Back again as Head TO one last time for two events at AdeptiCon 2024. Bolt Action Combat Patrol was first event I ever ran back at AdeptiCon 2018 and I am proud to say that it has evolved from humble beginnings into a 40-player tournament with it’s own unique format. The high-level event rules are:

• Three, 90-minute games played on a 4’x4′ table
• 450pts, 8 Order Dice max
• Theater and Campaign units allowed
• Vehicle Armor 8 max
• HE 2″ max
• Max of 3 vehicles
• No free units or equipment of any kind
• No Forward Air or Artillery Observers

You can review the full Combat Patrol rules and the 2024 mission packet:

With the event format in mind, let’s take a look at the armies, the missions and how it all broke down.

The Armies

This year’s event theme was The End of the Beginning: 1942-43. As with previous years, the theme was not required, but highly encouraged. We are not in the business of stopping someone’s hobby and if they wanted to play Late-War US or Battle of France Germans, they could! Much to our thrill, the overwhelming majority of players went “on theme”. It was amazing to see so many Mid-War forces. Of the 40 players that entered the event, 30 brought a Mid-War army:

The forces ranged far and wide. Everything from Case Blue to the Invasion of Sicily. We had Bielski Partisans and Darby’s Rangers. USMC on Guadalcanal and 201st Guards. This variety is one of the reasons that we allow all Campaign and Theater books at the event, it really let’s players find inspiration and run with it.

Game 1
Search & Destroy

I took inspiration from a SAGA scenario where in order to capture an objective, you had to destroy it. Search & Destroy featured three objectives across the middle of the table. These objectives would move in a random direction at the start of each turn and the objectives had to be assaulted and destroyed in close combat to be captured. Each objective was a “Vet” with two “wounds”. So players had to score two hits on a 5+ in one round of combat to destroy the objective. Players scored 1 VP for destroying an enemy unit and 3 VP for capturing an objective. This was a twist on the typical objective capture rules and promoted aggressive and risky play.

Players enjoyed this mission and it’s been all positive feedback so far! I’d like to try a version on a full 6×4′ table with five objectives randomly moving around with 1,000pt forces. Currently the mission has only been played at the Combat Patrol level.

Game 1 Result Breakdown:

• 14 Wins
• 14 Losses
• 6 Draws
• 81 Order Dice lost

Game 2
Flare!

Rarely do I repeat missions from one year to another but Flare was such a fan favorite I felt compelled to bring it back for another go. While at Battle in Berlin I spoke with Rob (the TO) about his idea to improve the mission. Rob’s idea was to have the Flare stay “up” from one turn to the next. The flare structure was updated to:

Turn 1 – When a player pulls the Flare Order Die, the flare goes up, line of sight is unrestructured.
Turn 2 – When a player pulls the Flare Order Die, the flare goes out, line of sight is reduced to 12″.
Turn 3 – When a player pulls the Flare Order Die, the flare goes up, line of sight is unrestructured.
Turn 4 – When a player pulls the Flare Order Die, the flare goes out, line of sight is reduced to 12″.
Turn 5 – When a player pulls the Flare Order Die, the flare goes up, line of sight is unrestructured.
Turn 6 – When a player pulls the Flare Order Die, the flare goes out, line of sight is reduced to 12″.

This small, but impactful change to the Flare mechanic allowed for players to better plan from one turn to the next. Sam also produced a lovely little Flare token with “lights on” on one side and “lights off” on the other. Just a small reminder for the players to more easily track the game state. The VPs stayed the same from last year. 1VP for each enemy unit killed and 3 VP for each friendly unit that ended the game in the enemy Deployment Zone.

Game Two Results Breakdown:

• 14 Wins
• 14 Losses
• 6 Draws
• 98 Order Dice lost

Game 3
King of the Hill

It wouldn’t be Combat Patrol without a random game length mission. King of Hill features a “sudden death” mechanic to determine when the game ends and this led to some wild plays. There was a single objective in the middle of the table. If at the end of Turn 4 only one player controlled the objective, roll a die. On a 6, the game ends. This method continued all the way until Turn 7 with the likelihood of the game ending increasing after each turn! Players were required to get up and get moving if there were going to stand a chance at getting the win. And judging by the results, the players took that advice to heart. Only one game ended in a draw!

Game Three Results Breakdown:

• 19 Wins
• 19 Losses
• 1 Draw
• 105 Order Dice lost

AdeptiCon Historicals Charity Raffle

During Combat Patrol & Doubles we had three incredible charity raffle items on offer for any AdeptiCon attendee to purchase tickets for. At the cost of $2 a ticket, attendees could enter to win either:

• A full BEF/Home Guard Army painted by the legendary Patch of Bolt Action Alliance/Ghost Army fame featuring Dad’s Army, Highlanders and a full Cricket Team.
• The box-art mini of German Haupsturmführer – Fritz Klingenberg painted by Thomas Stoesser himself, the founder of Stoessi’s Heroes.
• A custom sculpt of the winner’s choice to be commissioned from the one-and-only Paul Hicks. The renowned sculptor for Empress Miniatures, Footsore, Hobday & Hicks and many others.

All the proceeds were donated to the Fisher House Foundation supporting military and veteran families worldwide. All told we collected $1,247 for these three raffles!

The Club Cup

Back for a third year running, the AdeptiCon Bolt Action Club Cup was up for grabs! For each Club, we collected the top four Combat Patrol scores and combined those with the top two Doubles scores to determine the 2024 winner. After Combat Patrol the standings of our 10 Clubs were:

Club	Score 500 max
The Cronies	381
Chicago Dice	380
FLTN	360
Dice Hosers	281
Team ETA	273
Dice Dojo	196
Bolt Action Denver	185
Blue Case Best Case	146
The Ronin	107
Family Time Games	82

Heading into Doubles it was all to play for! The three games of 2v2 Bolt Action on Friday would be the decider. Will The Cronies hold on their narrow lead? Will Best Case Blue Case make a surge to the top in Doubles? Will FLTN manage to defend their 2023 win? Will we have a new Club Champion?

Final Thoughts

Combat Patrol 2024 was a tremendous success. We had 40 players (with even more on the Waitlist) battling for supremacy and the results were as close as can be! Rob defended his Best Overall title by a single point with Dexter coming in with Best Axis and second overall. John’s Brits secured third overall and Best Allies. Aaron went back-to-back with Best Painted with his stellar British Airborne. Josh also defended his 2023 Player’s Choice win with his Finns and Ernie rounded out the field by defending his Best Table award from last year.

I also want to take a moment to shout out the Sportsmanship scores. Each player starts with all 10 of their Sportsmanship points each game. Those points are theirs to protect and keep by conducting themselves in the manner expected of someone entering the event – gracious and courteous in both victory and defeat. I am thrilled to report that for the second year in a row every single player walked out of Combat Patrol with all 30 of their Sportsmanship points. Not a single deduction! With 60 individual games played, that is no small achievement and I am incredibly proud of this community. I can assure you that this level of composure and comradery is not common.

Also, I have to thank our most generous event sponsors who provided a plethora of prize support for our two events. Especially our title sponsors Noble Knight Games and Badger Games who provided gift cards to our six medal winners. Because the incredible prize support, all 40 players walked out with a prize!

With AdeptiCon 2024 is now officially in the rearview the planning for next year has already begun. Adjustments for next year include:

• Move forward with the event theme. The theme for AdeptiCon 2024 will be Endgame 1944-45 bringing the three-year event theme journey to completion. This theme will apply to both Combat Patrol and Doubles.
• Possible changes to Paint/Appearance scoring to streamline the judging process. Judging 40 armies between Game 1 and Game 2 is a bit too much to accomplish.
• Re-assessment of the Ban List. There are a few units that are a little too commonplace for my liking. Once a unit becomes the “1+ option”, it’s time to take another look.