Bolt Action is Warlord Games’ World War II tabletop wargame — you command a reinforced platoon of 28mm miniatures (vehicles and terrain at 1:56 scale) in fast, dice-driven battles. A standard game is 1,000 points a side, around 30–50 models plus a few vehicles or weapons teams, played on a 6×4 ft table. The current rules are Bolt Action: Third Edition (released September 2024).
Below: what the game is, what scale its models are, how big an army and table you need, what it takes to start playing, and how it compares to Warhammer 40,000 — plus the LITKO accessories that make the table run smoothly.
Updated June 24, 2026 — reflects Bolt Action: Third Edition (Warlord Games). Always check the current rulebook and your event pack for definitive rules.
What Is Bolt Action?
Bolt Action is a 28mm World War II tabletop wargame from Warlord Games, published in partnership with Osprey Games. You build a historical force — a reinforced platoon of infantry, support weapons, and a vehicle or two from a real WWII nation — and fight platoon-scale battles across a tabletop. It was originally created by veteran designers Rick Priestley and Alessio Cavatore, which is part of why it feels approachable to anyone coming from other miniatures games.
Its signature mechanic is the order dice system. Instead of one player moving their whole army and then the other, each unit gets a coloured order die into a bag — one colour per side. Dice are drawn one at a time, and whoever’s colour comes up activates a single unit. That back-and-forth means you’re never idle for long and the battle stays tense and unpredictable.
The current edition is Bolt Action: Third Edition, released in September 2024. Its starter set, Battle of the Bulge, pits the USA against Germany, and the rulebook includes army lists for Great Britain, the USA, the Soviet Union, Germany, and Imperial Japan, with more nations available as free downloads.
What Scale Is Bolt Action? (28mm / 1:56)
Bolt Action miniatures are 28mm “heroic” scale, with vehicles and terrain at 1:56. “Heroic” means the proportions are deliberately a touch exaggerated — slightly larger heads, hands, and weapons — so detail reads well at arm’s length and paints up cleanly. Infantry are mounted on 25mm round bases as standard.
| Element | Scale | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Infantry | 28mm heroic | Mounted on 25mm round bases as standard |
| Vehicles & tanks | 1:56 | Matches the 28mm infantry on the table |
| Terrain & buildings | 1:56 | 28mm-scale scenery fits the same footprint |
Because 28mm is the most common miniatures scale, models from other 28mm ranges generally fit right in — rebase them to match and they’ll look at home. For the exact base size each unit type needs, see our Bolt Action base sizes guide.
How Big Is a Game? Army & Table Size
A force in Bolt Action is built to a points limit. The standard tournament and pick-up game is 1,000 points — a reinforced platoon of roughly 30–50 models plus a couple of vehicles or weapons teams. Smaller 500–600 point games are a quick evening or a good way to learn; larger games run to 1,250 points and beyond.
| Game type | Points | Table |
|---|---|---|
| Quick / learning game | 500–600 | 4×4 ft works fine |
| Standard game | 1,000 | 6×4 ft |
| Large game | 1,250+ | 6×4 ft (or larger) |
The standard table is 6×4 feet, the same footprint most miniatures games use, so a club table or a 6×4 mat is all you need. Smaller games scale down comfortably to a 4×4.
What You Need to Play
Bolt Action is light on special equipment — part of its appeal. Here’s the full checklist, and where each piece comes from:
- The rulebook and an army. The Bolt Action: Third Edition rulebook and the miniatures come from Warlord Games. New to the hobby? A starter set is the cheapest way in — you can browse Bolt Action miniatures here.
- Order dice. One die per unit, in your army’s colour, drawn from a bag or cup to decide activations. A pack of a dozen covers most armies. These are Warlord’s specially-printed order dice — a dice bag and your regular dice round out the set.
- A handful of D6. Bolt Action uses ordinary six-sided dice for shooting and morale — nothing exotic. Keep a small pool handy. (See our tabletop dice guide for how many to buy.)
- A tape measure. Everything is measured in inches.
- Pin markers. Incoming fire piles pins on a unit (a pinned unit takes a flat −1 to hit and may have to test before it can act), so you’ll mark them constantly. Clear, readable pin markers keep the table honest — see the LITKO options below.
- HE templates. Mortars, howitzers, and big guns drop a round blast template — a fixed circle sized by the weapon (1, 2, 3, or 4 inches across). The rulebook tells you which.
- A table and terrain. A 6×4 surface and enough scenery to give infantry cover and block line of sight.
Bolt Action vs. Warhammer 40K
The two games share a 28mm scale and a designer lineage — Bolt Action’s authors are former Warhammer 40,000 designers — so 40K players find a lot that feels familiar. The differences are in setting, feel, and how a turn works:
| Bolt Action | Warhammer 40,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Real-world World War II | Sci-fi, far-future “grimdark” |
| Scale | 28mm; vehicles 1:56 | 28mm heroic |
| Turns | Alternating activations — order dice drawn from a bag | Structured player turns with set phases |
| Army size | A platoon — ~30–50 men plus a few vehicles | Fewer, more powerful models |
| Getting in | A starter set includes the full hardback rules; a 1,000-pt army is an affordable goal | Lower entry price, but a full army costs more to complete |
Neither is “better” — they scratch different itches. If you came here from the grimdark side and want the historical comparison the other way around, our Warhammer base sizes guide and 40K token guide cover that end of the table.
Getting Started: Your First Steps
- Pick a nation. Germany, the USA, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and Imperial Japan are all in the core rulebook — choose the army whose look and history grabs you.
- Start with a starter set or a ~500-point force. It’s the cheapest way to learn the rules, then grow toward the 1,000-point standard.
- Base your miniatures. Mount infantry on 25mm round bases so they’re table-legal and stable — our Bolt Action base sizes guide has the full breakdown by unit type.
- Sort your markers. Order dice for activations, pin markers for suppression, and a few objective tokens cover almost every game.
LITKO Accessories for Bolt Action
Warlord makes the rules and the miniatures; LITKO makes the laser-cut acrylic that keeps your table fast and readable. The pieces that matter most for Bolt Action:
- Bases. 25mm round bases for your infantry — clear acrylic, plywood, or magnetic-bottomed — plus any odd size a special model needs. Start with the Bolt Action base sizes guide.
- Pin markers. The single most-used marker in the game. LITKO’s nation pin dials and pin markers for Bolt Action count up a stack at a glance, so a heavily-suppressed unit is never in doubt.
- WWII objective & status tokens. For objectives, suppression, and the wider set of WWII game states, the WWII wargame token reference walks through what each marker does, and the WWII nation tokens collection covers the national markers.
- Dice & dice trays. Bolt Action runs on ordinary D6 — the tabletop dice guide covers how many you’ll want and the trays and towers that keep them on the table.
Everything LITKO makes is laser-cut in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Frequently Asked Questions
What scale is Bolt Action?
Bolt Action miniatures are 28mm “heroic” scale, with vehicles and terrain at 1:56. Infantry are mounted on 25mm round bases as standard. Because 28mm is the most common miniatures scale, models from other 28mm ranges generally fit in once they’re rebased to match.
How big is a standard game of Bolt Action?
The standard game is 1,000 points a side — a reinforced platoon of roughly 30 to 50 models plus a couple of vehicles or weapons teams. Smaller 500 to 600 point games are good for learning, and larger games run to 1,250 points and up.
What size table do you need for Bolt Action?
A standard game is played on a 6×4 foot table, the same footprint most miniatures games use. Smaller games scale down comfortably to a 4×4.
What do you need to start playing Bolt Action?
The rulebook and an army (both from Warlord Games), order dice for activations, a handful of ordinary D6, a tape measure (everything is in inches), pin markers for suppression, HE templates for blast weapons, and a 6×4 table with terrain. A starter set bundles the rules with two forces and is the easiest way in.
Is Bolt Action the same scale as Warhammer 40K?
Both use 28mm miniatures, so they’re broadly comparable in size, but they’re different games: Bolt Action is historical World War II with alternating order-dice activations, while Warhammer 40,000 is sci-fi with structured player turns and fewer, more powerful models.
What edition of Bolt Action is current?
Bolt Action: Third Edition, released in September 2024 by Warlord Games. It replaced the previous edition and its army books, so rules summaries written for “2nd Edition” are out of date — always check the current rulebook.
Can I use other 28mm miniatures in Bolt Action?
Yes. Bolt Action is 28mm, so historical WWII miniatures from most ranges work once they’re mounted on the right bases (25mm round for infantry). Match the basing and they’ll be table-legal and look consistent with the rest of your force.
Where to Go Next
- Bolt Action Base Sizes Guide — the exact base size for every unit type
- WWII Wargame Token Reference — pin, smoke, casualty & order markers across WWII systems
- Tabletop Dice Guide — which dice you need and how many
- Historical Wargaming Basing Guide — basing conventions across historical rule systems
- Bolt Action Miniatures — browse the Warlord range
This product is unofficial and is in no way endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Warlord Games Limited. Bolt Action is a trademark of Warlord Games Limited, used here for compatibility identification only. No challenge to its status is intended.