Bolt Action Unit Cards

A unit card for a standard German Infantry squad

In January 2013 at the Cancon convention in Canberra we discovered Bolt Action.
I first began my wargaming life many years ago when I was 12 years old after becoming hooked at a wargaming demonstration day.  Bolt Action looked like just the thing to do the same.
Over the years my wargaming collection has been mostly in storage until my sons were old enough and displayed enough interest.  Now they have. And unlike when I was 12, I now have some funds to get some really nice figures and scenery.
I consider a public participation game to be a success if a raw beginner can join in and tell their parents or friends, with a light in their eye, how the game went. “Dad!  My tank went and blew up his tank, but then it got immobilized and then blown up.  But my men shot his and captured the house!”  All with appropriate gun noises of course.
Bolt Action is perfect for this type of game for a number of reasons:

• The method of determining who moves means something is always happening.
• Six or seven turns fits perfectly in a 2 to 2.5 hour game.
• 28mm figures and scenery look great.

The only problem for beginners is the rulebook page flipping.
In a recent WWPD Bolt Action Forum article I saw Unit Cards in action.  “Perfect!” I thought and went about designing some that would look great in a public setting.  With Unit Cards and the new double sided Play Sheets, most players rarely have to look in the book to play the game.
The Unit Card tells the player ranges, shots, penetration and everything critical.
Here is a copy of the Bolt Action Unit Cards in Excel Format. There are sample cards for each unit in the Warlord Games Start Army sets.