Bolt Action

Summary

Bolt Action is a miniatures game. The publisher, Warlord Games, has been offering a third edition of its game since September 2024, replacing the venerable second edition, which had been around since 2016. The setting remains the same: World War II. Bolt Action allows you to command a small company from World War II among five different main nations: the Germans, the Japanese, the British, the United States, and the Soviets.

A typical game lasts between 2 to 2.5 hours, with around thirty miniatures per side and one or two armored vehicles, sometimes accompanied by transport vehicles. The units of measurement are in inches; players of Warhammer or AOS will feel right at home. The game system is based on six-sided dice and order dice, which creates very dynamic game turns.

A brief history of the game

The third edition of Bolt Action.

The third edition of Bolt Action is logically currently being translated into French as I write these lines. Several rumors suggest a French release by the summer of 2025. The “Armies of…” books will never be translated into French. This is one of the weaknesses in the penetration of the French-speaking market for this game, particularly in France.

In September 2024, Warlord Games launched the third edition of the game. This edition offers several changes to the game system to make it a little less cumbersome to manage. It is also simpler to get into. It allows for a more credible army structure in terms of organization, which offers much more tactical possibilities for players.

Historical players of the second edition largely welcome these changes. The addition of the numerous special rules developed throughout the eight years of the second edition’s existence adds a real and welcome richness to this third edition.

What Bolt Action offers.

Despite its historical setting, Bolt Action doesn’t offer an overly simulationist system, unlike something like Advanced Squad Leader. It provides a gaming experience similar to what Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition was, just without the lasers, heavy bolters, and Terminators.

Even though the miniatures are very faithful to historical accuracy, don’t expect to be able to play exact historical reenactments of the period in terms of detail. The Bolt Action system remains first and foremost a miniatures game, not a simulation.

Within this framework, however, it is very immersive to recreate squads that one might imagine could have existed. Assembling tanks and painting them in a style corresponding to the historical research you’ve gathered online is one of the pleasures of this game for history enthusiasts. But, you can also deviate from historical reality and let a little fantasy express itself in the choice of colors for painting these miniatures.

The major nations

The third edition offers five major playable nations. The statistics are valid until the release of the “Armies of…” for these nations. Each army supplement will provide updates by adding a plethora of possibilities and new options specific to each nation.

Germany

It’s by far the most present army, along with the Soviets, throughout the war and across all three periods of the game. With the German nation, you’ll never be short of enemies. Numerous armored vehicles exist for this army, and the tactical choices cover 100% of the possibilities. Whether you want to create specialists, veterans, regular armies, or an armored platoon, everything is possible.

English Nation

The British fought on various fronts, notably in the Libyan desert early in the war against Rommel’s troops. They also landed in Normandy and participated in the campaign of France. They went as far as Germany, following the Americans. Numerous options are possible, from special desert uniforms to British commandos, as well as armies from Canada or even East India. Regarding armored vehicles, the choice is much less extensive than what is available for the Germans. The British army excels in artillery and offers several different options depending on your army’s tactical choices, which gives it a particular ‘character’.

The Soviet Union

Do you fancy fielding dozens of squads and overwhelming your opponents with a numerous army of men ready to die for the motherland and the glory of communism?

The Soviet Union is for you. Beyond the modeling challenge that such a choice of nation entails. Like the Germans, the Soviets will be present in all periods of the war, which is enjoyable. The tanks will be interesting, with far more options than for the British, for example. Regarding special army rules, several choices that I would describe as cinematic have been made by the creators.

The United States

The United States will have a role to play at the end of the war. It’s an ideal choice if you’re approaching Bolt Action during the period of the Normandy landings and the campaign to take Berlin, or even Operation Market Garden. Equipped with a significant striking power thanks to its Sherman tank, which offers a wide variety of options, the US army is an interesting choice. You can also start your collection in an exotic theater, the Pacific, with the USMC and its specific vehicles.

Imperial Japan

Japan offers armies geared towards close combat. The optional rules for this army lean in that direction. Very exotic in their approach, some miniatures are bare-chested and armed with bamboo. It’s a different approach offered here by Bolt Action. There are relatively few armored vehicles, and their design has a certain ‘something’ different from what is offered in Europe or the USA. The issue with this type of army is the lack of historical opponents readily available in the Bolt Action rulebook.

Bolt Action game mechanics

The game mechanism relies on the activation of squads and vehicles, during the same turn, for both sides. You are constantly ‘in the action’ unfolding on the table. Each turn is a moment where you decide ‘who and what’ to activate, and especially ‘when’ to do it. The activation of a unit is linked to drawing colored order dice. The chain of command rule allows, for example, to activate several units at the same time without drawing these dice randomly. This is what gives Bolt Action its flavor. It’s what appealed to me and made me want to play game after game.

For shooting, close combat and their outcomes, wounds, or the effect of cover, everything is managed by the usual classic six-sided dice. Nothing exotic here: just a few bonuses/penalties depending on the situation, very easy to remember. After two introductory games, you will have gained enough experience to play Bolt Action fluidly and naturally. And since the specific rules for each side remain relatively subtle and simple, you can very easily switch from one nation to another. The statistics of your units and the movement of your vehicles are identical, regardless of the nation.

This mechanical approach makes the game naturally balanced, in an elegant and subtle way. I will come back to this in other articles on the subject.

Order dice

The activation of units during a turn is linked to drawing order dice from an opaque bag. Thus, the color of the die indicates which squad is activated. Each type of unit has six possible orders, and it is the player who chooses which type of order will be executed.

Fire

The Fire order allows a squad or a vehicle to fire at full power on a target.

Advance

The unit with an Advance order can move its tactical movement distance, which is six inches for foot units. It can then make a shot with a -1 penalty if a target presents itself.

Run

Units with the Run order double their tactical movement but cannot fire in return.

Ambush

Units with the Ambush order do not move and wait for the opportune moment to open fire on a target that passes into their zone. The Ambush order die can remain from one turn to the next.

Rally

The Rally order allows you to attempt to restore morale to a unit that has taken fire during previous turns. The men try to regain courage to get out of a desperate situation.

Down

This order can be given to a unit that does not yet have an order die for the turn. The unit attempts to go prone in order to benefit from light cover. The Down order can also be suffered in the case of the activation of a squad or vehicle taking enemy fire, if it fails a morale check.

The scenarios

Players will have the freedom to play several scenarios. In the core rulebook, a classic scenario drawing system exists, with:

Six different objectives
Two deployment zones
Three possible deployment types

This results in 36 possible scenario variations.

In addition to this, you can also add six “history” scenarios that allow you to play Bolt Action differently.

Of course, you can also try to recreate small historical moments by imagining or researching a specific action from World War II. The possibilities are enormous, and the sources of inspiration include history books, films, comic books, and documentaries.

Budget pour se lancer dans bolt action

Let’s talk about the thorny issue: the budget for this new game?

Warlord Games offers a rulebook, currently only in English, for around forty euros. If you just want to jump in without knowing which army to build, there are various solutions.

The Bolt Action starter set, which costs around fifty euros. This set contains:

2 small American and German forces,
a cardboard vehicle,
a plastic ruin and the reuse of the box as a bunker,
a small paper mat to create a small combat zone.

It’s ideal for testing the game at a low cost. The 2 small sets of miniatures to start a small German or US company are also a good starting point in the game.

For a budget of €112, there’s the Bolt Action Starter Set – Battle of the Bulge, which offers:

the rulebook in a very practical A5 format for transport,
2 small American and German forces in winter uniforms,
a US reconnaissance vehicle with two assembly options,
the order dice,
a ruin,
the template,
the PIN markers.

More recently, there’s the Bolt Action Starter Set – Band of Brothers (Third Edition), which offers 2 German and US transport vehicles, 2 small US and German forces, templates, PIN markers, a ruin, and a Band of Brothers book for €114.

BoltActionStarterSet_BandofBrothers_Third-Edition_01

If you have nothing, it’s a good entry point to start playing and introduce your friends.

Starter Army

With the army starter sets, you can expand your forces or get more seriously involved in the game. Expect to spend around 150 to 200 euros to create an army with several tactical options and a few vehicles and armored units. With the emergence of the third edition of the game, each new nation that gets its new army book is released with a new army starter set box, making it easy to start the army of the nation you desire.

Conclusion

I hope this presentation has made you want to try Bolt Action in the near future. The French release, normally scheduled for June or July 2025, should open the game to a wider French-speaking audience. If you are impatient and English scares you, the French Bolt Action Discord server, run by Benoist from the YouTube channel Wargame Miniature Tuto, allows you to access the French-speaking community and therefore discuss ‘rules points’ in French if needed. I would add that Benoist has started a very well-made video series to present the Bolt Action game rules in depth, and it will be a complement to this article to make you want to try this game.

Link to the publisher.

Useful link when starting here.