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I am thrilled to announced that I am having a wargame retreat, the First Annual Convocation of the Wargame Explorer’s Society, in the summer of 2024.

The retreat will be a week long, from June 9th to June 15th, in sunny Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve rented a great big house with a ton of bedrooms and lots of tables to play on. The event will be fully catered, so your ticket to the wargame retreat will come with breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks. It’s an easy 20 minutes from the Salt Lake City airport.

What Games Will We Play At the Wargame Explorer Retreat?

First of all, this is not a tournament, though we definitely will have some campaign play and some informal competitions. This is a very friendly and laid back event that is meant to be relaxing and fun.

We’ll definitely be playing Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar. There will be ample table space and terrain for you to bring your armies and get a ton of gaming in.

There will also be a lot of Bolt Action. Bolt Action is my favorite major wargame, and I can’t miss a chance to play a ton of it.

Aside from that, the sky’s the limit. If you want to play Kill Team and Warcry, we’ll play Kill Team and Warcry. Or if you get into the new releases of Legions Imperialis or even Warhammer The Old World (which will be released by then) then we’ll definitely set up some tables and play them.

Because as soon as you buy a ticket we’ll have you join the Discord server where other attendees will be talking, and we can all discuss what other games we want to play.

There will certainly be my favorite small games there: Aeronautica Imperialis, SPQR, Blood Red Skies, Dystopian Wars, and more.

We’ll even have other non-miniature wargames at the wargame retreat: things like Advanced Squad Leader, Undaunted: Normandy, and Memoir ’44. If you want to bring games of your own, we highly encourage it.

Who Else Will Be At The First Annual Convocation of the Wargame Explorer’s Society?

This event will be cosponsored by my brother, Dan Wells, who is a brilliant writer of books like I Am Not A Serial Killer, and is now the VP of Narrative at Dragonsteel (Brandon Sanderson’s company). Dan runs two other gaming retreats, both centered on board games, so he knows how to make things like this run and run well.

We hope to have a few more well known names in the hobby attending the event, but details haven’t been finalized.

Do You Need to Bring Your Own Models and Games to the Wargame Retreat?

While we plan to have models for many games, including plenty of models for Bolt Action, and a handful of Combat Patrols for Warhammer 40k, we encourage you to bring your own. And make sure, if your faction has its own Codex, that you bring your own rules too.

For smaller games, like Aeronautica Imperialis and Dystopian Wars, we’ll have playable two-person sets with models, but if you have your own Aeronautica models you want to bring the more the merrier (I love that game).

Dates and Times

Check in for the event will be Sunday, June 9, 2024 between 6 pm and 10 pm.
Dinner will not be served Sunday night. Meals will start with breakfast on Monday, June 10th and end with breakfast on Saturday, June 15, 2024.
Check out will be at 10 am on June 15, 2024.

Tickets and Pricing

A ticket gets you two things: registration for the retreat (which includes food for the week) and a bed in the house. If you would like to share a bed with someone, only one person purchases the bed ticket; the other person purchases a “no bed” ticket.

King Bed: $1,300
Queen Bed: $1,200
Twin Bed: $1,100
No Bed: $700

“No Bed” tickets require one of two situations:
1) You are sharing a bed with someone else. The other person must have purchased a regular ticket for a queen or king bed. There is a limit of two people per bed.
2) You are staying off-site and commuting to the event. Please note that unless you live nearby, this is not likely to be cost-effective; we are trying to keep our prices cheaper than you would get at a hotel. Please also note that there is limited parking, and if you drive yourself you might need to leave your car in a nearby park, and walk or shuttle to the event.
*If you buy a “No Bed” ticket, we will contact you directly to work out the details of your specific
situation.

How do the beds and rooms work?

The house has twenty-four beds of varying sizes. Almost ALL of them are in shared rooms, with two or three beds each. The beds available are 7 King, 5 Queen, and 6 Twins. As part of your registration, you will have the opportunity to request a specific roommate, or to give specific details about what shared situation might make you most comfortable. We will discuss these requests with you privately through email.

If I come to this event, will I get to play a game with Rob or Dan?

We want to be able to play with everyone, but it’s not guaranteed. When you get 25 people together playing games that are generally 2-4 players, there’s not always a chance. But we’ll definitely be there to socialize.

What amenities does the house have?

Aside from the bedrooms, the kitchen, and the gaming spaces, there are also nine bathrooms, two laundry rooms, a pool table, a ping pong table, a hot tub, a huge yard, a covered porch with outdoor tables, an outdoor grill, multiple outdoor firepits, and two kitchenettes with extra fridges.

Can I bring my own snacks or food?

We’ve got it covered. Our caterer is great at having everything you will need. But if there’s something specific, like you’ve just got to have gummy bears, or you need a certain brand of soda, then maybe pick some up on the way or have grocery delivery. We do ask that for allergy purposes, you don’t bring anything with peanuts.

What about food allergies?

All food will be prepared in one kitchen. While we will make every effort to accommodate for food allergies, we cannot guarantee that there won’t be cross contamination. Donna is great at providing dairy, meat, and gluten free options, but you need to make sure that you communicate your dietary needs in the registration information and be responsible for your own health and safety.

Will there be alcohol?

This is a dry event, so no alcohol will be allowed on the property.

Can I smoke?

This property has an absolutely NO smoking/vaping/e-cigarettes policy.

Transportation from the airport?

This is not provided by the event, but the venue was chosen in part because it is easily accessible. The best means of transportation will probably be Uber or Lyft for about $30. You can arrange with someone in the Discord to share an Uber if you arrive at the airport around the same time.

Can I bring my kid?

No small children will be allowed at the event. You must be at least 16 years old to attend. 16-17 year old attendees must be accompanied by a responsible adult who also has a ticket to the event. You must be at least 18 years old to attend the event on your own.

Can my friend come for just one night?

That’s a feature we might add for future events, but this year the answer is no.