Warlord Games

By Troy Hill

Well, Warlord did it again.

They released a new game. That uses rules from their other games. For an entirely new game. Or something like that.

Combined Arms is both a stand-alone board game, and a campaign set for Warlord’s suite of World War II games, Bolt Action, Blood Red Skies, Cruel Seas, and Victory at Sea.

And my gaming group in Indiana has been salivating for a campaign system we can use. Warlord timed the release of the game well, right as gaming is ramping up across the globe after two years mostly in pandemic lockdowns.

By Mike Rafferty

This past March, Adepticon returned after a two-year hiatus (caused by “nothing in particular).

The convention once again returned to Schaumburg, IL. This was a different convention from years past, and not just because of the wait between conventions.

While Keyforge was held offsite in 2019, this year historical games were at the Hyatt giving Adepticon its first true offsite venue.

I volunteered to run this offsite venue and historicals to ensure that historical players, of which I am one, received a great convention experience. My long-term goal is that we can use this space to grow historicals at Adepticon and establish our own identity to stand along with the Games Workshop and Star Wars players at Adepticon.

Editor’s note: this story was originally published September 2020, and is presented again for your enjoyment.

By Tom Gall

There are a good number of quality WWII rulesets in existence, let’s explore some of these rules, point out what their strong/weak points are and compare what might draw you to one over the other.

The rulesets considered in this article are : (FOW) by Battlefront, by Too Fat Lardies, by Warlord, by Plastic Soldier Company.

Each of these rules is generally company level actions with support, for the most part, feature individual models, and focus on the WWII era. All are D6 based. All have extra material that offer campaign experiences, lists, and flavor to feel like you’re been given command with a battle to win. All are either point costed and/or have a list building system which makes it easier to put together a game.

This week, we’ll look at two of the four: Bolt Action and Chain of Command. The other two systems will follow were published here.

By Richard Steer

from Warlord Games is an Age of Sail wargame set between 1770-1830. The game, reviewed here, does an excellent job of capturing the feeling of wind-powered naval combat in a fast and enjoyable format.

For many people, the attraction of the game is the thought of recreating the fleet battles of the Napoleonic wars, featuring large ships of the line. It is also very enjoyable when playing engagements with smaller ships such as schooners, cutters, and gunboats, and a great format for these smaller games are using Warlord’s free .

by Troy A. Hill

“For the love of God! Troy! Here we are painting up stuff in 28mm and you go batshit crazy in 12mm…” was what one of my local gaming friends posted under the photo of my newly arrived Epic Battles French and British Waterloo sets on Facebook.

He might be correct.

Warlord Games took a gamble on their Epic Battles Scale, and its first incarnation with the American Civil War (ACW). And that gamble paid off big. The napoleonic era seemed to be the next logical entry into the Epic Battles line. So I wasn’t surprised when I learned that Waterloo was the next focus for Warlord.

But why such tiny figures? Warlord is known as the go-to company for 28mm historical (along with their friends the Perry Brothers, who fill the gaps around Warlord’s ranges.) Why produce such a small figure size that doesn’t line up with the other majorly produced conventional scale?

By Troy Hill

After two years of miss or hit, mostly miss gaming, we’ve finally had our first Bolt Action tourney in North-East Indiana. Power Nine Gaming in Fort Wayne Indiana hosted our Rumble in the Fort, Bolt Action tourney. I was the humble Tourney Organizer (TO), and we hoped to have five tables. Going into the week, it looked like we might make that.

But, cold-like symptoms, such as sore throats, kept two players home. We ended up with seven players, and I jumped into the roster as the “ringer.”

By Troy Hill

The long awaited chance for Warlord Games to get a decent set of army special rules for the Italian forces is finally …. not here yet.

Don’t get me wrong. The new Campaign Italy: Soft Underbelly book is great when you hold it in the context for which it is intended. That being a historical approach to gaming the invasion of Sicily during Operation Husky and beyond.

For those Bolt Action gamers hoping for a new set of Italian Army rules that brings the Italian army into the competitive zone most other armies get in the game… yeah, that didn’t happen here either. In context, a competitive Italian Army wasn’t to be had in the invasion of Sicily nor the Italian mainland.

But, if you’re into a historical approach to your gaming, instead of just pounding away with the meta and special rules to dominate in tourneys, this is an excellent book.

By Troy Hill

One of the joys of moving to a new city, and finding a new group to game with is diving into the games they play locally. Here in North-East Indiana, the game that is second most popular in the group I game with is .

When I first encountered Saga, back in California, I was warned that I wouldn’t like it, for the same reasons I left another game behind. Too low of a point system, too many special powers and abilities. So I avoided it.

But then, after moving back to the midwest (of the USA), I found myself in a When in Rome, do as the Romans do… situation.

By Troy Hill

Many years ago, when I was a wee university gamer lad, I witnessed a spectacle I’d never seen before. The student union’s grand ballroom taken over by fleets of model ships, model planes on stands, torpedos, and gents with reams and notebooks full of charts and graphs, and even several pocket protectors full of colored pencils.

They were playing Fletcher Pratt’s Naval Wargame in large scale in a game that took almost two and a half days. It was a daunting first exposure to naval wargaming. One that kept me out of that genre of the hobby until John Stallard and his crew at released .

Warlord’s newest addition to their WWII line up premiered in the midst of the world’s lock-down during the pandemic. Our own local gaming scene was mostly socially distanced games in people’s garages or basements, so I didn’t worry about investing the time nor fund in the game. Until now.

Now I’m interested in , and just received my hardcover rulebook.

Before I decided whether to invest in yet another game (Warlord keeps putting out good ones, and my mountain of minis keeps growing) I wanted to read the rules, see the various fleets.

By Kreighton Long

Survivors from the mornings spoiling attack march back into town under the watchful eyes of their fellow defenders. The spoiling attack succeeded in delaying the advance of the British paratroopers and more importantly, their vehicle support.

The German soldiers have a short time to rest and refit for they know the British are close behind them. Ammo pouches are restocked and a few bites of food are swallowed just in time for the officers and NCOs to rouse their men to their battle position.

The church, which is located in the center of town just as God and religion was the center of life when the town of Colline de L’église was built so many centuries ago, must be held. A German sniper in the church’s bell tower reports sighting British infantry nearing the town and the engine of a nearby assault gun roars to life.