THE SHOW

George Stephenson

THE HAMMERHEAD EXPERIENCE

WELCOME TO THE NEWARK SHOWGROUND,
WELCOME TO THE GEORGE STEPHENSON EXHIBITION HALL,
WELCOME TO HAMMERHEAD!

Every game at HAMMERHEAD is visitor participation, which means that you are very welcome to 'have a go’ at a wide variety of different historical and fantasy based games run by intrepid gaming clubs, historical societies, wargame companies and enthusiastic groups of gamers.

You will be able to play a full game or simply move a few miniatures, roll some dice, have a chat with the people running the game and then move onto the next. The show provides a great opportunity to try out new or familiar game systems and spend a day indulging yourself and friends in this absorbing and fascinating hobby.

Whether you’re interested in Napoleonics, WWI and WWII, Ancients, Medieval, Fantasy or Science Fiction, we are sure that you will find a selection of games you would like to play.

ENTRY TO HAMMERHEAD

PAYMENT IN CASH TAKEN AT THE DOOR:

ADULTS: £5
MINORS: £3
UNDER 9: FREE

KEY DETAILS

LOCATION: Newark Showground, Lincoln Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NY.
FREQUENCY: Annual (once per year).
UPCOMING DATE: SATURDAY, 27th FEBRUARY 2027.
EVENT FOCUS: It is a wargames show focusing on participation games (historical, fantasy, and sci-fi), allowing visitors to play games, along with trade stands and a Painting Competition by Wargames Illustrated.

HAMMERHEAD 2026 REPORT

A very sincere thanks to all the traders, game presenters and visitors that all contributed to the success of our first HAMMERHEAD. It was a very busy show with total attendance just under the 1800 of last year, the terrible weather putting oFf a number of our more distant attendees. There were a total of 54 public participation games and activities and 47 traders.

The Wargames Illustrated Painting Competition once again proved very popular and we also hosted the DBA Northern Cup Competition now in its 22nd year. The central ‘tabletop sales’ was a scrum of activity all day with plenty of deals being made.

The primary focus of all HAMMERHEAD shows has been the large number and great diversity of public participation games covering a very wide range of different genres and miniature scales. The level of creativity, modelling skills and organisation that goes into presenting these games for other gamers to play and enjoy must always be recognised and celebrated.

Some members of the Forest Outlaws had the very difficult task of choosing three games to which awards were presented, which were:

BEST PARTICIPATION: FOR TEXAS & LEGO - Dan Hodgson & the REIVILLE GAMERS

BEST CONSTRUCTED FROSTGRAVEMat Croker & DO OR DICE

THE FOREST OUTLAWS

A big thank you to The Forest Outlaws for their efforts with build-up and knock down before and after the show and especially with their efforts managing the new car parking arrangement introduced by Newark Showground.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

Dave & Ann