Learning Bolt Action

Hi my name is Mitch and I am a gamer.

Our podcasts seem to have one drug reference in each episode, so it’s a well-worn joke to many of us here at NDNG. We’re always jonesing for that next gaming fix.

We are always looking for that new game to pick up in which we invest time and money for the ultimate payoff which is to have Fun.

So. over the last few months, I took the excitement of my latest enabler, Jon Russell from and decided to give Bolt Action a try. Bolt Action is now in its second edition and has been around for a while now. Two editions and I hadn’t tried it yet? Why not?

Perhaps it was for the same reason many gamers don’t try new games? We tend to look for the bad in a game in order to give us an excuse to ignore it. But, the only time I heard anything bad about Bolt Action was one person say it wasn’t his cup of tea. This excuse gave me the ability to avoid the game, to not paint 28mm models, and not pick up another money and time suck.

Then I started talking with Jon from Warlord Games. Based on Jon’s excitement for the game I decided to give it a try.

Bolt Action isn’t played at the games stores I frequent. Perhaps they’re just not playing the game when I happen to show up. I don’t know anyone locally who can sit down with me at teach me how to play. I did reach out to a few folks on Facebook to get a training game, but that didn’t bare any fruit, either.

I did, however, want to learn the game, and that meant I needed an army.

The Army Emerges
This spring I began assembling and painting my force. I am impressed by the amazing models this game has.

I picked up the and added some other pieces like a Churchill tank and a few Universal Carriers. I painted my first Bolt Action army much like my first Flames of War force, in the green shaded battledress of the Canadian Army in WWII. This was still not enough forces for me, so I added a second force, Paratroops (this was also my second force in FOW). This force, however, is Polish instead of British.

When I wasn’t at the painting table I was busy reading and re-reading the second edition rulebook.

I love reading rules, even for games I will never play. With my investment in the plastic, metal and resin for this game, however, I knew I would eventually play.

I promised myself this would not be similar to my heavy investment in Malifaux two years ago. I’ve never used those models on a table.

I did tell the guys at NDNG I was painting up some 28mm figures for Bolt Action. But I didn’t mention it to others. Perhaps I was trying to save face in case I never finished the project?

I found building the models for the game easier than my last 28mm project, a ton of Napoleonic figures. Painting was also a breeze and I found a ton of helpful guides on both the Warlord website and other third party websites. Even my work on the Denison smocks of the para’s came out to an acceptable level. I am an average painter, and I was pleased at how my army came out.

The Online BA Community
The Bolt Action community online did not seem as vocal as what I was used to in games like Flames of War. While I cannot gauge how many people play each game, (forums and websites are not the best indicator) the online message traffic did not seem as busy as what I was expecting.

What I did notice is that the game had far less negative comments than I have seen for other games.
One reason for this could be that the rules are really tight. Or, perhaps, the sites I found did not tolerate dissent amongst their posters.

One area that message boards were full of was list building. Many of the comments on sites like Reddit covered how to make that unbeatable list, which I always find entertaining. Some of the advice seemed really good, which means that players of the game really want to share their knowledge and get others interested in playing Bolt Action.

Learning the Game
I’ve now painted 100+ figures, guns and tanks. I’ve now read the rulebook cover to cover many times over. I’ve spent months lurking on Bolt Action message boards. But I have yet to play a game.

To do that, I took the plunge and picked a tournament to play in.

Why would someone go to a competitive tournament and play against good players in order to learn the game?

The answer is simple. Because that is the way I learned other games. If the game is solid and the community is welcoming why couldn’t I learn to play at a tournament?

I even doubled down on this idea during a recent call with Warlord’s Jon Russell, who is running the tourney on the first of September. I asked him to let me play against the better players who will be attending. I also felt that this tactic would be better to read about here on NDNG.

I decided to settle on a 1250 point list and I asked the community for some help. My post was quickly replied to and the advice was very helpful and even came from another player who will be at the event I planned to attend. This shocked me a bit, in other games, the advice that players gave seemed a bit less helpful, and at times even given with a bit of rudeness.

Tournaments in Bolt Action often seem to be set for forces of 1,000 or more points. Since I have never played the game, I felt a bit lost when I tried to design a 1250 point force. Some questions I pondered were much like other games I have played; do I take Regular or Veteran Infantry? What support options do I need? Some questions I had were very new, like do I take tanks in a game which focuses on infantry platoons.

After reading the posts on a few forums I decided to run an infantry list with only a few vehicles. I wanted to take the Airborne Recce Jeeps because of the 10 MG shots they get. They cannot, however, be used as transports. I was told to make sure I had transports to get my PIATs around the table. I really had no clue to what this recommendation meant, however it seemed earnest enough for me to heed it.

I have to thank two players from the , “ntdars” (Turhan Buckley) and “Laxworrior21” who helped shape my list. We connected via email and traded list ideas and I have no issue in letting them have final say on my army. I also picked up some really neat game extras; I love the markers I picked up from they really look nice and are easy to see from a distance.

How will it do? Who knows? In the hands of an experience Bolt Action player, perhaps well. But I’ve never played the game before. Perhaps the dice gods will look favorably upon my rolls, and keep the force viable despite my rookie mistakes.

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