Bolt Action Boot Camp - The First

Our city heights board

Today we had our first Bolt Action Boot Camp at The Demo Company's wonder warehouse.
We had a modified City Heights board and a Winter board.
There were 11 x 600 point armies on display ready to be played with. We had enough dice, tape measures, periscopes, unit cards, rule summaries and whatever else was required to learn how to play Bolt Action.
Over the course of the day we had 10 players all staying for a 2 to 2.5 hour game.  Where did the time go?

The Winter Board - would it be as brutal today?

A peaceful little spot

We left home at 7:00am so we could get the The Combat Company by 9:00am, we setup everything in an hour and by 10:00am we were ready.
Our last game ended at 5:00pm then packed up.
We finally arrived home at 8:00pm.

BOOM! Now that is how artillery can strike.

The day went by very fast.  Bolt Action is a very engrossing game.  Quickly players, spectators and even us organising the games got caught up in what each order dice could achieve and groan or cheer at each dice roll, especially as the games progressed.

Peek a boo!

A classic Bolt Action ending.  Anyone can win.

In one game on the Winter board the British player fired his artillery.  The hit point and distance roll managed to have 5 enemy units under fire.  The Panzer III was hit with a 6 - full fire for effect which blew up the tank.
Then he rolled another six to hit the men sheltering in the "safety" of the house.
BOOM! 13 hits which destroyed the house and the full squad within.
In one turn, the Germans lost half their force.
"Bolt Action Happens" as players have begun to remark.
Most of the games had the classic last turn tension. It was very enjoyable analysing options of what can be and what possible consequences there are.
The latest phrase we have coined is "Pins Kill Plans" So often a plan fails because a critical unit failed to pass their order test, or a pin caused a shot to miss.
In one game involving a T34/85 and Panzer III the Panzer III missed the T34.  The T34 hit but only achieved a pin.
But that pin ended up being critical.
The T34 kept missing and the Panzer III kept failing the order test and going down.
On Turn 6 the best plan was for the Panzer III to advance and kill the only Russian unit holding the objective.  So he did this and it was a success - until one of our sergeants mentioned, "Hey, did you roll for the order? He has a pin."
Oops. But it shouldn't be a problem, only an 8 was needed.
But a 9 was rolled. That great move was put into the very busy "Could have been" column.

In another game, one American unit was in the middle of the orchard and was able to inflict many casualties on the surrounding Finnish forces.  Eventually it was down to 1 man - continually passing morale and being annoying to the Finn.
So he charged in a HQ squad.  It should have been easy, but the Finnish player only rolled under 4 which meant no casualty.  The American killed one of the HQ squad which meant he won the Close Combat and killed all the HQ unit!  Bolt Action Happens.

Overall, it was a great day.  We will probably hold another one in August, and then we will be running a 2 day Bolt Action Boot Camp at MOAB in October.

Yeah!  More new players! And more Bolt Action.

Some posts are already up elsewhere with lots of photos of our games.
The blog No Duff Gamer
Facebook at The Combat Company
Facebook at BoltAction.net

Winter Board - Red snow!

The Germans and one of the commanders

Today we play tested the Winter Board. We had three beginner players with one experienced Russian and one of our Sergeants played as a General to help the two German players.

The Forces:

(Please note we haven't updated points for Volks Grenadiers as per the latest errata.)

Russian 1:

1 x Officer(1st Lt + 2men )
1 x Medic
1 x Med Mortar(Spotter Off Board)
1 x Free Rifle Squad(NCO + 5 Men Green)
2 x LMG Squad(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles )
1 x Veteran Squad(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles )
1 x AT Rifle(2 men )

The Russians with the junior commander

The first casualty, one of the free squad.

Russian 2:

1 x Officer(2nd Lt + 2men )
1 x Free Rifle Squad(NCO + 5 Men Green)
2 x LMG Squad(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles )
1 x SMG Squad(6 x SMG )
1 x T34/85

Turn one - everyone moving in.

Tank Riders - abandon the tank at first shot!

One Panzer III - gone!

Turn 2 - The well is contested

Turn 2 - The pond is in Russian hands.

Germany 1:

1 x Officer(2nd Lt + 2men )
1 x Medic
1 x Heavy Mortar(Spotter Off Board)
2 x Heer Infantry(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles 2 x Panzerfaust each)
1 x Volks Grenadiers(NCO + 4 (Ass Rifles) + 3 rifles + 2 Panzerfausts)
1 x Sdkfz 222(Light Autocannon, Coax MMG Recce)

Racing across the frozen Pond

Made it the assault and all died!

Germany 2:

1 x Officer(2nd Lt + 2men )
1 x Sniper(2 men )
1 x Heer Infantry(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles 1 x Panzerfaust)
1 x Heer Veteran Infantry(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles 1 x Panzerfaust)
1 x Panzer III J

The Player Essentials Tin makes a great dice rolling board.

Highlights of the game:

Another Frontal Assault - more bodies

In Turn 2 the Panzer III hit the T34/85 but the shot bounced off.  The T34 shrugged of the pin and blew the Panzer III sky high!
That flank quickly fell apart as the Russian infantry pushed forward to the Top Secret pond in short order.
As this was Winter we had a special rule whereby the pond was frozen, but if infantry wanted to race across, they had to roll.  A 1 or 2 meant they break through and each soldier failing the roll died in the the shark infested frozen pond. One of the Russian units made a frontal assault across the pond.  None fell through and they hit a German unit but all died in the assault.

Hit with a heavy mortar - only 2 pins and one dead!

The end - Russia owns both objectives

Meanwhile, on the Well flank a continuing flow of close assaults resulted in many deaths - mostly Russian - with Germans retaining possession of the well.

Learning how to fight on non city boards

Then in turn 5 the Russian Heavy mortar hit the German squad holding the orchard. A large groan by the Germans changed to a sigh of relief when the strike only resulted in 2 pins and 1 casualty!
But the next turn meant the mortar would only require a 2 to hit, so the Volks Grenadiers rushed around the corner and fired everything at the spotter.  15 dice later and he was despatched.
After bravely doing their duty, the Russian HQ fired at the Volks Grenadiers killing one of them. A grin from the Germans as the rolled to see if they became Veterans, but they rolled a 1! Instead of upgrading, they stayed green and had 5 more pins!

Volks Grenadiers: The last hope - but rolled a 1 to upgrade

Shortly thereafter the T34 quickly moved across the table and hit the Germans in the Orchard, while the tank riders dismounted to capture the well.
A final try by the Germans in the orchard with a close combat against the Russian Tank riders, passing morale with a 4 and shedding all their pins.  They killed 2 and the Russians killed 3.  That was the end of the Germans last chance.

At the end of the game there were only 20 (out of 78) Russians with their T34 and 10 Germans (out of 58 men) with the 222 and Heavy Mortar.
That is why we nicknamed the board "Red Snow".

What did we learn?

1. The Players Essentials Tins worked great keeping the dice in order and working as a dice rolling tray.
2. The game was still balanced despite such a disparity of forces.
3. One of my daughters said, "I am used to fighting city games.  This open board was tricky."
4. The dual dice bags still work well, keeping the game flowing and providing for interesting surprises as forces fired across the board against units in adjacent armies.
5. This board had an extremely high attrition rate.
6. The Russians liked the tank riders. They were quick to transport and get into the thick of the action.

We'll see how the board plays out next week at the Bolt Action Boot Camp.

Bolt Action Boot Camp - The Winter Board

From the North

Next week we will hold our first official Bolt Action Boot Camp at the wonder warehouse of the Combat Company.
We will have two boards - The two level City Board and this Winter board.

From the South

The Winter Board will have four players in teams of 2 x 600 point armies.
The objectives are:
1. The secret papers in The Pond on the South side of the board, and
2. The paratrooper stuck in The Well on the North side of the board next to the orchard.

Some Finns ready for the Russians.

This board is quite different from the city board.  Much more open spaces with softer cover.  The fields are just decoration as a winter ploughed field is still open ground.  The tree line is soft cover and the brick walls are hard cover.

Oh bother. I think I blew too far from the 100 acre wood.

If you are in Sydney next week, let us know and drop in. It will be fun day.

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.

City Heights Project - the battle

View from the outskirts

Today we had a great game with two new players.  They had visited us a few weeks prior and caught sight of the City Heights Project board. "Tell us more!" they asked.
So today we had their first Bolt Action game.
And - as is so often the case - the game ended in a frantic dash where either side could have won.

Allies:

Australians:
1 x Officer(2nd Lt + 2men )
1 x FAO(Free Artillery Observer )
1 x Sniper(2 men Veteran)
1 x MMG(3 men )
3 x Infantry Squad(NCO (SMG),LMG ,8 rifles )
1 x PIAT(2 Men )

View from the heights

Turn One - Dead Cromwell

 British:
1 x Officer(2nd Lt + 2men )
1 x FAO(Free Artillery Observer )
1 x Infantry Squad(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles )
1 x Airborne Squad(NCO (SMG),LMG ,8 rifles Veteran Stubborn)
1 x PIAT(2 Men )
1 x Cromwell(Med AT, Coax MMG, MMG )

The chateau - full of Germans with Aussies out front

Axis:

Germany 1:
1 x Officer(2nd Lt + 2men )
2 x Heer Infantry(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles Veterans)
1 x Waffen SS(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles Veteran Fanatics)

Sniper at the top and MMG at the bottom.  Very effective.

Germany 2:
1 x Officer(2nd Lt + 2men )
1 x Heavy Mortar(Spotter Off Board)
1 x MMG(3 men )
1 x Heer Infantry(NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles Regular)
2 x Volks Grenadiers(NCO + 4 (Ass Rifles) + 3 rifles Green special)
1 x Sdkfz 234/2 Puma(Med AT, Coax MMG )

Germans amassing for the final turn.

Each army is 600 points. There were two objectives, one at the base of the ramp and the other at the top of the ramp.  It could only be captured by an infantry unit of 3 or more men.

The game took 2.5 hours which was excellent for a 1200 point game and 4 players. The game went to 7 turns, with ownership of every objective contested for both turns 6 and 7.
The city heights stair proved to be a perfect place for a sniper at the top of the stairs and the Vickers MMG using the cover of the lower stairs. The sniper and the Vickers were very effective in pitting pins and casualties on the veteran Germans facing them.  The combination of multiple Australian units inflicting pins severely hampered the german veterans.

One highlight was the destruction of the British Cromwell in turn 1.  At this point the Australian had a PIAT that he didn't need so transferred it over to his partner's forces. In the end, the British player still managed to capture and hold the objective by the skin of his teeth.

The board was very enjoyable to play on with lots of nooks, crannies and interesting firing angles and cover options.

And the best result?  The game was so much fun that the new players are looking forward to our next game. They invited themselves back.
Perfect!

The City Heights Project

The start of a new level

I have had the pleasure of seeing many great boards at the Hall of Heroes and other places which enable a board with varying levels. It is an added challenge to consider fighting up ramps, down from upper stories, across and along trenches.  However, this normally comes with boards that are fixed, having been custom built with the underlying terrain in place.
We wanted to have a multi level board which is flexible and transportable.  Living in the country, our demo game events will always be elsewhere, which means we have to transport our men and scenery in the car and our home is a busy place which means we have to store everything away.
Our solution?  Make a multi level board with sections.
Start with a large block of Polystyrene Foam.  100mm (4in) x 600mm (24 in) x 1200mm (48in) cost $47.85 each from Clarke Rubber.  Laid flat, this gives us an upper level of 4 inches high.  To strengthen and protect the sheets we painted them with a grey paint.
The next challenge was to make a way to get from the lower level to the higher levels.  This could be by stairs or a roadway or a bridge.  Also, we needed an edge to the upper level with a wall to fire over.

A basic 6in (15cm) section

I decided to make sections in 6 inch widths.  This mean for a 4ft wide table, we could mix and match a number of elements nicely.
Start with solid insulation foam (we obtained ours from Austech, although we picked it up in person).  25mm (1in) thick probably allows for the most options in building.  The edges of the foam are cut so they can be joined together when laying them as insulation.  This worked out to be the perfect wall height and thickness.
Using my less than precise modelling skills, I cut the foam so it levelled up with the 100mm white foam edges.  Then I cut a similar width piece for the ground level.

Stairs are for running up and down.

This was glued to a 6in square piece of MDF to provide durability and a standard size.  PVA glue is fine to put it all together.  Craft glue is great for creating moon or shell craters, but not much good at actually keeping two bits attached!
To create a simple stairway, I cut an appropriate sized bit of foam and hacked some stairs out.  At the top of each stair I glued some craft sticks.  Initially I was going to use the craft stick for the edge but it looked poor.  So I used Foam Core card and made an appropriate edge and railing.
In this stairwell, I thought it would be nifty having an opening under the stairs for a store room of sorts.  So I cut in the opening and stairs and added a spare door from one of our 4Ground buildings.
Then we got more creative.

Should I go Left or right?

A stair with two exits and a little seat. Options for chappies to get down with varying types of cover and a little style. Once more the same combination of insulation foam, foam core and craft sticks all stuck together with PVA.
I then painted the whole thing completely.  When painting scenery we just get sample pots from the paint or hardware store.  In Australia Haymes sample pots are great quality and good value: 500ml for about $8.55.  You can get them in any colour and they cover all sorts of material - wood, MDF, cardboard and foam.
Once painted, I went the lazy man route and applied printed stonework, the same way we did for the cobblestone roads.

Brick and stonework - looking fine.

Pasting on the brickwork covered up most of my hackwork and gave me a fine finish.  I used brick work for the walls, and stone work (as I used for the cobblestone pavements) for the ground and steps.  I also used the stones for the railings and wall capping. (We used the High Ground Tiles Kit from Dave Graffam models - only $3.95)
As you can see from the photos, the less than precise cutting of the foam meant there are some gaps between pieces.  But I am not overly concerned.  The end result is still quite satisfactory.
The next challenge was to provide a way for vehicles to move between levels.
One of the large white poly sheets we cut in two.  This meant 2 x 2ft squares.  On the edge of one we cut a slope one inch up (to match the edge of the insulation foam) and back 18 inches. This gave us a suitable slope.

The end of the road.

Warning!  Do this outside as you will get white foam dust everywhere!
I made sure that this was solid as I could still place this square upside down and have a normal edge too, allowing me to have a road or not depending on the board requirements.
The road edge was more insulation foam cut accordingly, painted and then brick and stone work added.
The only thing remaining is to make some walls bordering the ramp using thick cardboard and more brick and stone paper.
The end result looks pretty cool.

More corners to hide around

The road fits our cobblestone sections nicely and we have flexible levels.
I am sure if you adopted a more careful approach and cut each piece of foam accurately they would fit together much better.  However the concept works great with relatively little effort to get great results.

Lots of places to take cover.

4 foot of heightened goodness.

The Players Essentials Tin

The Players Essentials Tin

Our aim when running a demo game is to streamline the game play as much as possible so that the players can learn the rules quickly and enjoy the game.  That explains our Index,  Turn Counters, Periscopes and Unit Cards.
The next challenge was how to streamline the game start with armies as well as storing all the dice.  Also, with our boards we were sometimes finding it difficult to find a place to roll dice without having to re-roll cocked dice.
So we created the Demo Gamers Players Essential Tin.
Around 25 April (ANZAC day) Australian supermarkets start selling special ANZAC biscuit tins.  Other than containing quite tasty ANZAC biscuits (cookies) it is also a nice sized tin with ANZAC themed war photos on the outside.

Mmmm. ANZAC biscuits.

We have made 8 player tins so far.  Each tin is for two players, containing two colours of dice and two sets of order dice and an order dice bag.  There are also two trays on which can fit a 600 point army each.

Dice Rolling Base:

We added in a couple of dividers to allow 3 x 13mm dice on either side, leaving a suitable area in the middle in which to roll dice.
Then my lovely wife - being a crafty lady - lined the insides with felt she had left over from other projects.  This made a great dice rolling surface, provided a place to store dice in the sides and somewhere to store the dice bag and order dice between games.

When doing something more than once - make a jig.

Army Trays:

The next stage was to create our army trays. The issue we have at the start of a game is somewhere to place the figures before the game and somewhere to place casualties during the fighting.  The figures would be stored properly in our foam protection between games, but in preparation we will collate each army and place them in an army tray. The players choose their armies and then can quickly start playing.
Each tray was designed to fit in the tin with enough space for fingers on each side.  The height of the trays and the base dividers were just right so we could still put on the lid.

Now just awaiting 16 armies!

This time my father in law - who is also a very talented engineer and handyman - helped create the boxes.  His rule is always "Measure twice and cut once" and "If you need to do something more than once, make a jig."  As we needed 16 trays for the 8 boxes, he made a marvellous jig on which to place the sides.  The box was made from 3mm MDF sheet, all cut exactly using another jig he rigged up.  Once the sides were glued using 5 minute epoxy, he then glued the base with PVA and set aside to dry.  Then we put on our little logo and painted the trays with Varnish to protect them.

Why go to this trouble?

We learn more each time we run a demo game.  The Players Essential Tins allow us to quickly gather the essential tools for playing the game and get down to playing.  Each tin has the dice and bag and the trays have the army and unit cards. With a Player Reference Sheet in hand and a rule book with index nearby, the game can start promptly and the fun can begin!

(PS When deciding on the name for the Players Essentials Tin, my wife thought of "The Beautiful Tin I Spent So Much Time Making" but I figured TBTISSMTM was a lousy acronym.)

Announcing Demo Gamers Bolt Action Boot Camp

You! I want 20 push ups!

In conjunction with The Combat Company and War and Peace Games the Demo Gamers are proud to present our first Bolt Action Boot Camp.

Do you want to play the most cinematic and exciting World War II wargame on the planet? 

Of course you do.

Bolt Action from Warlord Games is a set of WWII wargaming rules that engages you from the very first turn until the always different final scene.

Do you want to learn how to play the game with great scenery, models and experienced players to guide you?

You know you do.

Come along to the Bolt Action Boot Camp run by the Demo Gamers at the Combat Company's Wonder Warehouse on Saturday 14 June.

Each time slot has an introduction to the fantastic game mechanics and then we play a game on a beautiful board with excellent painted figures.  You have seen the types of boards and figures elsewhere on this site.  Have a look around.
10:00am to 1:00pm Game 1
2:00pm to 5:00pm Game 2

What is provided?
Everything you need to play for use on the day:

• Fantastic scenery
• Well painted models
• Rules and playing aids such as index, unit cards, periscope, laser pointers, dice, 

tape measures.

What do you need?

• Drinks and Lunch
• A sense of fun and adventure.

What forces are used in the games?
2 people per side, with 600 points each, giving 1200 points per side.  Each pair of opponents shares a dice bag, so we have 2 dice bags in operation per game.  Each game lasts 6 or 7 turns with two objectives per table.
There will be a number of forces to choose from for each table for each side.

Want to join?
Get in touch with us at ozdemogamers -at- gmail -dot- com

Bolt Action 600 Point Armies

All Infantry force

As part of our multi player Bolt Action games we have been using 600 point armies for each player.  Initially we thought this would cramp our style, but it has worked out really well.
With an additional player or two you have allied forces who will working on your flank or flanks.  You focus your primary attention on the opponent in front of you and the objective on your part of the board.
Also, with this limited size army, there is less chance for fiddling your army.  With the minimum of a HQ and two squads, there is only so much you can get.  But there is surprising variety.

Add in a Tank and a veteran squad

Here we provide 3 examples of 600 point armies.

The Australians (8 Order Dice)

This is an all infantry force which is great for taking objectives.  The sniper and MMG provide critical support and hopefully the PIAT can scare some armour or even kill some.
Officer (2nd Lt + 2men) 1 @ 70 pts = 70 pts
Sniper (2 men) - Veteran 1 @ 65 pts = 65 pts
MMG (3 men) 1 @ 50 pts = 50 pts
Infantry Squad (NCO (SMG),LMG ,8 rifles) 3 @ 125 pts = 375 pts
Artillery Observer 1 @ 0 pts = 0 pts
PIAT (2 Men) 1 @ 40 pts = 40 pts
Total: 600 pts

The British (6 Order Dice)

This time we added a tank and a veteran tough squad.
Officer (2nd Lt + 2men) 1 @ 70 pts = 70 pts
Infantry Squad (NCO (SMG),LMG ,8 rifles) 1 @ 125 pts = 125 pts
Airborne Squad (NCO (SMG),LMG ,8 rifles)
           - Veteran Stubborn 1 @ 165 pts = 165 pts
PIAT (2 Men) 1 @ 40 pts = 40 pts
Artillery Observer 1 @ 0 pts = 0 pts
Cromwell (Med AT, Coax MMG, MMG) 1 @ 205 pts = 205 pts
Total: 605 pts

Infantry and Recce armour

The Germans (7 Dice)

A regular squad plus two Volks Grenadier squads provide lots of boots as well as the Recce Puma as a mobile MMG that can kill tanks.
Officer (2nd Lt + 2men) 1 @ 70 pts = 70 pts
Heavy Mortar (Spotter) - Off Board 1 @ 65 pts = 65 pts
MMG (3 men) 1 @ 50 pts = 50 pts
Heer Infantry (NCO (SMG),LMG,8 rifles) - Regular 1 @ 125 pts = 125 pts
Volks Grenadiers (NCO + 4 (Ass Rifles) + 3 rifles) - Green special 2 @ 65 pts = 130 pts
Sdkfz 234/2 Puma (Med AT, Coax MMG) 1 @ 160 pts = 160 pts
Total: 600 pts

Each of these forces has proved quite competitive.  Even though the Australians had minimal AT ability, as Armour can't capture objectives, the infantry has ben able to capture and control the objective while hiding or avoiding enemy vehicles.
Try some 600 point armies.  They prove quite fun.