After warming up with Combat Patrol on Thursday, AdeptiCon weekend kicked into high gear with Friday’s Bolt Action Doubles event. Ben and I knew we weren’t likely to defend our Best Painted award from last year, so we came into this event knowing our best shot at another award was for our Commonwealth forces to perform well on the table. We were confident in our list, but hadn’t had a chance to play any practice games so we were about to find out if our theory-crafting was on the mark.

Our Army – 1400pts, 18 Order Dice

Platoon #1, 1940-1941 British Armoured Brigade, 685pts, 8 Order Dice

Vickers Light Tank Mk VI C – Reg (85) Armor 7, Light Autocannon with co-ax MMG Command Vehicle + Armoured Platoon Commander (30)	115
Vickers Light Tank Mk VI C – Reg Armor 7, Light Autocannon with co-ax MMG	85
Vickers Light Tank Mk VI C – Reg Armor 7, Light Autocannon with co-ax MMG	85
Infantry Section – Reg 10 men with Rifles Manpower of the Empire	0
Marmon Herrington Armoured Car Mk I – Reg Armor 7, Twin MGG turret, Recce	80
A10 Cruiser Mk IIA – Reg Armor 8, Light AT gun with co-ax MMG, Hull MMG	135
A10 Cruiser Mk IIA – Reg Armor 8, Light AT gun with co-ax MMG, Hull MMG	135
30 CWT Truck – Reg (35) Pintle MMG (15)	50

Platoon #2, 1940-1942 Commonwealth Infantry Brigade, 715pts, 10 Order Dice

Second Lieutenant – Reg (50) Extra Man (10)	60
Infantry Section – Reg (80) 8 men 7 rifles, 1 LMG (20)	100
Infantry Section – Reg (80) 8 men 7 rifles, 1 LMG (20)	100
Artillery Observer – Reg	0
Infantry Section – Reg 8 men with rifles	80
Medium Mortar – Reg (50) Spotter (10)	60
Boys Anti-Tank Rifle Team – Reg	30
Light Artillery – Reg (55) 4-man crew, Gun shield, 25-pdr AT shell Spotter (10)	65
Light Artillery – Reg (55) 4 man crew, Gun shield, 25-pdr AT shell Spotter (10)	65
Matilda Mk II – Reg Armor 9, Light AT gun with co-ax MMG	155

Game 1
Sectors vs Jason & Wyatt (Italy)

Our Opponent’s Army

Ben and I had the pleasure of playing against the father-son duo of Jason and Wyatt at Doubles last year when we ran our winter Soviets versus their Belgians. This year they brought Italians to face off against our Commonwealth army. Wyatt ran a Tank Platoon with two M11/39 Medium Tanks (Armor 8, Light AT Gun, dual MMG turret), an M13/40 (Armor 8, Light AT Gun, dual hull MMGs), a 10-man Veteran squad of Bersaglieri with an Inexperienced Truck Transport, and an Autoblinda 40 armored car (Armor 7, dual turret MMGs with a rear-facing MMG, Recce). Jason had a Regular 1st Lt, two 10-man Regular infantry squads with an LMG in each, a 10-man Inexperienced Colonial Infantry Section, an MMG team, a Medium Mortar, and an AA truck with a Super-Heavy AT gun.

The Mission

The first mission of the day was Sectors, where players scored points for having units in each of the “neutral” sectors of the table, and additional points for having units in their opponents’ deployment sectors. However, each team could only score a sector if they had a unit from each player’s force in the zone, so it required teams to carefully coordinate their troops to ensure they were scoring points. This twist made for an interesting take on a well-known mission that highlighted the fun of playing with a partner.

Game Highlights

• After some typical advances and pot shots in Turn 1 as each army moved out of their corner deployment zones, things heated up at the top of Turn 2 when the Artillery Strike Ben’s Forward Observer called in hit – and hit hard. The Artillery Barrage wiped out a 10 man rifle section, destroyed the Truck carrying the Bersaglieri, took out a Medium Mortar team, and most importantly destroyed the Super-Heavy AT gun. Ben’s rolling was red hot and Jason and Wyatt were quickly on the back foot.
• A back-and-forth tank battle erupted in the middle of the board as Ben’s Matilda and my Light Tanks engaged the Italian Medium armor. Both sides suffered losses, but when my A10 arrived via Outflank there were too many targets for the Italians, and Ben and I were able to take the upper hand.
• My Light Tanks and Wyatt’s Autoblinda played cat-and-mouse around a building. Despite multiple Autocannon shots into the sides and rear of the armored car, it managed to survive all the way until the final turn when I was finally able to knock it out of commission.
• After suffering heavy losses from artillery, Jason and Wyatt lacked enough units to get into scoring positions so Ben and I were able to secure the win after Turn 5.

Result – Win

Game 2
FUBAR vs Craig & Kevin (Germany)

Our Opponent’s Army

Craig and Kevin had one of many Early-War German armies. They both used the 1940 – The Battle of France selector. The first Platoon had a Veteran 2nd Lieutenant, two squads of Reg Heer infantry with LMGs and ATGs, a Veteran Pioneer squad with a Flamethrower, a big squad of Veteran Brandenburgers, an MMG team, Light Howitzer, an MMG Motorcycle, and a Truck transport. The second Platoon had a Reg 2nd Lt, three Regular Heer infantry squads, a Veteran Pioneer squad with a Flamethrower, a Light Howitzer, an MMG Motorcycle, a Panzer IV Ausf A (Armor 8, Light Howitzer with co-ax MMG, hull MMG), and a Heavy Field Car transport.

Craig and Kevin’s list had a lot of versatility but was relatively light on dedicated Anti-Tank options, so Ben and I were hopeful that our combined seven armored vehicles would be able to press the advantage.

The Mission

For our second game, we played the FUBAR mission. In this mission one player from each team deployed their entire army between 8 and 18 inches from their side, leaving only 12 inches between the opposing forces. The other player’s entire force arrived via First Wave. Once the deployed units were on the table each side suffered some additional Pins, some killed NCOs, and a few units were ordered Down for the first Turn.

Teams scored victory points for destroying enemy units, as well as one victory point for every three Pins on enemy units at the end of the game. The team that had fewer total Pins also scored one additional VP.

Game Highlights

• Craig and Kevin set up the bulk of their force on our left flank, leaving the right side of the board open for my Light Tanks to advance to engage the Panzer IV.
• Ben’s artillery observer had another successful game, throwing out a ton of pins on the clustered Germans. This forced many of their units to Rally, slowing their advance.
• The table had a lot of trees and sections of forest, which made it difficult for the German infantry and transports to move into advantageous positions. Meanwhile, our armored vehicles continued their approach, keeping the Germans on their heels.
• We made it a priority to keep the German elites (Brandenburgers and Veteran Pioneers with Flamethrowers) far enough from our units to limit their effectiveness. By focusing fire and keeping them heavily pinned, we successfully prevented them from closing the distance and doing serious damage.
• My Light Ranks and the Panzer IV exchanged fire throughout the game, but neither side was able to eliminate the other’s armor, causing the right flank to be primarily a stalemate.
• Ultimately we were able to eliminate a few more units than our opponents, securing our second win for the day.

Result – Win

Game 3
Combined Arms vs Andy & Kurt (Commonwealth/LRDG)

Our Opponent’s Army

Andy and Kurt brought a mix of British Commonwealth and LRDG forces. Andy’s 1940-1942 Commonwealth Infantry Brigade included a Reg 2nd Lt, five squads of five Regular riflemen, a free squad of 10 riflemen (Manpower of the Empire), and three A10 Cruiser Mk IIAs (Armor 8, Light AT Gun with co-ax MMG, hull MGG). Kurt used the Perhaps a Bit of Piracy selector and brought seven LRDG trucks, all Vet. There was a Pilot Car with twin Vickers K LMGs, four Gun Trucks each with a pintle MMG, a pintle twin Vickers K, and an AT Rifle, a fifth Gun Truck with a pintle MMG and pintle twin Vickers K, and one Support Truck with a rear-facing Light AT Gun and a forward-facing twin Vickers K.

Ben and I anticipate that this third and final game of the day would be a close one – and we were right! Andy and Kurt’s carefully-constructed force seemed to have a solution to everything we could throw at them. The sheer volume of machine gun fire from the gun trucks was an immediate concern, coupled with Andy’s swarm of infantry squads supported by Tanks meant that Ben and I would have our hands full from the start.

The Mission

The final mission of the day was Combined Arms. There were five objectives on the table – one in the center and one in each of the four corners, 12″ from the edges. Whichever team controlled more objectives at the end of the game was the winner. In order to control an objective both players on a team had to have a unit within 6″ of the objective.

Similar to Sectors from Game 1, this mission required teams to work together in order to capture/contest objectives. This emphasis on team play was great and made for fun interplay between teammates.

Game Highlights

• The center objective was placed on a large, rocky hill in the middle of the table. All four of us anticipated that the game would hinge on which side was able to control that hill.
• Each side was quickly able to capture the two objectives on our respective sides of the table, slowly building to a scramble for the center.
• Kurt’s trucks made good advantage of their Hit and Run special rule, allowing them to make an escape move after being given an Advance order. They were darting back and forth across the table to avoid incoming fire.
• Andy’s mass of infantry slowly made their way toward the center objective. The big question was whether Kurt would be able to bring up his trucks to get within 6″ of the objective.
• As is often the case in doubles games, time management was a big factor in this game. It took us nearly two hours to play through the first two turns. At the top of Turn 3, it looked like Ben and I were in a strong position, but the LRDG still had a few tricks up their sleeves.
• With a desperate mad dash in the closing minutes of the game, Kurt’s trucks converged on the center objective under a hail of fire from my and Ben’s forces. We were able to knock out a few, but one was able to sneak just within 6″ of the center objective, effectively contesting it.
• The game ended with a close-fought draw. Each side controlled two objectives and the center objective was contested.

Result – Draw

Final Thoughts

Doubles certainly lived up to the hype! 32 teams, 64 players, and some of the most fun you can have playing Bolt Action. The Early War theme made for some really interesting and thematic forces. It was great seeing so many people embracing the optional, but highly encouraged, theme. The missions introduced fun twists and put a big emphasis on teams playing together. The Bolt Action community continues to be one of the best in wargaming and it’s exciting to see new players show up each year. As always, huge credit to Andrew and Tom for putting on such a well-run event, despite the large number of players. They really had things figured out.

When all was said and done, Ben and I were very excited to learn that our 4th place Overall finish was enough to secure us the Best Allies award! We’re already putting together plans for a Mid-War force for next year and hope to see everyone back at AdeptiCon in 2024.