Category: Wargaming

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. Next month is a huge narrative game based on Operation Sealion, Hitlers planned invasion of the UK. I believe there will be twenty players on one board. Cant wait!

I’ve recently got into Bolt Action a WW2 wargame and am absolutely loving it. Before too long I found out that one of the local Perth clubs, Outpost 6030, was hosting Bolt Action at it’s Skulls 2026 tournament in March. I’ve never been particularly competitive gamer, rather enjoying the stories at the table than the results. However, playing four games in a day and getting to meet the wider community was too good a chance to pass up.

There is something nerve-wracking about your first tournament. You spend weeks painting models, tweaking lists, reading scenarios and imagining strategies. Then suddenly it is 0730 on a Sunday, you are standing in a hall full of strangers, ten beautifully laid out tables, 17 competitors, and your carefully assembled 1100 point force is waiting to march onto the battlefield.

I took a British Royal Marine Commando army with 12 order dice (not very many order dice as it turned out). I had spent plenty of time thinking about my list beforehand and honed it over a few practice games with Jake and Richard (thanks guys!). The event itself was run brilliantly by Dan. He kept everything moving smoothly, while maintaining a sunny disposition throughout. Four games between 0800 and 1700 is a proper marathon, but the day rattled along at a surprisingly fast pace.

Dan patrolled the tables answering rules queries and making sure we knew how much time we had left for each game. He also seemed to just love the atmosphere and getting into the hard fought games at each table. Every time he told me the time, I think a look of panic would cross my face. No poker faces in my side of the table.

Game one was against Marco and his Japanese army. This was my first real lesson of the day. I played far too cautiously, sitting back and trying to preserve units instead of throwing myself into the objectives. The result was that the end score was very one sided. Marco wiped the floor with me. These games were moving fast, and with four games packed into one day you had to get yourself into a winning position within three turns or simply run out of time.

After that first match I realised I needed to change my approach. From that point on I became much more aggressive and mobile with my commandos.

Game two was against Mark and his American force. The scenario involved hunting an informant and I felt much sharper in this game. I had a clear plan, moved more decisively and generally played far more tactically than I had in game one. The strategy itself was sound, but the dice gods decided to laugh in my face. My reserves stubbornly refused to arrive and secure the left flank, which allowed Mark to roll up that side of the table and march away with the informant and a convincing win. A fun game, though and I really felt on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

Lunch was a classic sausage sizzle and a quick chat, talking tactics and straight back into it.

Game three was against Martin and, yes, another Japanese army. By this point I was starting to wonder if every Japanese player in the state had decided to attend. This scenario focused on destroying objectives rather than simply shooting each other. It created a very different sort of game because instead of trading fire across the table, both of us were racing to damage key targets.

Martin had a very rough run of luck with his dice, while my army stuck to my plan nicely. My commandos moved quickly, focused on the objectives and managed to take out most of them. At last, my first tournament win. It may not have been the most heroic battle of the day, but it felt great to get one on the board.

The final game was against Dave and, somehow, yet another Japanese force. The scenario focused on eliminating a specific unit. I made a few mistakes early, lost momentum and Dave completely outplayed me. I couldn’t get anywhere near his unit while his airstrike and mortars battered my army from turn one.

One thing that really helped me through the day was preparation. Before the tournament I had printed out the scenario pack and written a rough strategy for each mission. That turned out to be incredibly useful. Instead of staring blankly at the table trying to invent a plan on the spot, I already had a basic framework in mind. It freed up brain space for reacting to what my opponent was doing and kept me focused on the scenario.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the day was not the result, but the people. Every opponent I played was an absolute gentleman. Everyone played fairly, kept things friendly and had a good laugh along the way. I also had some great conversations with the other players between rounds. The WA Bolt Action community felt very welcoming, which makes a huge difference when you are walking nervously into your first event.

At the end of the day there was a prize giving. I think I finished 11th out of 17, which I was pretty happy with for a first event. I also won some extra order dice and an exclusive Gus March-Phillipps model, which felt like a proper little treasure chest at the end of the day.

Most importantly, I came away with four fun games, a better understanding of how tournament Bolt Action works and a few offers for future games. Not a bad haul for one Sunday. One thing’s for certain, I’ll be signing up for the next one as soon as I can.