Monday, October 29, 2012

Bolt Action AAR

I have been playing a bit of Bolt Action lately.  The rules are the new wargaming hotness from Warlord Games.  Godders came over for his first go at the rules and we set up the desert board for a round of Australians v the Afrika Korps.  Pictured above is the table.  I took control of the Australians as the attackers, Godders commanded the Afrika Korps as the defenders.  We played Scenario 4: Hold Until Relieved.  Basically, defender has two units on board holding the centre objective which was a water well.  The defender can bring on his remaining forces from turn 1.  The attacker starts on board and can deploy anywhere 18" away from the objective or any enemy unit.  As this was Godders first game, I came from one side only to keep it simple.  The game goes for 6 turns.
 
Three Australian units on the hill.  Above consist of a 10 man squad, 3 man command team, and a medium mortar team.  We gave units on a rocky hill +1 cover save.

 Medium Mortars.  The best killing unit available in Bolt Action.  If you can range in on an enemy unit they will be in all sorts of pain.  My mortar team took a direct hit from the Germans and was wiped out in turn 4.

Godders has a squad of Afrika Korps infantry in the centre guarding the well and a HMG on the small hill to the left.  He has a squad just forward of the centre which in this photo has been whittled down to three men from my fire.  This squad was later charged and wiped out in close combat.  His command team is behind the olive bushes and he has a mortar team on the hill in the lower left corner.

The Australian 1st Lieutenant lost his two offsiders and has a pin marker but he still functions.  He was mowed down shortly after this picture was taken.

The most heroic moment of the game.  Last turn.  Australian squad has 6 pin markers.  I had to roll a 3 or under on a 2D6 command roll to issue a run order.  If successful I have a chance to contest the objective and force a draw in the game.  I roll and get 3!.  Unit runs forward, but just short of the objective.  And I loose the game.


Godders successfully holds the well.  The Afrika Korps are victorious for today.

I am really enjoying Bolt Action as a game.  Its fairly simple to play.  You don't need many figures.  The missions in the rule book are excellent.  The game has a definite ending at about a 2hr mark, theres no all night gaming required.  The rule book is full colour.  Great game.

13 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

Damn good batrep there mate!

Anonymous said...

Great report, thanks Paul.

Cheers,

Helen

Hobbyworker said...

Nice AAR

Regards

Hobbyworker.

jmilesr said...

Nice report - I hope to get a game of Bolt Action in this weekend

Paul said...

Good looking game and AAR.

Pity for the ockers mate.

Simon Quinton said...

Nice AAR. I have thought about getting this ruleset as you only need a few squads and vehicles.

Monty said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Monty said...

Great looking board and AAR - never really looked at Bolt-Action, but it sounds good...

Anonymous said...

nice battle report...but those pink counter have got to go!!

Doc Smith said...

Nice one Matt - I can attest to those @#$%ing mortars as Leigh had two for our Corinth game that gave the German paras a real headache - once ranged in. How does Bolt Action compare to Disposable Heroes do you reckon? Seems like a pretty straight forward rule set.

Cheers,
Doc

Beccas said...

DH infantry rules are brilliant and probably more realistic than BA. BA is simple, only two types of cover, hard and soft. Infantry get hit on a 3+ with basic modifiers adjusting that hit up and down. Once hit, then roll to kill. 4+ for regular troops, 5+ for veterans etc. I have not used tanks yet but the rules are very light and basic. DH fell down in the armour department, way too complex.

styx said...

Nice AAR, keeping my eye on this for the first of the year for the offical books!

Allan and Carmen said...

Great write up.

I am hoping to see more soon :)

The figures and terrain look great. They match what I have seen in photos.

I have the DH rules as well as the new Bolt Action book. I just need to assemble some figures.

Happy Gaming,

Allan