Warfare 2024

Some background on Warfare to start – The WAR club was formed in 1978 and it quickly took on running an annual trade and competition event which was called Warfare. This started very much as the ‘baby’ cousin to Armageddon (now Colours) in Reading, and its humble beginnings I believe was either in 1979 or 1980 in a red brick Gothic church hall in Reading town centre.

By 1980/81 it was at the Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory moving again in 1982 or thereabouts to a school somewhere in Reading. Then around 1984 or so it moved to out-of-town council offices. A building many thought resembled a nuclear bunker with lots of concrete and a difficult to find entrance is the recollection.  This is where I attended my first Warfare and I remember a long row of windows with thin white metal frames and the traders all along the walls.  Odd what the memory retains.

The next move was a key one and around 1988/89 we moved to the Rivermead Leisure Centre and stayed there up until 2019 when a refurbishment of the bowling area (where the tournaments were generally located) forced us to seek alternative premises.  By this time the show had grown to having over 50 traders and running many competitions – however we were now out growing the space – It was becoming increasingly harder for new traders to attend as there was a long wating list and the tournaments were trapped for space as well, leading to unwelcome caps being imposed in some years.

A new solution needed to be found – and found it was – very much with a vengeance. A highly splendiferous venue was found in the Grandstand at Ascot Racecourse and that was to be the venue for 2020 – then the C thing happened.  When we emerged from lockdown in 2021, Ascot was still waiting for us and magnificent it was.  I will never forget that feeling of grandeur as I first approached the Grandstand – puffing and panting from the short, gentle walk from the car park.

However rising prices were to force us to look once more elsewhere and after much debate, deliberation and cogitation Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre seemed the best bet and so 2022 saw us relocate to what will be hopefully our new home for the foreseeable future.

Last year, our first in Farnborough, saw a great success with over 2,000 people in attendance which was split across 1,500 people through the door across the weekend with a further 500 plus captive competitors, demo and participation gamers and over 70 traders in attendance.  Safe to say Warfare 2022, Warfare 2023 and Farnborough were a roaring success and the even better news is we are already booked in for and 2024.

So here we are now heading towards Warfare 2024 – at Farnborough on the weekend of November 16^th and 17^th with the same location hall wise as 2022 and 2023

With the space constrictions of Rivermead now firmly behind us we can stretch our wings and seek to grow all of the key areas. To get in touch with the key contacts please select the appropriate link below

Trade enquiries: [email protected]

Tournament enquiries: [email protected]

Demo and Participation Game enquiries: [email protected]

General Enquiries: [email protected]