First Impressions of Bolt Action

One of my small German squads lies in wait for Alan's British...

Last week Dux Homunculorum and I were treated to a demo game of Bolt Action by Ian of War and Peace Games fame, and a great evening it was indeed.  After a few refreshing libations and a scrumptious feed of lamb at the hands of The Dutchess, we settled down to get into the game.

Ian put together a wonderful table of terrain and pitted me a German player defending against Alan's advancing Brits.  You can find a wonderfully erudite write up of the encounter at the Dux's blog here, which details the action in factual and non emotional language.  Pretty remarkable noting the evening witnessed my first win over the previously undefeated Dux Victori.  I'll treasure the memory for the aberration it undoubtedly was!

Brit Paras advance on my right - this did not end well...

Overall I quite enjoyed the game and found it very intuitive.  Despite walking in cold, by turn 4 onward the game flowed quickly with us running it ourselves (a testament to Ian's tuition, not our intellect!).  There were a few abstractions I found a little strange initially, but they certainly do keep the game moving.

I very much liked the order/activation system and its element of randomness and uncertainty, which keeps everyone on their toes and involved in the game.  Looking forward to a few more games and to Comrade James showing me the nuances of the game as I get the mechanics weighed off.

Overall, a fantastic evening! Many thanks indeed to Dux familia for the wonderful hospitality, and to Ian for all his effort on putting on a cracking game for us.