After a successful Border Wars 2024, I was asked to run it back for another year. After recruiting John to assist in running the event, we headed back to Milwaukee, WI, for Border Wars 2025 as part of the Old Guard Games 1st Anniversary Celebration. Watching Old Guard not just survive but truly thrive in their first year of operation was great to see, and it was an honor to be a part of the celebration weekend. Our event format for Border Wars 2025 was:

• Three, 1,100pt games
• 16 Order Dice and 4 Platoons max
• Players split into Axis or Allies (12 players each)
• Armies of Germany and Armies of the United States required for German and US players.
• Players split into Team IL or Team WI to decide 2025 Border Wars Champions:
  • 12 on Team IL
  • 10 on Team WI
  • 1 on Team MI
  • 1 on Team IA

You can review the full Border Wars rules and the Event 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

There were no theme or theater requirements for Border Wars. But we did hold the participants to 12 Allies and 12 Axis players. The Platoon Structure in Third Edition leaves list building wide open and players took full advantage to bring interesting and fun lists. We kept a strict Hobby First, Wins Second policy and were stern with the army list reviews. If a list didn’t pass the vibe check, it was rejected. Only a small handful of lists required resubmission; the vast majority “understood the assignment”. All the lists are posted for review. The breakdown of armies was:

Germany remained the most popular pick two years in a row, with all but three Axis lists being German (up from eight German forces in 2024). The US took top spot for the Allies at 50% of the army lists. Great Britain stayed at four lists and only a single Soviet and Partisan list. The biggest difference between the forces in 2025 and 2024 was the consolidation for Germany and the US. Last year we had 11 different nations represented, this year, only 7. Possibly a result of only two Armies of books released so far? Even with all the free PDF Army Lists, most players rolled up with one of the “Big Five”.

Secondary Objectives

Instead of using Oder Dice destroyed to break Overall score ties we used Secondary Objectives. The same four Secondaries were used for each game, with a maximum of eight possible Secondary Objective points available per game. The Secondaries were:

• Combat Ineffective – 1pt per enemy Platoon/Company Commander/Command Vehicle destroyed (max 3pts).
• Letters Home – 1pt per friendly Platoon/Company Commander/Command Vehicle alive at end of the game (max 3pts).
• Linebreaker – 1pt if you have a friendly Infantry unit within 12” of the enemy long table edge at the end of the game.
• Game Control – 1pt for each player if they complete Turn 5 before time is called.

The Secondary Objectives had no impact on the individual game outcomes. You could win your game with no Secondaries scored and lose a game and still score all eight. They would only come into play if there was a tie in the Overall score at the end of the day.

Game 1
Incomplete Intelligence

Terry D’s Finns make a desperate assault Russell’s Kugelblitz

After a thrilling debut at AdeptiCon 2025 Doubles earlier this year, we decided to play Incomplete Intelligence for Game 1. Players placed d3+4 objectives before picking sides. Objectives were only captured at the end of the game, but the first time any unit ended their activation within 3″ of the objective, it scattered 2d6″ in a random direction. If doubles were rolled for the scatter distance, the objective was removed from the game. If an objective scattered off the table, it was also removed from the game. These shifting objectives ensured a chaotic first few turns before the final objective placements were determined. A special thank you to Sam Y for designing this fantastic mission.

Game 1 Result Breakdown:

• 10 Wins
• 10 Losses
• 4 Draws
• 86 Secondary Objectives Scored

Game 2
Classified

Rob R’s Soviet Scouts advance towards an objective

New Border Wars, new mission. In this mission, players placed d3+3 objectives around the table and selected three of their units to start on the game deployed – the rest arrived via First Wave. Players scored VPs by issuing a Down order to a Platoon/Company Commander while within 3″ of an objective, but objectives were removed on a roll of 1 or 2 at the end of any turn on which the objective was scored. I’d hoped that this mission would force players to move their officers aggressively to score objectives while keeping them alive long enough to score points in multiple turns.

This mission led to some dramatic showdowns and close games, but a few matchups quickly became lopsided if a player lost their officers early. Some tweaks to the mission to allow players another path to victory if they lose their officers would help this mission shine, but overall, I think the players enjoyed the tactical challenges this mission introduced. – John

Game Two Results Breakdown:

• 9 Wins
• 9 Losses
• 6 Draws
• 98 Secondary Objectives Scored

Game 3
Fog of War

John M’s Americans storming across the river

Many years ago I played a mission with this mechanic at Warlord Games Con 2018 in OKC. I do not recall the mission specifics, but I do vividly remember using Fog of War dice. That’s all the inspiration I needed to cook up this mission. The objectives were standard, just three placed across the middle of the table. Players checked for control at the end of each turn. Nothing fancy here. Now, enter Fog of War.

Fog of War: Before the game starts, add the three “Fog of War” Order Dice to the bag. During the turn, if you pull the first or second Fog of War die, pull again and continue play as normal. But when the third Fog of War die is pulled from the bag, the turn ends immediately. There is a chance that you will not be able to activate every unit during your turn, so prioritize your orders appropriately.

Not knowing when the turn will end creates an element of chaos that I love. During playtesting, I was on the edge of my seat once two Fog dice had been pulled. I never once had the opportunity to activate all of my units on a turn, and it was great. I recommend giving this mission a try if you want to change up the flow in your Bolt Action game.

Game Three Results Breakdown:

• 9 Wins
• 9 Losses
• 6 Draws
• 78 Secondary Objectives Scored

Changes for 2026

The only change we are considering for Border Wars 2026 is the removal of the 12 Axis / 12 Allies requirement. As much as we wanted to keep things Axis v Allies it’s a lot of bookkeeping required, and it makes setting the matchups for Games 2 and 3 much more tedious. In my experience, most players have no qualms playing “Blue v Blue” games, and this would open the field to allow more players to bring the force they want. All the Team IL v Team WI shenanigans are here to stay, but removing any Axis or Allies requirements will make the event run even smoother.

Final Thoughts

Rob’s Stalingrad display board / Terry’s “Commander Terry” Sturmi / Game 2 in action

I can confidently speak for all the participants when I say that Border Wars 2025 was a tremendous success. All 24 players completed without a single drop and, even more impressively, every single player ended the day with a perfect 30/30 Sportsmanship score. Not a single deduction! If that doesn’t speak to the quality of this community, I’m not sure what does.

The standings were close throughout the day. At the conclusion of Game 3 it was Jim D (US) who took top spot as Best Overall – the only player to go 3-0! Zak K secured Best Allies and Second Overall with his Partisans and Ian M took Best Axis with his German Gebirgsjäger. There were three players heading into Game 3 at 2-0 so it really was up for grabs. Shane’s gorgeous winter Germans took Best Painted (who says you need vehicles to win Best Painted?) and Terry’s Finns landed a hotly contested Player’s Choice. Player’s Choice is voted on by the players and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one this close. Eight different armies received votes, three had four votes each and Terry piped the win with five votes – now that is a testament to the level of hobby on display.

But what about the Border Wars Trophy? We added up the top five scores from each Team and I am thrilled to report that Team IL grabbed the win! We now stand 1-1, one win each for Team IL and Team WI. Border Wars 2026 will have to settle the score. The full 2025 scores are posted for a detailed review and you can check the matchups on Longshanks.

Now that I have both played in and ran a few events of Third Edition, man, I am loving it. Bolt Action is better than it’s ever been. The state of the game is strong and with Armies of Great Britain on the horizon I don’t anticipate this Hype Train slowing down anytime soon.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Border Wars 2025! Thank you Ben, and the entire Old Guard Team for being gracious hosts. Thank you, John for helping with all the event prep, mission writing and scoring. And thank you, players, for continuing to be the best community around. See you again next year!