Why do you buy Critical Hit products? (anonymous poll)

Why do you buy Critical Hit products? (please select up to THREE answers)

  • I am more or less a completist and just can't help myself.

    Votes: 4 4.4%
  • I believe that Critical Hit makes high quality products.

    Votes: 6 6.6%
  • I can't help buying a CH product if it is on a subject that interests me.

    Votes: 33 36.3%
  • I get entranced by the counters and/or maps.

    Votes: 26 28.6%
  • I generally just use them as game kits for design your own scenarios.

    Votes: 8 8.8%
  • I mostly play solitaire and things like balance don't matter to me.

    Votes: 19 20.9%
  • The errata, development and playtesting issues, real or alleged, simply are not a big deal to me.

    Votes: 12 13.2%
  • Sometimes I just want to spend money on ASL.

    Votes: 12 13.2%
  • It is easier to find Critical Hit products than some other ASL-related products.

    Votes: 6 6.6%
  • They do products on esoteric subjects.

    Votes: 39 42.9%
  • Critical Hit products can't be as bad as people say they are

    Votes: 9 9.9%
  • I don't really know why; I just keep buying them.

    Votes: 3 3.3%

  • Total voters
    91

Jazz

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Well, the reason I was given was that it was political. Funny, there was nothing political about it but that's the way those Communists do things. I'll probably get ousted again for speaking out against the Communist Dictatorship that runs this place. I'm done venting!
Huh....seems that "Communist" is the best you can come up with.....
 

hongkongwargamer

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Well, the reason I was given was that it was political. Funny, there was nothing political about it but that's the way those Communists do things. I'll probably get ousted again for speaking out against the Communist Dictatorship that runs this place. I'm done venting!
If they are what you say they are, you obviously love them ‘cause why else would you still be here?
 

von Marwitz

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The problem with that is that once AH folded, the TPP's are the only thing that kept ASL alive.
That is true. And however one might judge CH, this is one thing one has to give them credit for before more TPPs emerged.

von Marwitz
 

Stewart

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A lot more people buy Critical Hit products than will openly admit it, so I have put together an anonymous poll designed to help me understand the reason(s) why.
The cowards that don't admit they buy them are weakminded fools.
It's my money. I'll buy what I want, when I want, and in quantities I want.
Man up... have a voice.
No one really cares anyway.

I like the maps and esoteric topics.
Kinda tired of the 5th historical module released on Stalingrad.....Get over it people.

Be like Mark...speak your mind
 

Paul_RS

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The cowards that don't admit they buy them are weakminded fools.
It's my money. I'll buy what I want, when I want, and in quantities I want.
Man up... have a voice.
No one really cares anyway.

I like the maps and esoteric topics.
Kinda tired of the 5th historical module released on Stalingrad.....Get over it people.

Be like Mark...speak your mind
Only 5? You’re in the right place with CH if you crave numerous Stalingrad “historical“ modules 👍🏻😄
 

Vic Provost

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I used to buy from CH back in the 90s when they did some decent work but this century has found them wanting for a variety of reasons so have not bought from them in around 20 years. I'm at the point I have too much to play as is and other than buying from MMP and Chas at Bounding Fire once in awhile, don't do much in the 3rd party ASL market. I do know there is some quality stuff out there but only so many $ to go around once retired. ASL rules in any event, different strokes for different folks as to what to buy.
 

Old Noob

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Used to get the magazine and a few of the games, but became discouraged at the turn of the 21st century when magazine was difficult to get
through my comic shop's distributor. Swore off CH then and there.
 

John Fedoriw

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The problem with that is that once AH folded, the TPP's are the only thing that kept ASL alive. If not for TPP's, ASL would have died a long time ago.
I respectfully disagree with this. VASL is the savior of ASL IMHO, not TPPs. Skype gets honorable mention as well.

I have been playing ASL since about 1985 and the big hurdle for me has always been finding opponents. If I had opponents I would have happily played just official stuff, if that's all there was (forever). Even if no new official stuff was being produced for ASL I think I would still have played with the base modules, RB and KGP if I had opponents (solitaire is out for me - just can't do it). VASL solved this issue for me - NOT TPPs.

I have bought many TPP products before, starting around 1997(?) with BRV & KOTH, and after finding them and being impressed with their quality (for products produced by amateur publishers), I bought all the TPP stuff I could lay my hands on for a while. This included CH products. Some of the early CH stuff, while maybe unpolished seemed OK. However I stopped buying CH products after Hells Bridgehead (the Kursk Psel river module). There was just too much other stuff out there that was better. I agree with the people posting here who complain about CH quality. It is lacking in comparison to what else is out there. I have bought stuff from HOB, BFP. Lone Canuck, Le Franc Tireur and Frontline Productions and IMHO they all had much better quality than CH. My ASL wallet isn't bottomless and while I do buy most MMP stuff I don't buy much TPP stuff anymore (unless I am really, really interested in the subject). I WONT buy CH stuff again.
 

TopT

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I respectfully disagree with this. VASL is the savior of ASL IMHO, not TPPs. Skype gets honorable mention as well.

I have been playing ASL since about 1985 and the big hurdle for me has always been finding opponents. If I had opponents I would have happily played just official stuff, if that's all there was (forever). Even if no new official stuff was being produced for ASL I think I would still have played with the base modules, RB and KGP if I had opponents (solitaire is out for me - just can't do it). VASL solved this issue for me - NOT TPPs.

I have bought many TPP products before, starting around 1997(?) with BRV & KOTH, and after finding them and being impressed with their quality (for products produced by amateur publishers), I bought all the TPP stuff I could lay my hands on for a while. This included CH products. Some of the early CH stuff, while maybe unpolished seemed OK. However I stopped buying CH products after Hells Bridgehead (the Kursk Psel river module). There was just too much other stuff out there that was better. I agree with the people posting here who complain about CH quality. It is lacking in comparison to what else is out there. I have bought stuff from HOB, BFP. Lone Canuck, Le Franc Tireur and Frontline Productions and IMHO they all had much better quality than CH. My ASL wallet isn't bottomless and while I do buy most MMP stuff I don't buy much TPP stuff anymore (unless I am really, really interested in the subject). I WONT buy CH stuff again.
This is an argument of why VASL saved the game for you.

There is no debate that without the early TTP's (including CH), ASL would have withered on the vine. They kept the game alive until MMP stepped in to fill the shoes as producer. If there would have been no interest or enthusiasm for TTP ASL, then MMP would not have stepped in to purchase the license. Thus, there would have been no future releases of BV, the ASL bible, ect., none of all of the stuff that brought new players in to this game we play.

For those of us who have been buying ASL since the mid 80's we would have had what we had but we would have gotten nothing further and so the hobby could not possibly have grown to what it is today. I was the same as in buying everything ASL until I just could not justify it anymore.
VASL has greatly enhanced that progress undoubtedly but that platform is also staffed 100% by volunteers. No TTP's, no MMP, no new material, no unlimited supply of volunteers and VASL pretty much stays as it was. It was clunky in the early versions and has come a long, long ways.
Skype did not come online until 2003. It helped the immersion of playing but it (ASL/ MMP) was well established by then.

It has all been gravy, we are very fortunate.
 

John Fedoriw

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MMP was a TPP too and Curt Shilling saved ASL from sinking into oblivion.
Otherwise we would be as the SL or Retro community, pushing old counters on a very limited set of boards.
Of course this is true. We have these TPPs to thank for our new counters and boards. And I am grateful to them for that. And I like the new stuff as much as anybody.

My point is that even if there were no new stuff coming for the game I would be playing anyway -IF- I had opponents. Maybe I wouldn't be able to find any because people don't like stuff that isn't current - I can't speak to that. I can't comment on what you or anyone else would do, but for me - I would keep playing if I could. I don't care about what is popular or what is trendy and I don't care if I am considered "retro". I like ASL enough that I would still play that stuff if that's all I had. As far as I know there is no new stuff coming out for chess (Ok Nightmare Chess aside) but people still play it.

Imagine that alternate universe without TPPs. You have only the stuff AH produced - the core modules up to Doomed Battalions part 1, RB & KGP. Would you pitch it all in the trash and play Magic instead?:oops:
 

John Fedoriw

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This is an argument of why VASL saved the game for you.

There is no debate that without the early TTP's (including CH), ASL would have withered on the vine. They kept the game alive until MMP stepped in to fill the shoes as producer. If there would have been no interest or enthusiasm for TTP ASL, then MMP would not have stepped in to purchase the license. Thus, there would have been no future releases of BV, the ASL bible, ect., none of all of the stuff that brought new players in to this game we play.

For those of us who have been buying ASL since the mid 80's we would have had what we had but we would have gotten nothing further and so the hobby could not possibly have grown to what it is today. I was the same as in buying everything ASL until I just could not justify it anymore.
VASL has greatly enhanced that progress undoubtedly but that platform is also staffed 100% by volunteers. No TTP's, no MMP, no new material, no unlimited supply of volunteers and VASL pretty much stays as it was. It was clunky in the early versions and has come a long, long ways.
Skype did not come online until 2003. It helped the immersion of playing but it (ASL/ MMP) was well established by then.

It has all been gravy, we are very fortunate.
Sure it's true TPPs have greatly improved the game and we are fortunate they are around. I am not saying otherwise. What I am saying is if they were not I would still play ASL - if I had someone to play against.
 

TopT

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Sure it's true TPPs have greatly improved the game and we are fortunate they are around. I am not saying otherwise. What I am saying is if they were not I would still play ASL - if I had someone to play against.
I would have continued to play as well. I REALLY like this game. All of us that purchased everything ASL prodded this game along to what it is today.
 

von Marwitz

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I respectfully disagree with this. VASL is the savior of ASL IMHO, not TPPs. Skype gets honorable mention as well.
I think CH played its role as a TPP keeping ASL alive before VASL was around (or at least before VASL had grown in graphics of maps and counters into the 'real appeal').

Overall, though, the role of VASSAL and VASL cannot be overrated. I also believe that it is a vital tool for bringing ASL players together, to teach players, and to allow players kind of a sneak preview without having much kit. All I can say it that it fundamentally played and opened the true ASL world for me because for the first time, I had regular opponents. All of a sudden, the world was full of them!

That said, I am not sure if ASL would go down if VASL didn't exist. It could be, but then again maybe not. I see VASL more as an enabler and as a powerful tool to connect players, rather than an outright saviour.

von Marwitz
 

fenyan

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If you look at a lot of other games, they've died for lack of support. I think the TPPs kept people in and coming to ASL at a crucial point in the history of the hobby.
 

Robin Reeve

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I wouldn't single out CH as the TPP which saved ASL at a given time.
It was one among others.
Tactiques, ASL News, KE, MMP, Dagger and others were there too.
I liked some of the early products of CH, such as the Paddington Bears' scenarios.
 

76mm

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I'm just getting back into ASL so haven't actually bought any CH products, although I've looked at quite a few with interest. I never pull the trigger, however, for the simple reason that it is never clear what exactly I'm buying...CH posts one low-res picture of the product's cover, but no pix of the content (counters, boards, etc.) and usually a very general, vague very rah-rah description of what I'd be getting. I'll pass.
 
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Paul_RS

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I see it as my Retirement Cash Cow, baybee! Rodney told me if i just signed that piece of paper, eventually the royalties would come a-rollin' in!
VASSAL breathed life into board wargaming, not just ASL. Its impact on the hobby cannot be overstated.
 
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