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Step into the boots of a battlefield commander in Bolt Action, a turn-based WWII strategy inspired by Warlord Games’ tabletop classic.

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Bolt Action - Dev Diary #3: Order Die, Unit Activations & Snap to Action

26 Mar

Wargamers! Today we’re diving into the absolute soul of the Bolt Action experience: The Turn Order System.

In most strategy games, you’re looking at a standard "I-Go-You-Go" structure. One player moves their entire army, then the other does the same. While that's clean and easy to follow, it’s also highly predictable and often leads to the "Alpha-Strike" problem—where the player who goes first can effectively cripple the enemy before they’ve even had a chance to react.

Bolt Action shatters that mold. Every unit in your platoon—from your Heer Infantry to your Panzer IV—contributes an Order Die to a virtual bag. When a die is drawn, that side activates one eligible unit. Repeat until the bag is empty. That’s one Turn.

This shifts the entire structure of the game. You aren't just working through a fixed checklist; you are constantly prioritizing, adapting, and deciding what matters right now. It’s a brilliant piece of tabletop design, and it remains a non-negotiable pillar of our digital adaptation.

The Bag: Friction and Tempo

The bag system creates uncertainty, but it is not uncertainty for its own sake. What it really creates is Command Friction. You may know exactly what you want to do with your platoon, but as the old military adage goes: "No plan survives first contact with the enemy." In Bolt Action, that first contact happens every time a hand reaches into the virtual dice bag.

Imagine a German force tasked with seizing a vital objective: a Stone Bridge held by a stubborn US Airborne squad. To succeed, the German commander has a lethal, calculated sequence in mind:

The Panzer IV must fire its High Explosive (HE) shell first to blast the Americans out of the bridgehead and stack Pins to ruin their morale.
Once suppressed, the Heer Pioneer squad (with their deadly flamethrower) will Advance into range to incinerate the defenders.

In a rigid "I-Go-You-Go" game, this is a mathematical certainty. In Bolt Action, it is a high-wire act.

The friction comes when you draw your first die and fire the Panzer IV. The shell hits, but doesn't wipe them out. You’re ready to move the Pioneers next—but the next die pulled from the bag is US. Seeing your Tank exposed in the open, your opponent activates a hidden Bazooka Team to fire at your tank’s side armor, changing your focus from the objective to protecting your most valuable unit.

Suddenly, your "perfect" sequence is shattered. Every draw is a high-stakes gamble. In Bolt Action, victory doesn't go to the player with the best plan; it goes to the player whose plan can survive the friction of the bag.

Officers: Snap to Action!

If the bag creates friction, Officers are the primary tools you use to push back against it. In Bolt Action, an officer is not simply a "hero" unit or a static morale totem; they are your primary Force Multipliers.

You Men, Snap to Action Mechanic: When an officer’s die is drawn, you can trigger a You Men, Snap to Action. This allows the officer to manually "pull" additional dice from the bag for nearby units, bypassing the random draw.

Instead of hoping the bag favors you twice in a row, your US Officer ensures your Sherman shells the objective to pin the defenders before your US Airborne squad initiates Close Quarters.

We have modeled our HQ units with 1:1 V3 technical precision:

Platoon Commanders (Leutnant/Oberleutnant): Your frontline anchors. With a 6” Command Range, they can "Snap" up to 2 nearby units to act immediately with them.
Company Commanders (Hauptmann/Major): High-tier tactical assets. With a 12” Command Range, they can "Snap" up to 4 units at once.

Designer’s Note: For the German Wehrmacht, we have obviously implemented "Blitzkrieg." Reflecting their superior tactical initiative, your officers can pull one additional order die during a You Men, Snap to Action.

Digital Speed, Tabletop Tension

We’ve automated the "bookkeeping" so you can focus on the "blood and guts."

The virtual bag and UI tracks whose turn it is now, snap to action activations, which units have acted, which have to act and remaining die in real-time, delivering the signature Bolt Action suspense at a punchy, cinematic pace.

When you select an Officer, their Command Range appears as a tactical overlay, highlighting which units are eligible for You Men, Snap to Action or a morale boost. A squad anchored by their Officer is better equipped to stay in the fight while being "pinned."

No more guessing whether units are in range! We’ve mapped measurements to a Tile System where *1 Tile = 1 Inch. A 6” Command Range is 6 tiles; a 12” Run is 12 tiles. This grid removes all measurement ambiguity, providing an instant, visible resource for every tactical decision.

*This is the current playtest data, it might change as the game evolves.

Scaling the Battle: Grouped Activations

In Bolt Action, high unit counts create a grand spectacle, but in a digital environment, they can present a significant pacing hurdle. A 1,500-point match with 30+ units leads to dozens of individual turn timers (online multiplayer, the minimum would be 60 seconds) potentially turning a punchy engagement into a slog. To streamline gameplay, we’ve created an optional Grouped Activations feature.

In this system, a single "pull" from the virtual bag can represent multiple order dice. For example, one draw might grant you three activations to use across your platoon. This reduces the hand-offs between players after every activation, increasing the amount you can accomplish within a single (grouped) activation.

Crucially, we understand that for many, the 1:1 "one die, one unit" system is the heart of the Bolt Action experience. Because of this, Grouped Activations are entirely optional. Players will have the ability to set the activation value to "1," perfectly mirroring the traditional tabletop rules.

We haven't decided which method will be the default for matchmaking, we look forward to playtesting with the community to see what fits best. Regardless, whether you want the streamlined speed of grouped orders or the granular, unit-by-unit tension of the classic draw, the choice will remain entirely in your hands.

The Road Ahead

We have already gathered some excellent feedback from the community, but we want to dig deeper. In our next update, we’ll be releasing a FAQ to address your questions. If you have questions, we might have answers.

We’re also developing an active community on the official Discord (linked here[discord.gg]), please join us and help make the game better.

Community Question: When it comes to the bag, do you prefer the raw tension of one-by-one activations, or are you interested in trying grouped activations for larger battles?

Wishlist now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856030/Bolt_Action/

Bolt Action

PLEASE dont miss the opportunity.

Italy, Japan, Russia, Finland.

The King in Yellow

31 Mar @ 2:26pm

General Discussions

Bolt Action - Dev Diary #2: Six Orders, Endless Decisions

25 Feb

Wargamers! Before we dive into today’s diary, we’d like to address some of the feedback from our last update. We received many comments, especially about our statement that “we didn’t want to build a digital version of Bolt Action” which understandably raised some concerns. So let us reassure you: we are building our videogame with the goal of ensuring that EVERY system has a spiritual equivalent in the tabletop game.

Two weeks ago, we also had the pleasure of hosting Alessio Cavatore, Lead Designer of Bolt Action, for a special play session at Slitherine’s office. We spent the day rolling dice, measuring movement, and taking a deep dive into the mechanics and philosophy behind Bolt Action. Alessio shared the “why” behind the rules, how historical authenticity is balanced with the fluid Order Dice gameplay that defines the system. Understanding these core design pillars has been invaluable as we continue developing the game.

We’re doubling down on this approach and will be very conservative with system changes. That said, tabletop design has restrictions due to the medium. In a few cases we may explore how certain rules might look without those constraints, always aiming to improve the digital gameplay experience. Rest assured, all such changes will be playtested and we will listen to community feedback before locking them in.

Back to the Dev Diary…

Today we’re talking about the smallest menu in our game…where the biggest strategies are made.

Six buttons. Six verbs. And endless bad decisions.

Bolt Action combat is all about committing to your choices. “What is THIS squad going to do THIS turn?” You don’t get to do everything. You get to choose one order, one intent, one risk - and then live with the consequences.

The six Orders come directly from the Bolt Action tabletop ruleset. In this diary, we’ll break down how they work and what they mean for your strategy.

The Strategy of Bolt Action

If you’re a tabletop veteran, you know this already: Bolt Action isn’t won by destroying all enemy units. It’s won by having a plan and then executing it. And since “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”, being able to adapt is key.

The orders are how you execute the plan. The 6 core options that each unit has each turn. Even if the options vary a bit (or a lot!) depending on the unit type, the foundation remains the same.

The Six Orders

1) Fire

Fire commands your squad to shoot at an enemy with ALL their weapons*. The squad won’t move this turn to ensure all shots are made at full accuracy. Barring special rules (of which there are many), it doesn’t matter if your soldiers are carrying Rifles, SMGs, Assault Rifles or LMGs…if it’s within range, all weapons will fire.

PC Gamers, this is your basic shoot action with all data on the shot transparently displayed: weapon base accuracy, situational modifiers, range penalty, pin penalties and enemy cover.

2) Advance

Advance is your classic “move and shoot” order. In Bolt Action, this means your unit moves at its standard movement distance and fires with reduced accuracy. Additional rules allow certain units (e.g. Vehicles, Machine Guns) to perform different actions (like pivoting) during this order too. It’s a complex game…that’s the FUN part!

PC gamers, this is what you’re most familiar with. Your unit can move and shoot in the same turn. Bolt Action’s systemic depth will change your thinking and not make this your default action.

3) Run

Run doubles your standard Advance movement distance, but you won’t be able to shoot this turn* (hold your horses, veterans). It’s how you flank, retreat, grab ideal cover or rapidly advance on your enemy. Terrain affects movement distance, just like real life.

PC Gamers, this is the double move action. Use it to rapidly close distance, get to the objective faster or get the best positioning for future rounds.

*But of course, that’s not ALL it does. Run orders can also be used to initiate Close Quarters assault provided other conditions are fulfilled. We won’t get into details (yet) but this is a more “lethal”, high-risk, high-reward form of attacking.

4) Ambush

You choose to forgo your fire and move this turn. To shoot reactively, when the enemy moves in THEIR turn. If an enemy unit moves through your range, your units will FIRE, inflicting maximum damage (since they probably aren’t in cover).

PC gamers, you’ve seen this before. This is Overwatch. This is the “I’ll fire when I have a better shot on the enemy turn” action. Its place in Bolt Action is just as important, getting off a “better” shot on the enemy turn can ruin their plans. And really…isn’t that why we all play?

5) Rally

Rally is how you recover from Pins (suppression). We will cover pins and suppression in depth in a later diary but basically your units gain Pins when they get hit. Pins reduce accuracy and increase the chance that the unit won’t follow orders. “Pinning” the enemy is crucial in Bolt Action, more so than actually eliminating enemy units. Rally is your primary tool to get rid of ALL pins (v3 woohoo!).

PC gamers, this is similar to morale systems in other games. It’s harder to kill a unit, easier to render it useless. Pins, order tests and morale play a huge role in Bolt Action. You’ll love it!

6) Down

Down is the defensive order, you increase your squad’s evasion by getting into a defensive position, reducing the chance to get hit. The enemy has wasted many actions to put your squad in a weak position, a bad match-up, down can turn it around. By the numbers, DOWN has the best action economy against enemy aggression - since you can RETAIN this order without activating your unit next turn.

PC gamers, defensive options almost never shine in other games but Bolt Action is different since you get limited unit activations each turn. This means that going down and staying down is like using a “bonus” action.

The Road Ahead

Many of our diaries are talking about game systems that many fans of the IP are already familiar with but we’re also dying to talk to you about the campaign system (with insane replayability) as well as the faction playstyles (and which units made the cut!). Come talk to us on Discord, Reddit and Steam Forums!

Community Question: Which units are you looking forward to the MOST? The British 25-Pounder Light Howitzer? The US Bazooka team? For me, it was definitely the Panzer VI Tiger Tank. Impractical? Yes. Glorious? Also yes.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856030/Bolt_Action/

Bolt Action

Bolt Action - Dev Diary #1: Reimagining the Front Line

26 Jan

Hello everyone! We’re very excited to start bringing you regular updates from the development trenches.

We know the skepticism that comes with a beloved license. We’ve all seen "PC adaptations" that strip the soul out of a tabletop game to make it "accessible." So our designers spent weeks in "boot camp”: reading rulebooks, painting minis, rolling dice, measuring distances with tape , and feeling the genuine panic of a FUBAR roll.

We learned a lot, and we’re still learning. But the one thing we DID know from the beginning was that we didn’t want to build a digital version of Bolt Action. Bolt Action already exists! Playing a table-top experience will always remain special.

What we want is the best Turn-Based Tactics videogame built on the Bolt Action ruleset. Sharing the game we love with a different audience.

The Mechanics: Authentic Bolt Action

In game design, the medium decides how rules and mechanics are adapted. Board games and video games are very different mediums but we’re committed to translating the spirit of the rules (when possible).

We’ll do deep dives on where the PC game differs dramatically from its source. But first, let’s celebrate all that is still the same.

1. The Six Orders

We haven't touched the fundamental decision-making loop. Every time you activate a unit, you are faced with the exact same six tactical choices.

Fire: Optimal shooting, no movement.
Advance: Tactical movement with a penalty to fire.
Run: Double movement, no firing.
Ambush: Reactive fire during the enemy's turn.
Rally: The essential cleanse to remove pins.
Down: Reduced chance to be hit.

2. Suppression: Pins, Order & Morale

Pinning units to decrease accuracy and force order tests is as important as killing them.
Positioning units to maximize officer morale bonuses and abilities is critical.
Units are not just health bars, they won’t fight to the last man, they can be broken.

3. Penetration, Armor and Facing

Vehicle combat is a game of penetration and positioning. Just like on the tabletop.

Armor Values: Tanks have armor. Small arms will not damage them.
Penetration: That Light Howitzer with the 25-PDR AT Shell is exactly what you’ll need to take out that Panzer. Just find the right angle.
Facings: We calculate front, side, rear, and top armor. Hitting an open-topped, armored vehicle with a mortar remains a viable (and satisfying) tactic.

4. High Explosives (HE), Direct & Indirect Fire

We’ve preserved the technical distinction between Direct and Indirect fire.

Ranging In: For indirect fire (e.g. Mortars), we’ve kept the "Zeroing In" math. Your first shot against a static target is less accurate, and improves each turn.
AoE Damage: Units have varying high explosive radii, which applies more pins and deals area damage.
Modes of Fire: Some units can have different modes of fire. E.g. Howitzers can do direct or indirect fire.

5. Platoons, Point Costs & Experience Levels

Platoons are still the structure that determines which units you can take in your army. All units still have point costs and experience levels. All hail the inexperienced light mortar!

Experience Levels: Squads can be inexperienced, regular or veteran. This affects their health points, morale and evasion.
Platoon Variety: What’s your flavor: Armored or Artillery? The best kind of question. Personally, we love Engineers with Flamethrowers.

6. Squad Loadouts & Customization

Your army is unique and customizable. You have the same granular control over your roster as you do when building a physical army list.

Infantry Granularity: Add riflemen (within limits) to your squad, equip an LMG (Team Weapon), or swap your NCO’s rifle to a Submachine Gun for assault.
Vehicle Upgrades: A tank is a modular platform. Upgrade your Sherman with a pintle-mounted .50 Cal for an extra anti-infantry punch, or pay the premium for Veteran crews to increase your Morale and "Snap to Action" reliability.
Visual Customization: And of course you can customize the look of your army. Choose your division, customize your colors. Be creative, we dare you.

The Road Ahead

We’re building a game for the person with five unpainted armies sitting on their shelf, but also for the strategy fan who wants a WWII game with complex rules and deep gameplay.

This is just the beginning. Over the next few diaries we’ll dive into how your favourite mechanics have been adapted. Everything from Order Dice Economy to Pins and Morale Systems.

Community Question: Which national characteristic are you most excited to see in action? The American "Fire and Maneuver," the British "Artillery Support," or the dreaded German "Hitler's Buzzsaw"?

Tell us in the comments. We’re listening.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856030/Bolt_Action/

Bolt Action

101

Are there any relations with Warlord? Or is just an "Inspired" game?

Just curiosity

LSTR-512

25 Feb @ 8:27am

General Discussions

Models not look authentic to tabletop

instead look just like bunch of stock 3d WW2 models for regualr video game, not like animated miniatures.

russian_martian

28 Feb @ 12:33pm

General Discussions

Multiplayer please NOT PBEM

This is killing any mp fun in most games. Log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out, log in, log out...

Medicus

19 Mar @ 6:29pm

General Discussions

AI generated screenshots and video

There's too many artefacts and inaccuracies in the screenshots to claim that what we are seeing here is a preview of the real game. Shame.

Fierman

27 Feb @ 4:14pm

General Discussions

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