Bolt Action and the SCW Set up and deployment
We played my third game of Bolt Action last weekend. The some of the forces involved looked like troops from the Spanish Civil War, some were stand ins that looked close. We used trucks and the very basic rules for rifles, SMG's automatic rifles, but used no crew served weapons nor AFV's. Since I don't have a force of WW2 troops to use just yet, I decided to use the SCW castings and some proxies for the game. I looked through the rules and it should be relatively simple to come up with a few extra rules for the SCW forces over time. Personally I wanted a tactical battle not driven by the biggest gun but by fire and movement.
Greg, who had introduced me to the Bolt Action last month at a local game shop (The Time Machine, in Manchester, CT), was the Nationalist player, while I utilized the Republican troops.
We set up the table with a lot of hills and small copses of trees to break up line of sight. I got to use some of my favorite terrain, ruins of ancient temples, courtesy of a pet store find several years ago. We thought the terrain would allow for some maneuvering without always being a target. This worked out well, and as there was little weaponry that could shoot beyond the rifle range it added to the flavor of the action. We rated most of the units as inexperienced, with one unit on each side rated as regular; we felt the volatility of the morale could make the game more unpredictable.
The game set up included a column of supply wagons moving to a town in the center of the table, escorted by a squad of a Carlists and a squad of Spanish regulars. There was, in game terms, a 'small unit' of Carlists (the column command) that occupied the village where the supplies were to be taken for storage.
The left flank of the Nationalist advance included truck borne squad of soldiers. They were to advance and keep the enemy from threatening the village from the flank.
There was a reinforcing squad of infantry equipped with the latest in coal scuttle helmet technology and a machine gun that was mounted on the truck to hold the long flank on the right side of the Nationalist flank. This unit not only needed to control the flank, it needed to traverse over half the game table to cover the village's flank! The truck was deemed to be able to transport the squad as well.
The Republicans had four squads, one of Assaultos which was attempting to attack the village's left flank, at least with fire. The center had a unit of Republican Army regulars in a ruin near the town, and a unit of Nacional Garde in a set of woods in the center.
Near the right flank of the Garde unit but deployed out in the open were some International Brigade members whose car had overturned after falling prey to a ditch dug in the road. In effect, they were the most forward of the Republican units but the position was unenviable.
Greg, who had introduced me to the Bolt Action last month at a local game shop (The Time Machine, in Manchester, CT), was the Nationalist player, while I utilized the Republican troops.
We set up the table with a lot of hills and small copses of trees to break up line of sight. I got to use some of my favorite terrain, ruins of ancient temples, courtesy of a pet store find several years ago. We thought the terrain would allow for some maneuvering without always being a target. This worked out well, and as there was little weaponry that could shoot beyond the rifle range it added to the flavor of the action. We rated most of the units as inexperienced, with one unit on each side rated as regular; we felt the volatility of the morale could make the game more unpredictable.
The game set up included a column of supply wagons moving to a town in the center of the table, escorted by a squad of a Carlists and a squad of Spanish regulars. There was, in game terms, a 'small unit' of Carlists (the column command) that occupied the village where the supplies were to be taken for storage.
The left flank of the Nationalist advance included truck borne squad of soldiers. They were to advance and keep the enemy from threatening the village from the flank.
There was a reinforcing squad of infantry equipped with the latest in coal scuttle helmet technology and a machine gun that was mounted on the truck to hold the long flank on the right side of the Nationalist flank. This unit not only needed to control the flank, it needed to traverse over half the game table to cover the village's flank! The truck was deemed to be able to transport the squad as well.
The Republicans had four squads, one of Assaultos which was attempting to attack the village's left flank, at least with fire. The center had a unit of Republican Army regulars in a ruin near the town, and a unit of Nacional Garde in a set of woods in the center.
Nacional Garde in a small woods near the table center.
The Assaultos on the Republican right flank.
Near the right flank of the Garde unit but deployed out in the open were some International Brigade members whose car had overturned after falling prey to a ditch dug in the road. In effect, they were the most forward of the Republican units but the position was unenviable.
The International Brigade Members duck into cover.
So with the table set, the troops deployed and the objectives agreed upon, the activation dice were put in a cup for drawing. Next time, the game.
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