"Campaign Sea Lion Review for Bolt Action" Topic

Bolt Action's newest campaign book comes out on May 18 and I love it.

I was fortunate enough to get a copy to review for my web site, Must Contain Minis. Head on over and check it out…
link

The short of it… it is a great book with tons of new stuff for Early War German and British players, some new scenarios and a handful of new rules. I was really impressed with this one!

Source: link

How is it as a source book for alternate history lpayers who don't care for/about the BA rule system?

I would say it is fairly focused on BA. It does have nice pictures and unit descriptions though.

So you can have forces of gangsters, made up of friends of the Kray twins, and the BUF, a party of British nationalists, side with the Germans? This seems like a complete flight of fantasy which is more like a VBCW than Sealion.

"Employing crooks and thugs of every nationality was a well known Nazi trait". Really? I mean really?

On further investigation, I note that we have troops on roller skates and a whole force made up of a women's archery team. There does come a point where stretching history in order to provide a fun game can, surely, end up with a ridiculous parody? If so, this seems to be it. Do Bolt Action players really want this from a WWII game?

Hi Northern Monkey,

I am sure some people will not be interested in a "what if" scenario. Personally, I am really looking forward to seeing what Warlord release for these units and I would much rather play unique units than blue-on-blue or red-on-red (which also happens fairly often in my local meta). :)

I can understand the appeal of unique units, and Sealion is, of course, fiction not fact. But the plans for both sides exist and it is entirely possible to reflect unusual units, like the Home Guard or LDV without resorting to complete and utter fantasy and farce.

Nobody's forcing anyone to use the more fanciful options. Surely the whole point is that you can take as much from it as you want.

I'm with Northern Monkey on this. I can't define the line between 'fun' and 'parody', but I know that these options cross it. Things I might accept in A Very British Civil War aren't what I expect in a WW2 game – even one featuring a 'what if' campaign rather than one that took place.
Luckily, no-one is forcing me to play it…

The "fanciful" units are all based on REAL ideas that were mooted at the time. The UK was on its back immediately after Dunkirk. They had fortunately rescued most of the troops, but they had lost tonnes of equipment. The Home Guard was also "fanciful" at the time. But they were trained and prepared and 'invented' dozens of unusual weapons and vehicles.

Take what you want from it. I have looked forward to this release and have a massive Sealion campaign mapped out. It will be great fun.

Roller skates? Women archers? Was the idea of gangster platoons "mooted at the time" or BUF platoons wielding spanners? You simply cannot rationalise such an absurd departure from historical reality on the basis that it is "fun". It's downright bloody ridiculous.

The Home Guard was not fanciful in the slightest. They did indeed invent many weapons which we're wierd and wonderful, so much so that there is no need to invent other utterly stupid nonsense. The facts are strange and varied enough without the travesty of some of the additional stuff which would be perfectly fine in a VBCW setting, but here is utterly stupid and puerile.

I would reiterate that nobody's forcing you to do anything you don't want to.

This book is rubbish, if you want to play Operation Sealion there are other much better source books available. If you want to play a game with silly units Keep Calm And Carry On.

Thanks for the review, I was about to order it but your review steered me clear. Thanks and happy gaming.

I don't play Bolt action although I may try to take it up. I have played a number of games set in the very British Civil War and so bought this book. I found this sea lion campaign book to be quite interesting. Gives lots of ideas for for how to play out the invasion, the home guard and their weapons, German paratroopers and fifth columnists. Was fifth column a myth in other countries? Did not the Nazi employ criminals in their local control units? Especially in various anti-Jewish activities.

It's interesting to see war gamers who do all sorts of what if games, taking exception to this what if scenario. The book includes a full range of possibilities, players can exclude messengers on rollerskates and a women's archery contingent and just use those units that we know did exist.

I give this full marks for creativity and ingenuity, plus good graphics. Gives me incentive to take up bolt action

Just a bit disappointed by the purely british aspect of this book . after the Fall of France, ther were Free French and Polish troops in UK . some quite experienced ones in fact ( troops back from Narvik , or escaped from France ) …

BA.. please stick with "real" history. There are way too many campaign scenario books that are need without do a "what if" book?

SFC Retired

Actually, some Home Guard units did use roller skates – I know, it sounds ridiculous, and it is…

I remember reading how in Brighton on the S. Coast of England where I live a unit was equipped this way to make it quicker to get to any point of enemy insurgence (I guess they didn't have other transport, but can't help thinking bicycles would have been a lot quicker!)

See also this image goo.gl/images/CBPZU7 – one can't help feeling he would have been travelling backwards after the first squirt!

Thanks Alphus99.

And found this – a still from some wartime movie footage featured in a TV documentary called "The Real Dad's Army"

Host article/discussion here:
link

I've found the actual film footage! This jumps straight to the relevant clip. It's pretty laughable, but it is indeed true

"And so the skating section goes into action…"

youtu.be/YZD9YctHY78?t=27m14s

Scoff no longer you scoffers! ;)

Not convinced.