The History and Games Lab organizes seminars, games nights/jams, and ad hoc events. All the events are free and open to the general public but some require registration (follow links below) when the space is limited. 

You can also follow our events on Eventbrite and many are videorecorded and available on our Youtube channel.

For inquiries, please contact us.

Roundtable on History and Games at Blackwell's bookshop with Daniel Mersey, author of Lion Rampant: Medieval Wargaming Rules, and Daniel Faulconbridge, editor of the magazine Wargames Illustrated.

Seminar Series

Semester 2, 2025-26

All seminars are free and open to the general public but require registration using the links provided below because space is limited for in person events or access codes are needed for online ones. For times and venues, check the details of the individual talks.

Tuesday 20 January – Josh Fitzgerald (University of Edinburgh): Play of the Dead: Unearthing Día de los Muertos Games and History from Nineteenth Century Mexico.  Event in person, 5:30 pm GMT, Teaching Room 06, Old College, South Bridge, EH8 9YL.

Tuesday 17 February –  John Beiner (Capstan Games): Between the Devil and the Deep: Developing Ahoy’s Digital Caribbean, Navigating its Dilemmas, Event online, on Zoom, 5:30 pm GMT. Register via Eventbrite to receive access codes.

Thursday 12 March – Emily Friedman (Auburn University) (TBC)

Tuesday 24 March: Hamish Cameron (University of Wellington, visiting scholar at the University of Edinburgh): Creating a Framework for Creating Rome: Tabletop Roleplaying Game Design and Knowledge Production. Event in person, 5.30 pm GMT, Teaching Room 09, Old College, South Bridge, EH8 9YL.

Games Nights/Jams

Semester 2, 2025-26

Venue and time: room 1.07, 5.30-9.30 PM GMT, Main Library, 30 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LG. If you do not have a library card, registering for the event secures access by including you in our guest list.

Other Events

Semester 1, 2025-26