To nobody’s real surprise—but almost certainly to Harold Buchanan’s disappointment—the U.S. Army, that venerable bastion of military tradition (aka ‘conservatism’), is using hex and counter wargames (gasp!). What is very likely even more troubling to those same self-styled “progressive” wargame historical conflict simulation advocates (who seemingly recoil in disgust at the mere mention of “hex & counter”) is that the U.S. Army wants to do business with a company that got started by publishing an Advanced Squad Leader magazine and now prints a very detailed game (based on hard science, not liberal arts) of armored combat—all without a deck of cards or cubes (oh, the humanity!).
Summary
Federal Contract Opportunity for BPA Critical Hit Wargaming W15QKN23Q0X3A. The NAICS Category is 339930 – Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing. The PSC Category is 7820 – Games, Toys, And Wheeled Goods. Posted Jul 5, 2023. Due Jul 20, 2023. Posted by the ACC Picatinny (DOD – Army – AMC – ACC). The work will be performed at PICATINNY ARS, NJ 07806, USA
Synopsis
The U.S. Army Contracting Command – New Jersey (ACC-NJ), on behalf of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM-AC) located at Picatinny Arsenal NJ, intends to solicit, negotiate and award a firm fixed price Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) on a sole source basis to Critical Hit! Inc. P.O. Box 6379 Lodar Lane Brewster, New York 10509-3211 to purchase commercially available BRL 1192 wargaming modules consisting of digital and printed terrain maps that have been modified for training purposes. The Government also intends to award the first call order off the BPA at this time. Critical Hit! Inc. is a small business and the sole manufacturer of the required wargaming modules.
The Authority for this procurement comes under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.106-1(b)(1), Critical Hit! Inc. is the only known source who can meet the Government requirement. A Sole Source Justification was approved June 1, 2023 and the redacted document is attached to this notice.
The applicable NAICS for this effort is 339930 and the small business size standard is 500 employees.
THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS.
BPA Critical Hit Wargaming
Solicitation # W15QKN23Q0X3A / Type Pre-Solicitation
Who is Critical Hit!? If you have ever heard of the Advanced Tobruk System (ATS) you likely already know:
CRITICAL HIT, INC. specializes in recreating tactical-level battlefields for the historical board wargaming market. In addition to another new battlefield recreation in the form of DIEN BIEN PHU, new Stalingrad and Normandy offerings are about to ship. Our online catalog consists of 275+ unique offerings, in addition to numerous free downloads. Use the links on this page to enter our ‘stockroom’ and begin exploring.
It’s been 20 years since Critical Hit, Inc. was founded and we’re still going strong … thanks to YOU. It was high time to prune the catalog, reduce confusion when you interact with our website, and we’re aiming to do just that with this new package.
Founded in 1994, Critical Hit coined the phrase “Enthusiast Media” to describe the firm’s approach to bringing together the publisher and the hobbyist/designer in a unique method of cooperation that strips away everything but a mutual effort to bring labors of love to the fore. This approach has proven successful in the form of many tactical-level wargames in print, and many more currently being prepared for publication.
We currently serve 5,000+ individual customers and 20+ wholesale and other dealers and our ongoing focus is taking their gaming interests to new historical battlefields with a more extensive collection of military maps than any other firm. Critical Hit, Inc. is the publisher of the largest tactical-level/squad level simulations in wargame history with its BERLIN and OMAHA product offerings. Not content at that, both of these titles are slated for upcoming add-ons, expanding the OMAHA BEACH presentation beyond TEN FEET IN LENGTH and BERLIN to a massive FOUR 24″ x 36″ mapsheets in all.
If you’re looking for 2,500+ of your fellow hobbyists and what is widely recognized in wargame circles as the friendliest and most informative message board on the internet you can sign up for the CH Message Board. It’s a free service provided by Critical Hit and has attracted over 50,000+ posts to date and counting.
Players of Beyond Valor(tm) and beyond will find an extensive collection of VARIANT products published in our ASLComp line. These include everything from full-blown Historical Modules to scenario packs and the longest running magazine in the hobby.
criticalhit.com, About Us
Looking up “BRL 1192” on the Critical Hit! website send us to the BRL1192 System:
Welcome to the BRL 1192 TACTICAL-LEVEL SYSTEM! Years ago when Ballistics Research Lab fired captured Axis and Japanese AFVs and ordnance … at one another during testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground, no one could have known that the resulting report, known as ‘BRL 1192’ … would be declassified, broken down and become the basis of a tactical-level wargame simulation that would turn the industry on its ear … and move the state-of-the-art from the simplistic to the ultra detailed. Along the way a BOARD WARGAME OF THE YEAR award was issued (1976), and the ground-breaking armored and infantry subsystems would become the basis for many games that followed.
BRL1192 System
Take note of the statement: “…ongoing focus is taking their gaming interests to new historical battlefields with a more extensive collection of military maps than any other firm.” It sounds like the Army wants to do some Army Training (Sir!) on hex maps.
I couldn’t find the value of this potential contract nor can I see the Sole Source Justification used. Not that it really matters; I’m just happy to see a small wargame publisher getting some of Uncle Sam’s business.
No matter how old, or simulationist, or hex & counter they may be.
Feature image courtesy imgflip.com
The opinions and views expressed in this blog are those of the author alone and are presented in a personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of U.S. Navy or any other U.S. government Department, Agency, Office, or employer.
RockyMountainNavy.com © 2007-2023 by Ian B is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 
Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 
CH has been around for 20+ yrs & the DoD clearly gives credence to their products legitimacy in the wargaming realm…. In the face of that some disgruntled customers opinions on the web don’t add up to much. This is a major win for wargamers + small aspiring publishers that should be celebrated!
I’m always rooting for the small businesses.
seems like the Army might want to ask some wargame consumers about Critical Hit before getting in bed with them….
Yeah. Seen those comments. Let’s hope it’s “just the maps,” eh?