After thoroughly enjoying my first Bolt Action tournament, Skulls 2026, I thought I’d enter a second. In stepped Spartan 2026! A full day of three games was an enticing prospect in itself, but I have found the Bolt Action scene here in Perth to be one of the most welcoming I’ve ever encountered. Win or lose it was set to be a fun event.
Tournament Preparation
I’d fallen in love with Bolt Action at the end of 2025, when Jackson gave me a trial game. Since that moment I’d furiously painted up a Royal Marine Commando army and fought a few games before taking it to a 6 player narrative game and then on to the Skulls tournament. If you want to know what I enjoy about the game please check out the link above.
This time round I wanted to play something different. I’d been collecting an opposing force of German Wermacht to go up against my commandos, and it was finally painted. I have a thing about only playing with painted miniatures. What better way to test the army than by entering it into Spartan. I found the commandos, being all veteran (meaning fewer units), were being outmaneuvered by my opponents. My German collection has much more variety: flamethrowers, half tracks, heavy weapons and plenty of infantry.
Having played three practice games I finalised my list. A very mobile force of heavily armed halftracks with engineer flamethrower squads, panzer grenadiers (2 LMGs), Heer grenadiers and a unit of SMG assault veterans. I even added a small unit of Feldgendarme (military police) to help get my reserves on the board. Added to this was an armoured platoon consisting of a Stummel (howitzer armed half track), 222 armoured car and a 250/9 halftrack.
I hoped that this set up would give me the flexibility to capture objectives while responding to the threats posed by the opposition.
Further Preparation
In addition to my fully painted army I also wanted to contribute a table of terrain for the day. There’s something wonderful about playing a game of Bolt Action on a thematic board with painted terrain, hedgerows etc. So I ordered a set of Normandy inspired mdf buildings from Dark Castle Terrain in Australia and spent all my hobby time prior to the event madly constructing and painting it up.
Despite covering my hands in glue and paint I did manage to get a decent looking table together.
Spartan 2026
First of all I need to mention that the T.O Matt did an amazing job of running this event. It all went very smoothly. Additionally, all the competitors were very friendly with some good banter rippling through the room. There was a big mix of experience levels from the relative novice to the very seasoned. One competitor had only played 2 games previously and still got stuck in.
There were 16 players and 9 incredible terrain tables. The latter of which really caught the eye other people at the venue. In fact, a couple of the onlookers were able to get a demo game in too. So some new converts to the Bolt Action community!
I played three games: Breakthrough (vs Japanese), Nuts (vs German) and Meeting Engagement (vs US). Each one was a nail biter for me, with lots of cinematic moments. However, all three I started strong before losing pretty dramatically at the end. I can honestly say that all the games were incredible fun, regardless of the outcome.
While I didn’t win the wooden spoon I did come second from the bottom. Even so, I walked away with some cool prizes including a Sherman (perfect to support my commando force), some amazing fence terrain printed and painted by a talented local (which will lift my Bolt Action table to new heights) and a very nice spy mini (that I think will form part of a future resistance contingent). Most importantly though I had a great time and feel part of this incredibly friendly community.
Lessons Learned
With three losses to my name, what would I do differently? Firstly, I would have more practice games with my list prior to attending the event. I don’t think I had a full grasp on the synergies of my units, I was getting closer, but still need more practice.
Next, I had written down plans for each scenario. But, every time I got over excited and deviated. While of course plans never hold up to first contact, looking back a bit more sticking tot he strategy could have stood me in good stead.
Lastly, firing units at point blank can be devastating (within 6″) and I want to experiment with that more.
What a Tournament
What can I say, an on point TO, great venue, thematic tables and super friendly players all combined to make Spartan 2026 an amazing event. As the community here in Western Australia continues to grow I can only see events like this getting better and better. Can’t wait for Spartan 2027. Bring it on!