggle with Ananda Gupta & Jason Matthews: Designer and SDHist board member Dan Bullock interviewed Twilight Struggle co-designers Gupta and Matthews about their famous design 20 years later, plus the subsequent designs they’ve done and what they’re working on now:

Volko Ruhnke discusses 1943: Race to Rabaul design: Ruhnke spoke to SDHist’s Andrew Bucholtz on his upcoming 1943: Race to Rabaul, what it was like working within another designer’s system (PHALANX’s logistics-focused “Race to” series) instead of creating his own, as he did with GMT’s COIN and Levy and Campaign series, and what bringing player-led opposition to this Race to system adds:

Brian Train discusses his 2025 games and upcoming projects: Designer Brian Train spoke to SDHist’s Andrew Bucholtz on his remarkable 2025, which saw him publish five games: official COIN Series title China’s War (GMT), Brief Border Wars Vol. 2 (Compass), and three self-published games (the COIN-inspired game O Canada, the abstract Gravel, and the professional-focused 91 DSSB Staff Game). 2025 also saw a new Bonsai Games version of Train’s Winter Thunder (a 2015 Battle of the Bulge design) and an updated version of QUICK (Quick Urban Integrated Combat Kriegsspiel). Train spoke about how his 2025 went, with particular details on China’s War, Brief Border Wars Vol. 2, and O Canada, and also mentioned some of what he has in the pipeline, including Houses of Cards/Il Treno di Carte, District Commander Briganti, The Chair Is Empty, and Scaleable Urban Simulation.

1943: When in Rome…(A very special Tank Duel session): SDHist advisory board member Riccardo Masini, part of Italy’s LudoStoria gaming club, hosted a special event looking at what happened in Rome after the September 1943 Armistice of Cassibile that saw Italy end hostilities against the Allies. Massini presented on the armistice and the fights afterwards, and did so partly by illustrating what happened in a special session of Tank Duel (at the 32-minute mark) he and other LudoStoria members played at a former Italian infantry HQ in Rome.

Mark Herman demos Army of the Potomac: SDHist advisory board member Mark Herman showed off his upcoming Army of the Potomac from GMT Games. This game, a follow-up to Rebel Fury and Gettysburg, covers the battles of Spotsylvania II, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and the entire Seven Days battle.

1943: Race to Rabaul demo from designer Volko Ruhnke and Mark Greenwald: Ruhnke showed off that aforementioned upcoming PHALANX title in action, with help from game designer and U.S. Army Command and General Staff College instructor Mark Greenwald.  

SDHistCon Winter Quarters Wrap Up & SDHistCon North Intro: To cap off the convention, Mike “Zilla Blitz” Smart hosted SDHist’s Harold Buchanan and Jeff Dreher, designer and SDHist advisory board member Mark Herman, and special guests Cole and Drew Wehrle to talk about both this con and the new SDHist North convention (coming to the Twin Cities July 11-12, with tickets on sale March 7 at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT!). 

Thank you to everyone who attended SDHistCon Winter Quarters 2026 online, which included these events and many more on Discord! We hope to see you all at our other conventions this year, SDHistAmRevCon online on June 27, SDHistCon North in the Twin Cities July 11-12, and SDHistCon Summit in San Diego Nov. 6-9! Stay tuned to Conflicts of Interest Online over the coming months for more on all of those upcoming events.