Alternative Titles/Edition History:
1st edition, 1999; 2nd edition, 2003; 3rd edition (Shout for PIATs), 2012; 4th Edition (Scottish Corridor II), 2015
Publisher/Date:
Critical Hit (1st edition, 1999; 2nd edition, 2003; 3rd edition, 2012; 4th edition, 2015)
Product Type:
HASL/Historical Module
Country of Origin:
U.S.A.
Contents:
1st edition contents: historical map, 8-page booklet, 10 scenarios, 2 Platoon Leader campaign games
2nd edition contents: identical, except with larger map.
3rd Edition (i.e., Shout for PIATs) contents: 1 16" x 36" historical map, 8-page booklet, 12 scenarios, 2 Platoon Leader campaign games, 2 duplicate sheets of 296 die-cut counters (592 total)
4th Edition (i.e., Scottish Corridor) contents: 6 12" x 18" glossy unmounted (heavy paper/light cardstock) map panels, 12 scenarios, 2 pages rules.
Commentary:British ASL designer Ian Daglish, who designed the three-part All American series, returns to Normandy with Scotland the Brave II (StBII), the second of a two part series (the second being Scotland the Brave II) depicting the Epsom Offensive in late June 1944, one of Montgomery’s key efforts to take the crucial Normandy town of Caen. The map depicts rather bland open ground and fields; it mates side to side with the Scotland the Brave (StB) map to make a long rectangular map some five feet long.
As with its predecessor, it has an uninviting scenario selection, featuring many tiny or all-armor scenarios. StB11 (Pip Roberts’ Run) has 17 British AFVs versus 2 German squads, 4 German half squads, 2 FlaK guns, and 5 AFVs. StB12 (Justify the Losses) has 3 German squads, a half squad, and 4 AFVs against 12 British AFVs. StB13 (Siegel’s Stand 1) features 6 British AFVs and 9 squads against 4 German half squads and 5 AFVs. StB14 (Siegel’s Stand 2) depicts 7 British AFVs against 4 German AFVs. Stb15 (Position Be Buggered!) has only 1 German squad, 3 half squads, and 1 AFV to defend against 2 British half squads, 2 carriers, and 3 Stuarts. StB16 (Shout for PIATs) has 6 German AFVs pitted against 6 British squads, 2 half squads, 2 carriers, and 2 AT guns. StB19 (Destruction of a Squadron) has 7 British AFVs and 4 crews versus 2 German AFVs, three squads and an AT gun. Although there are a few scenarios with more depth, meat, or variety than these, there are not enough. Most ASLers will not find most of the scenarios in StBII very appetizing.
StBII also has two campaign games, CG2 (Forged in Fire) and CG3 (The Lion Rampant). The former (with only three CG dates) uses only the StBII map, while the latter (also at only 3 CG dates) uses the maps from both StB modules to create a massive (in map size, anyway) campaign game. These are both very short campaign games that might be suitable for players wishing to try a campaign game and see what all the fuss is about without having to commit themselves to months of play.
Still, StBII, like its predecessor, is not that exciting a product.
Critical Hit Magazine, Volume 6, Number 1 contained two scenarios, CH105 (Wide Diamond) and CH106 (The Breakthrough), which use the maps from Scotland the Brave I and Scotland the Brave II.
2nd Edition: The 2nd Edition was made possible by a new, larger version of the map created for an ATS game on the same subject. Nothing else was changed, except that errata was incorporated.
3rd Edition (i.e., Shout for PIATs): Many years after the release of the 2nd Edition, Critical Hit published a new version of Scotland the Brave II as part of its general attempt to re-release almost all of its product line with new counters and new names (the latter in the hopes that some people and retailers would buy the game twice). The countersheet that comes with Scotland the Brave II is not really necessary for play (moreover, a few of the counters have incorrect values). The sheet contains duplicate British and Waffen SS units, the latter in black. Ignore the back of the packaging, which claims that the product includes a counter sheet “providing Gurkhas, AFVs, Guns and more (424 counters in all),” as none of that is true–Critical Hit is frequently incapable of accurately listing the contents of its own products.
The map artwork was also redone and is generally attractive.
Critical Hit’s treatment of Ian Daglish, the designer of this module, is worth a mention. Daglish sadly passed away in 2011. Now, every time Critical Hit mentions his name, they put a “(dec.)” after it, as if it were a suffix of some sort that had to follow his name. Moreover, with Shout for PIATs, a tiny passage at the end of the included booklet said “in honor of the special life-work of designer and author Ian Daglish (dec.), it was decided to reprint this booklet in its original form.” Many people familiar with Critical Hit may be more likely to think that the decision was one of convenience rather than reverence.
In any case, there is no real reason why someone who owned the 2nd Edition of this module would need to purchase Shout for PIATs. The re-done map and the gratuitous counters are not worth it–especially at the truly and unbelievably outrageous price of $69.95. Scotland the Brave II originally sold for $27.95 in 1999. Neither inflation since then nor the inclusion of die-cut counters could possibly bring the price of this relatively small module with modest components to nearly $70. This is especially true when one considers that new editions of this product do not need to account for the money originally paid to Ian Daglish (dec.). In other words, Critical Hit is gouging the consumer with this product.
4th Edition (Scottish Corridor II) comments: In late 2015, Critical Hit once more changed the name of Scotland the Brave II and re-issued the product (in a “Last Word Edition,” which seems highly unlikely). The major change in this edition is that the large historical map is gone, replaced by a 6-part set of glossy unmounted 12″ x 18″ map panels that must be assembled by the players to form the historical map. The hexes, and thus the map area, are far larger than in previous editions, so it takes up more space. Assembling more than four of these panels is a pain. While the maps are colorful, all of the buildings are rendered in crude bitmaps that have been blown up to such a size that their resolution is crude and jagged. Thus the map is not really an improvement over previous editions.
In terms of other changes, the historical commentary was deleted from the rules booklet, and all of the counters were eliminated. The product packaging claims that there are “five sheets of counters” included but in fact NONE are included. Moreover, the two Platoon Leader campaign games were also deleted. These changes make this edition of Scotland the Brave the least desirable of all the editions up through 2015. At $59.95, this small product is pretty expensive. Players interested in purchasing a version of this product are advised to seek out older editions with cheaper prices on the second-hand market, rather than this one.
2020 Update: In 2020, Critical Hit released, for separate purchase, large-hex versions of many of its products, including this one. The maps came in two varieties: 1) a MONSTER Map Set, with larger-than-normal hexes, and 2) an Uber MONSTER Map Set, with even larger hexes still. However, there are apparently no “Uber” map sets for the two Scotland the Brave products, only the regular “monster” map set.
Leave A Reply