Mixing Business with Bolt Action - Part 1: Tennessee

A recent project at work has had me on the road for the better part of August. It started in Knoxville, TN and wrapped up near LA. Along the way I was seeking out local games stores to see who had some Bolt Action goodies stocked. 

Knoxville, TN

I found an LGS in "Olde City" and a few others in surrounding areas, but unfortunately, no Bolt Action. 

Nashville, TN

A 10-20 minute drive from the airport landed me at The Game Keep. After having a look around at several miniatures, I asked the shopkeep about BA. He mentioned they have had a few people inquire about it and even had a few people order some of the books. They actually had an Armies of Japan book on the shelf. Wanting to support the local game store scene, I made a small purchase - some Army Painter Quickshade Inks.

 Man these thing do wonders things for these minis.

Unfortunately, their historical miniatures crowd gathered the following night and I would be on the road to Memphis...

Memphis, TN

Ah, Memphis. You delicious dry rubbed ribs... 

Oh, right, Bolt Action...

Even without the ribs, I was in for a treat. I asked some folks on the Bolt Action FaceBook group if there were any shops in Nashville an Memphis. The response was that I needed to check out Mid-South Hobbies. And I'm glad that I did. When I walked into Mid-South Hobbies, my mouth dropped. This place is huge and it's filled with R/C you name it, model trains, Boardgames, miniatures, and of course Bolt Action. So, after my 30 or so minute tour around the place I settled in - standing in front of the Warlord Games display (yes, they had other Warlord Games miniatures as well).

It wasn't long before (well, it may have been - I probably lost track of time) another gentlemen approached and began to inspect the wall of Bolt Action goodness. I'm not usually one to strike up a conversation with someone standing in any typical store, but this was no typical store. So I began to ask about the his interest in Bolt Action and the BA scene in general here in Memphis. That led to some discussion of a possible game later that night. I checked in to the hotel, ate dinner, an returned to find him assembling his latest purchase - some Wargames Factory Germans. It turns out that many of the Bolt Action regulars were up in Indy for GenCon2013, so we ended up playing some BattleTech - my first time playing it and it was also enjoyable.

I ended up leaving Mid-South Hobbies with some new recruits: a Bolt Action US Army Command blister pack and a US box of the Wargames Factory minis.

The next night, while i was in Memphis, a couple guys from out local gaming group were playing some Bolt Action back home. Through the marvels of modern technology, I was right there on the battle board with them. 

Spent the weekend at home and then it was off to the southwest! Next stop: El Paso, TX... (To be continued...)