Kmflett's Blog

The Campaign for Real Conkers

Contact Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

31st August

Summer heatwaves put 2026 conker season in jeopardy

The Campaign for Real Conkers, that opposes bans on conker playing and unnecessary rules and regulations in games has said that that the conker season has opened as usual and will run until mid-October.

Early indications are that 2025 will see a good crop of conkers and dry, warm weather looks to have produced a good crop of conkers on trees.

The campaigners they are maintaining their usual ‘anything goes’ approach to conker games, to encourage people to play without arbitrary rules.

However the campaigners warn that record summer heatwaves may place the 2026 season in jeopardy. A lack of rain until very recently and record heat may mean that trees produce fewer conkers and where they do, they may be smaller and not suitable for game playing

Campaign Organiser Keith Flett said, climate change is having an impact on seasonal conker playing activity and the next couple of weeks will be crucial in terms of understanding what the 2026 crop of conkers is going to look like.

Guide on how to play real conkers safely in 2026

1] Select your conker. Do this yourself. DO NOT use a conker provided by someone else who may give you a poor specimen.

2] There is no specific kind of conker that makes a good game winner. Large conkers may more easily splinter for example. Some prefer conkers with flat and sharp edges

3] You may use the conker ‘as is’ known as ‘organic’. Alternatively you may seek to harden it by baking it, soaking it in vinegar etc. There is no guarantee that an artificially enhanced conker will perform any better than an organic one.

4] Drill a small hole through the conker. A nail will often achieve this. Again you must do this yourself

5] Thread the conker through the hole you have drilled. A strong chord, perhaps a shoelace is best

6] You are now ready to play.

7] Make sure that the chord is long enough to allow you to stand at least 1 metre plus away from your opponent. This would generally be the case as space is required for the conker swing.

8] Players take alternate turns to try and hit and destroy their opponent’s conker

9] Those with poor aim may hit the knuckles of their opponent more often than the conker so you may wish to wear gloves.

10] The winner is the player who determines their opponents conker unusable in further rounds, usually by causing it to splinter into two or more pieces

Play safely and enjoy!