Saturday, 11 January 2025

A bolt from the blue.

 So yesterday we tried Bolt Action second edition. I noticed on the rules I had bought them in 2017. They had lain on the shelf , occasionally looked at ( esp the Seelowe Suplement) since then. We had felt the need to try something else for a VBCW as Went the Day Well is quirky ,popular but not quite hitting the spot for my opponents. I am a fan but can see the issues folk have it. Anyway over Christmas l looked out the order dice RC had given me yonks ago, ordered another set and read the rules. This was supplemented by very helpful videos on You Tube. The battlefield was set up and off we went.

It was just a training exercise so l won’t go on much about the game save to say it went really well. The order dice didn’t clutter the table and the red dice l used to mark pins worked fine.

We had the odd disagreement about interpretation of the rules but all in all it proceeded well. It was fun, which is half the battle in my eyes. It gave a reasonable result.
All in all it was a hit with the three of us. The playsheets l had printed off were most useful. One of our number went home and bought a set of the rules on kindle, he has been won over
All in all a good day’s gaming. We will try them again in a couple of weeks. I know that many don’t rate the rules for many reasons. I know they aren’t serious like “ Chain of Command “ etc but they delivered for us a platoon level experience that we enjoyed. That’s good enough for me , for now.


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11 comments:

  1. Duke of Baylen11 January 2025 at 07:42

    I'm glad you had fun. It's may years since I played Rapid Fire 1 - it was a popular set on the Isle of Man but I don't play 20th century games now. Are all the fences home made? There are intriguing glimpses of the bookshelves too. I'm not aware of the order dice. What's written on them and are they only for Rapid Fire?
    Stephen

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    1. Anonymous12 January 2025 at 06:32

      I’ve been enjoying Rapid Fire ,new edition, with a friend for a wee while now and have been enjoying it . I play in 20mm. Friday was in 28mm with VBCW figures and was terrific fun.
      Alan Tradgardland

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  2. Mike11 January 2025 at 10:05

    He's talking about the rules "Bolt Action" not "Rapid Fire".

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    1. Anonymous12 January 2025 at 06:33

      I was but happy to chat about both sets.
      Alan Tradgardland

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  3. Fitz-Badger11 January 2025 at 22:09

    You enjoyed the game/rules. That's what counts. Not what anyone else thinks. :)

    (clever punny post title) lol

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    1. Anonymous12 January 2025 at 06:34

      Very true and I do like a good pun.
      Alan Tradgardland

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  4. Roger11 January 2025 at 23:16

    Looks like you had a good time and interesting game. I'll think I have to look more into Bolt Action this year as well.
    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Anonymous12 January 2025 at 06:36

      I did thanks. Worth a look for you. As Bolt Action has just had a new edition out you might well be able to pick up second edition cheaply on EBay.
      Alan Tradgardland

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  5. rross12 January 2025 at 01:17

    As someone very recently said on my blog "Rules are a very personal thing, so if they work for you, then that's all that matters."
    I don't think I have ever played BA - I am not a fan of other Warlord rules such as Black Powder or Hail Caeser, but lots of people seem to like them. I have played CoC a few times - I am not sure I would describe them as "serious" either - but they have some good mechanics - my particular favourite is the initial scouting phase.

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    1. Anonymous12 January 2025 at 06:38

      I have had fun with Lardy games but they are totally unknown to my regular opponents. I felt Bolt Action would be easier to learn for me and easier to teach. It has proven so.
      Alan Tradgardland

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  6. Anonymous13 January 2025 at 14:29

    Good you enjoyed BA2. I haven't played in a while, but the chaps I normally play with have been trying out BA3 as some things in it mean to be streamlined from BA2.
    BA was, for me, more to the fun side of gaming and I enjoyed the games. The only thing I would have liked to add is a different coloured end-of-turn dice in the bag, so that players would not be sure when a turn would end and would have to prioritise actions.
    regards,
    Tom

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