The Campaign for Real Conkers
Contact Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social
22nd September
2026 conker season goes ahead despite summer heatwave
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 is open as usual and will run until mid-October.
Claims that the summer heatwave could mean there are not enough suitable conkers in 2026 have turned out not to be true. Campaigners have found ample conkers around the UK
The campaigners say they are maintaining their usual ‘anything goes’ approach to conker games, to encourage people to play without arbitrary rules
Campaign Organiser Keith Flett said, climate change is having an impact on seasonal conker playing activity. However fortunately there are enough usable conkers for the 2026 season. Claims by the World Conker Championships that conkers must be two inches in diameter are absurd. There is no place in conker playing for such random ‘rules’.
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
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