I´m a bit late to the party but still here is some advice if you want to hear (more likely read) it. General advice: 1. Take only one helper with your lieutenant (hope it´s spelled correctly. I am not a native speaker) It is almost always better to only take one helper since that way you get the small team rule which beats the extra meatshield in my opinion. Exeption: If you play germans at a low points level (300-500 points) It might be worth it since at that level every model is valuable. So what you do is you take a lieutenant with two dudes all equipped with an StG 44. This turns your Tax unit into a small assault squad while saving 15 Points on weapon upgrades which allows you to put another 1,5 regulars into a squad that you normaly wouldn´t have gotten if you had put the assault rifles on models that have to pay for them. 2. Don´t take LMGs on squads that aren´t maxed out. LMGs are a highly debated topic in the Bolt Action community. There are diehard defenders that swear by the LMGs added tactical flexibility while others say it is a total waste of points and should never be taken at all. I am somewhat in the middle. In my opinion LMGs are worth it but only in maxed out squads. As you have surely noticed LMGs are quite expensive and that is because of how they were designed. Let´s look at a basic 10 squad of 10 with rifles. They put out 10 shots and cost 10 points each And if you add an LMG that makes it 12 shots which is the same as adding two additional men at exactly the same cost. So basically the LMG option allows you to make a squad of 10 have the wheight of fire of a 12 man squad. (I am aware LMGs have more range but it doesn´t really matter) That means however that always better to add additional soildiers to a unit since you get an exttra wound and become more resistant to moral since it makes it harder to force a break test. Exeption: On germans it is debatable since for the price of 2 soildiers you get the firepower of 3 men if you go for pure long range firepower it might be worth it. Alternate take: For 105 points you can buy a five man squad of veteran grenadiers with two LMGs . This (ignoring the NCO with rifle) gives you an output of 10 shots at 36". This basically gives you something comparable to 2 regular MMG points The differences: - You pay 5 points more for the squad - You get two shots less - You get one less wound - The squad is veteran rather than regular I find this to be a highly effective combination since you basically get the US rule that allows you to take 3 MMG teams while keeping the extra shot for being german. Secondly the squad is often underrted by the opponent. If you put a MMG on the table everyone will recognize it and try to take it out while your "hidden MMGs" as I like to call them are seen as "just another squad" Thirdly they are cheaper than two MMGs 3. Few large squads rather than more small squads. The rule system of Bolt Action favors larger units. Especially squads of 5 are forced to take break tests basically as soon as they take any casualties. The Waffen SS are a special case since the models werent ready but the grenadiers should defenitly have been combined into one squad. German specific: Panzerfausts are really only effective when taken in multiples (2 per squad ) to be somewhat reliable. I would also in spite of what I have said already keep the SS at 5 men and give them all either SMGs and AT granades or assault rifles and Panzerfausts. The first option really makes use of the fanatics and tough fighters rule. Put them in outflank or a transport and charge them straight at the enemy. Though fighters and fanatics combined allows them to take out squads twice as big as them in melee. This unit will be suicidal but they will be totally unexpeted and ripp a hole in the ememy line. The second loadout is more of a countercharge unit. Keep them behind the lines and send them in to plug any holes and kill whatever caused it. Feel free to get them into close combat but don´t throw them away. Keep them in reserve and give them a transport Don´t really have any US specific advice since I don´t play them myself.
Nice to see you guys bringing more Bolt Action to the channel. Fins are a very tough bunch by the way - lots of special rules. You got the panzer vs Sherman firing a bit wrong. When firing AP, which you would have done, you should have used the AP penetration which is going to be much more than +2. So if the AP is say 6, and the defensive is 8, you need to dice 3+ to get a penetrating hit and a roll on the damage table. A 1 would be a miss, a 2 a non-penetrating hit. Sadly the MMG can’t move and fire also. It needs to be set up first. Also assault rifles and SMGs do not count as moving when firing. Also poor old Lieutenant Dan shouldn’t have died as you forgot he was a small target so would have needed a 6 to hit not 5 (sorry not picking holes - great to see the game) . 😁
Please make more videos like this. Small armies and very easy for new players to understand. And your videos are very entertaining and fun to watch. Love the close up videos and clean voice for us to hear.
Just got into Bolt Action and seeing you guys cover it a lot more is awesome. I love the 40K content you guys put out and this just adds to your awesomeness. Thank you and keep up the great work guys!
Captain Karrian I actually like BA a lot more then 40K. It’s just more fun and you can watch your painted models last longer then 40K. 40K is kinda a mess. 1 round 30% of your armies are killed
Guys ... just found you( entertaining and instructive ) and just started getting bolt action lol please when it is safe .... more bolt action battle reports plz.....
Hi very nice battle report indeed, just one thing about getting into building, in the rule book of 2nd edition it say that to enter into a building you must give a RUN order (so you cannot fire at the same round) and to go on other floors you must order a advance move. But as I always say the objectif is fun and more fun, if the 2 players are playing the same rules and are having fun that's the key for a good night battling. Cheers from Portugal folks 👍
Another cool battle report, it had a nice flow to it, the Germans defence constantly putting pins on the U.S & the U.S pushing toward their goal. I love the randomness of how the order dice come out the bag, it really changes up your priorities. Also I really liked the Waffen SS. 👍🏻
Hi, love the vids and game reports. However being an older generation BA player I must point out that Spandau BAllet (The Group) were named by a friend and writer, Robert Elms, who had seen the phrase written on a wall when on a weekend trip to Berlin. Would have been nice if it was as you say. Hitlers Buzzsaw a more accurate term. Keep up the good work.
Just couple of things I noticed you missed guys, when you move any soldier with an smg or assault rifle or any weapon classed as an assault weapon (not sure but think pistols included here) you don't get a movement penalty, so when you moved up lieutenant Dans squad (around 32m42s) you didn't have to take the minus penalty for moving up (unless it's a rifle or lmg) only for long distance shot (over half smg range, this being 6" in this case) however you do have to include - 1 for target being small team (2 or less in target squad) so it kinda worked out in a way anyway. The other thing, a small rule miss but quite important, when a turreted vehicle is hit by a shell, howitzer or cannon you have to do a turret jam roll to see if your turret gets jammed facing the last direction it fired. As your sherman was immobilised, if the turret had jammed as well there would have been no way for the sherman to turn its turret to fire on the panzer4, fairly important in such a small tight game like yours eh? 😊 Anyway Just wanted to say keep doing the videos guys, I really enjoy watching people play even if it's not 100% on every rule, you can't get too anal about rules or it gets boring right,? Fun and enjoyment is the main thing and you guys have that covered I think. Mind you as you get more and more used to the little rules it can make for some cool narratives in a battle. Don't forget also you can have house rules. One I particularly like to use to counter really annoying stuff like being turret jammed or immobilised is repair rolls for a crew, using rally roll but at a -2 because its heavy repair work, or add mechanics ability to an engineer unit to give them the ability to run over to a vehicle and fix it up, again I use rally at a -2 but also add a perminent -1 pin to the repaired vehicle so even tho its fixed its still not as good as it was.
Page 109 in 2nd edition rules book bottom left paragraph "when u inflict damage result against a vehicle with a turret and the vehicle is not destroyed you take a turret jam test roll a d6. On a 1-3 nothing happens on a 4-6, the turret is jammed for the rest of the game. The turret is limited in the arc that the damage causing hit came from etc etc - - that last bit is something I had forgotten so we all make mistakes haha, I guess it does mean you can at least fire back at the unit that just shot you which I think is a good thing and now I know that I may not need to bother with any repair stuff. I always had a problem with my tanks getting their guns stuck facing no enemies whereas this does at least mean you have one target at least to shoot at. Anyway thanks again for the video guys.
Great game. Very enjoyable watch. More BA please. One rule that you may want to check is the coming on from any table edge. I think the opponent is only not allowed to enter from the table edge you last entered from. Meaning that Lt Dan could have entered from one of 3 sides.
Entertaining. Great looking table and models. You've gotten a few rules wrong so far, and forgotten a few modifiers. I believe you said an MMG team with spotter? The MMG team doesn't require nor have the option for a spotter.
I love it when brits pronounce "waffen" as it is were "waffles" - makes it really sweet. You might not care about it, but in german "w" is similar to the english "v" ("vampire"), whereas "v" is pronounced as an english "f".
@@GeeksWargaming I am so happy that i have found you (and bolt action)! I know what my christmas wislist will be! Do you have any tips for starter sets?
Hi guys ,I’ve just bought the band of brothers starter set haven’t glued them yet what do you suggest to buy next more Germans or a tank or other saying that haven’t sorted a terrain out yet only what’s in the kit
Its a great starting place. Id play games with the set to get used to the rules. We added extra troops for the Americans and Waffen SS and a tank for the Germans
How balanced are the US Airborne and the German Grenadiers? Airborne are supoosed to be elite while Grenadiers are regular infantry. I want to build both armies to play at home but I want them to be balanced in a 1000 point game.
Honestly the fact that the german force has a vehicle and the americans dont, makes it feel a little. Our first few battle reports are filmed with only the band of brothers box. I dont think they were unbalanced when we played
Geeks Wargaming yesh but I’m talking about us airborne and german grenadiers beyond the starter box. I mean us airborne were elite and german grenadiers regular infantry.
I´m a bit late to the party but still here is some advice if you want to hear (more likely read) it.
General advice:
1. Take only one helper with your lieutenant (hope it´s spelled correctly. I am not a native speaker)
It is almost always better to only take one helper since that way you get the small team rule which beats the extra meatshield in my opinion.
Exeption: If you play germans at a low points level (300-500 points) It might be worth it since at that level every model is valuable. So what you do is you take a lieutenant with two dudes all equipped with an StG 44. This turns your Tax unit into a small assault squad while saving 15 Points on weapon upgrades which allows you to put another 1,5 regulars into a squad that you normaly wouldn´t have gotten if you had put the assault rifles on models that have to pay for them.
2. Don´t take LMGs on squads that aren´t maxed out.
LMGs are a highly debated topic in the Bolt Action community. There are diehard defenders that swear by the LMGs added tactical flexibility while others say it is a total waste of points and should never be taken at all.
I am somewhat in the middle. In my opinion LMGs are worth it but only in maxed out squads.
As you have surely noticed LMGs are quite expensive and that is because of how they were designed.
Let´s look at a basic 10 squad of 10 with rifles.
They put out 10 shots and cost 10 points each
And if you add an LMG that makes it 12 shots which is the same as adding two additional men at exactly the same cost.
So basically the LMG option allows you to make a squad of 10 have the wheight of fire of a 12 man squad. (I am aware LMGs have more range but it doesn´t really matter)
That means however that always better to add additional soildiers to a unit since you get an exttra wound and become more resistant to moral since it makes it harder to force a break test.
Exeption: On germans it is debatable since for the price of 2 soildiers you get the firepower of 3 men if you go for pure long range firepower it might be worth it.
Alternate take:
For 105 points you can buy a five man squad of veteran grenadiers with two LMGs .
This (ignoring the NCO with rifle) gives you an output of 10 shots at 36".
This basically gives you something comparable to 2 regular MMG points
The differences:
- You pay 5 points more for the squad
- You get two shots less
- You get one less wound
- The squad is veteran rather than regular
I find this to be a highly effective combination since you basically get the US rule that allows you to take 3 MMG teams while keeping the extra shot for being german.
Secondly the squad is often underrted by the opponent. If you put a MMG on the table everyone will recognize it and try to take it out while your "hidden MMGs" as I like to call them are seen as "just another squad"
Thirdly they are cheaper than two MMGs
3. Few large squads rather than more small squads.
The rule system of Bolt Action favors larger units.
Especially squads of 5 are forced to take break tests basically as soon as they take any casualties.
The Waffen SS are a special case since the models werent ready but the grenadiers should defenitly have been combined into one squad.
German specific:
Panzerfausts are really only effective when taken in multiples (2 per squad ) to be somewhat reliable.
I would also in spite of what I have said already keep the SS at 5 men and give them all either SMGs and AT granades or assault rifles and Panzerfausts.
The first option really makes use of the fanatics and tough fighters rule. Put them in outflank or a transport and charge them straight at the enemy. Though fighters and fanatics combined allows them to take out squads twice as big as them in melee.
This unit will be suicidal but they will be totally unexpeted and ripp a hole in the ememy line.
The second loadout is more of a countercharge unit. Keep them behind the lines and send them in to plug any holes and kill whatever caused it. Feel free to get them into close combat but don´t throw them away. Keep them in reserve and give them a transport
Don´t really have any US specific advice since I don´t play them myself.
Your dice bag is awesome!
"If there's no green dice in there, I'm gonna kick ya in the manhood." :D
Nice to see you guys bringing more Bolt Action to the channel. Fins are a very tough bunch by the way - lots of special rules. You got the panzer vs Sherman firing a bit wrong. When firing AP, which you would have done, you should have used the AP penetration which is going to be much more than +2. So if the AP is say 6, and the defensive is 8, you need to dice 3+ to get a penetrating hit and a roll on the damage table. A 1 would be a miss, a 2 a non-penetrating hit.
Sadly the MMG can’t move and fire also. It needs to be set up first. Also assault rifles and SMGs do not count as moving when firing. Also poor old Lieutenant Dan shouldn’t have died as you forgot he was a small target so would have needed a 6 to hit not 5 (sorry not picking holes - great to see the game) . 😁
Thanks for the pointers, we are greatful for you advice.
Please make more videos like this. Small armies and very easy for new players to understand. And your videos are very entertaining and fun to watch. Love the close up videos and clean voice for us to hear.
48:15 Lieutenant Dan kept up the family tradition of fighting and dying in every American conflict
I'm 26 (so not quite 30!) and these battle reports are getting me excited to give this game a go. Dropped a sub, can't wait for more battle reports!
Just got into Bolt Action and seeing you guys cover it a lot more is awesome. I love the 40K content you guys put out and this just adds to your awesomeness. Thank you and keep up the great work guys!
We are loving bolt action as well, you are going to see more of it from us
Im only 20 XD played 40k alot but world war 2 is my jam , getting the starter set for Christmas, can't wait :D
Captain Karrian I actually like BA a lot more then 40K. It’s just more fun and you can watch your painted models last longer then 40K. 40K is kinda a mess. 1 round 30% of your armies are killed
Well Captain what did you get? Italians, Kenyon irregulars?
Guys ... just found you( entertaining and instructive ) and just started getting bolt action lol please when it is safe .... more bolt action battle reports plz.....
Great game guys! At 33 min, Americans DO ignore the shoot and move penalty.
Hi very nice battle report indeed, just one thing about getting into building, in the rule book of 2nd edition it say that to enter into a building you must give a RUN order (so you cannot fire at the same round) and to go on other floors you must order a advance move. But as I always say the objectif is fun and more fun, if the 2 players are playing the same rules and are having fun that's the key for a good night battling. Cheers from Portugal folks 👍
Another cool battle report, it had a nice flow to it, the Germans defence constantly putting pins on the U.S & the U.S pushing toward their goal.
I love the randomness of how the order dice come out the bag, it really changes up your priorities. Also I really liked the Waffen SS. 👍🏻
Hi, love the vids and game reports. However being an older generation BA player I must point out that Spandau BAllet (The Group) were named by a friend and writer, Robert Elms, who had seen the phrase written on a wall when on a weekend trip to Berlin. Would have been nice if it was as you say. Hitlers Buzzsaw a more accurate term.
Keep up the good work.
Really fun to watch and a good inside in Bolt Action :) can‘t wait for the next one
You keep forgetting a *really* important modifier; -1 to hit for each pin the unit has.
Thank you for the feedback, we will correct in the next battle report
Just couple of things I noticed you missed guys, when you move any soldier with an smg or assault rifle or any weapon classed as an assault weapon (not sure but think pistols included here) you don't get a movement penalty, so when you moved up lieutenant Dans squad (around 32m42s) you didn't have to take the minus penalty for moving up (unless it's a rifle or lmg) only for long distance shot (over half smg range, this being 6" in this case) however you do have to include - 1 for target being small team (2 or less in target squad) so it kinda worked out in a way anyway.
The other thing, a small rule miss but quite important, when a turreted vehicle is hit by a shell, howitzer or cannon you have to do a turret jam roll to see if your turret gets jammed facing the last direction it fired. As your sherman was immobilised, if the turret had jammed as well there would have been no way for the sherman to turn its turret to fire on the panzer4, fairly important in such a small tight game like yours eh? 😊
Anyway Just wanted to say keep doing the videos guys, I really enjoy watching people play even if it's not 100% on every rule, you can't get too anal about rules or it gets boring right,? Fun and enjoyment is the main thing and you guys have that covered I think. Mind you as you get more and more used to the little rules it can make for some cool narratives in a battle. Don't forget also you can have house rules. One I particularly like to use to counter really annoying stuff like being turret jammed or immobilised is repair rolls for a crew, using rally roll but at a -2 because its heavy repair work, or add mechanics ability to an engineer unit to give them the ability to run over to a vehicle and fix it up, again I use rally at a -2 but also add a perminent -1 pin to the repaired vehicle so even tho its fixed its still not as good as it was.
Thanks we did spot the movement and assault weapons, however will checkout the jammed rule.. what page is that on in the rulebook?
Ahh just seen you remembered assault weapons later! Well done fellas
Page 109 in 2nd edition rules book bottom left paragraph "when u inflict damage result against a vehicle with a turret and the vehicle is not destroyed you take a turret jam test roll a d6. On a 1-3 nothing happens on a 4-6, the turret is jammed for the rest of the game. The turret is limited in the arc that the damage causing hit came from etc etc - - that last bit is something I had forgotten so we all make mistakes haha, I guess it does mean you can at least fire back at the unit that just shot you which I think is a good thing and now I know that I may not need to bother with any repair stuff. I always had a problem with my tanks getting their guns stuck facing no enemies whereas this does at least mean you have one target at least to shoot at.
Anyway thanks again for the video guys.
With the US their rifles and BAR don't get the move and fire penalty as they have the army special rule.
Great game. Very enjoyable watch. More BA please. One rule that you may want to check is the coming on from any table edge. I think the opponent is only not allowed to enter from the table edge you last entered from. Meaning that Lt Dan could have entered from one of 3 sides.
Entertaining. Great looking table and models. You've gotten a few rules wrong so far, and forgotten a few modifiers. I believe you said an MMG team with spotter? The MMG team doesn't require nor have the option for a spotter.
You are right but I guess he used the term "spotter" to represent the third man required for an MMG-team.
Yes another Bolt Action game. Just got myself the Flamethrower half track it’s good.
Yeeeeessss! More BA!
I love it when brits pronounce "waffen" as it is were "waffles" - makes it really sweet. You might not care about it, but in german "w" is similar to the english "v" ("vampire"), whereas "v" is pronounced as an english "f".
Ahhhh that you for explaining this.. no more waffles
@@GeeksWargaming No worries! Keep up the videos, I really enjoy them!
Great stuff!
Nice report, looking forward to some more bolt action shenanigans.
Lots more coming up
Great vid style, enjoyed - about to play first BA game. And yes, over 30... and 40..
great game thank you so much
Absolutely fantastic video, bolt action isn’t a game I play... you make it look brilliant! A very funny awesome video! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you, we enjoy playing it and im glad that comes across
understand its one sherman mg and one main gun, not both mg and main gun ?
With 2 children under 6, I can only play small points games. Good to see some on the ‘Tube.
Subbed 👍
Welcome to geeks
@@GeeksWargaming I am so happy that i have found you (and bolt action)! I know what my christmas wislist will be! Do you have any tips for starter sets?
We would say the band of brothers boxset is an amazing starter set. Its what all we had for out first few battle reports
@@GeeksWargaming Okay, thank you!
Nicely done!
The US paratroopers are stubborn, they ignore pins mods for any morale check.
Those hedgerows are awsome, can I ask how they were made?
The ones on the bases?
@@GeeksWargaming The ones set up as terrain light cover
Ehm...Sherman TC: Loader...HE, Gunner aim at that Barn at 3 O`Clock. FIRE!!! Done.
Great game fellas. Love the content
Hi guys ,I’ve just bought the band of brothers starter set haven’t glued them yet what do you suggest to buy next more Germans or a tank or other saying that haven’t sorted a terrain out yet only what’s in the kit
Its a great starting place. Id play games with the set to get used to the rules. We added extra troops for the Americans and Waffen SS and a tank for the Germans
Can anyone tell me what scale you would need to 3d print buildings for this game?
1/56
I could be wrong bu you cannot advance with a MMG like how infantry do. MMGs need to have 1 turn to set up
Are this tanks rubicon Tanks?
Hi these tanks are from warlord games
Geeks Wargaming okay thx😇 I thought that these looks so.... dont know😂
I love you guys, your so funny 😂 xx
Why thank you
How balanced are the US Airborne and the German Grenadiers? Airborne are supoosed to be elite while Grenadiers are regular infantry.
I want to build both armies to play at home but I want them to be balanced in a 1000 point game.
The band of brothers box set it actually quite balanced. Obviously armies are best when added to, but its a great place to start
@@GeeksWargaming Yes but going beyond that, do you say any unbalance between this two subfactions.
Honestly the fact that the german force has a vehicle and the americans dont, makes it feel a little. Our first few battle reports are filmed with only the band of brothers box. I dont think they were unbalanced when we played
Geeks Wargaming yesh but I’m talking about us airborne and german grenadiers beyond the starter box. I mean us airborne were elite and german grenadiers regular infantry.
Oh.. I wonder what will be coming for the U.S..? 🤔🤔.
.. Yeah got the German Army Book Today (10/07/19)..And..yeah.. The Spandau Ballet bit!..
Thanks guys I’ll do that
I’m 22 making my own bolt action wargame terrain
Tabletoptactical. I get it 😄
I'm 13 and play bolt action a bit adicted
Good lad!
21 majoring in history so i dont think i count
I mean I am 15
yes and time worp opens and over the hill a gigatic 4ok tank come out thay find later its a ban blade 11 baroles of hell see as post new
I`m 17
the one dislike is hitler
Thanks for the Heart Geeks, i love your stuff
i going to do some bolt action on my channel soon
my age 70
My national pride hurts