Doubles at AdeptiCon is the premier Bolt Action event. With almost 80 players battling it out over three rounds, it’s guaranteed to be an incredible show. Doubles has a reputation for Bolt Action hobby at the highest level. Something about the format really sparks inspiration and players tend to lean in all the way. This year was no exception. The full event rules are available, but here is a quick overview:

• Teams of two players.
• Teams must be composed of nations that allied during World War II.
• Teams are 1,600pts max, split however players wish.
• Teams are 20 Order Dice max, split however players wish. Each player will have their own Order Dice in the bag.
• Teams can have any number of Platoons:
  • Each Player’s force must include a Rifle Platoon.
  • Maximum of 1 Armored Platoon per Team.
  • Maximum of 1 Artillery Platoon per Team.
    

Our Force
The Los Baños Raid, Feb. 23, 1945

We based our Doubles force on the Los Baños prison camp raid that took place on Feb. 23, 1945, in the Philippines. The raid was a combined task force of 800 Filipino resistance fighters and 300 American paratroopers. Our force was split between a contingent of Filipino Guerillas using the Partisan Army List (Andrew) and the US 11th Airborne Division (John). Both The Los Baños Prison Camp Raid from Osprey and Rescue at Los Baños: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II by Bruce Henderson were instrumental in providing background information and detailed breakdowns of the units involved.

Andrew’s Filipino Guerillas

Partisan Rifle Platoon
Platoon Commander (Rife) – Regular – 30 +1 extra man (Rifle) – 10	40pts
Partisan Squad – Vet – 8 men – 104	104pts
Partisan Squad – Vet – 8 men – 104	104pts
Bazooka Team – Regular – 60	60pts
Sniper Team – Vet – 67 Infiltrator	67pts
Partisan Rifle Platoon
Platoon Commander (SMG) – Regular – 30 +2 extra men (SMGs) – 20	50pts
Partisan Squad – Vet – 8 men – 104 x5 SMGs – 20	124pts
Partisan Squad – Vet – 8 men – 104 x5 SMGs – 20	124pts
Bazooka Team – Regular – 60	60pts
Sniper Team – Vet – 67 Infiltrator	67pts
Civilian Car – Regular – 18	18pts
Partisan Total – 11 Order Dice	818pts

John’s US 11th Airborne

US Rifle Platoon
Platoon Commander (SMG) – Vet – 39 +2 extra men (SMGs) – 26	65pts
Airborne Squad – Vet – 7 men – 98 x1 LMG – 15 Stubborn	113pts
Airborne Squad – Vet – 7 men – 98 x1 LMG – 15 Stubborn	113pts
Airborne Squad – Vet – 8 men – 112 NCO SMG – 4 x2 SMG – 8 Stubborn	124pts
Forward Observer (Air) – Regular – 75 +1 extra man – 11 Infiltrator	86pts
LVT ‘Water Buffalo’ Landing Vehicle – Vet – 120 Armor 7, Forward-facing hull-mounted MMG – 10 x2 Pintle HMG – 20 Open-topped Amphibious	150pts
US Artillery Platoon
Platoon Commander (Rifle) – Regular – 30 +1 extra man (Rifle) – 10	40pts
Light Howitzer – Regular – 45	45pts
Light Howitzer – Regular – 45	45pts
Partisan Total – 9 Order Dice	781pts

Game 1
The Firefight vs Mike S & Joe B (IJA)

Our first game was a thematic matchup against Mike & Joe’s double-IJA force on a jungle table. What a way to start the event! There is something cinematic about two fully painted historical opposing forces meeting on a table of thematic terrain. Just from a visual standpoint alone, this game was already a winner. Mike & Joe’s double-IJA force included several massive 15-man Vet Rifle Squads supported by an Artillery Platoon with a Med. AT Gun and two Light Howitzers. Backing all those infantry was an Armored Platoon of three Type 95 Ha-Go led by the mighty Type 3 Chi-Nu. Our AT assets were looking thin indeed.

The Mission – The objective in Game 1 was simple: destroy the enemy. Teams scored 1VP for every enemy unit destroyed with a bonus 1VP per Platoon Commander/Command Vehicle, bonus 2VP per Company Commander destroyed, and a whopping 3VP bonus for destroying an entire enemy Platoon. John put the LVT with the SMG Airborne and SMG Platoon Commander aboard in Outflank. Everything else arrived via First Wave. Infiltrator forward deployment was not allowed. With the opposing forces ready to roll onto the table, we began the madness of Game 1.

Andrew’s Highlight – Heading into Turn 5 (the final turn) the game was dead even. One of the massive 15-man Vet IJA squads had been taking Pins all game was still caught out in the relative open of this jungle table. I saw an opportunity to push us into the lead – they already had six Pins. If I could add four more, the unit would automatically break and flee the battlefield. I moved almost every unit at my disposal to fire at them. Snipers, Bazooka Teams, Platoon Commanders with a single rifle – whatever I could get my hands on. It wasn’t until I dealt the tenth Pin did I realize it wouldn’t matter … all this hard work was for naught. Every IJA unit has Fanatics. They don’t break from Pins. A crushing time to be reminded of a rule. One that I will not soon forget!

John’s Highlight – There were several highlight-worthy moments in this close-fought game including successful Air Strikes, failed Bazooka shots, and desperate tank assaults. Both sides played relatively conservatively in the opening turns, not wanting to fall behind on VPs. Things started to open up during Turn 3 when my LVT full of Airborne troopers arrived via Outflank. I brought the metal behemoth onto the table near the far-left corner of the board, deep into the Japanese backline. The LVTs machine guns immediately did damage, but with the next Order Dice out of the bag a large squad of Veteran Japanese riflemen assaulted the LVT! My 8-man Airborne squad leapt out to defend their transport but the overwhelming numbers of the Japanese proved too much. Though outnumbered 2-1 my Tough Fighters held on for three rounds of combat before finally being wiped out – but they went down swinging and only left a few Japanese soldiers standing at the end of the melee.

Result – Draw

Game 2
All Mixed Up vs. Mike B & Mike B (Germany)

Mike & Mike’s Best Painted-winning Early-War Germans.

In our next game, we faced off against an absolutely gorgeous Early War German force painted by Mike & Mike. No joke – one of the best painted Bolt Action armies I’ve ever seen. I should have taken more photos. Mike & Mike had a variety of Early War Blitzkreig vehicles and infantry, including a Kradshutzen Squad and a core of FJs. There was also a quad-flak half-track as well as a quad-flack artillery piece with a Nebelwerfer for some extra punch.

The Mission – For Game 2 we had a split corner-to-corner deployment. Teammates did not stand next to each other; we were diagonally across the table. It was almost like a four-player multiplayer game with each player having the enemy on two fronts. VPs were scored by killing enemy units (1VP) but more importantly, by getting your units out of your deployment zone and into the enemy or friendly deployment zones. With each force starting in their own corner, the game was set to turn into a massive scrum in the middle.

Andrew’s Highlight – Holy smokes Vets in cover are hard to remove. Through the course of multiple turns I slowly moved my Partisan infantry out of the ruins, across the road and into the ruins occupied by Mike’s Germans. Turn after turn of putting small arms fire into those squads and I had barely a single casualty to show for it. Turns out, when you keep making 4+ Hard Cover Saves it’s damn difficult to get rid of a unit! It wasn’t until I finally got close enough to assault was able to remove two of Mike’s Platoon Commanders – and that wasn’t until Turn 5! An impressive use of cover that made me fight for every yard.

The game was a complete carnage with a total of 20 Order Dice lost (10 from each Team). We lost more Order Dice in this one game than some teams did in the entire tournament!

John’s Highlight – What a fun game! Mike & Mike were great opponents with a gorgeous army and the split deployment for this mission allowed for a lot of interactions between players. I did not learn my lesson from Game 1 and once again played my LVT very aggressively – quickly advancing towards the middle of the board and within sight of Mike’s terrifying quad-autocannon halftrack. The LVT did not survive much longer but it did have time to unload its passengers into Mike’s deployment zone, ensuring they would score VPs at the end of the mission. Those Airborne had their work cut out for them, surviving repeated volleys of German firepower. Ultimately the aggressive play paid off as both Andrew and I were able to get units into scoring positions while keeping the Mike’s largely stuck in their deployment zones, securing us the win.

Result – Win

Game 3
Incomplete Intelligence vs Dave C & Zack D (Germany & Italy)

Third and final game and it was a inter-club battle against Zack and Dave.

The Mission – I love this mission. The players set d3+4 objectives on the table. Whoever controls the most objectives at the end of the game wins. However, the first time a unit ends their activation within 3″ of an objective, roll 2d6″ and scatter the objective in a random direction. If doubles are rolled, the objective is removed from the table and is worthless. If double 6s are rolled, the other team gets to move the objective 12″ in any direction!

Andrew’s Highlight – A Bazooka Team finally destroyed a tank! After three games and I couldn’t even tell you how many chances one of my Partisan Bazooka Teams finally destroyed enemy armor. Sure it may have been a Panzer I and sure, Dave may have forgotten that I had creeped up the middle behind some trees but it still counts! It had been a long day of misses and bounced shells so scoring this tank kill at the end of Game 3 was gratifying.

John’s Highlight – This game came down to the bitter end. As seen in the photo above, the objective on our right flank became an absolute scrum. Units from all four players made a mad scramble to get within 3″ of the objective. It could not have been more hotly contested. But meanwhile, on the far left side of the board, a lone Filipino guerrilla made a suicidal sprint, under the barrel of a Tiger tank that tried to block the guerrillas from moving, and made it just far enough to contest another objective. Despite seeing all of his comrades fall in battle, this single brave soldier held tough and blocked the German-Italian alliance from securing the objective. Sometimes entire battles hinge on the heroic actions of a single soldier and this game was one such example. It was a thrilling way to end our day.

Result – Win

Final Thoughts

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Bolt Action Doubles is the best. Full stop.

We finished 5th overall in an incredibly contested field. The total number of Order Dice destroyed was used for tiebreakers (lower the better), and we were absolutely in the mix for the top three. We had some concerns with our lack of AT going into the event but we made it work. Even against Dave’s Vet Tiger I in Game 3! Turns out all you need is a pair of Reg. Bazooka Teams. Even more thrilling than the games was the reaction to our army. The AdeptiCon Army Showcase included historicals this year and we were both shocked and honored with a nomination for the Showcase. It was a great feeling to receive that recognition for the hard work we put into this project.

As for the event itself, Sam and Shane delivered on every level. The tables were great, the missions even better, everything ran on time and the prize support was staggering. Every single person walked out with something. It’s no easy feat to gather enough prizes for nearly 80 players! A special shoutout to Oliver of “Oliver’s Wargame Supply” for donating tons of prizes for both Combat Patrol and Doubles. Sam added some special awards this year, such as the Jampionship, which was awarded to the team that jammed the most turrets (it was a six-way tie with one turret jammed).

The venue was incredible. Milwaukee and the Baird Center welcomed us with open arms, and we are thrilled to come back next year. AdeptiCon 2026 dates have been officially announced and plans for even more Doubles nonsense are already well underway.