06.1997 The Sunrise Bridge

Alternative Titles/Edition History:
Also known as Primosole Bridge (not to be confused with MMP campaign game of that name published years later).  1st Edition, 1997; 2nd Edition (2014 Edition), 2014

Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (1st Edition, 1997; 2nd Edition, 2014)

Product Type:
Campaign Game

Country of Origin:
U.S.A.

Contents:
1st Edition:  charts and rules, 1 bridge overlay, eight unmounted control counters

2nd Edition (2014 Edition):  6 pages rules, 8" x 22" paper geoboard (s40) on two untrimmed sheets of paper/light cardstock

Commentary:

This Platoon Leader campaign game, designed by Dave Lamb, features combat between British paratroopers from the 1st Parachute Brigade and various Italian and Axis defenders for control of Primosole Bridge on Sicily in July 1943. This unique combat features the only time in World War II in which two contending sides airdropped men into the same battle.

The game uses 4 geomorphic mapboards (33, 40, 43, 9) and has only six CG dates, which makes it pretty manageable.

This Campaign Game was originally released bundled with the Platoon Leader 2.0 rulebook, and was later released a second time as a “FREE GIFT” for purchasers of Blood & Iron.

In this campaign game, the initial British forces enter by airdrop.

2nd Edition (2014 Edition) Commentary:  In 2014, Critical Hit released a new edition of Cemetery Hill, dubbed the “2014 Edition.”  It was designed to take advantage of its new printing technology as well as the recent re-release of the Platoon Leader rules.  The new edition contained six loose pages of rules, hole-punched for inclusion in three-ringed binders.  The rules are in color and are attractive.

The other component is a new but derivative geoboard, s40, which essentially is a version of official board 40 with a bridge and olive groves added.  Unfortunately, some of the building graphics are messed up (a problem it shares with all of the “Sweet 16” geoboards Critical Hit created at the same time.  Essentially, buildings that are lined up exactly horizontally or vertically are fine, but any building lined up at some other angle appears with crude jagged/pixelated graphics that are quite ugly.

The geoboard h is neither mounted nor printed on cardboard like ASLSK-style maps.  Rather, it is printed on two sheets of thick paper/light cardstock (of the same density that official overlay sheets use) with a white trim around them.  So, before the maps can even be used, players must assemble them by cutting them out with scissors or a rotary cutter, just as if they were overlays.

To make matters worse, the map is not the right-size.  Measured along its long edges, the map is fine.  However, measured along the narrow edges, the map is 1/8″ too short, meaning that the narrow sides of the geoboard will not line up correctly with other geoboards.  The only saving grace is that, for this particular product, the board is not required to line up that way.

There is no real reason why owners of a previous version of Cemetery Hill should want or need this new version.  Even non-owners of a previous version might be well-advised to seek out one of the earlier editions rather than this one, as at $24.95 for a single campaign game, it is quite overpriced.

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