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Warlord has announced that Bolt Action is getting updated to a 3rd edition.

Edit: more details from the Warlord Community below:
https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/osprey-blog/2024/announcing-bolt-action-third-edition/)

Announcing Bolt Action: Third Edition
By
Osprey
on
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
in
Osprey Games

This is what you’ve all been waiting for. Warlord Games and Osprey Games are proud to announce a new edition of the world’s greatest World War II wargame…

**********************************

“My chief mission with Bolt Action: Third Edition was to make my favourite game an even
better experience for the players. For me, there’s always one goal in mind –
continuing my quest for a truly ‘seamless’ set of wargame rules – in other words,
the Holy Grail of a rules system where the players are always thinking about their next moves
on the table, and not about the rules of the game! I think Bolt Action: Third Edition is definitely
a big step in that direction, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me!”
- Alessio Cavatore, Bolt Action: Third Edition author

A revised and updated third edition of the best-selling Bolt Action World War II wargaming rules from Warlord Games.

Bring the great battles of World War II to your tabletop with Bolt Action. Strike out from the beaches of Normandy towards Germany. Sweep across the deserts of North Africa in lightning raids.
Battle the enemy and the sweltering heat in the jungles of Asia and on the islands of the Pacific.
Fight doggedly from street to street in Arnhem, Stalingrad, and Berlin.

Whatever your preferred style of play, or your historical interests, the diverse army and scenario options will allow you to build a force that fits. Field everything from standard rifle platoons to heavily armoured tank forces, fast-moving reconnaissance patrols, and even artillery units.

This third edition features refined and updated rules and starter army lists to get new players straight into the action. Seasoned veterans, meanwhile, will find new tactical depth in the detailed force composition mechanics and a wide variety of fresh challenges in the scenario generation system. Rally your forces, study the terrain, and prepare for battle – the fight continues!

// COMING 26.09.2024 //

Pre-order your copy today here.

**********************************

Want to hear more about what’s in store for Bolt Action? Stay tuned for further information.

And read the official FAQ from Warlord Games here.



Additional info:
We don’t make announcements of this magnitude very often, but today is a very special day – Bolt Action: Third Edition is coming! In partnership with our good friends at Osprey Games, we’re delighted to announce this awesome update to our flagship World War II wargame. With a passionate, dedicated community of wargamers and nearly 16 years of existence, it’s time for Bolt Action to keep moving forward with the lessons learned from thousands upon thousands of games, and of course all of your feedback!

Written by renowned games designer (and veteran of previous editions) Alessio Cavatore, Bolt Action: Third Edition features a whole host of revised and updated rules to provide the most enjoyable games possible, while maintaining the essential ‘spirit’ of Bolt Action that we all know and love – here’s what Alessio has to say about it:


“Working on this new edition of Bolt Action has been a treat, but also a challenge. I saw my mission as trying to make my favourite game an even better experience for the players. For me, there’s always one goal in mind – continuing my quest for a truly ‘seamless’ set of wargame rules – in other words, the Holy Grail of a rules system where the players are always thinking about their next moves on the table, and not about the rules of the game! I think Bolt Action: Third Edition is definitely a big step in that direction, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me!”

So, what can you expect from Bolt Action: Third Edition, and from Warlord Games over the coming months? Well, first off, the game will be out in late September of this year – definitely a month to circle in your calendars! Bolt Action veterans can expect to find a game that’s very recognisably the one they know and love, with many core mechanics intact, but one that’s been refined, updated, and tuned to provide even smoother gameplay, while new players will be welcomed to a system that’s easy to pick up and learn. A brand-new, completely re-worked army list selection system provides fantastic new opportunities for fielding truly unique forces, while the new scenario generator brings fun, challenging new missions to the tabletop.

While we’re all incredibly excited about Bolt Action: Third Edition, we’ve also got loads of other awesome releases for many of our other ranges between now and late September, and we’re going to give them the attention they deserve. This means that you won’t hear very much more about the new edition of Bolt Action from us until around July, when we’ll begin showing off all the new features in earnest and taking pre-orders! We know you’ll have questions, of course, and we’ve prepared a few bits of info that we’re certain you’ll want to know right away:

Can I still use my current models and armies?
Absolutely! We put a lot of work into ensuring that the majority of Second Edition armies fit into the new force selection system with minimal additions. You’ll likely find, however, that you’ll want to invest in some units that you might not have considered in the current edition, as there have been widespread changes to points costs and individual unit rules!

What about my rulebooks?
The Bolt Action: Third Edition rulebook will immediately supersede the Bolt Action: Second Edition rulebook, and all existing Armies of… books. Contained within the main rulebook will be five ‘starter’ army lists allowing you to construct forces for Great Britain, the USA, the USSR, Germany, and Imperial Japan, while other nations will have similar lists available as PDF downloads. These will allow you to start playing right away, and will be familiar to Second Edition players, but each will be replaced by a regular, ongoing series of releases of Third Edition Armies of… books.

Campaign and Theatre books will remain valid, as the background and scenarios are still very much relevant, but the vast majority of the units contained therein will be updated and addressed in the new Armies of… books. We’ve taken the opportunity of Bolt Action: Third Edition to completely overhaul unit profiles, special rules, and points from across the dozens of sources from the first two editions, and collate them, making it easier than ever for players to field their chosen armies.

Do I need any different dice, tokens, or templates?
Nope! Bolt Action: Third Edition still uses all the Bolt Action staples we know and love – d6, Pin markers, our multi-function templates, and of course the iconic Order Dice activation system – it wouldn’t be Bolt Action without it, after all!

Will there be any further books or FAQs released for Second Edition?
At this stage, it’s all hands on deck for Bolt Action: Third Edition, so there are no more Second Edition book releases planned. Similarly, the FAQ currently available on the website is the final one for that edition – however, if you have any rules questions regarding Second Edition, you can always continue to email them to info@warlordgames.com and we’ll answer them on an as-needed basis. Please note, our award-winning Customer Service team won’t be able to give you any more information about Third Edition at the moment – it’s strictly Top Secret!

Is there anything else I should know right now?
Just that the best way to get all of your Warlord Games news (including Bolt Action updates which will start in earnest in July) is to sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter, if you haven’t already!

Seasoned veterans will enjoy the feeling of buying the same game a third time 😂

 privateer4hire wrote:
Seasoned veterans will enjoy the feeling of buying the same game a third time 😂

I feel I can get behind an eight year edition cycle.

*Edited to the correct number of years. 1st editon was 2012, second was 2016. So the gap between editions is getting larger (as it should).

Yeah, new editions are fine when the authors have actually worked towards making improvements or reducing bloat. Heck, I wish Chain of Command would get a second edition to incorporate some of the changes that has occurred over time, like realizing the Platoon ratings needed adjusting.

Bolt Action 2.0 is a beast that has some definite problems, especially if Warlord wants it to be their "Here's a good transition away from 40k/AoS into Historicals" game. Tanks need love, MMGs (and gun teams in general) need help.

The main book will have platoon lists for Great Britain, the USA, the USSR, Germany, and Imperial Japan, and other nations will get new PDF lists. The new book will also keep the Campaign and Theatre books valid.

I'll probably stick to 2nd edition but if ever required to, and if it is good, might jump to 3rd.

If they go with the very same spirit and basically just refine the game even further, why not. Plus it's been a while already when 2nd came out!

Eight years feels like a good run on the current edition, which heh, is also more or less how long ago I last played Bolt Action, around the end of first edition. We'll see, kinda curious to see what this new edition will be bringing.

well, to jump from 1rst to second was mostly just patching 1st edition, the logic here seems to enhance 2 edition. That's the trick, because stuff is bound to be ill tested, or come up with results unaccounted for, and will need correcting as it goes. But if they don't overdue it and have implemented new stuff wisely, that might just be the same game, but better. Let us hope

I just added another post from the Warlord Community. Seems like it will be very similar and streamlined. Hopefully that does not mean simplified too much. It will be interesting to see the changes.

Not sure they'd need to change a lot or tune down a lot to make it easy to pick up. BA rules, while many, are mostly logical and effective. The hardest for a complete beginner at wargaming would be to grasp basic, common wargaming concepts and conventions - beyond this, nothing too difficult.

I found Bolt Action fairly easy to grasp and get into compared to 40k. Less cognitive load involved, just lighter and better written all around...so hopefully this new edition stays a bit similar. I do wonder if a new starter box will come with the edition.

Having bought my books less than six months ago, I'm going to take a "wait and see" attitude.

To put it another way, I'm going to want to see significant positive changes to justify buying new books.

If they get rid of templates I can definitely get behind a new edition. One of the best things about first edition

I actually like templates and don't mind them staying at all. They're cinematic, add an element of taking terrain into account to accommodate that risk, and make average hit results more consistent. While not behind to tiresome as you literally place it to hit the most.

At least to my group it was a net gain

Eck, not managed to actually play 2nd edition yet, though I do own it

in general terms Warlord seem to issue games that get better incrementally so less of the trepidation than a GW "nuke from orbit" release.

nice the army books are slated for an update, though this does suggest something reasonably fundamental has changed.

will wait and see

I would expect mostly incremental changes. I hope they address some issues with MMG and also with vehicles. I think vehicle damage is one of the more complex rules, but not sure how you simplify that without getting silly simple.

I am a touch worried about changes to army building. I hope they keep historical limits and formations in mind, but at the same time, no plan survives contact with the enemy. It would be nice if EVERY unit got a time frame added to it since many don’t, even if not hard enforced.

Overall I am hopefully and doubt there will be anything earthshaking. I do wonder if this will be a start to trying to bring BA and K47 rules more in line again to simplify transition from one game to the other.

 privateer4hire wrote:
If they get rid of templates I can definitely get behind a new edition. One of the best things about first edition

I suggest you read what WL wrote. They've specifically stated they're keeping the template.

Have they hinted at an update to Konflikt 47 to go along with 3rd edition?

Ugh, feth this, edition churn is not what I look for in a historical game. Or any game for that matter but I understand (even if I don't like) the need for tryhard tournament games to have a moving meta.

Again, I'm not sure eight years counts as edition churn, especially as it was twice the length between 1st and second.

 legionaires wrote:
Have they hinted at an update to Konflikt 47 to go along with 3rd edition?

That is something I'd like to see. If I ever get around to playing with my 40k minis again, it'll likely be using a house version of K47.

Well, a lot of the army books that are going in the dustbin aren't 8 years old, smartie pants, and besides if it's just minor changes with a new number on it just to sell books then it's churn whether it's eight years or eight months. It's possible to update a game without making people throw books away and get their wallets out.

 vadersson wrote:
I would expect mostly incremental changes. I hope they address some issues with MMG and also with vehicles. I think vehicle damage is one of the more complex rules, but not sure how you simplify that without getting silly simple.

I am a touch worried about changes to army building. I hope they keep historical limits and formations in mind, but at the same time, no plan survives contact with the enemy. It would be nice if EVERY unit got a time frame added to it since many don’t, even if not hard enforced.

Overall I am hopefully and doubt there will be anything earthshaking. I do wonder if this will be a start to trying to bring BA and K47 rules more in line again to simplify transition from one game to the other.

Vhl rules are somewhat cumbersome at first but once you've taken the gist they feel less clumsy.

I wouldn't hope to much about historicity, BA has never really been a game that focused on this aspect I think, rather, it is really a strategy game with plastic crack. But that might be, just because of this, a possible axis of improvment.

MMG could really do with a buff though, I mean they're that rad, but next to useless most of the time I fielded one.

I have conflicting opinions on this.
One, cries in no 2nd edition soviet book
Two, i finally have a good starting point to actually start playing the game


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Dawnbringer wrote:
Again, I'm not sure eight years counts as edition churn, especially as it was twice the length between 1st and second.

 legionaires wrote:
Have they hinted at an update to Konflikt 47 to go along with 3rd edition?

That is something I'd like to see. If I ever get around to playing with my 40k minis again, it'll likely be using a house version of K47.

unrelated to the discussion, but I have to appreciate your Sam Vimes profile picture. Great taste you got there.

 legionaires wrote:
Have they hinted at an update to Konflikt 47 to go along with 3rd edition?

That will really torque me off. Just bought that book about 6 months ago


Automatically Appended Next Post:

ccs wrote:

 privateer4hire wrote:
If they get rid of templates I can definitely get behind a new edition. One of the best things about first edition

I suggest you read what WL wrote. They've specifically stated they're keeping the template.

I had read it. Just wishing out loud