… Leutnants Evan and Ben are relieved from duty.

Ben – Evan and I were finally able to meet in Schaumburg Illinois at Adepticon and play some wargames together! We had a blast playing in the Bolt Action doubles event and had the pleasure of playing against some really awesome opponents. The majority of the 32 teams had stuck to the early war theme covering selectors from 1939 and 1940. Everyone’s armies looked great and some of the forces people brought were simply stunning. Each of the tables’ terrain was provided by a member of the Bolt Action community and again, they were out of this world to play on. The tables were a cut above other large event tables at Adepticon. Many even had small bits of scatter terrain which added to the suspension of disbelief that is so vital to my enjoyment of tabletop games.

Andrew and his crew from Chicago Dice did not disappoint. Evan and I knew our, decidedly historical and fluffy, platoon would be facing an uphill battle against anyone with armored vehicles. Our main anti-tank assets were our armored vehicles and without them we would be on the back-foot. As I had assumed, there were a lot of armored platoons represented at the event. While the tank and history nerd in me was super stoked to see the exotic early war toys, the gamer in me said “Evan, we may have a problem.” Our main saving grace was that we had 50 regular and 10 veteran infantry which would be a task for most forces to shift off of any objectives we had claimed. Additionally, Evan and I had decided before the event to enjoy our time playing the games and make the games as enjoyable as possible for our opponents (even if it meant just providing targets for them to shoot!) We did not want to be pushovers, but we were not out to play cut-throat competitively. Spoiler alert, we had a fantastic time playing with each of our opponents and while some of the games were close, we didn’t take first place.

Evan – First off, what a great event. I had a blast and everyone I interacted with was a pleasure to chat with. Secondly, I never did get any warm up games in (aside from a short narrative event on Thursday, but that wasn’t a true full scale game). So these were my first three games of Bolt Action. Personally it was a pretty high octane environment to learn in. I’ve dealt with the concept of “drinking from a firehose” before for so I’m no stranger to information overload. People brought some spectacular looking armies and I really enjoyed looking through all of them. Additionally, the boards were gorgeous and fun to play on. Now let me dig up some photos while Ben regales you with tales of our Bolt Action generalship.

Ben – For the game reviews, Evan and I split duties. I was responsible for remembering what occurred and Evan was the photographer. We will do our best to give a good general report but no promises.

Game One vs German Anti-Tank Platoon and Infantry Support Platoon

Game One was a modified game of sectors. The board was split into nine sections like a tic tac toe board. Each side’s forces started in opposing corners and the next zone on the long table edge. The objective was to get into our opponent’s two zones and keep them out of our own. Neutral zones were worth points but not as much as the opponent’s zones. It was a fun match against a pair of 88mm anti-tank guns and accompanying Pak 36 anti-tank guns. We got pounded by HE and we were able to work some flanks but our opponents were able to out maneuver us at the end of the game to secure a victory. My poor Panzerjager spent most of its first outing with several pins it could not shake. The terrain, miniatures, and opponents were excellent. I think I had two beverages through-out the game as I had to mourn the loss of my men on more than one occasion. I also learned to not listen to Evan’s advice for a frontal assault against an entrenched Pak nest. I knew it was a poor decision but I thought it would be an entertaining way to instruct Evan in the intricacies of Bolt Action. “Hey Evan, you’re going to learn by watching me touch the stove with the burner on high.”

Evan – Well this was it, my first true game of Bolt Action. We played on a lovely desert themed board with a village in the center, and a railroad track dominating our left flank. Despite our best efforts to work around the threat of a lot of AT guns they took their toll over the course of the game. To me the firing lanes our opponents chose to lock down made it very difficult to maneuver up the board. The end result was that we fell short of having enough men in enough sectors, while our opponents’ crafty use of some vehicles late in the game netted them the win. With some lessons learned after a fun game we turned our eyes to game two.

Game Two vs Polish troops in France

Ben – This game was notable as it was actually a historical match up of Polish forces who had fought in France against the Germans after being equipped by the French and British. The Poles had retreated to France after their defeat in the Polish Campaign and they were ready for pay back. We knew we were in for a fun game when our opponents Dave and Chris, dressed in legitimate Polish WWII uniforms, offered us some “life water” at the start of the game. What happened after our toast was, much to both teams’ pleasure, true life events. The mission was an interesting one where points were scored at the end of the game for current pins on units and number units killed. We took a dirty beating from our opponent’s armor and high explosive shells but damn if the board and miniatures weren’t a treat to play with. Chris and Dave made good tactical decisions and were able to throw out enough pins and put down enough Jerries to carry the day. Many laughs were had as tank turrets flew into trees in the French countryside. Dave and Chris were extremely fun to play against and I loved the passion they had and were willing to share about World War II. I knew we were gaming with the right people when Dave picked up one of my riflemen and asked about my miniature’s M40 tunics. I was happy to hear my color choices were re-enactor approved!

Evan – Despite the beating we took I had a lot of fun with this game. I primarily focused on the center while Ben took the flanks. I aided with my Panzer III on the right flank, but the arrival of a Char saw that entire flank turned which gave the enemy armor a clear push along my infantry line. Ultimately we lost 10 units in full, a true massacre. This was the game where I learned that AT is important, and that I virtually had none of it. A running gag of tank turrets of destroyed tanks being placed in trees had us laughing and the game was very enjoyable on an absolutely gorgeous table.

Game Three vs Double German Infantry Platoon

In game three we had the pleasure of playing against Craig and Kev. Both of them were long time gamers who were less than a year into their Bolt Action careers but clearly had a passion for the game. We were elated to learn they were also starting a website and battle report repository called Dice Hosers. We also had the pleasure of introducing them to the ever loved Wisconsin “favorite” beer, New Glarus Spotted Cow. The game goal was to capture the five objectives on the board. The central objective was in the Russian schoolhouse, and it became the pivotal objective of the game. Both sides grabbed the two objectives on their respective sides fairly quickly. Kev and Craig surged ahead with their kradschutzen motorcycles and captured the schoolhouse early on in the game. Both sides slugged it out back and forth. A heroic Pioneer assault resulted in many of my men being burnt up by a flame thrower. Kev also made a miraculous shot from his 75mm infantry gun landing a shell squarely on top of my Panzerjager I. This caused much rejoicing on both sides. Evan and I attempted a final push to our left flank with a Panzer III and an 8-rad armored car but it was too little too late. Our remaining infantry rushed towards the schoolhouse but were unable to recapture it. Our infantry was a mere three (!) inches short of contesting the schoolhouse. All in all, it was an excellent game to cap our day with. Kev and Craig were great opponents who clearly had a passion for gaming and Bolt Action.

Evan – By game three I was beginning to feel more comfortable with the rules and in my opinion we put up our best fight of the day in this game. Our opponents advanced up the center of the board to grab a center objective. Though we blunted this offensive it wasn’t enough to stop them from capturing it. This left us with the need to clear out an extra objective somewhere and we just weren’t able to finalize that. A great Eastern Front themed board made the game immersive and we all got a laugh from an observer hiding in (or on) a haystack.

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Ben – In the end we were chuffed to be awarded with the “Wooden Spoon Award” which is given to the team who comes in last place. If any teams were tied for score and place the organizers counted units lost as a tiebreaker. Our 32nd place award came as no surprise to us as we had lost all three games and we had thrown our units into the meat grinder to achieve our debacles. Osprey games was kind enough to provide us with a copy of “Undaunted Normandy” as a prize. Andrew and several others spoke very highly of the game and Evan will be sure to do an article on it.

We then came up with the hair brained idea of Iron Dice sponsoring the 2024 Adepticon Bolt Action Doubles “Wooden Spoon” award. Not only would we be happy to contribute to a fantastic event but it would spread the love of wargaming. To us that is a win-win. It is written down Evan we have to do it!

It should go without saying that due to unsatisfactory performance in the Invasion of France division headquarters has decided Leutnants Ben and Evan be transferred. We received our orders and we will be shipped off to be in the first wave of Operation Barbarossa… whenever that secret operation happens (it’s only 1940 after all).

Again, I cannot say it enough, Evan and I had a blast enjoying great company, a beverage, and rolling dice. Andrew and his crew put on a heck of an event. It was smooth, well thought out, and generously supported. Special shout out to Osprey Games for the copy of Undaunted Normandy!