What a fantastic idea to improve the game

[Kar98k]

I have not tried it yet because we are currently finishing an ACW campaign, but it looks like a fantastic idea that will get tested the next time I play Bolt Action: Third Edition. I especially like the “Orders Phase – Random Ending” explanation posted by another member. Also, I support anything that ends playing that silly ‘Going Down’ dice game.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3627934/badd

…and I too didn’t know that there were two BGG listings for Bolt Action. One for BA1&2 and one for BA3E. Makes sense actually.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3628019/badd

I only just learned of this idea, so it is new to me. Actually, it was a member in my gaming club that mentioned this and thinks, “it is a brilliant idea”, and I look forward to trying it. Anyway, have you tried this “brilliant idea” yet? And if so, what do you think?

[Joe]

I have played in a tournament where we had 2 order dice of another color added to the dice bag and when both dice were drawn the round ends no matter how many activations are left.

we have had crazy short turns to long turns where we almost drew every dice. The shortest turn was like 6 dice drawn until we drew both. I will say for a competitive environment this made it extremely hard on some missions and scenarios because you literally had to rush early to objectives and hope the turn ended early.

I didn’t like the mechanic myself because it definitely managed and averaged to cut turns shorter than usual making games too quick and didn’t feel like a game of bolt action.

[Kar98k]

I have played in a tournament where we had 2 order dice of another color added to the dice bag and when both dice were drawn the round ends no matter how many activations are left.

I agree, because “some setups or custom scenarios might not react well to any sort of random ending.” However, this is why I think the other idea works better – using only one die, but having a predetermined number of pulls.

Regardless, it is good for most games because “it takes care of that cheeky attempt to hold back a unit or playing that silly going ‘Down’ dice game.”

[Kar98k]

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3627934/badd

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3628019/badd

We’ve played a few games now using this little gem, and for games where both players create a point-based force of 1,000 to 1,500 points, it works surprisingly well. It really does take care of things like that silly ‘Going Down’ dice game, and of course, the “No more hiding your overpowered until the end of the round. No more BS. Play it or lose it.” You can of course push the limits and try to hold back a specific unit for as long as you can, but you risk having the unit do nothing for the turn – What? You had an order for us? Well, we didn’t receive it.

However, there is one thing that should be implemented. If there is a first wave (see Meeting Engagement, page 170), it is best not to use this gem of an idea for the first turn of the game. It should only start on the second turn of the game. Then the fun+tension builds. The pulling of order dice adds an element of fog-of-war, this gem of an idea takes it to another level.

Orders Phase – Random Ending
Insert into the bag a single Bolt Action die that is of a different color from all the others. When this die is pulled a predetermined number of times (usually 2, 3, or 4), it can be used to trigger the end of the Orders Phase (no more drawing dice from the bag). For example, if the players all agree that the predetermined number is three, then the first and second time this Bolt Action die is pulled, it is noted and returned to the bag, but when pulled a third time, the Orders Phase suddenly ends. This can create unexpected surprises as well as add a bit of fog of war to your games. This also adds a nice surprise on how a Bolt Action game should be played. There is no more fooling about and no more cheeky attempts to hold back a unit until the end of the Orders Phase, but more importantly, there is this added suspense of “Play it or lose it.”

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