Thursday, November 21, 2013

Bolt Action my first game and Annlogue Hobbies Painting Challenge


Nick came over a couple weeks ago to play some Bolt Action. He brought his lovely painted late war Volksgrenedier/Luftwaffe Germans vs my US Airborne at my house. Again, most of my pictures of the figures in action didn't come out the way I wanted so I only have a few to give a sense of the field we played on so I highly recommend going to Nick's blog here for more pictures of troops actually fighting.

It was my first game of Bolt Action and in one short phrase I can sum up my feelings......I'm hooked! I find the game very intuitive and easy to learn. It plays in a nice flowing style with a lot of twists and turns due to the activation system which is just great. The army building process is also straightforward with lots of options, but still easy to do even for a new comer.  Some realism in ranges is sacrificed for playability, but virtually all miniatures games must do this or you would need warehouses to play games in so that's really no big deal to me and not worth getting hung up on. While Operation Squad gives a more theatre like experience it costs more time to play it and honestly does not play as fluid as Bolt Action does, but since both play at different levels with one at a squad level and another platoon there is easily room for both systems. Another great point of Bolt Action is the books are very nice like all Osprey publications which really appeals to me as I'm a very visual player and I like books that motivate you to become involved which these really do. Since the books are so nice and I'm a collector I'll get them all even if I don't use all the armies.

As to the game itself it was of course great fun! We had contrasting armies where Nick's army were regulars and Volksgrenadier(home guard) vs Elite paratroops which gave him a substantial superiority in numbers, but a short coming in quality. I should say Nick rolled rather poorly and so his army was virtually destroyed and in the end decisively defeated, but even with his bad rolls he did inflict enough casualties on my Airborne that were he to have rolled better I might have been in serious trouble. My impression is that elites are tough for sure, but like most systems they cannot afford bad rolls or decisions and a decent rolling opposition. I think the lists are pretty balanced and truthfully I suspect standard troops are probably the best in the game as they offer decent amount of troops, with a good morale and leave you room for a few casualties. So, beware elite players as you cannot afford bad rolls and those that like fielding low grade troops to overwhelm the other gent you may find it difficult getting them to both do anything and stay in the game not to mention dying like flies.

It looks like I'll need to expand my Fallschirmjäger collection which is fine for Operation Squad, but too few for Bolt Action(luckily Nick and Franz have substantial German and Russian collections to make up for this shortfall) and while my Airborne is adequate enough I still would like to add a few more options. Oh....and there is these Japanese that I've started.... so, expect to see more WWII figures popping up on my blog in the future.:-)





It also getting time for Curt's winter painting competition here!

http://analogue-hobbies.blogspot.de/

This has become kind of a tradition now which I'm proud to announce I've been involved in since the second one and will join this one too!:-) It kicks off on the 15th of December and runs until the 20th of March. It's a fun competition where painters are scored points for painting figures and whoever accumulates the most is the winner and is given a small prize with a second and third place as well. Other accolades are given for Peoples, Competitors, Sarah and Judges choice.It a great way to help slim down our lead mountains and be a part of something we all enjoy as that's the main reason I do this, because I paint far too slow to win.

This year my friend Nick here joined the challenge were we plan on having our own little mini competition within the challenge itself as we are doing a joint Impetus project focused on Pyrrhuss's assault on the Roman Republic with Nick doing the Romans and me the Pyrrhic forces. I'll do my best to stay focused on that which won't be easy as I'm a notorious butterfly. I already hear ACW, F&IW, WWII screaming and kicking demanding my attention and I haven't even started the competition yet!

However, before all that I have a lot of mini's to clean and prep before the kick off as that's allowed, but no figures painted before the 15th can be entered in the competition. Also, I'll need to work on some more terrain before the 15th as terrain pieces are not allowed in the competition either.

I'm really looking forward to this! Curt puts a lot of work into it and every event has been great and this looks to be no exception! So, please show your support for Curt by following his blog and leaving some comments when you have the time. I gave a link on the picture above for those who haven't had the pleasure of visiting his superb blog yet.

37 comments :

  1. Very beautiful pictures showing high quality figures and also terrain. The spectator gets the feeling to be within the Normandy.

    Mike

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    1. Thank you very much Mike I appreciate the kind words.

      Christopher

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  2. Excellent AAR with great figures all around. And you've got me hooked, with the Pyrrhus of epiros Project. Fascinating character!

    And good luck in the competition!

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    1. Thank you very much Monty and hopefully I'll reward your interest in the Pyrhuss with at least a half decent effort! No doubt he was fascinating and a very dangerous man as long as an old woman with roof tiles in hand isn't near!

      Christopher

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  3. Thank you Andrew and right back at you and enjoy the challenge. Looking forward to seeing what comes off your table.

    Christopher

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  4. Greate looking game! Nice to hear your thougts about the rules.

    Best regards Michael

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  5. That really is an awfully splendid set up and a great sounding game. Looking forward to seeing for of your work during the challenge too, best of luck.

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    1. Thank you very much Michael! I'm equally looking forward to seeing what you do in the challenge and best of luck to you as well.

      Christopher

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  6. Good luck Christopher and damn good looking game too!

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    1. Thank you very much Fran and good luck to you too! I'm looking forward to yours and Ray's banter!:-)

      Christopher

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  7. Looking forward to seeing your progress in the Challenge! Great pictures of a superb looking game too.

    Cheers, Ross

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    1. Thank you kindly Ross and hope to see more Impetus coming from your desk!

      Christopher

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  8. It was a great game and I was happy you liked the rules. I'm looking forward to our game on sunday and of course Curts challenge. I'm already ready with cleaning and basing my stuff though ;-) Only need to do the basecoat.

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    1. Thanks Nick for showing me and looking forward to Sunday as well! That's good to hear on the prep work, but you know you need more....a lot more.;-)

      Christopher

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  9. First, beautiful game, guys!

    Bolt Action is a very nice system and we've had a lot of fun playing it. If you get the chance you should try out Chain of Command as well as it provides a different approach to the Platoon-level game. Both are great sets.

    And thanks very much for the shout out - it's much appreciated.

    Curt

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    1. Thank you very much Curt!

      I've already downloaded the PDF for CoC and it reads interesting, but I want to learn BA first before giving CoC go and simply put I'm having fun. I suppose it's the same reason I haven't tried Longstreet yet in that I'm having a good time with Regimental Fire and Fury. Funny to say, but I'm just a bit overwhelmed with all the rules out at the moment.

      As to the shout out it's the very least I could do! Thank you for doing this Curt!:-)

      Christopher

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  10. Great looking table sir! Looking forward to seeing your work in the challenge as well...

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    1. Thank you kindly Michael and looking forward to seeing your entries too!

      Christopher

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  11. Great looking game and terrain. Best of luck in the Challenge!

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    1. Thank you kindly Scott and the best of luck to you too!

      Christopher

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  12. Beautiful gaming table, Christopher! In a word, stunning. I'm in search of a skirmish level WWII game system, myself. Perhaps, i should give Bolt Action a look.

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    1. Thank you very much Jonathan! Yes, I highly recommend giving it a try as I really enjoy it and even if you don't like the rules you will own some very nice looking books in compensation.

      Christopher

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  13. Great looking game of Bolt Action there Christopher!

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  14. Very nice setup! Each time I encounter your gaming reports I wish my own tables would look like that.

    And I'm glad to read that you enjoyed Bolt Action quite a bit. I've yet to play my first game with these rules as we focussed on Chain of Command. People "in the know" keep telling me how great a game CoC is, especially in regard of historical accuracy and gameplay. But, to be honest, I found the BA rules much easier to get my head around – be it that I'm just used to GW-style mechanics – and they appeared to be less daunting to a WW2 rookie like me.
    There aren't many gaming opportunities for me these days, so pick-up games are the way to go. After two matches with CoC I tend to think that more light-weight rules (as BA is often deemed to be) are better suited to my needs.

    Cheers, SG
    mountainsoflead.com

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    1. Thank you very much SG!

      The same goes for me in that I get to game historical games about once or twice a month and so easy to learn and remember games are my preference. I've read CoC and it sounds fun, but like most TFL games it benefits from putting work into the scenario's and having a referee. I'm sure it's superior to BA if you have all the right conditions, but simply put we don't have the time for that. We need a game that we can simply set up and start playing without much need of anything or re-learning the rules and BA fills that in very nicely. Oh and I did mention it's fun too!:-)

      Christopher

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  15. Fantastic looking game and report Christopher! Good luck for the challenge.

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  16. Yeah, agree with the others. some pretty toys there.

    FMB

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  17. What a superb looking battlefield! I love the attention to detail that you have put in, the telegraph poles and the splintered beams and boarding in the ruined houses. A wonderful set up!
    Best wishes,
    Jason
    (lightbobsandpaintblobs.blogspot.com)

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  18. Great terrain and figures Christopher, as always.
    Pat.

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  19. Sorry for the late visit, Christopher. Great looking game and figs - the terrain is superb. I too am a fan of Bolt Action - although its been a while since I've played it (or any rules as a matter of fact). I used to like Disposable Heroes, but found some of the mechanics too detailed for a fast play game - Bolt Action took care of that. I am sure you will be a top-contender in the challenge. Warm Regards, Dean

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    1. Thank you very much Dean. Bolt Action is indeed fast and furious and great fun! As to a top contender I doubt that as I'm too slow of a painter, but I'll do my best.

      Christopher

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