Updated Black Powder Index, Huzzah!

We can now find the rules quickly, Huzzah!

We have updated our Index for the Black Powder Rulebook.
A couple of alternate lookup terms have been added, and the page numbers of rules contained the the Albion Triumphant Supplements 1 and 2 are included.

Enjoy!

Black Powder - the next Boot Camp from the Demo Gamers

British Riflemen shoot at French Skirmishers

Yesterday I was treated to a most enjoyable game of Black Powder by a fellow gamer and his son. They both got into wargaming after one of our early Bolt Action Boot Camps and play World War II wargames as well as Napoleonic.
My vision of Napoleonic gaming has always been of grand majestic battles spanning large tables and taking a ponderous time to complete.
Not so with Black Powder from Warlord Games.
In this battle, my main army comprised four battalions of British Line infantry, a Rifle Battalion, an Artillery battery with the Brigade commander and General. I had additional reinforcements of similar size that would come on in turn six.
My excellent opponent commanded similar French forces with four line battalions, skirmishers and an artillery battery with Brigade commander and General, plus he had reinforcements of similar size.
My riflemen were hidden on the board and his skirmishers were at the crossroads. Soon enough I revealed my position by shooting at him - as one does. And then the action came thick and fast!

My always smiling, yet challenging, French Opponent

His French line raced up to the river's edge and then my forces started to arrive. Shortly afterwards the rest of my forces arrived and I defended my little area behind the fordable river.
His General then commanded two of his battalions to advance on my right flank but he rolled a 12 - a blunder. His two battalions did a quick charge right into my thin red line! I was stunned at how quick the game moved.
My Red Jackets defended well, forcing the first battalion back. The second battalion was unable to contact in his turn, so when it came my turn I charged him. I did not have enough options to change formation so I just charged in Line formation, hitting both his front and side.
It worked, so I'm not complaining and with a little help from the riflemen the two very brave (or foolish) French units were destroyed.
Suddenly my opponent was faced with the imminent collapse of his French forces.

Two British Lines charge the exposed French column

Luckily his reinforcements arrived and rather than contest my right flank he reinforced the crumbling main attack. Boom! Suddenly there they were on my flank getting all these enfilade fire bonuses. Aargh.
Somehow I was able to fail just enough to force a falling back which is just what I wanted for the exposed two battalions. And then with some very handy moves and dice rolls I forced the French over the edge and they ran, forcing the reinforcements to fall back as well.
The English had held their positions and jeered at their retreating foes.
But more importantly we both won. The game was enjoyable and could have gone either way at many points. My pre-conceptions regarding Musket Era wargaming was shaken and I now had the perfect game with which we can use to train new players.

Aargh! The French rush up and attack my flank.

We are now working with my fellow gamers so that at future Demo Gamers Boot Camps we will have Bolt Action AND Black Powder games for the public to try.
Why do we reckon Black Powder is the perfect set of rules to use for demo games?

My Napoleonic guys are coming out of the closet.

1. The rules are simple and easy to learn
2. A game can successfully be completed in 2.5 hours
3. A force of 4 line battalions, Skirmishers, Artillery, Brigade Commander and General is enough troops to learn the rules and have various tactical challenges.
4. Action happens quickly and your choices impact the results. It is not just a game of rolling dice.
5. The game teaches you about history and demonstrates historical tactics and strategy without excess complications

Naturally, the first thing we have done is create an Index for the rules. You can download a copy from here. Just print it at 100% and it fits beautifully in the inside back or front covers.

Bolt Action 2 is an excellent upgrade - Except for one thing

Tanks are about - the buildings are a trap!

See - even BB8 isn't smiling

The 2nd edition of the Bolt Action WWII rules is an excellent improvement.
Of course, you really need to get the index to find all the rules when you need them (from right here).
We have just completed our second Bolt Action Boot Camp at Cancon 2017 and helped 24 players learn Bolt Action. It was great fun and the changes made in the 2nd edition have really helped iron out many areas which were under or over powered. Since the 2nd edition was released we have run three boot camps (MOAB 2016, Little Wars 2016 and Cancon 2017) plus many practice games at our club and at home.

Some of the improvements (in no particular order) are:

HE vs Buildings - Buildings are great defence against infantry fire, but less of a bunker with a -1 to the kill chance. However when and HE is around it is better to not be in buildings. This changes strategy for the better as men are in and out of buildings depending on the situation, providing for a bigger variety of tactical choices.
DOWN order - now a -2 to hit and if you keep the DOWN order at the end of the turn you remove D3 pins, makes DOWN a valid option. If you do find yourself trapped in a building with a HE weapon against you, going down can reduce casualties in half so you can see them just hunkering down and trying to withstand the storm.
RALLY order - Now very worthwhile. You still use a turn to refresh and get back on track, but one turn in a 6 turn game is a big deal. The unit that is easily pinned  still can't do what it wants and the RALLY allows it to attempt some sort of comeback.
AMBUSH order - IF nothing moves in your cleverly placed Ambush, you can still try and give it a shot at the end of the turn.
RECCE changes - made it a more realistic option and reduced the old "whack-a-mole" method of fighting a Recce vehicle.
YOU MAN, Snap to Action - A verbose named rule which we shorten to "Come with Me" or something similar, this totally changes how we use HQ units. It is now well worth paying for a Level 2 Lieutenant. +2 to morale and can activate 2 other units (Germans get 3). We really like how this played out in our games.
LMG/MMG dice - The extra dice for LMGs and MMGs make them better value and more feared.
ASSAULT Rifle - dropping the range to 18" was a good move. Often in an Advance situation, the riflemen had a -1 for moving and the Assault rifles a -1 for long range.
PINTLE Weapons - making the tank Open Topped if they fire their pintle mounted weapons was another good change which made those American HMGs think twice before blasting away.
All these and more are great and worthwhile changes which affect the game in positive ways.

However there is one change that we have decided is a problem.

TEMPLATES

In every other area of Bolt Action placement of individual figures is not critical. If one guy is in range or touches something it is assumed they all are. To determine hits, just roll dice and the game moves on quickly. But now, using templates the game stops, you hold the template over the figures, place it several times to see the maximum number of figures you touch, negotiate with the opponent and then roll to kill.
Consider the photo examples on pages 69 and 70 in the rule book. I reckon that careful placing of the template in Diagram 9A could result in 4 hits if the template is moved a little upwards, touching 4 bases. Diagram 9B now shows that modelling a gun and crew has to consider templates rather than aesthetic concerns which degrades from the game. In Diagram 10, moving the double template upwards should touch 4 models too.
So even from the 3 examples in the book we have 3 problems. How much longer does it take to manipulate a template over the figures with issues of placement of your eye on figures in difficult to reach places on the well terrained board? Roll dice - seconds. Place and re-place template, negotiate with opponent, leave sour taste if you win the argument - minutes.
If the board uses scenery well, the figures are placed where they can and we should assume they are placed in various positions around the cover. But the Template insists they are where they are. If you just pile them into a small space because the bases are too big, a nasty template user can say he touches 8 guys using his 1" circle because that is how they are placed.
Our experience using templates over the last thirty or so public and other private games, with over 50 different players, have resulted in our following experiences:
1. Templates break from the simplicity of the game in determining number of hits.
2. They break from the ease of play by stressing exact placement of figures in this one single area.
3. They are a point of contention and potential disagreement which a simple dice roll avoided in the past
4. It's another bit of equipment you need beyond the dice and tape measure
5. It slows down the combat resolution
6. Have you tried looking straight down on figures in the middle of the board?
So, in future Bolt Action Boot Camps we will NOT be using templates. Instead we will use the casualty calculation of HE vs men in buildings. (HE Chart Page 70) This means combat resolution will be streamlined and potential contentions removed.
Roll to hit, roll to determine number of hits, roll to kill, roll for Pins. Resolution over in under a minute. Contention points reduced to zero.

Bolt Action 2nd Edition Index

We received the eagerly awaited Second Edition of the Bolt Action rules yesterday and our first mission was to create an index so we could find the rules when we needed them!
This time we have added two little notations to the index items:
* = Changed rule
+ = New rule

This should help to quickly find changes.
We may have missed some changed or new rules so please let us know.

Overall we are very excited with the changes and are looking forward to using them in action.

Here is the new Bolt Action Second Edition Index.

(You can also get the First Edition Bolt Action Index and
the Konflikt 47 Index too)

Updated Konflikt 47 Index

We have updated the Konflikt 47 Index so it fits better on the back pages and is a little larger print - all the better for looking up things in a hurry!

Also, here is the link to the index to Bolt Action v1 rules (Including the FAQs)
These have been downloaded over 8,000 times!

Enjoy and may the dice roll with you.

Konflikt 47 Index

 We are always interested in Bolt Action and this "Weird War" variant looks like fun. BUT it is missing an essential element.
The Index.

So we have created one.

Here is our Index for Konflikt 47. It is designed to print out, trim and glue into the front or back of the book. Phew. Now you can find the rules when you need them!

This is version 1.0. So if you find yourself needing some rules included in a different way, let us know.

Enjoy.

Bolt Action Index 1.5

Where are the rules for tanks racing onto a frozen river?

The latest Errata and FAQ has been released by Warlord Games dated 27 January 2016 (You can get it here).
There are lots of updates and clarifications so I have updated the Bolt Action Index. (version 1.5)
It is interesting to see how many items in the index have an E or F page indicating a ruling or clarification of the main rules.

The index has been downloaded over 6,000 times. I'm glad so many are finding this resource so handy.

Other handy resources that have been popular include:
Our Building Clarifications
Terrain tutorials
Turn Counters
Periscopes

Conveniently fits in the inside back or front covers

Bolt Action Index 1.4

Bolt Action Index 1.4 is released

Warlords have published the latest Bolt Action Errata/FAQ dated 2 October 2014.
So I have updated the index to include the latest changes.
I have numbered the Errata and then FAQ with pages E1 to E3 and F1 to F8 (excluding changes to army lists).

Changes include:

1. Routed Transport Vehicle and passengers (F4)
2. Pins for upgraded Green units (F8)
3. Flamethrowers and Panzerfausts vs Recce (F8)
4. British light howitzers (F8)
5. Long Range -1 for all Heavy Weapons AT fire (F8)
6. Slow Load clarification (F8)
7. Officer in HQ is killed (F8)

The latest Bolt Action Index v1.4 is here.

Bolt Action Index 1.3

Bolt Action Index 1.3 is released

Warlords have published the latest Bolt Action Errata/FAQ dated 30 May 2014.
So I have updated the index to include the latest changes.
I have numbered the Errata and then FAQ with pages E1 to E3 and F1 to F8 (excluding changes to army lists).

Changes include:

1. Pinning against vehicles is made more sensible (no HMG pinning big tanks)
2. Snipers only roll normal hit chances against units in buildings.
3. The Mortar Shuffle is killed
4. Loader for LMGs rule is sort of clarified. You can change the loader each turn but you don't have to.

The latest Bolt Action Index v1.3 is here.

Bolt Action Index 1.2

New! Improved! With added Errata and FAQ!

I have just updated the Bolt Action Index to include the official Errata and Frequently Asked Questions.
This means when looking up a topic, you can find the information on the page number Errata (E1 to E2) or FAQ (F1 to F7).

The index is here.

Updated Bolt Action Index

An index and a bookmark!

We have updated the Bolt Action Main Rulebook index after some intensive testing. It is now clearer and the right size to fit inside the book and serve as a bookmark.  Many of the rules are referenced under different headings so hopefully you will find the rule quickly.
It fits perfectly on two pages ask prints well double sided.  We trimmed ours and laminated it as we use it so often.

You can get a copy of the Bolt Action Index here.

Bolt Action Index

Now where is that rule?

I have found it frustrating trying to find things in the rulebook so created a 2 page index. I just printed it double-sided and slipped it into the book as a bookmark. Now I can quickly find the important rule I usually mis-remembered.

I have tried to include many items via a number of different ways - e.g. Buildings, entering buildings, Assaulting Buildings, and so on.

I did some play testing by playing a game. Each time I wanted to look up a rule, I wanted to find it first time. For example, the outflanking rule can be found under Flanking and Outflanking.

Let me know if I have missed anything.

Here is the Bolt Action Index PDF.