Alternative Titles/Edition History:
1st Edition, 1997; 2nd (reprint) Edition, 2014
Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (1997)
Product Type:
Periodical
Country of Origin:
U.S.A.
Contents:
1st Edition: 58-page magazine, including 8 scenarios as pages of the magazine. Back cover includes a village overlay.
2nd Edition: Essentially as 1st Edition, though now overlay included as separate sheet.
Commentary:
General information on Critical Hit Magazine can be found here.
Critical Hit Magazine Volume 4 Issue 2. 58 pages (including 8 scenarios; back cover includes a color village overlay, 42a). The glossy pages of the previous issue are gone, as are scenarios printed separately. Interesting articles in this issue include Designers Notes for the 1997 Paddington Bears Pack published by Critical Hit and a collection of SSRs collated by Andrea Mateuzzi for use by designers.
The 8 scenarios are a mix of actions: Belgium 1944 (Americans vs. Germans); Sicily 1943 (Americans vs. Italians, British vs. Germans); Tunisia 1943 (British vs. Germans, Americans vs. Germans); Yugoslavia 1942 (Partisans vs. Croatians); Libya 1941 (British vs. Germans); and Soviet Union 1942 (Soviets vs. Germans).
The majority of the scenarios (with yet another changed scenario format) are from the Paddington Bears, including one classic, PBP19 (House of Pain), designed by Les Kramer. Still, this is not a strong issue.
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 many of its old magazine issues, including this one. While some were essentially exact facsimile reprints, other issues included minor to substantial changes. The magazine content in this issue seems the same as in the original, all the pagination is totally messed up. which may mean something could be missing. The overlay that originally appeared on the back of the magazine is now included as an insert, which is a mild improvement. However, this reprint is priced at the rather steep price of $29.95 (a full $10 over some of the other reprints), even though the scenarios do not even come on separate scenario cards but only as pages of the magazine.
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