Alternative Titles/Edition History:
1st Edition (2001); 2nd Edition (2014)
Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (2001)
Product Type:
Periodical
Country of Origin:
U.S.A.
Contents:
1st Edition: 34-page magazine; 10 scenarios on cardstock, 140 die-cut counters, small historical map of the Sinai valley in 1956.
2nd Edition (2014): 34-page magazine; 10 scenarios on cardstock, new version of historical map on 4 sheets of 12" x 18" cardstock
Commentary:General information on Critical Hit Magazine can be found here.
All the article content of this short issue deals with Critical Hit’s then-recent release, Genesis ’48, on the first Arab-Israeli War. As many of this issue’s pages are actually Critical Hit ads, order forms, and the like, there is actually extremely little magazine content in this issue, and what there is, isn’t good.
In addition to the articles, the issue includes 10 scenarios, two of which are for Genesis ’48 and two of which use an included mini-map, G1.
The scenarios have not been much played. They include a mix of actions, such as Finland 1939 (Soviets vs. Finns [2]) and 1940 (Soviets vs. Finns); Wake Island 1941 (Americans vs. Japanese); Tunisia 1942 (Americans/British vs. Germans); France 1944 (Americans vs. Germans); Palestine 1948 (Israelis vs. Arabs, Israelis vs. Egyptians); and Egypt 1956 (Israelis vs. Egyptians).
CH142 (Longstop Hill) uses the G1 mini-historical map that comes with the issue to represent a 1942 Tunisian action, while Genesis #19 (Operation Kislev) uses the same map to represent an incident from the 1956 Arab-Israeli War. It is probably not so much a historical map as a non-geomorphic generic map. Ch141 (Another Alamo) is an amphibious landing.
2nd Edition (2014) Comments: In 2014, Critical Hit reprinted this issue of the magazine with a different front and back cover and other substantial changes, making this essentially the “2nd edition” of a magazine issue (a rather rare phenomenon).
The magazine content itself seems to be a direct reproduction, all the way down to obsolete advertisements and order forms. The scenarios also seem unchanged. However, the countersheet included in the original no longer appears and there is a new, very different version of the map. This version uses 4 large, slightly overlapping 9″ x 12″ sheets of glossy cardstock to form the G1 map. The hexes are much larger and the graphics are re-done (to much better effect). The map will take up much more table space and, with four sections, is rather awkward, but overall represents an improvement over the original.
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