SPALDING WARGAMING CLUB
this really is the most outstanding gateway into historical wargaming Bolt Action is a rule set from Warlord Games. It is used to enact engagements from WWII. However, this isn't your run of the mill historical game plagued by rivet counting and tedious periods of watching your opponent chew through your army without rebuttal. No, this is a much more elegant beast.
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Firstly, for those with a background in conventional army
games in a fantasy or science fiction setting, this really is the most
outstanding gateway into historical wargaming.
Generally, the most intimidating thing about historical wargaming is the focus on historical accuracy; however this system allows you a great deal of flexibility in that regard. You can build your force to mirror an exact regiment if you wish, take inspiration from a particular battle or just pick and choose whatever takes your fancy. It gives you the agency to make your own decisions rather than slap your wrist every time you reach for the King Tiger.
The second big draw for the game is that it doesn't adhere to the age-old “I go, you go” turn system. Warlord aimed to create a more unique and dynamic animal here. Each force has a number of activations or “order dice” equal to the number of units that are on the board; both players then place these “order dice” into a bag. A player will remove a die from the bag blindly, the owner of this die will activate a unit of their force on the table. Once this is completed another die will be drawn and that player will activate a unit.
Each unit may activate only once. After all dice are taken from the bag and all units activated then the dice are returned from the field into the bag and another turn begins. When a unit is destroyed, a die of that army is removed from the game. It engenders a real sense of drama and tension which keeps you engaged and invested from beginning to end, embodying the feel of an actual engagement full of chaos, shifting priorities and agonising decisions.