No need for any of this, guys.
Chain of Command and Bolt Action are often compared to each other. They’re both roughly platoon-sized WW2 games, are both often played at 28mm, and both are reasonably new on the scene and generating a lot of interest. It’s only natural that they’re going to be compared to each other (the latest issue of Wargames Illustrated has an article doing just that) but unfortunately some people take it personally and I’ve seen numerous cases of individuals knocking “the other set” online.
If you’re a Bolt Action player that doesn’t mean you have to run down Chain of Command, and vice versa. I play Chain of Command but as far as I can see Bolt Action is doing a lot of good things for the hobby:
- The range of supporting miniatures from Warlord is huge, with lots of new releases.
- The marketing is actively targeting 40K players and trying to get them interested in historical gaming.
- It’s much more tournament-friendly, which caters to a large subset of wargamers.
- Lots of new players playing WW2 games supports everybody involved in WW2 gaming. Not everyone will buy everything from Warlord, other vendors will get a slice of the pie.
We’ve always had multiple rule sets for every period in wargaming. I say just play the set you and your opponents like and don’t worry about what other people are playing.
I can’t sum it up better than a post on the subject I saw recently:
The games we play make us smile, laugh, wince, whoop with joy and holler with despair. The vehicles we each use to drive us through our hours of distraction and escapism i.e. the rules we use to recreate our sanitary and benign little wars, all have their own positives and pitfalls. As long as we look back on these games with satisfaction, a mad-eyed grin of victory or a rueful smile of defeat, does it really matter which rule system got us to that moment.
Nuff said.
5 Responses to Chain of Command vs Bolt Action
Andrew Miller says:
For me, it will always be Chain of Command.
Andy says:
Well, me too. But I recognise that we’re a minority and that there are tons of people having fun playing BA.
Jamie Herbert says:
Honestly I play Bolt Action, and had not heard much or anything about chain of command, I have no reason to trash on it, but I will pick up a copy, and give it a whirl, who knows? I may have another world war 2 game to play and run.
Andy says:
CoC is great, but where it really shines is as a campaign system. If you want to give it a crack I’d highly recommend also picking up the supplement “At the Sharp End” and having a rummage through the Pint Sized Campaigns, which give you a series of about 6-12 linked games for about £3.
Jan Doernte says:
I’ve been playing BA for a year- and just played by first CoC game a week ago and I definitely recommend it! But I do see myself still playing BOTH going forward. They are simply two different experiences. BA is more gamey- CoC more historical. BA does need slight house rules- their indirect “smoke” rule is a joke- and there is no logical reason why a mortar can “range in” (2+ after hitting) – but a tank gunner cannot (on a stationary target of course).