Nothing makes a war game stand out like fully painted armies and quality terrain. The first gaming convention I ever attended was at Enfilade in Washington State when I was sixteen. One of the only games I remember playing while there was a game of Sword and the Flame. The game pitted the French Foreign Legion against the Arabs, who were attacking a town and rail station controlled by the French. What made this game especially memorable was the terrain. The river was teaming with animal life, shops in the village were full of goods like spices, ceramic jars, and rolled up rugs. The train billowed smoke as it rode through the station, while civilians milled around the streets. The game was not only fun, but the terrain took me to that village and engaged my imagination like no other game had previously done. I didn’t just play that game, I experienced it.
Bolt Action, like most other skirmish level 28mm games, gives the gamer more than ample opportunity to get creative with their terrain. While there are a lot of cool things you can make from scratch there are also plenty of companies out there that sell table swag to help you trick out your boards. Architects of War have an entire line of accessories to help you take your tables to the next level. Recently I picked up two packs of Chickens and a Fox, a pack of Pigs, and one pack of their Dung Heap and Tools.
The Chicken and Fox pack is $5 and comes with chicks, a rooster, a fox, and several chickens. I picked up two packs because they are relatively cheap and wanted to have lots of extra chickens. The Pigs were $8 a pack and came with three pigs and two piglets. The Dung Heap (..."The Dung Heap"... - Judson) came with tools, grain bags, a wheelbarrow, and a heap of dung. (Yes! - J) The sculpts are finely detailed and required almost no clean up or assembly. I mounted all the animals on bases to give them something solid to stand on. I also glued the dung heap and wheelbarrow to a large round base so I can use it a terrain or as an objective.
Chickens just milling around
These muddy hogs are ready to make bacon.
A pile of poo, just what every pig loves.
Ivan the Russian fox skulking near the fence.
I really am pleased with the overall quality and life these accessories bring to my table. I have seen farm animals from other manufactures and these are definitely top notch for players wanting to take their game to the next level.
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Craig Baxter is the Director of the WWPD Northern Research center in Anchorage, AK. When he’s not contributing to WWPD.net he is busy blogging, painting, modeling and rolling dice.
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