Warlord Games

By Tom Gall

Grey for Now Games has released version 2 of their Samurai skirmish game . The game was previously published by Warlord games but has now gone indie and as part of that moved ushered in version 2.

In this article, we’ll explore what Graham Davey, the author, has modified. We’ll look at why upgrade to version 2, and if you’re new to the game we’ll look at what it takes to get started.

The game takes place in the second half of the 15th century in Japan up until Tokugawa’s victory some hundred years later in 1603.  During the time it was an age of strife with many a minor warlord battling each other over now forgotten squabbles.  For a skirmish game such as Test of Honour, this provides a perfect setting.

by Troy A. Hill

SciFi/Fantasy and WWII have been gateway games for many gamers, myself included.

The routine seems to be finding a fantasy or SciFi miniatures game. Then moving into historicals through WWII (or WWIII) games. That’s where the time-space vortex opens a rift in the gaming table and sucks a gamer down into the eye of the storm that is historicals.

I’m just one such example. Fantasy in the 28mm scale brought me into the hobby. Then I moved into WWII gaming in both 15mm and 28mm. Now I’m beginning my dive back into the trenches historical gaming scene that doesn’t include tanks nor airplanes. So many games, and so little experience. We’ve got ancients, dark ages, medieval, ACW, ECW, or that little general who conquered most of Europe…

With the way many remember the Korean War today or have learned about it in school or through hearing about it from others, America was nearly single-handedly holding the line against the Communist North. In truth, Great Britain and it’s Commonwealth had a massive presence, with three full brigades exhibiting tactical brilliance and heroism that is still studied today. This article will examine the British and Commonwealth forces present in the Bolt Action – Korea book, and examine what has evolved in their units, rules, and Selectors since the end of World War II.

For anyone who has played British or Commonwealth forces in Bolt Action, the special rules available will be familiar. The same, in fact; you have the two core special rules of Bombardment (rolling two dice per unit for preliminary bombardment and picking the best result) and Artillery Support (free Artillery Forward Observer). You also have the option between five National Characteristics, choosing one. This is the point where you should start constructing the framework for your army, as these can define the way your force fights, and even the way your units are filled out.

By Mitch Reed

Many of you probably know all about the upcoming Bolt Action Korea book from . The new book moves Bolt Action into a new conflict which also expands the game considerably. Not to be ignored the folk at Warlord are also bringing Blood Red Skies into this new era with its MiG Alley expansion due out in August. I have been playing with the jets for some time now I just love them.

by Tom Burgess

Warlord Games has released and within it, forces from the United States and United Nations figure prominently.  Warlord has managed to pack a tremendous variety of platoon options all using the United States generic reinforced platoon list as the baseline.

This is appropriate as so many of the United Nations countries that committed troops to the Korean effort were from armies that had largely been rebuilt and reequipped following World War II by the United States. Accordingly, many of these nations’ armies looked a lot like the US Army’s formations.

In addition to the generic reinforce platoon list, the United States and United Nations player can utilize period selectors that more accurately represent these forces at various stages of the war.  This is important because these forces elevated heavily from the initial unprepared, poorly equipped, and undermanned type units that the US rushed to Korean Peninsula to try to stem the initial North Korean push south.

By Jacob Shober

In a war which echoes even to this day, nearly the whole world had turned their eyes to the Korean Peninsula, and the overt and covert politics playing out.

It was a war which turned allies less than a decade after the end of the Second World War against each other. None was more jarring than the Chinese joining the fight on the side of their communist brethren in the north.

If one observed closely, however, one could see the waves and ripples of the political turmoil and war in China itself that stretched to before the start of WW II, with the two Sino Japanese wars, the Warlord Era, and the Chinese Civil War.

This resulted in the Chinese Communist Party taking control of the country, and presenting the unified force of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (PVA). This article will examine the differences between the fractured Chinese forces found in “Empire in Flames”, and the unified forces found in the book, as well as the new units and theatre selectors available to them.

By Mitch Reed

Find the with Bolt Action Korea authors Steve Smith and Jon Russel, from the NOVA Open 2018 .

Long known as the “Forgotten War” the Korean conflict holds a unique place in history. It was never officially a war and to this day it has not officially ended. Due to these circumstances, it does not hold a place in our memory and we often forget the sacrifices of those who fought in the first major hot conflict in a very long Cold War.

The new Korean War book from Warlord Games not only pays homage to the combatants who fought in 1950-1953, but it also expands the game and brings a new wave of excitement for all Bolt Action players.

By Troy A. Hill

“Suddenly a low flying aircraft buzzes them and a flare is fired beyond the trees. As they walk the men look up, first at the plane and then at the flare as it hung in the air slowly moving toward the ground. As their eyes lower to the horizon, they widen. Across the road behind another stone wall are figures with the distinctive silhouette of German soldiers. Alarmed the five American stragglers realise they are facing the enemy, feeling a rush of adrenaline they raise their weapons.” – excerpt from Campaign D-Day: Overlord by Warlord Games and Osprey Publishing

That snippet is from the opening text for mission #5 in the new D-Day: Overlord book for Bolt Action. Our gaming group at Brookhurst Hobbies in Garden Grove California is gaming in the Normandy theatre, and we decided to give this scenario a try this past weekend.

By Jacob Shober

Converting is one of my favorite parts of assembling miniatures; customizing them by changing (whether simply or drastically) from the original model, to create your own flavor of character or pose.

This is sometimes daunting to a beginner, as you see tutorial after tutorial on using green stuff, plasticard, brass rods, and various other extra parts. Sometimes, you end up spending as much as if not more on extra materials to convert your model as you did on the model itself.

This does not need to be the case, however, as this article will show. Sometimes, it is as simple as shaving off a tiny bit of plastic, “cutting and pasting” from other parts on the same sprue, or even using parts of the sprue itself. Below are several examples of tricks I have used to customize my own miniatures, so you too can bring your models to life in your own special way.

It wasn’t an average Friday for the folks who run wargames at the Pentagon for the US Air Force, Instead of starting off their weekends, a few of these professional wargamers stuck around to play a game of in order to become familiar with the hobby side of wargaming.

Some of you may recall from my podcast welcoming Phil and Nate to the NDNG team that my day job is to conduct wargames for the US Air Force. While many may believe the two worlds are similar I would point out, despite a few similarities, they are vastly different.