Operation Critical Hit – Week Two Briefing

Soldiers, sailors, and airmen, listen up – it’s time for your weekly briefing on the state of Operation Critical Hit! The first week of play has seen some intense action on all four fronts, with a few surprises, and everything still to play for. Here’s a rundown of the results:

The number of each hex shows the points accrued by the winning side, remember it’s three points for a win and a single point for a draw.

Overall, the Allies hold a slight edge going into the second week, with big wins in North-West Europe and the Mediterranean. The Axis, however, with a particularly strong showing in Victory at Sea, managed to claim victory in the Pacific (despite a fervent Allied effort later in the week), as well as grab a significant win on the Eastern Front. Looking at the individual game systems, Bolt Action and Blood Red Skies were both incredibly tight victories for the Allies, but the waves were ruled by the Axis. The war is firmly in the balance, and the scales have the potential to tip either way as we move into the second week of the campaign!

If you’d like to participate and have yet to sign up, there’s still plenty of opportunity to do so. Just visit the Operation Critical Hit website, register and get reporting!

Week Two Scenarios

Bolt Action: We’re heading into Week Two with a mission requiring plenty of tactical forethought – Sectors! A classic mission, found on page 148 of your Bolt Action rulebook, Sectors is a game of manoeuvre and positioning, and a great test of skill for any general!

Blood Red Skies: This week’s engagement is Frontlines, from page 68 of Air Strike!. As troops battle on the ground below, courageous aviators clash in the skies, braving flak and enemy aircraft alike. Week One Victory Bonus: Remember, as the winners of Week One, Allied Blood Red Skies players may this week add the Restricted Airfields card to their hand in addition to any cards otherwise permitted – make use of it, as this advantage is for Week Two only!

Victory at Sea: The parameters for victory in Week Two of the naval war will be Attrition vs. Fighting Retreat from the War at Sea generator on pages 54-55 of the Victory at Sea rulebook. Can the Axis keep up their momentum, or will the Allies be able to claw back the initiative at sea?

Weekly Victory Bonus

As mentioned above, this week all Allied Blood Red Skies players can make use of the Restricted Airfields card. The side that wins Week Two will receive a bonus for all their Bolt Action games the following week – a free Veteran Medic, armed with a pistol! This is above and beyond any other Medics taken, and does not count towards points or Order Dice limits.

Let’s take a look at which hexes are active during week two of the campaign:

Make sure to report your Week Two results by midday on 25th August! Remember for a side to be victorious in any given theatre they will need to claim more overall hexes over land sea and air, so it really is a combined arms effort to secure victory.

Share Your Stories

Now that all the first week’s results are in, we’ll be sharing your best war stories in weekly roundups, so be sure to share your highlights with us! Perhaps you had a particularly hard-fought game, or there was one of those wonderful memorable moments that come at the whim of the dice gods, or even if you just had plain old fun? You can also submit your own battle reports and photos as part of the results submission process on the Operation Critical Hit website or you can head over to the dedicated Facebook group and share your tales of tabletop mayhem.

Operation Critical Hit Special Figure – Redcap, Corps of Military Police

Equipped with a submachine gun, armband, and authoritarian moustache, our Redcap limited-edition miniature is only available through friendly local gaming stores that are participating in the campaign (a handy list of stores is available here), or FREE when purchasing any of our WWII-based starter sets from the Warlord Games Webstore for the duration of the campaign. It’s the perfect opportunity to explore a new theatre or expand your existing tabletop operations to land, sea or air.