By Kreighton Long
This past December I was introduced by a friend to a new hobby store in Culpeper, Virginia — Brickhammer. I quickly made a trip to the store and met the owner, Kevin, and offered my services as someone who knows a bit about Bolt Action. He eagerly accepted my offer and we scheduled a demo game at the store in January. This was my first demo game and I challenged myself to do quality work for a group of potential new players.
By Aaron Kamakawiwoole
Hey Reader!
Kreighton gave an excellent overview of the new Third Edition supplement for the Armies of Imperial Japan, and today we’re continuing in our review of the book by looking at some of the highlights for new units in the book.
Japan has a lot of interesting, thematic, and powerful options, so today we will highlight some of the unique choices that will make your army feel fresh and unique from the rest of your collection.
By Tom Gall
We’ve all been patiently waiting for early war to make the return to Flames of War, time to feast your eyes on the French part of release for version 4. Unfortunately when Germany turned their focus west in May of 1940, a brief few weeks and the French would be knocked out of the war, which as a result means this is a faction for early war only.
I first started playing French during the earlier release of Blitzkrieg for Flames of War version 2 back in late 2010. What drew me was the desperate struggle of one of the largest militaries at the start of WWII, on the defensive against the German onslaught, putting up the good fight that would ultimately not go their way due to a whole host of tactical reasons. The French are plucky, unique and offer up unit selections that can work for offensive and defensive stances.
No matter if you’re an old hand or a new to Flames of War, the French as a faction in Early War brings good tanks, reasonable infantry, and good artillery that can win you games. In this article we will crawl through just the French part of the release, note their strengths and point out their weaknesses too. They might be just the force for you.
By Michael Rafferty
Look it’s Springtime! The long-awaited and much anticipated release of Early War is finally upon us. I know it’s not the late-war Italy book that literally tens have been clamoring for, but this is a solid release. We’re starting things off with Blitzkrieg, covering the invasion of France. Sorry Poland, someday you’ll have a list again. Blitzkrieg contains lists for the Germans, French, and British all themed around the forces that fought in France. Today we are going to look at the German forces.
By Tom Gall
Plastic Soldier Publishing shipped to various corners of the earth the latest in rules and lists for the Battlegroup NORTHAG/CENTAG. Battlegroup NORTHAG brought Cold War gone hot set in the early 1980s to the Battlegroup series of rules back in 2020. The Battlegroup CENTAG supplement was later published, introducing more nations, more lists and another mission.
This new hardcover edition binds together the original rulebook the one supplement along with a couple of new nations, a few more lists, inside of a hardcover book. The past review of the rules on NoDiceNoGlory still stands.
The first play through as part of the review is worth a revisit if you are new to the system to get a sense how it plays.
by Tom Gall
November 29th the Screaming Eagles braved the snow and held their first Checkpoint Charlie tournament, 100pts, no limitations otherwise. The weather impacted the number of people that turned out but those that did had fun time and most importantly we started to see how people were approaching list building for competitive matches.
There was a fair amount of table talk centered on the use of missiles and how things may or may not be different then later era Team Yankee. As we learned through the course of the day however, there was far more than missiles to consider.
By Aaron Kamakawiwoole
Hey Reader!
I had a chance to sit down with Jesse Marcelo (the 2025 Bolt Action Maryland State Runner-Up) to discuss the unique army he took to the event.
Sporting a Polish Partisans list (with Partisans being one of the armies in the new edition that people seem to be most displeased with since they lost so many of the tricks and unique elements that made them interesting), Jesse finished the day 3-0, with his final win being against me (the previous Maryland State Champion from last year).
The list performed really well, even though it defined conventions, so I sat down with Jesse to chat about what went into his choice of army. Take it away, Jesse!
By Aaron Kamakawiwoole
Hey Reader!
I had a chance to sit down with Joe Lint (the 2025 Bolt Action Maryland State Champion) to discuss the unique army he took. Having chatted with Joe in advance of the tournament on lists, Joe mentioned that he wanted to challenge himself and run with no tanks, which is a big loss for the US since they have a really good suite of tanks and tank destroyers.
So he went full swing into the 2nd Ranger Battalion for D-Day, complete with a display board with grappling hooks for ascending the cliffs, landing craft to showcase the men (they were not part of the army), and a painted fighter for his Air Observer to call in:
Seeing this army in-person was a real treat: it looks even better in-person, as the battle patches on their arms pop more, and the highlighting job in particular was very, very good.
But the list also performed well, so to guide that discussion, I had a few questions for him. Take it away, Joe!
By Kreighton Long
Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to compete in a Bolt Action tournament organized by Jesse Marcelo at Your Hobby Place in Alexandria, VA. This was Jesse’s third time as Tournament Organizer since hosting his first tournament last year in an effort to help grow the community. Each player was permitted a 1100 point list not to exceed 20 order die.
The mood of the event was friendly and light-hearted. All three of my opponents were a pleasure to play against with no absence of good humor and laughter while we worked through the three, two hour rounds. What I overheard throughout the day was that most of the players were congenial and friendly — minus one exception that the TO dealt with quickly and quietly. Overall, it was an excellent atmosphere for both green and veteran players alike.
By Paolo Paglianti
Even though I’ve been playing wargames since way back in 1992 and have travelled across half of Europe, I had never had the chance to visit Romania. When my friend Quentin Taylor — a Canadian but Romanian by adoption — told us he would be organizing the Nationals near Sibiu, we booked our flights almost immediately!
Moreover, the Romanian Nationals are part of the European Series, a circuit of National tournaments which this year — in its second edition — includes Belgium, Germany, the UK, Poland, and also Italy, where I will be organizing the event on March 14–15, 2025. Together with Rob and the others, we wanted to create a network that would encourage players to take part in tournaments across the Old Continent.
