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Bolt Action Ordo League Interest: Jan 2020


Bosco

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I am interested in running a Bolt Action league in Jan 2020 at the Ordo clubhouse, likely something relatively light and introductory like an escalation league capped off with a tournament if there is interest, possibly run something more involved in the summer/fall if folks want more. 

I will edit this post with more details later, but wanted to ask potentially interested parties to post here so we can figure if this has enough interest to run with it and also let people plan to take advantage of any holiday sales that may become available when the time comes.  Please reply below if interested, no need to commit to a given faction, etc. at this time.

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15 hours ago, Burk said:

THIS DOG WILL HUNT!

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1 hour ago, Brother Glacius said:

Any particular theatre in mind? My Italian Bersagilieri are ready to go. For me though, it really depends on which day it is. Tuesdays are just bad for me. 😞

Unfortunately, I was planning for Tuesday nights since that's the better of the two standard Ordo days for my schedule. Hadn't considered a specific theater really since it would potentially limit people's choices more than I wanted to for a first try.

 

4 minutes ago, scotthartman said:

Have been wanting to play some Bolt Action for awhile. I am in.

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29 minutes ago, Ish said:

Not that I have the time to pick-up another game, but out of curiosity (and an unhealthy addiction for buying models) what’s the “default” point value for a game of Bolt Action?

Kinda tempted to add some British paras to my stack of painting projects.

1k points is the standard game in most circles, some start to creep into the 1250-1500 range, but then you're potentially trying to justify multiple detachments (force orgs) and can change the balance of the game.

The starter army boxes/kits are a decent deal, giving you 1k out of the gate. I just picked up the British Airborne army off miniature market (~$66, one of the cheapest) last month. It is worth looking into the rules a bit before deciding on a faction; some are expected to be vets (harder to kill but higher cost dramatically reduces troop count) or have thematic limitations on their available teams/equipment. In the case of British Airborne they're supposed to all be vets and have drastically limited vehicle support options.  But those models do look sweet...

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I agree with checking out various armies you may be interested in. Of course going for models you think are cool works as well. BA is fairly balanced but some specific army sets are quite limited, for example Dad's Army is very limited British. That said you can make most things work.

For a general review of what different army lists are available and what you might fit into a regular army check out Easy Army website, https://boltaction.easyarmy.com/PlatoonSelector.aspx

The website is old and clunky but the rules are current and shows you exactly what each army list has for options.

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I’m just a massive fanboy for the British military. A game’s rules could say that one player only gets a single Tommy with a half-loaded Lee-Enfeild, a rusty bayonet, and scurvy; and the other player gets an entire Waffen SS regiment...  I’d still pick the British.

Although, the prospect of playing Dad’s Army is also very appealing. No starter set bundle deal and more expensive miniatures, but it would give me an excuse to shout “They don’t like it up ‘em! No, sir, they don’t like it up ‘em!”

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3 hours ago, Ish said:

... Although, the prospect of playing Dad’s Army is also very appealing. No starter set bundle deal and more expensive miniatures...

Unfortunately, that is the case with the more niche factions: no plastic base infantry.  I have an all-metal Aussie army that was definitely a purchase more of interest than need and easily outweighs my other BA armies combined, but the appeal of an army of Paul Hogans jumping out of the weeds to play knifey-spooney was too great to resist.

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1 hour ago, Bosco said:

Unfortunately, that is the case with the more niche factions: no plastic base infantry.  I have an all-metal Aussie army that was definitely a purchase more of interest than need and easily outweighs my other BA armies combined, but the appeal of an army of Paul Hogans jumping out of the weeds to play knifey-spooney was too great to resist.

Unless I'm very wrong, I think all I'd need is the Starter Army set, which is a bunch of plastic Tommy Atkins in their European theater uniforms, a plastic Cromwell, and some field artillery. Add to that the Dad's Army set of special characters. The tank and the heavy guns wouldn't fit in with the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon, the generic infantry would be perfect... and all for about $200 USD.

On the other hand, I still have a Orc army, a Space Marine army, an Anglo-Saxon army, and a Viking army that need my attention. Plus I don't really have any time to actually play. C'est la vive.

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On 9/26/2019 at 4:40 PM, Ish said:

Unless I'm very wrong, I think all I'd need is the Starter Army set, which is a bunch of plastic Tommy Atkins in their European theater uniforms, a plastic Cromwell, and some field artillery. Add to that the Dad's Army set of special characters. The tank and the heavy guns wouldn't fit in with the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon, the generic infantry would be perfect... and all for about $200 USD.

On the other hand, I still have a Orc army, a Space Marine army, an Anglo-Saxon army, and a Viking army that need my attention. Plus I don't really have any time to actually play. C'est la vive.

But...but....Limeys with GUNS!!!!

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I own several armies, and I was super happy to have my all metal Italian army after putting together plastic germans and brits. The plastics are a PITA. Especially the older stuff. I've got some plastic airborne from the latest starter that I need to put together so maybe that will be better, but ugh, some of the other plastics are just so tough..very limited how you can pose arms and trying to fit the guns in there is almost impossible at times. Don't knock the metals. And for metals, the prices aren't bad either.

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On 9/29/2019 at 6:16 PM, Brother Glacius said:

I own several armies, and I was super happy to have my all metal Italian army after putting together plastic germans and brits. The plastics are a PITA. Especially the older stuff. I've got some plastic airborne from the latest starter that I need to put together so maybe that will be better, but ugh, some of the other plastics are just so tough..very limited how you can pose arms and trying to fit the guns in there is almost impossible at times. Don't knock the metals. And for metals, the prices aren't bad either.

I've just finished assembling the newer US Army infantry and found they were MUCH better than the previous version where they had all the guns separate from the arms. Less variety, but generally easier build experience and generally a more consistent result.  The few British Airborne I've built were similarly better.

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I would be interested in playing.  Currently most of my stuff is the Pacific theater and Burma.  I have a force of British Chindits, Japanese Army, and US Marines.  I've been looking at some of the European theater sets cause they are more common match ups.  I think it depends on my schedule, but I've been wanting to play more Bolt Action lately so that would be great.  I've been playing Infinity on Sundays but I'm also could make some Tuesday games.

 

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Looking like we'll have the players to get this rig rollin' so I better get to work.

I'll draft the league rules/framework and post them here for feedback, etc. If there are any rules in the game that are commonly adjusted in league play that you're aware of, please let me know.  At this time I am not planning to do a theater/campaign-specific setting, any army should be usable since we're looking to build player-base/interest.

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I don't have much experience with tournament /leagues but I the restrictions I've seen dealt with theater and unit restrictions.  Some of the theater lists are only balanced really with other same theater or time frame.  I don't know if thats practical for a local club game with people bringing what they have.  I've seen restrictions mostly on what types of armored vehicles and heavy weapons can be included.  Some forces have limited armor and anti tank options (especially early war), so facing a later war heavy unit might be annoying. I haven't looked over every army list but I saw one tournament that had a restriction on flame throwers and some special troops. Maybe just starting with a time frame and an idea is if everyone is using a generic/basic army list (like the army lists from the main rulebook)  or if they can use a more specialized lists found in the individual national army books. I like the options and some of the unique abilities in the individual army books but I also think that this is the area where there might be balance issues.

I also think that how the scenarios are scored can make a big difference. If majority of points come from completing the mission objective this might also help balance things out. But honestly I haven't played enough though to have a really strong opinion. Just a couple of thoughts that I hope might be helpful. Plus it will give me an excuse to pick up another army box.

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I went back to some of the Warlord Bolt Action forums to try and find a thread on someone asking advice on league set up for a local club.  I haven't found it yet but I did come across this after a quick search of typical guidelines.

The typical tournament setup reads something like this:
1000 points
up to two generic reinforced selector (armies of x books only)
no named characters
no experimental units (planes etc)
no tank platoons
no theatre selectors

Its from a conversation about tournament problems with people using units and army lists from different theater books.  The basic stance from Warlord was that the theater books were intended to add flavor to a themed oriented game and were not intended to be balanced with other theater books. I hope this is helpful, I found a good conversation about club league advice on a Bolt Action forum awhile back but I can't find it yet.  When I do I will post a link.

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Please feel free to reply to this thread with any comments/concerns, this is a draft of the league rules/format. If you can quote the specific sections outlined below in any comments, all the better.

 

My intent for this league is to serve as a friendly escalation format to introduce a new game system to the Ordo Fanaticus community. 

  • I’ve found Bolt Action to be a relatively affordable alternative to 40k with a lightweight rules system and generally familiar game mechanics and saw an opportunity to facilitate game play between potentially interested members.

 

Proposed points schedule by week-of date:

  • Jan 5-Jan 11: 500 points
  • Jan 12-Jan 18: 600 points
  • Jan 19-Jan 25: 700 points
  • Jan 26-Feb 1: 800 points
  • Feb 2-Feb 8: 900 points
  • Feb 9-Feb 15: 1000 points
  • Feb 16-Feb 22: 1000 points

 

Games are not required to be played at the Ordo clubhouse or on Tuesday nights; scheduling for another location or day/night is allowed, but games should be reported to the clubhouse league tracker or posted in the league thread on this forum.

  • Scenarios are to be the basic Battle Scenarios from the main rulebook; the scenario to be played will be announced at the start of each week of play on the forums in the league thread.
  • Players can agree to play another scenario as long as both players are comfortable doing so and agree to do so beforehand so both players can adjust their lists accordingly. 
  • Game Scoring will be outlined at the start of each week.

 

Players should declare their prefered faction/nation prior to the start of the league for general reference, but may change platoon lists from week-to-week as they please.

  • Eg. A British Army player could field a Reinforced Platoon from Armies of Great Britain one week and then field a different British Army platoon from another campaign book if desired in another week. 
  • Whenever possible, players should also declare their orders dice color to avoid confusion when randomly drawing order dice from a bag to determining activation order during the game.
  • I will try and have some alternative colored sets of dice to be made available for use at the clubhouse in the event that players have matching color of orders dice on a given week.

 

Players are encouraged to play as many different opponents as they can over the course of the league, ideally arranging games in advance via the forums or any other resource they’re comfortable with.

There is no restrictions on platoon/theater selector, but all armies should only be built from a single platoon list.

  • Generic Reinforced Platoons from the respective army books are encouraged, but not required.
  • Multiple platoons are not allowed unless a player is unable to field the game points level in a single platoon from their army collection.
  • This is intended to encourage thematic gameplay and avoid the complications of multiple tanks or similar issues seen in competitive lists.

Units should be selected from a single source as listed from their army or campaign book where the platoon being used is defined.

  • Universally available units are allowed per their rules which must be made available to all players accordingly.
  • Tank platoons are not allowed.
  • Experimental units or Named characters are not allowed.

Players are encouraged to avoid any ‘beardy’ or WAAC lists (Japan bamboo spear hordes, multiple flamethrowers, etc.); the league is intended to be fun and introductory for both new and experienced players.

  • If you’re bringing what you believe to be a strong list, please let your opponent know well in advance if possible to let them try and plan accordingly.

 

The only rule I can think of I want to amend/change for the league concerns artillery crew taking up the entire transport capacity when being towed (p.117 of the compact rule book VEHICLES:TOWING GUNS) and instead have them only consume the capacity equal to their crew count if the vehicle capacity is greater (A US Army 2&½ ton truck towing a 4-crew gun would still be able to fill the remaining 14  (of 18) person capacity per the normal transport rules).

IF you are aware of any other rules that defy reason in the standard game, please let me know and I will list them here for feedback.

 

I will potentially have a couple armies available for interested parties to use (I must insist these remain at the Ordo clubhouse if they are available and their use be discussed/approved beforehand) if someone is not yet ready to buy into the game system (estimated $200 for a 1000 point army and all involved rules, etc.). 

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I'll be playing ze Germans. Still figuring out which platoon selection but I'm leaning towards 1944-45 Holding the West Wall because it includes all of the unit types that I am interested in. the Battle of France has better options for the models that I actually have already. 🙂 Dreams and reality, have to go with reality for now. Cheers

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3 hours ago, Acer circinatum said:

  This sounds great! Brother Glacius told me about this and I had check it out. I’m in.

  I have several armies and could field ally or axis if we care about that being balanced. Lately my passion has been minor Axis with Bulgaria. But, I’ve got Finns, Japanese, Russians, US, French, and Norwegians. 

Sweet! Thanks to @Brother Glacius for pointing you at this thread!

I'm not too worried about balance of Axis/Allies forces this time through, so I recommend playing whatever faction/flavor you're interested in.

We're likely topping out at 1k points for the end of the league this season so anything you can field in that range is welcome.  Painted/based armies are encouraged, but won't be required.

We'll have a mix of experience among players in the league and being a first-run of this game system at Ordo I'm encouraging players to aim for lists which are more friendly than optimized since we're hoping to build community for future leagues/games/tournaments.

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