Cold Wars, Lancaster PA

Cold Wars is run by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS), a non-profit set up to promote the study of military history through tabletop miniature wargaming. The society's year opens with Cold Wars in February, carries on with Historicon in July and closes with Fall In! in November. Of the three, Cold Wars is the winter one: a long weekend of dice and painted armies in the depths of winter.

Every Cold Wars has a theme. The 2027 theme is Beasts, Bones and Bad Ideas! and game hosts build tables around it and the awards include a prize for the best game on theme, but you'll find every period from ancients to the modern day on the schedule, so the theme sets a mood rather than a limit.

More than 30 winters

The organiser's archive lists Cold Wars as far back as 1991, so it has been part of the American historical gaming calendar for more than three decades. For almost three decades it was a March fixture in Lancaster, at the venue the archive calls the Lancaster Host, with an occasional April show. Attendance in that era often ran close to 2,000, peaking at 2,130 in 2012.

The 2020s were less settled. The 2021 and 2022 conventions were cancelled because of COVID, the 2023 show moved to a resort in King of Prussia, there was no Cold Wars in 2024, and the 2025 convention was held in Gettysburg, fittingly with an American Civil War theme. In 2026 it came back to Lancaster in early February with a Wild West theme (1,021 people at the 2026 show). For 2027 and the year after, HMGS has booked the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center in Lancaster.

Past themes show the range: warrior women, the golden age of piracy, mountain warfare, holy wars, the animals of war and the American Revolution have all had a turn. Cold Wars has never been only about one period.

Cold Wars 2027 runs 4 to 7 February 2027 at the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It's a four-day convention: the registration desk and the first games open on Thursday afternoon, Friday and Saturday are full days that run past midnight, and Sunday winds down with the vendor hall closing at lunchtime and the last games finishing by mid-afternoon.

If you only have one day, make it Friday or Saturday, when everything is open at once: the vendor hall, Hobby University classes, War College lectures and the full games schedule. Thursday is a gentle start, good for collecting your badge and getting a game in before the crowds arrive.

The run-up to the show

Cold Wars has a long run-up that falls across the holidays. Badge sales open on 9 November, 7pm Eastern, at the same time as game submissions and volunteer applications. Game tickets go on sale on 28 December, 7pm Eastern, in the quiet days between Christmas and New Year, so it's worth having your badge bought and a shortlist of games ready before you sit down to the turkey leftovers.

Future dates

HMGS publishes its dates well ahead. After this one, the next Cold Wars is 3 to 6 February 2028, again at the Wyndham in Lancaster, with the theme to be announced. Dates beyond that hadn't been set when we checked.

HMGS calls a Cold Wars ticket a badge. The badge gets you through the door, into the vendor hall and onto the games schedule. Badges and game tickets are sold online through TableTop.Events, the convention system HMGS uses for all three of its shows. Prices are set each year and shown on the badge page once sales open, and booking and card fees are added at checkout. If you're coming from the UK, prices are in US dollars.

Membership, youth and partners

Is membership worth it? HMGS membership costs $35 a year. Members pay less for badges at Cold Wars, Historicon and Fall In!, can book the member-only tables in Wally's Basement and get a vote in the society. If you're likely to go to two HMGS shows in a year, it's worth working out whether it pays for itself.

Bringing others. Youth badges and Non-Playing Partner badges can only be added to a paid badge, using links in your confirmation email. A partner badge is for company rather than gaming, as it can't hold game tickets.

Running a game

Cold Wars relies on volunteers who bring their own tables. Run games for at least 16 gamer hours, with membership valid through 8 February (a four-hour game for six players counts as 24) and HMGS gives you a free Game Host badge. Submissions open with badge sales. Large tables and special requests have an earlier deadline at the end of November, and clubs that want their games in the printed Convention Program need them in before Christmas. The exact dates are on the official site.

Hundreds of games

Gaming is the point of Cold Wars, and the organiser promises hundreds of tabletop miniatures games over the four days. Most are participation games: a host sets up the table and terrain, provides the painted figures, teaches the rules and runs the game, and you take a seat with a ticket on your badge. Games run in timeslots from Thursday afternoon until Sunday afternoon, with evening sessions running until 1am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Tournaments

Cold Wars has a tournaments coordinator on its staff, and competitive play runs alongside the open games. The systems and formats are set for each convention, so check the online schedule for what's on offer and how to enter. Unlike participation games, tournament players bring their own armies.

Guest of Honour

Each year HMGS invites a guest of honour. For 2027 it's Joseph A. McCullough, designer of Frostgrave. The organiser's guest page lists two Friday morning talks on writing wargames and scenarios, and a multiplayer game on Friday and Saturday afternoons, with times still to be confirmed. Guest sessions are a good way to meet the people behind the games you play.

Hobby University and War College

Hobby University is the HMGS hobby school, with classes in painting, sculpting, terrain and 3D modelling for young beginners through to experienced painters. Its free walk-up Paint and Take hands you a free miniature and a seat at a painting table, and staff will look over figures you've painted at home if you bring them. War College is the lecture side: talks on military history that put the games in context. Both run on Friday and Saturday.

Board games and Wally's Basement

A board game library gives you something to borrow between miniatures games, and Wally's Basement is a set of tables that HMGS members can book in sessions.

Vendors

More than 60 hobby-related vendors take stands in the exhibit hall: figures, terrain, rules, books, paints and tools, all in one room. It opens on Friday morning and closes at noon on Sunday, and in February it's a good chance to stock up for the rest of the winter painting season.

Awards for the best tables

HMGS gives its awards to the games rather than to individual painted figures. PELA awards (from "Pour Encourager Les Autres") go to standout tables through the convention, and the best of those go on to Best of Show, Best of Theme and Best Terrain. The Michael Fijalka Young Guard Award goes to the best games for children. Themed tables are often where the most imaginative terrain turns up.

Historical wargamers. HMGS exists for historical gaming, and Cold Wars is full of it. Whether you play ancients, medieval, horse and musket, colonial, the world wars or the Cold War itself, there'll be a table for you.

Skirmish gamers. Themes and guests change every year, and some stretch the idea of history a little. For 2027 the guest of honour is Joseph A. McCullough, designer of Frostgrave, so skirmish players will find plenty to enjoy.

Painters and collectors. Hundreds of finished tables are a masterclass in themselves, and Hobby University turns watching into doing. 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.

Beginners. You don't need an army, rules or experience. Participation games supply the figures and teach the rules as you play, and the HMGS FAQ points out that unless you're hosting or playing a tournament, you only need to bring yourself and some money.

Families. Youth badges add on to a paid adult badge, Hobby University runs classes for young painters, the Paint and Take is free, and there's an award for the best children's games. Look for games marked as suitable for younger players on the schedule.

The venue

Cold Wars 2027 is at the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 2300 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, PA 17602 (phone (717) 299-5500). The games, classes and vendor hall are under the same roof as the hotel rooms, so if you stay on site you can walk from breakfast to your first game without going outside, which counts for a lot in February.

Hotel room block

HMGS reserves a block of rooms at the venue for attendees. When we last checked: open since September, rate and code not yet published. Look for the booking link on the official site and book early, as convention room blocks tend to fill well before the show.

Parking and transport

HMGS doesn't publish parking, public transport or airport details for Cold Wars, so we won't guess. Ring the venue on (717) 299-5500 to ask about parking, and plan for winter driving: snow and ice are possible in Pennsylvania in February, so leave extra time either side of the weekend.

Convention rules

The HMGS code of conduct applies. The convention is smoke-free, vaping included, apart from marked outdoor areas; outside alcohol isn't allowed; and real or replica weapons need official permission, which is worth knowing if you're tempted to come in costume. Don't leave bags unattended, and take anything you find to the registration desk.

Details checked against the organiser's website in October 2026. Always check the official site before you travel. Badge prices, the games schedule, the class and lecture lists, the hotel booking link and 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 Historicon in July and Fall In! in November in Lancaster, and our miniature events around the world page lists the big shows by region.