Bolt Action

Bolt Action is a World War II-themed tabletop wargame published by Warlord Games and written by ex-GW writers Rick Priestley and Alessio Cavatore. First published in only 2012, Bolt Action's popularity has increased as Warhammer 40,000's has declined, thanks to similar mechanics making it easier for 40K veterans to understand. As a relatively new game, Warlord doesn't have a comprehensive range, so they encourage the use of third party miniatures, even listing some of them on their main site and working with Italeri to create more 1/56 scale miniatures!

Part of its popularity comes from how supportive Warlord are of clubs, tournaments, and events, with free starter kits provided for clubs and prize support (at a significant level) for events and tournaments (At least in the UK), their supportive approach has lead to the poaching of many one time 40K players.

Getting Started

Warlord offers generic box sets for each army and often has separate army sets for each faction within a faction (e.g. Waffen-SS and Heer). These are generally enough to start an army, but Warlord also has a "Build an Army" system which allows you to pick from a variety options for a set price. This is pretty good and often comes out as a better deal than the generic army boxes (you also get a free tank).

Warlord's recent plastic boxes are also generally enough to build a small force, with twenty five to thirty miniatures. This is easily enough to build two infantry selections, an officer, and adjutants.

The Starter Set "D-Day Fire Fight" contains twenty Americans, twelve Germans (who also get a half track), some terrain, and your typical rulebook and card board makers. The German models have recently been updated as the new Warlord Grenadiers (which are much better sculpts than the originals). These can be painted as Waffen-SS and have a lot of options, as do the Americans.

Game Summary

As mentioned above, Bolt Action shares many similarities with 40K, with a few key differences and plenty of minor changes to distinguish it. The core mechanic of Bolt Action is the command dice system. Each player has a number of command dice equal to the number of units they have, each player having a different color. All the dice are put in a bag and are drawn out. The player whose die is drawn gets to perform one of six orders, which are shown on each of the facings on the d6:

• Advance: The basic order, a unit can move 6" and shoot.
• Fire: The unit remains stationary and shoots, slightly more accurate then if they advanced.
• Run: The unit moves 12", or in CQC.
• Rally: The unit loses more pins.
• Down: They become harder to hit, but can perform no other action.
• Ambush: They open fire on any unit that moves in they're line of sight.

Every unit has one of three levels of experience: inexperienced, regular, and veteran. Each level is a step up in durability, morale, and damage output.

The third mechanic, which works with the orders above, is pinning. Every time a unit is hit at least once by another unit they take a single pin marker. Having at least one pin will force the unit to take an order test when they want to perform any order except Down. Veterans, regulars, and inexperienced troops have a morale level of 10, 9, and 8 respectively and the order test works exactly like a Leadership test in 40K and Fantasy: roll less than or equal to your morale on 2d6. Each pin marker acts as a negative modifier to the morale level. If they fail, they simply go down.

The final core mechanic is how shooting works. Every unit hits on a d6 roll of a 3 or more, but plenty of modifiers apply, including distance, their movement, how much cover the enemy unit is in, and pin markers. If a unit hits, they give a pin marker to the enemy, then roll damage. The likelihood of wounding is based off the veterancy of the enemy troops and the pen value of the weapon used.

Armies

Warlord have produced a variety of books, allowing players to represent most fighting forces which took part in World War II. Each book allows both generic platoons (which consist of a basic structure, with any unit or vehicle allowed) or "Theater Selector" platoons, which have more restrictions but also some bonuses; for example, most German theater selectors allow two MMG teams, as opposed to the single team that the generic platoon allows. These Theater Selectors allow players to represent a very specific time period during the war. Each army has two or more special rules, representing the nation during the Second World War.

Infantry are practically the same within every army, while every army has access to some form of veterans, etc. Some units from the same books are practically the same, like the Waffen-SS and the Fallschirmjäger in the Armies of Germany Book. The only difference is that the SS get the Fanatics option.

• Armies of Germany: A good selection of elite troops (Waffen SS, Fallschirmjäger, or simple elite Heer), along with decent access to plenty of cheap, inexperienced troops (Ostruppen, Volksgrenadiers, and Volkssturm) compliment some of the better tanks of the game. Their special rules represent the high rate of fire of their MGs (Hitler's Buzzsaw) and the initiative training their troops received.
• Armies of the United States: With easy access to regulars, and some veterans (in the form of Airborne and Rangers), the US are a highly mobile force, represented by their special rules allowing less penalties for moving and firing.
• Armies of Great Britain: With generally good vehicles, with some gaps, the Tommies put up a good show with a large variety of troops representing men from all over the Commonwealth. They have a list of army special rules they can choose from to further allow the force to represent a specific nation.
• Armies of the Soviet Union: Plenty of cheap troops and even a free squad through their special rule, the Soviets also have access to excellent artillery and tanks.
• Armies of Imperial Japan: The CQC focused army, as you would expect, the Imperial Japanese have generally good infantry, but the tanks and vehicles to back them up are lacking.
• Armies of Italy and the Axis: Representing several of the smaller Axis powers, this gives each of the following nations their own list, theater selectors, and special rules:
  • Italy: Italy has a mix of mediocre to decent infantry, with special rules granting them at least one free emplacement per game. Italy's issues begin with a mix of lightly armoured vehicles, which provide bonuses to enemy shooting through their bolted armour, and end with Avanti Sovoia. This causes the Italian morale to suffer for every unit destroyed.
  • Hungary
  • Bulgaria
  • Romania
  • Finland
• Armies of France and the Allies: The Allied version of the above book. Once more, each of the nations get their own list, theater selectors, and special rules:
  • France
  • Poland: Cavalry ho!
  • Greece
  • Norway
  • Holland
  • Belgium
  • Partisans: Partisans have a limited access to equipment but are able to borrow vehicles from the Axis.