"Bolt Action" Review

 

Bolt Action, from warlord games, is a table top game meant for the platoon and Squad level play.  One of the most popular games in the world for World War 2 table top play.  I wonder how it will rate.  Let us see.

My Reviews are going to be graded like classes in College; A,B,C,D,E.  At the end we will get a GPA which will determine if this game makes distinguished honor roll, honor roll, passes or fails.  A good game should at least pass with a C average. 

The categories I will be grading are 1) Presentation/Product/Package, 2) Game Rules/Mechanics, 3) Historical/fantasy Cannon Accuracy, 4) Cost/time, 5) Good Time and Memories

1 Presentation/Product/Package.  I mean this is a warlord games product.  How can it not be great?  The miniatures are easy to put together and paint.  Personally I love them.  The book is pretty the starter boxes come with everything you need to play.  There is very little to say bad about Bolt Action in this Category.

A

2 Game Rules/Mechanics.  My favorite mechanic of Bolt Action is the Order Dice.  Instead of You Go/I Go.  You draw colored dice from a bad and that randomly determines who is activated.  This adds some tension to the game and constantly has you reevaluating your strategy.  There are some charts that bog down the QRS in the back.  So you can go from chart to chart which if you are new and not memorized can slow down play.  I do like that there is some differences for different weapons from ranges to hit dice.  But for some hardcore gamers it is probably not enough of chrome.  The mechanics work well together

A-

3 Historical Accuracy.  If you are into tournament play with a ww2 flavor.  Great game!  If you are into recreating historical moments...well this might not scratch that itch.  Though there is some chrome on some weapon types it does little to differentiate between the M1 vs the K98.  Semi-auto vs bolt action.  The M1 should be able to fire more frequently but it doesn't.  They are the same dice rolls in the game.  Which balances tournament forces but does not accurately recreate combat.  This is a small example but one of many.

B-

4 Cost/time.  To build up 2 forces to play on the table top, with all the terrain and auxiliary forces you need.  Bolt Action is one of the more costly games for the table top.  Though a game of Bolt Action is easily playable in the 1-2 hour window.  The 2 sides balance out for an average score

C+

5 Good Times.  Bolt Action has always given us a good time.  To be honest we never had a bad game.  Every game has been satisfying.

B

The Grades are in and the GPA is a 3.14.  Which is a great game to play.  We recommend it!