Wow… What a wonderful day of WWII Bolt Action! Saturday the 5th of August saw Incom Gaming’s first ever Bolt Action event. It was three two-hour long games, using non-historical armies, in other words, they did not have to be historically accurate. This event was aimed at newbies and established players alike, so many armies were yet to be painted, but that did not stop the enjoyment.
For the first game “Top Secret”, Allied forces were paired against Axis as best as possible. This scenario was all about speed. They had to get the objective in the middle of the table off their own board edge by the end of the game. Only Infantry units could carry the objective so keeping them safe was imperative.
The second game, pairing was swiss style, heist scoring players paired up to the lowest (hence the non-historical). This scenario was “Demolition”. Each side have a base that the enemy had to get in contact with to destroy, at the end of a game turn if this was achieved (capture the flag), they won! This game combined high mobility with some hard-hitting power to strike at the enemy base, yet leaving a portion of your force to guard your own from enemy attack.
In the final game scenario “meeting Engagement”, it was all about destroying your opponent’s force. You did not have to destroy them, just wipe out two more units than your enemy had yours. This was a fantastic way to finish the day as most people like to have a good fight.
After game two when we broke for lunch, everyone had a chance to vote for the “Coolest Army”, so those who managed to get paint on things put them on display. I say coolest, because not everyone is a master painter but have a great looking army, due to theme or conversions or in fact, they are painted well. This was also great for fresh players to see what they could achieve with a bit of time and effort, again, not needing to be a Golden Daemon winner either. This was scored by the players 1st, 2nd & 3rd choice, 3, 2 & 1 points respectively.
So, the event was over and the results were in. Scoring was done of Tournament Points TP then Casualty Points CP. TP’s 3 for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for loosing. CP’s were basically that points value of enemy units entirely destroyed. These were only use for tie breaking, where the player who killed more won. So here came the fun part… Prizes! Well everyone walked away with a free sprue which contained a section on soldiers, there were several to choose from, US Airborne, British Airborne, US Marine or German Grenadiers. So, it was worth playing just for that. But we had more prizes.
Mel was awarded the wooden spoon of defeat. It was Mel’s first games of 2nd Ed rules and he had a fun time and is already planning of his next army.
Jack came away in 3rd place! Again, I think he is already working on his next force.
Dale came 2nd (yes, I did buy a ticket so I could play) and I have started my next army.
And Robert came 1st, his first games of Bolt Action too which event he was surprised with. And yes, he wants another game ASAP! This just goes to show, even a new player can win!
The last prize was for the Coolest army, and James won hands down with his French force. Everyone agreed that with was not only painted well, but the modelling and force composition was great too.
So that was it. I think everyone had an enjoyable time and the feedback so far has been great. Incom Gaming is planning another Bolt Action event for the end of November “Winter Offensive”, so keep an eye out for that. And if anyone reading this is interested in giving the game a go, then ask a t the shop and we can arrange a demo game. But be warned, you will get hooked easily.
I would just like to say a massive thank you to Incom Gaming for running the event. To Warlord Games for helping with prize support. Also, I would like to thank Matt and my wife Catrina for helping to get all the scenery for the tables ready in time. And to everyone who came to the event and made it what it was.
Thanks for reading, and please keep an eye out for the next event by checking out the Event page! Don't forget to follow Incom Gaming on Facebook, Twitter, and check back here regularly for more news, events and all the latest products.
