Fall In!, Lancaster PA

Fall In! is organised by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS), an educational non-profit whose stated aim is to promote the study of military history through tabletop miniature wargaming. HMGS runs three conventions a year: Cold Wars in February, Historicon in July and Fall In! in November, the last of the HMGS year.

It's held at the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center in Lancaster and usually falls in early November. Each year has a theme, and for 2026 it's Special Operations in History. Expect plenty of games built around it, but you'll still find tables from every period, so the theme is a flavour rather than a rule.

A long-running show

The organiser's archive lists Fall In! every year back to 1999, so it has been part of the American historical gaming calendar for more than a quarter of a century. It has moved around a little: the Lancaster Host Resort hosted it from 2013 to 2018, it spent 2019 at a resort in King of Prussia, and after the 2020 and 2021 shows were cancelled for COVID it came back to the Wyndham in Lancaster in 2022.

Recent themes give a feel for the show: vehicles of war in 2022, America's rise to world power in 2023, the US Marine Corps through the ages in 2024, and 250 years of the US Navy and Marine Corps in 2025. Recent shows have drawn roughly 1,500 to 1,750 people (1,658 people at the 2025 show), which makes it a smaller, more relaxed weekend than Historicon in July.

Fall In! 2026 runs 6 to 8 November 2026 at Wyndham Resort and Convention Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The official dates cover Friday to Sunday, but registration opens and gaming begins the evening before, on Thursday 5 November, 4pm to 8pm. If you can arrive on Thursday, you'll collect your badge without a queue and get a first evening of games in.

Saturday is the full day: gaming runs from breakfast to the small hours, the vendor hall, classes and lectures are all open, and at most conventions it's the busiest day. Sunday is a short day, with the vendor hall open for the morning only and the last games finishing in mid-afternoon, so do your shopping by Saturday if there's something you really want.

Future dates

HMGS publishes its convention dates years ahead. The next Fall In! after this one is 4 to 7 November 2027, again at the Wyndham Resort, and the organiser has listed early November dates for the years after that too. Themes for future years are announced later, so check the official site nearer the time.

At Fall In! your ticket is called a badge. It gets you into the convention and the vendor hall, and lets you sign up for events. HMGS sells badges online through TableTop.Events, and you'll need a free account there to buy one. Badge prices are set by HMGS each year and shown on the badge page; card and booking fees appear at checkout as a convenience fee.

Members, families and game hosts

HMGS membership. Membership costs $35 and brings cheaper badges at all three HMGS conventions, a vote in the society and access to Wally's Basement, a set of member-only tables you can book sessions at. If you plan to go to more than one HMGS show, it's worth doing the sums.

Youth and partner badges. Youth badges and Non-Playing Partner badges are add-ons to a paid badge, and the links arrive in your badge confirmation email. A partner badge can't have game tickets added, so anyone who wants to play needs a full badge.

Game hosts. Run games for at least 16 gamer hours with a valid membership, and HMGS gives you a complimentary Game Host badge. Event submissions for 2026 have closed, so that one is for next year's diary.

Participation games

The heart of Fall In! is the gaming: hundreds of tabletop miniatures games, most of them participation games. A volunteer game host brings the table, the terrain and the painted figures, explains the rules, and you sit down and play. It's the best way to try a period or a rule set before you spend a penny on an army. Games run in timeslots from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon, and you book a seat with a ticket on your badge.

Tournaments

Tournaments run alongside the open games for players who want something more competitive, with their own coordinator on the convention staff. The systems and formats change each year, so check the schedule for what's being played and how to enter. Tournament players bring their own armies.

Hobby University

Hobby University (Hobby U for short) is the HMGS hobby school. It started as the Painting University at Historicon in 2005 and now covers painting, sculpting, terrain building and 3D modelling, with classes for every level from young beginners to experienced painters, taught by volunteers and guests. Its free walk-up Paint and Take lets anyone sit down and paint a free miniature with staff on hand for tips, and you can bring your own painted figures for friendly feedback.

War College

War College is the lecture programme: talks on military history that sit nicely alongside the games. With a theme of Special Operations in History, expect plenty to choose from. Classes and lectures both run on Friday and Saturday.

Board games and Wally's Basement

A board game library is open from Thursday evening to Saturday night for when you fancy something without miniatures, and Wally's Basement offers member-only tables bookable in sessions.

Vendors

Over 60 hobby-related vendors fill the exhibit hall, so it's the place to see figures, terrain, rules, books and paints in person, and to stock up for the winter painting season. The hall opens on Friday and closes at noon on Sunday.

Awards for game hosts

Fall In! doesn't run a painting competition in the usual sense. Instead, HMGS judges the games themselves. Throughout the convention, standout tables earn a PELA award (short for "Pour Encourager Les Autres", to encourage the others), and from those come Best of Show, Best of Theme and Best Terrain. There's also the Michael Fijalka Young Guard Award for the best children's games. Walking the hall looking for the award-winning tables is a fine way to spend an hour.

Historical wargamers. This is a historical convention, run by a society devoted to historical miniatures gaming. If you play ancients, horse and musket, the world wars or anything in between, you'll feel at home.

Painters and collectors. Hundreds of games mean plenty of painted tables to admire, and Hobby University is a chance to learn. If you're building a historical army, our guides to batch painting an army and basing your miniatures will help you get it table-ready, and our look at historical and rank-and-file miniatures explains what makes them different.

Newcomers. It's a good show for beginners. Participation games come with figures and a host who teaches the rules, and the HMGS FAQ notes that unless you're hosting or playing in a tournament, all you need to bring is yourself (and some spending money).

Families. Youth badges are available as an add-on to a paid badge, Hobby University runs classes for young painters, the Paint and Take is free, and HMGS gives an award for the best children's games, so there are tables aimed at younger players. Check the schedule for games marked as suitable for children.

The venue

Fall In! is held at the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 2300 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, PA 17602 (phone (717) 299-5500). The hotel describes itself as a resort on 160 acres in the heart of Pennsylvania's Amish Country, with a big convention space under the same roof as the bedrooms, so if you stay on site your room is a short walk from the gaming halls.

Hotel room block

HMGS holds a block of rooms at the venue at $169 a night plus taxes, booked with group code 110526HMG. The room block booking link covers the convention nights. Block rooms at popular conventions tend to go early, so book as soon as you know you're going.

Parking and transport

Neither the HMGS site nor the venue's page sets out parking arrangements or public transport, so we won't guess. Call the venue on (717) 299-5500 to ask about parking before you travel, and check the official site for any updates. If you're flying in, check the official site and the venue for the nearest airports and transfers.

House rules worth knowing

HMGS conventions are smoke-free (vaping included) except in marked outdoor areas, no outside alcohol is allowed, and real or replica weapons aren't permitted without official permission, which matters if you're thinking of turning up in costume. Lost property goes to the registration desk, and HMGS asks you not to leave anything unattended.

Details checked against the organiser's website in October 2026. Always check the official site before you travel. Badge prices, the game schedule, class and lecture lists and the staff contacts are all published by HMGS, so that's the place to look for anything this page doesn't cover.

Planning more than one show? HMGS also runs Cold Wars in February and Historicon in July in Lancaster, and our miniature events around the world page lists the big shows by region.