This page last updated June 3, 2026

Connections 2026 is hosted by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, CA.

Please note that the registration and signup buttons below are to Google Forms, which do not work on certain military networks. If you have trouble accessing the below forms from work, try it on a personal device at home.

REGISTRATION

Registration for Connections 2026 is now OPEN. The button above will take you to the form to register for our three-day unclassified conference running June 23-25.

ATTIRE

Connections attire is business casual or Uniform of the Day.

SIGNUPS FOR GAME DEMO SESSION, GAME NIGHT, GAME LAB, AND NETWORK CONNECTIONS

Signups for Game Demos, Game Night, Game Lab, and Network Connections are open. These are important parts of the conference and they can only succeed with your help. See below for an explanation of each, and the links to sign up. We encourage you to sign up for one or more! Be sure to sign up for the conference itself as a whole before using one of the buttons below to sign up for these events.

(To be clear, you don’t need to sign up to participate in these events. The sign up forms are for those who want to bring something to demo, run a game at Game Night, propose a topic and lead a discussion at Game Lab, or reserve a table to talk to other participants about your organization during the Network Connections event. See below for details!)

Game Demo Session and Game Night:
Every year the Connections conference features game demonstrations as a way for our participants to showcase games and tools that may be of interest to others. This is a great way to show something you think the rest of the attendees would find of interest, or to gather feedback from a wide variety of wargame practitioners. The Game Demo session will be on June 23. In general, the Game Demo session is about setting up your game, display, or tool for the other participants to circulate among the various tables, see your demo, hear what you have to say, and ask questions, though you may also have time to run some short playthroughs during the Game Demo session or during the evening’s events. Use the button above to sign up if you are interested in bringing a game or other relevant display or tool for our Game Demo session. You can also use the same button to sign up to bring a game for the Connections Game Night, to be held the evening of Wednesday, June 24. You can sign up to bring the same game to the Game Demo session and the Game Night if you like. The Game Night allows more time for playing through a game you want to share with the community.

Game Lab:
The Game Lab is Connections’ small group discussion component, where participants gather (self-select) to explore topics of mutual interest. It has been one of the most productive and well-regarded portions of the conference, but it depends on you, the participants, to define the topics and to lead the conversations. You will meet others with similar interests and have the opportunity to host a wide ranging conversation about something you want to learn more about. These are probably the easiest possible conversations to lead – if there is one thing wargamers like to do, it is talk about wargaming. It is also a great way to get a cross-section of wargaming community opinion on something. We will have two Game Lab sessions at this year’s conference, on Wednesday, June 24. Use the button above to submit a topic.

Network Connections:
The Network Connections event is an opportunity for wargaming and wargaming-related organizations (businesses, agencies, employers, etc.) to set up a table and discuss their products, services, and capabilities. The event will be on June 24th, from 1300-1640. The objective is to provide a space where companies and organizations can discuss what they do, meet both experienced and new wargamers, and meet other companies or organizations. This is both a person to business as well as a business to business opportunity. Only organizations should sign up for a table – individuals are encouraged to attend and talk to the businesses participating. The goal is for everyone to exchange information and build networks within the profession. Organizations signing up for a table are welcome to bring promotional materials and/or signage, but it is not necessary at all – the important part is having someone at the table to engage the participants who stop by. Use the button above to sign up for a table for your organization.

HOTEL ROOM BLOCK

We have a block of rooms available at the government rate at the Hilton Garden Inn Monterey. These are open to all conference participants.

There are no conference events taking place at the hotel, so if you stay somewhere else you will not be missing anything.

You can use this link to make your reservation in the block. For those attendees who otherwise qualify for a government rate, we ask that you first look for a government rate room through your normal channels before using the room block.