Sunday afternoon saw Tony and Simon play Bolt Action in the luxury of an air-conditioned conservatory. As Chris had inveigled Tony into entering a Bolt Action competition at Lost Ark, both thought they should know the rules before the big day. “Honest” Simon agreed to help Tony out, if only to confirm his prejudices about the Warlord Games/Osprey bestseller.
Chris had put the American and German lists together, which seemed to consist of an infantry platoon plus some support per side, each reinforced by an armoured car and tank. The scenario seemed to be a “fight to the death” for possession of a small village “somewhere in France”.
Simon pushed his armour up the road from his left flank, moving his infantry slowly across the board.
Tony moved to intercept the M8 Greyhound with his Puma and Panzerfaust team, only to see the Puma reduced to a burning hulk by the Sherman and the anti-tank team fire and miss, and then be gunned down in the open by the Yank 50cal team.
The Panzerfaust was next to try its luck but fired from outside its maximum range. The shot was returned by multiple tank machine gun fire which decimated the German squad.
Tony was enjoying some success in the centre killing a few GIs, but the American squads hit the deck and survived with monotonous regularity.
A successful American air attack rather took the wind out the Nazi sails as more troops died and multiple pins were deployed. The final action of the day saw the Panzer IV line up the Sherman in its sights only to miss. Not a good day to be a German, but also we were bored rigid...
I think we got most of the rules right but wouldn’t claim to be knowledgeable. It seemed to play very slowly, and the battlefield seemed very crowded, albeit we probably only had the same figure/support numbers as a game of Chain of Command.
Would I play Bolt Action again? I guess if someone was holding my entire gaming collection hostage and threatening to melt them down unless I gave them a game, I would probably agree to play. Otherwise, I can honestly say that this ruleset did absolutely nothing for me. If every copy was burnt on a pyre I would shed not a single tear.
I wish Chris and Tony well in their ill-judged venture but do doubt their sanity.
Simon
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