03.1997 Critical Hit Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 1

Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (1997)

Product Type:
Periodical

Country of Origin:
U.S.A.

Contents:
50-page magazine, including two scenarios on magazine pages; 6 scenarios on glossy paper; strip of unmounted counters; linked-scenario campaign game for the All-American series

Commentary:

General information on Critical Hit Magazine can be found here.

Critical Hit Magazine Volume 4 Issue 1.  50 pages (including two scenarios; 6 other scenarios are included separately on glossy paper and 7 unmounted counters [6 Weapons Pit counters and 1 Pz Sf IVa counter]).  Featuring a color cover for the first time, this issue was otherwise disappointing in the production department, with scenarios printed on flimsy glossy sheets of paper.  The cover features prominently the words “Gembloux is here! France 1940 Revisited by CH,” but no articles in the magazine actually deal with that product.

Interesting articles include one on paratroop tactics for ASL by Michael Puccio, and a Scenario Reply of a Baraque de Fraiture scenario (BdF8, Cold Reception) by Rodney Kinney and Doug Gibson.

The scenarios–a small mix of only 8–include actions such as Belgium 1944 (Americans vs. Germans); Philippines 1941 (Americans vs. Japanese); Soviet Union 1941 (Soviets vs. Germans); France 1944 (Canadians vs. Germans [2]); Germany 1944 (Americans vs. Germans), 1945 (British vs. Germans); and Poland 1939 (Poles vs. Germans).

The eight scenarios include no particularly popular ones among them.  CH77 (Drop Zone A) may be of interest to airdrop enthusiasts.  Overall, it is not one of the better issues.

Note:  In 2008-2009, CH reprinted content from several older issues of the magazine as “Retro Issues.”  However, the content does not always entirely duplicate that of the originals.  See Retro Issue section for details.    The “Retro” version includes the scenarios on cardstock (though the original scenario pages are still there); the scenarios also ostensibly incorporate any errata.

In 2014, Critical Hit reprinted a number of its old magazines, including this issue.  Although some of the reprints had changes, this facsimile edition seems to have all of the original contents (although the uncut counters seem to have been re-done).  They priced the reprint at $19.95.

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