06.1997 Euro-Pack II: The Battle of the Bulge / Bloody Christmas/ Euro 2: Peiper’s Progress

Alternative Titles/Edition History:
1st Edition, 1997; 2nd edition, 2011 (combined with other materials in Bulge Pak 1); 3rd Edition, 2015; 4th Edition, 2018; 5th Edition (Euro 2: Peiper's Progress), 2020.  See also Beyond Bastogne.

Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (1st Edition, 1997; 2nd Edition [as Bulge Pak 1], 2011, 3rd Edition, 2015; 4th Edition, 2018; 5th Edition, 2020)

Product Type:
Scenario Pack

Country of Origin:
U.S.A.

Contents:
1st Edition: 8 scenarios on cardstock

2nd Edition: See Bulge Pak 1

3rd Edition: 8 scenarios on cardstock, 280 die-cut counters, 2 8" x 22" winterized geoboards (CH3, CH4) printed on 4 sheets of uncut light cardstock/heavy paper.

4th Edition (Bloody Christmas): 8 scenarios on cardstock, 1 8" x 22" unmounted geoboard (CH4), 8 scenarios, 1 countersheet with 280 1/2" counters. NOTE: Desperation Morale has not physically examined this product; contents are based on Critical Hit description, but CH content lists frequently are NOT ACCURATE.

5th Edition (Euro 2: Peiper's Progress): 8 scenarios on cardstock.

See also Beyond Bastogne.

Commentary:

The second scenario pack featuring actions originally published in the European newsletter ASL News (and the odd ringer from the American newsletter On All Fronts), Euro-Pack II features scenarios set during the Battle of the Bulge.   It is not a remarkable pack, but decent scenarios include E-P53 (Fuel Depot #2) and E-P54 (Devils in the Graveyard, which uses the Stoumont map from Kampfgruppe Peiper I).

One scenario, E-P62 (Down the Road…), uses the ASLN#1 board, a “historical” geomorphic mapboard originally published in an issue of ASL News.  Originally, it was obtainable through purchase from Critical Hit or by getting a subscription to Critical Hit Magazine.  Critical Hit briefly made it available for download as a PDF.

This product was “sort of” reprinted in 2011 as Bulge Pak 1; see that entry for details.  It includes a printed version of the ASLN1 map.

 

3rd Edition (Euro Pack 2 2015 Edition) comments:  In 2015 the company published a coverless new “edition” of the original Euro Pack II, i.e., without the counters and maps that appeared in the Bulge Pak 1 version.  Scenario cards now use red ink and some scenarios allegedly have errata incorporated.  However, the most unlikable thing about the Bulge Pak version was continued in this new edition:  many of the scenarios have boards swapped out for other boards, though there is no evidence they were replaytested with the new boards.

The scenario that uses the ASLN#1 boards–redone and renamed as CH3 and CH4 in Bulge Pak 1–still requires those boards.  The versions of board CH3 and CH4 that appear in this third edition product come with so-called “winterized” graphics, but are printed on multiple sheets of light cardstock, which means that the player will have to get a pair of scissors or some other implement and actually cut the boards out like paper dolls in order to use them.  Very lazy.

There may have been a version of this product without the boards; it is not clear.

4th Edition (Bloody Christmas) comments: In 2018, Critical Hit once more recycled Euro Pack 2, this time a $59.95 animal dubbed Bloody Christmas. Desperation Morale has not yet examined a physical copy of this product. It appears to have the standard 8 scenarios, but unlike the previous edition contains only one geoboard (CH4) instead of two. The board appears in its non-winterized version.

2019 Update:  In 2019, Critical Hit took most of the scenarios from Euro-Pack 2, reworked them again to fit 12″ x 18″ geoboards, combining them with other Bulge-related scenarios in a product called Beyond Bastogne:  Bye Bye Baby 1: Bulge.  See that entry for a fuller description.

5th Edition (Euro 2: Peiper’s Progress) comments:  Euro-Pack II is becoming one of Critical Hit’s most renamed, recycled and reprinted products. The company has gotten more use out of remaking and reselling this product than your average 1980s rock band has from playing its old hits at state fairs. Some 23 years after its first release, Critical Hit once more renamed and re-released this product. Unlike some of the previous editions and variations, this version simply includes the original scenarios.  Desperation Morale has not examined this product, but it is likely the original scenarios are tweaked.

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