Creating Memories in Advanced Squad Leader

Games that create memories are what we as wargamers strive for. Such games capture the imagination and immerse the player in the game. No longer are the players sitting by a table at home, but rather their imaginations have taken them to some far away battle! For my money, no other game captures the imagination like Advanced Squad Leader. This game, first released in 1985 by the now-defunct Avalon Hill (but perpetuated by Multiman Publications), is a tactical wargame of the hex-and-counter variety. The battles are primarily from the Second World War; however, it has since expanded to include the Korean War. Each player manoeuvres his squads, crews and AFVs and guns across generic and historical battlefields in games that can last anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours or even days. Practically every game will end up with a narrative that will leave an indelible mark in the memories of the players involved.  Allow me to illustrate.

I foresee no negative outcome to my decision to use fire

The date was 14 September, 1942, and as the German battalion commander, Captain Gerhard Muench, I was leading an initial attack in Stalingrad in the historical scenario "In Sight of the Volga". The simulated battle was noteworthy for several reasons. My opponent, Will, ended up being reluctant to try for his Molotov Cocktails (A 22.6).

The reason? He rolled 6 on his colored die in his attacks, voiding his attack, breaking his attackers and to add insult to injury, placing a flame in his location! This must have happened 3 times. On his fourth possible attempt, he declined to even try!

Poor Will!  Alas, I haven't even gotten to the best part yet! To win the game, I had to occupy a building that had in them a series of fortified locations. I had pushed past this building to an assault position and then planned to hit its flank. I couldn't just move up to the building (under the cover of fire, of course) and enter. You see, with a fortified location, the only way to enter is if the force was less than a squad equivalent, was pinned or otherwise not in good order. Fortunately (for me), I had plenty of firepower, mainly in the form of two STuG III G Assault Guns. In addition, not only were some of my men Assault Engineers, but they brought with them some Demolition Charges (DC). Without getting into too many details, this meant that they could place smoke rather easily and they could breach into the fortified location without having to pin or break the occupants.

Don't you know that you're my hero?

So my attack was set. I had a firebase isolating the objective. I brought forward a squad of Assault Engineers, placed infantry smoke and then used assault move to get up to the building.  So far, so good.  Now to place the DC. Now, Will wasn't born yesterday and he had anticipated this move. His defensive first fire was effective and caused my squad to undergo a morale check. With a morale level of 8, I felt confident that I would pass. As the dice settled, they indicated 1, 1. Snake eyes! This invoked heat of battle and a subsequent Dice Roll (DR).  The result couldn't have been better for me! My roll resulted in both hero creation and battle hardening! Now my squad was fanatic and a single man counter in the form of a hero was added to the hex.

Of course, I gave the DC to the hero! The attack was successful, I had created a breach and I then advanced into the location and entered into close combat with the hapless enemy! Even though it was an NKVD Strongpoint, I had the upper hand. I ended up rolling for ambush and eliminated the defenders.  It was the beginning of the end for Will's defense, though it still had a ways to go and he ended up successfully using a Molotov Cocktail on one of my STuG III Gs, destroying it.

How does ASL do this? How do such narratives come out of a simple game using dice and cardboard counters? I've played many wargames, from the tactical to the strategic level and no other captures the imagination quite the same way as ASL does. In my opinion, it is due to the many random events that the game generates. I have already mentioned one, heat of battle. Although there are some exceptions, this is invoked following any original 2 on a morale check or rally DR. The results can be very good or very bad. The results include the previously mentioned hero creation and battle hardening. Other results include berserk and even surrender. There are modifiers to the roll following heat of battle, but suffice it to say that Russians and Japanese are more prone to go berserk than other nations.

Another random event is field promotion. This can create a leader in one of two ways. If you roll an original 2 on a MMC Self-Rally or on amy MMC CC DR, that player will then make a die roll (dr) and generate a leader immediately. As with all things ASL, there are exceptions, for example, field promotion is NA to both Japanese and Finns. A less common random event is the wind change die roll at the start of all player rally phases. An original 2 or 12 will result in possible wind changes, gusts, and the like. This may not sound significant, but consider that well-laid smoke screen suddenly being blown away by a gust of wind just as your forces are in the middle of the enemy's killing zone! (Yes, it has happened to me!)

So, you thought you were going to win pretty easily, didn't you?

The most common random event is the sniper activation.

In every ASL scenario, snipers are inherent. Both sides will have a Sniper Activation Number (SAN), which, if rolled in certain phases by your opponent, may trigger (pun intended) a sniper attack. Such an attack may eliminate or wound a leader. If this happens, especially if the leader dies outright or due to wound severity, then any troops with him will immediately undergo a leader-loss morale check LLMC). Each morale check could invoke another SAN or Heat of Battle! All from one DR that ends up causing a major swing in a game. And yes, it happened to me! I had a 9-2 leader with some squads when they were hit by a SAN. Random Selection ended up killing my leader. The squads with him, who were busy manning some machine guns, all failed the LLMC and ending up routing to cover and didn't really contribute much to the battle afterwards. I ended up winning the game in the end; however, losing that leader was critical and it ended up being a much-closer affair thanks to that one attack.

"Advanced Squad Leader" is a complex game with a very comprehensive rule set. That said, not only are the possibilities for scenarios more than one could possibly play in a single life time (By my count, there are 694 officially released scenarios and 7,858 third-party scenarios, most of which are of top-quality). The player who uses his forces wisely, by attacking the enemy weakness and avoiding his strength, will more often than not win. That said, the greatest enjoyment, for me, comes from the rich narrative that the game creates. They are a result of the various random events, only some of which are mentioned above. There is also interrogation and of course one may have to watch out for booby traps and nighttime can cause forces to jitter fire. But don't worry, players, even if you lose, you'll remember the background story that your game will create!

Advanced Squad Leader - The Next Generation

There is a perception among gamers that Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is for old people. There is some truth to that, given that the game has been around since 1985. Almost 36 years since it was released, someone who played it since the beginning would be in their mid to late 50s. And if they started with Squad Leader when it came out in 1977, then they would be in their 60s!
The surprising thing is that there is a significant population of ASL players who are younger than the game itself. I am talking Millennials and Zoomers, or those born after 1981, who are avid ASL players. These generations, Generation Y and Z, were the first to grow up in an information age. These generations have always lived in the age of the home computer. Their members were also the first to experience the internet at a young age. Gen Xers like myself learned to adapt to the internet, but for Gens Y and Z, it’s always been there.

I first noted the younger generation playing ASL when I was at Winter Offensive in 2018. Two friends, both named Will, were playing. Both are Gen Y Millennials and both are avid ASL players. I decided to find out what motivated them to play ASL. I know for people like me, board games were all we had growing up and as such we were easily exposed to war games, such as Panzerblitz, The Rise and Decline of the Third Reich and of course Squad Leader. But I did not know what would motivate a child of the Internet to play a board-based game. I reached out to the greater ASL community, seeking people who were born after the release of ASL. I was surprised by the results and found a few commonalities among almost every respondent.

First up was David. David is now 27, and two years ago, at the tender age of 25, he participated in an ASL tournament hosted by the DC Conscripts. He played the into the finals of a mini tournament, losing to none other than Ken Dunn, a long-time player and designer of many scenario packs as well as, most notably, the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit. This is David’s Story:

When he was 14, he first came across ASL on the website Boardgame Geek. Then 2 years later, he gave it a go and he got the first starter kit. He tried the first scenario, Retaking Vierville, but did not quite get it. He gave it up for a year or so, but it kept coming back to him. He found Jay Richardson’s tutorials online and he ended up spending hours reading and re-reading them. He then was able to learn the game to play solitaire, but then ended up teaching some of his high school friends. He eventually ended up playing full-rules ASL and has not looked back.

David getting his prize at Human Wave 2019

William, previously mentioned, was born in 1987, 2 years after ASL was first sold. In 2008, he did a Boardgame geek search about tactical warfare in world war 2. He saw ASL and decided to try it. He went to eBay and got a 1st edition of Beyond Valor, Streets of Fire, Paratrooper as well as a 1st Edition Rule book. It was all unpunched, however, there were no maps! He then went to Game Squad and reached out and was able to find opponents. He loves the game, but it must be noted that he has a young family and is finishing up grad school, so there is little time to enjoy it.

Ross was born in 1985 and first heard of ASL around 2002. He admits he grew up on console and computer game, but first experienced board games with Settlers of Catan. He played it “hundreds of times” and sought more complex games. This led him to Boardgame Geek and he poked around and found what he was seeking: a complex and rich game he could enjoy.
His first experience of a hex and counter game was Memoir ’44. This intrigued him and he remembered “this other game” whilst poking about on BGG. He found ASL and loved poking around the photos and the posts. He was interested of course, but as a 19-year-old just getting ready to go to college, the price for the rule book was just beyond his means.
By 2007 he was in Boston and heading into graduate school. He found a group that met weekly (at a minimum) and in this group he ran into some hard-core ASL players. By 2011 he dipped his toe into ASL by playing ASL Scenario #181 – Gavin Take.

"Gavin Take" in Progress

It took him the better part of the day to get through this relatively small scenario and he does not remember who won, but he left the table with a buzz. He knew then and there that this was the game for him. He bought the rule book and Beyond Valor and started studying. For the next two years, he almost-exclusively played ASL. Looking back, the Remote On-line Automated Record (ROAR) says that he won 15 and lost 23 of those matches. These games were all played in person with some of the members of the Yankee ASL Group out of Massachusetts. Ross says that though he still likes to win, he plays mostly because the game system creates some incredibly memorable narratives. As he says in his own words, “I vividly remember wild rolls and tactical missteps from a decade ago. No other game has done that for me.”

Now we go to Europe and we meet Lalus, who was born in 1989. He first ran into ASL in Brno, Czech Republic in 2013. He was at university and some local players were talking about it, all positively, in spite of its complexity. He played his first game then and there and has since played mostly Starter Kit but has moved up to full rules ASL. He plays mostly using the freeware program Virtual ASL (VASL) and has a few regular opponents.

Example of Play in Virtual Advanced Squad Leader (VASL)

Staying in Europe, we meet Azim, who was born in 1999 in Istanbul. Back in 2014, he saw a copy of Starter Kit 3 for sale in a Facebook group. That was the first time he had heard of ASL. He already was into historical gaming, so once he did his research on what ASL was, he was hooked. He went to the ASL Facebook group for help and he found it. He and his mentor got through all three starter kits via VASL. Once gaining a good-enough understanding of the game, Azim started playing ASL with some local friends, guiding them through it. As he says, the way in which ASL conveys the tactics and strategy of battle at this level captivates him. “I love the rules, aesthetics of the counters and the maps and above all, the people. The community in which this game lives on is so kind and helpful, I simply adore all the people I come across.”

Let us now come to Andrew, born in 1985, a few months after Beyond Valor was released. He had played some board games growing up, including Risk and Axis and Allies. His first exposure to the world of ASL was in 1999 or so when an uncle sent him a copy of the original Squad Leader. Upon seeing the game, his father talked about how he and his uncle would play Squad Leader, but gaming died off when things such as marriage started to compete with it. Andrew tried to learn the game on his own, but it was just a bit too much. He did play with some of his own rules, but by the end of the year, the game was shelved and started to collect dust.

By Christmas 2014, Andrew was married and they had a son. His wife got him a copy of Memoir ’44 so he and his son could play. This rekindled his love of wargaming and within a few months he had discovered Boardgame Geek. He started buying various games in the marketplace. By 2016 he remembered that dust-collecting box of his and pulled it out. He was no longer a 13-year-old boy, but a grown man by now and dived back into the rules. He was able to play it solo and he enjoyed it in spite of its dated artwork. He had heard of Advanced Squad Leader, perhaps on Boardgame Geek and soon learned that people were still playing ASL. He was under the impression that it was a long-dead game, buried with its creator, Avalon Hill.

He read more and more of it on Boardgame Geek and his interest grew. World War II is his favorite era to wargame and with his growing interest, he bought the pocket rule book and started reading. He did not get overwhelmed by the comprehensive rules, but instead he picked away at it, piece by piece. The itch never went away, but he did not have any opponents to play.

Over the next few years, he bought some modules and the starter kits, which only fueled his interest in the game that much more. Still without opponents, Andrew kept playing solo. But in 2018, his grandfather has passed away and he went to Michigan for the funeral. He stayed with his wargaming uncle and they played Guards Counterattack using the old Squad Leader rules. His uncle was not really into gaming anymore and Andrew found himself mixing up Squad Leader and ASL rules from time to time. That said, this face-to-face gaming experience with his uncle gave him something he had not experienced and to this day he says it is one of his most cherished gaming memories.

Later that year, he ended up on YouTube watching some ASL Scenario playthroughs. Reading the comments, he discovered that the video was made at a store not too far from him. He went and found himself joining the group now known as the Puget Sound ASL Club. He had no idea there was such a strong ASL community!

ASL Players need no introduction to the name Sam Belcher. Sam took Andrew under his wing and donated plenty of ASL gear, from rules, counters to boards. This led to his first ever ASL match (face to face) in 2019. Most of his games have been via VASL but being a father with three children competes heavily for his time.

What keeps Andrew coming back to ASL and playing it is the narrative. As he says, it is unmatched. An ill-planned attack will be doomed to fail, just as in real life, but sometimes a perfect attack will also fail, due to the unexpected, such as a machine gun breaking at the wrong time, or a feat of individual heroism that saves the day for one side or the other.

There is a downside to ASL for Andrew, however. That is that it has ruined his taste for some other tactical game systems. He does play other games, but when he does, he finds that they pale in comparison to the rich narrative weaved in a playing of ASL. The game is indeed complex, admits Andrew; however, almost every conceivable situation seems to be accounted for. The layout of the rules, as well as its index and cross-referencing, makes it quite manageable. Though he does find himself diving into the rule book from time to time, he does not find this distracting from the enjoyment.

These stories are all compelling and they ought to serve a lesson for all who play wargames. These generations rely on the internet to seek knowledge about their interests. They all have experience in gaming online or with console games, but all of them seem to have sought out and found that which they were looking for with ASL. Boardgame Geek gave them an initial peek into the world of wargaming in general and ASL in particular. In every case, ASL gave the players the feedback they were seeking. Console games certainly have much to offer, but these players all seemed to want more.

Player's Eye View

One common observation of ASL was its narrative that each game seems to create. It is through the comprehensive and exhaustive rules that the random events seem to generate the improbable. These random events range from failing weapons or tanks to heroic acts at just the right time. They all serve to deliver the gaming excitement that the Millennial player seems to be seeking.

Another component not found in online and console gaming is the interaction with your opponent. A constant feedback from players of all levels is the friendships found playing ASL. Azim mentions how a player from Canada had messaged him and said that he was going to be in Istanbul and offered a face-to-face match. The pandemic has somewhat restricted peoples’ ability to play in this method; however, with such freeware as VASL, there remains the possibility to play people remotely, but at least in real-time.

So there you have it. Six young players of ASL, five of whom grew up in the computer age as Millennials and one Zoomer who grew up in the post-911 world, all of whom found ASL, tried it and not only stayed with it, but have kept coming back to it as their game of choice. They all used the internet in general and Boardgame Geek in particular to learn about the game. But the digital age is not that which gives them the gaming pleasure, it is the rolling of the dice and the moving of the cardboard against their human opponent that entices them. They may not have been there when ASL was in its initial golden age, but they are here for its current golden age and with their continued enthusiasm, they are its future.

 

You are wrong, Vice; we do not Whitewash Nazis

In a recently published article, Rob Zacny of Vice.com wrote that there is an “…ongoing affinity (that) white supremacist fascists have for the symbolism of the Third Reich”.  His article goes through a number of modern computer and board wargames and points out how there is a glorification of the Wehrmacht, which was the armed forces of the Third Reich.  I cannot comment on the wargames found online, as I do not play the games he mentioned; however, he does talk about Advanced Squad Leader and delves into what I consider my lane.  As such, I feel compelled to respond.

The first thing that strikes me is that Mr. Zacny appears to have a very superficial knowledge of the Second World War. He suggests that some Wehrmacht units worked with SS-Einsatzgruppen on the Eastern Front and he even provides a link in his article to back this claim up.  Unfortunately for him, however, the link talks exclusively about the SS units that followed the various Army Groups into the Soviet Union. 

Mr. Zacny almost gets things right, but it was by accident. On July 17, 1941, the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) issued the so-called “Commissar Order”, which stated that the Wehrmacht was to:

"Free itself from all elements among the prisoners of war considered Bolshevik driving forces. The special situation of the Eastern Campaign therefore demands special measures…which are to be carried out free from bureaucratic and administrative influence and with a willingness to accept responsibility. While so far the regulations and orders concerning prisoners of war were based solely on military considerations, now the political objective must be attained, which is to protect the German nation from Bolshevik inciters and forthwith take the occupied territory strictly in hand"

Though the Einsatzgruppen were indeed rounding up targeted peoples in the occupied Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht was not working with them.  In order to understand what was happening, it is important to briefly consider the tangled web that was the Schutzstaffel, or as they were better known, the SS.

The SS was an instrument of terror in the Third Reich. Its roots were somewhat humble. In the confused political climate of German immediately following its defeat in the Great War, the Saal-Schutz began as Nazi Party members who volunteered to provide security at political party meetings. It grew as the Nazi Party grew, getting its final name by 1925 and eventually consisted of two major elements: the Allgemeine SS and the Waffen-SS.  A third component was the SS-Totenkopfverbände. The Allgemeine SS enforced Nazi racial policy and policing in general, the Waffen-SS consisted of combat units and the SS-Totnkopfverbände ran concentration camps.  Some well-known sub elements of the SS include the Gestapo and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD). All elements of the SS were just different tools that the Nazi party used to control both its people and the lands they conquered during the 1930s and 1940s. Each tool was used in different ways and the SS in its entirety was judged at Nuremberg to be criminal organizations.

Getting back to the Einsatztruppen, they were part of the Allgemeine SS.  As such, they worked independent of combat units, to include the elements of the Waffen-SS.  When they were conducting their pogroms in occupied lands, they did so away from the combat units, usually well after the battles had been fought and the front had moved on.  All this to say that the Wehrmacht and the Einsatztruppen may have been operating in the same areas, but they each were committing their own atrocities.

Next, Mr. Zacny suggests that the German commanders refused to believe that they were never beaten in the Second World War.  Mr. Zacny is quite wrong in this regard and maybe he is thinking of the First World War.  At the end of the Great War, the German Army was losing on the Western Front and more importantly, Germany was beaten at home. The war destroyed a generation of German men and the blockade starved many millions of Germans.  But because the German Army itself was still intact on the 11^th of November, 1918, the myth arose post bellum that Germany itself wasn’t beaten.

By the middle of May 1945, however, Germany was shattered. Many of its great cities lay in ruins and many millions of Germans were dead. The blame for the catastrophe was often shifted to the dead, namely Hitler. How Germany came to be destroyed is for another article. Mr. Zacny suggests that Hitler’s interference in the conduct of the war was amateurish. That may be up for debate; however, Hitler’s input into military decisions did result in many stunning victories for Germany, especially early in the war. This is where Mr. Zacny gets one thing wrong: he suggests that Hitler’s “stand fast” order in late 1941 on the Eastern Front was wrong.  I will dissect this.

Situation on the Eastern Front, 6 Dec 1941

By early December 1941, the German drive on Russia had culminated just short of Moscow. Many German units were at the end of a very long and tenuous logistical chain that led back to Germany itself. To put it another way, its neck was sticking out.  Against this force the Soviets unleashed a very powerful counterattack with fresh troops that sent the Wehrmacht reeling.  Many German Generals pleaded to Hitler for permission to withdraw in order to save itself. Instead, Hitler ordered the units to stand, fight and die where they were.  This resulted in many German units to be destroyed; however, it was the right decision, no matter how heartless it may appear to be.

To conduct a withdrawal against a superior enemy is a difficult operation and often leads to a retreat and then a rout. Hitler understood this, as did his General Staff.  His order to stand fast sentenced many Germans to death; however, it saved many more.  His order forced the Soviets to hurl bloody and costly attacks against desperate Germans who were now finding themselves on the receiving end of mass attacks.  Two well-known pockets formed as a result: one at Demyansk and one at Cholm.  These became figurative flames that attracted the moths of the Soviet Armies for months.  As such, these pockets and others like them were key in saving the Eastern Front, albeit at a cost of a great portion of Army Group Center.

Later in his article, Mr. Zacny suggests that cover art for games on the 2^nd World War glorify the Germans.  He correctly states that the cover for Avalon Hill’s game Squad Leader has German soldiers beginning an assault; however, he fails to note that the next three games in that series have a Soviet soldier, British Soldier and an American soldier respectively.  The narrative on the back of Squad Leader does capture the narrative of a German squad in the Soviet Union; however, to suggest that this narrative glorifies Nazis is insulting.  It is the story chosen to capture the imagination of the customer. The moral of this story is that you, the player, will be the one making the decisions. The story works, it captures the imagination and I know it worked for me.  And no, I am not a white supremacist fascist.

One side note, the article in question suggests that the cover for a 1990s computer game, “Across the Rhine”, shows “…triumphant panzers leaving fire and flames in their wake.”  Unfortunately for the author, he missed the fact that the German Panzer V “Panther” is passing a burning Panzer IV H, a German vehicle.  This is hardly a moment of triumph!

Panther passing a burning Panzer IV: not triumphant at all!

All this to say that the author is conveniently omitting many games that depict the victors of the Second World War.  The first that comes to mind is the already-mentioned Squad Leader and its successor games.  Three of Four covers have Allied soldiers. The computer series “Close Combat” has a number of games in its still-publishing series, the first five of which all depict Allied soldiers. In short, there are some games that have Germans on the cover; however, to suggest that the majority of them do is not accurate.

Before moving on, I must note that when Squad Leader was released in 1977, the Second World War was a relatively recent event.  A mere 32 years had passed since the Germans were defeated. Many teens had relatives who had lived through the war.  War stories then, and now, capture the imagination of many young people, especially boys. As a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I have had kids in middle school ask me question after question about my time “over there”. Looking back to 1977, seeing a German on the cover of a war game would immediately capture the imagination of a young teen. It wasn’t for the glory; it was the mystique of battle itself.

The next part of Mr. Zacny’s article I find especially insulting, both personally and professionally. I’ll present his words here and then dissect them:

A curious debate unfolded around 2010 about whether the color of the counters in a new wargame expansion ended up glorifying the Waffen-SS, the specially-picked and equipped German units that reported directly to the Nazi leadership and which were notorious both for their fanatical Nazism and their inhumane conduct. The entire discussion occurred in one of the more niche communities in wargames (I've linked Mark Pitcavage’s blog, who is not an unbiased observer, but you can see traces of the debate in other forums). Advanced Squad Leader is an almost comically detailed wargaming system, and to be an ASL player is generally to embrace a lot of weird obsessions. But with the release of a module for the game called A Bridge Too Far, the game’s publisher Multi-Man, depicted Waffen-SS units on black cardboard counters with white icons and numbers. It was a throwback to an earlier edition of Squad Leader, before the series depicted the SS units in blue as opposed to black.

In a word, I reply thusly: poppycock!  I don’t even know where to begin, but I shall do so nevertheless. As stated previously, the story of the SS is rather complex. To suggest that the Waffen-SS was “specially-picked” is ludicrous. They did not report directly to Nazi Leadership and though some units were indeed notorious for their atrocities, that label does not rightly belong to the Waffen-SS units as a blanket statement.

The Waffen-SS had a number of divisions that fought in the war.  Many were formed early in the war and consisted of Germans who volunteered.  Many earlier-formed disivional recruits had to have certain physical and moral characteristics and training was rigorous. Other Divisions were formed of former police, former concentration camp guards and other thugs.  Later in the war, as Germany conquered much of Europe, there was a new potential pool of manpower from which they could recruit. Having said this, the Wehrmacht was prevented by German law from recruiting foreigners. There were exceptions to this, of course, such as the Spanish “Blue” Division, but by and large, this pool was untapped.

The Waffen-SS had no such restrictions and then began to recruit in the occupied lands.  This was of course tainted by race, so these new divisions were named accordingly. There were divisions of ethnic Germans (“Volksdeutsch”), Germanic divisions (such as from the Netherlands, Denmark, etc) and even division of Bosnian Muslims. This is far from specially-picked units; it was an opportunistic grab of manpower that the leadership of the Waffen-SS exploited.

In the field, the Waffen-SS fought alongside and as part of Wehrmacht corps and armies. Their record is mixed, with some units performing as abject amateurs to others fighting with great skill and courage. Some of these units were used in anti-partisan operations in occupied nations, and other formed the very cutting edge of German offensives.  As some would say, your mileage may vary.  But the Waffen-SS was quite diverse in its structure, manning and effectiveness.

To suggest that Advanced Squad Leader is “almost comically detailed” is ignorant, and to suggest that the typical ASL player embraces weird obsessions is personally insulting. The detail in ASL is very well done and considering that it has withstood the test of time quite well is a compliment to its design team, especially Mr. Don Greenwood. I’m not sure about others, but for the majority of ASL players I know and have played against, the one shared obsession we generally share is our passion for military history, specifically of the Second World War. We take pride in our knowledge of various battles and we treat our hobby seriously, not as a mere game. This is why many players from around the world spend thousands annually in order to travel the globe to pursue this hobby.

Finally, allow me to dissect the myth of the glorification of the Waffen-SS by having their counters printed in black as of 1999. Firstly, I must note that in game terms, Waffen-SS units are separate and unique from Wehrmacht units. They do not fight as a single entity, and in some scenarios (the vast majority of which are based on real battles, researched to the nth degree), Waffen-SS units fight against Wehrmacht units. So, knowing this, when they were first depicted in the Squad Leader module Cross of Iron, not only were they white ink on black backgrounds, but they also had unique characteristics. When ASL was released in 1985, the first module, Beyond Valor, had the Waffen-SS in the same color as the Wehrmacht units.  Coincidently, the units of Finland were in the same color as the Germans. The reason for this? Most likely due to printing costs.  And not noted by the author of the article in question is that in order to show that these units were Waffen-SS, there were the double-lightning bolt runes in the top right of each unit counter. Of note, when A Bridge Too Far was released, the Waffen-SS units had no such iconography. In ASL, each nationality has a unique color and this is important in game play. By 1999, printing costs had lowered to the point that it was cost effective to produce the Waffen-SS units in a distinctive color. Almost every wargame that I have has the Waffen-SS in black, probably because of the color of their distinctive dress uniform. In fact, most of the colors of the units in ASL reflect a certain element of that nation’s uniform, but I digress. (Of note: the original article shows a counter sheet of Waffen-SS units, all of which have a Totenkopf device in the top right. These counters are not official counters and are instead from a third-party producer of ASL products, “Heat of Battle”).

In conclusion, wargamers of the ASL variety, and of most for that matter, do not glorify the Wehrmacht, the Waffen-SS or any other element of the Third Reich. We play our games mainly for the enjoyment, but in so doing, we gain a much better understanding of the greatest event in history, the Second World War. There may be some who do so, but such people don’t have the patience to play any serious wargame. This article is inflammatory at best and downright ignorant at worst. It is insulting and any non-wargamer reading that article alone would walk away with a grossly inaccurate understanding of what we wargamers, are like.

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Tussle in the Tundra 2018

TUSSLE IN THE TUNDRA 2018

It is that time of the year again: Advanced Squad Leader in Manchester, New Hampshire!  My friend Chuck has been running this for a few years now, so I knew it was going to be a fun one!  

What have I got myself into?

For those who don't know, Advanced Squad Leader is a board wargame that pits players against each other in tactical battles of the Second World War.  It was released in 1985 and is the successor to the 1978 smash hit Squad Leader, designed by the late John Hill.  Squad Leader was a revolutionary game, but it had room for improvement.  Don Greenwood came along and with a team of gamers took Squad Leader (and its expansions: Cross of Iron, Crescendo of Doom and GI: Anvil of Victory) and amalgamated and updated the system.  Thus was born Advanced Squad Leader, aka ASL.

Cover of version 1 of the Rulebook, complete with artwork by Rodger MacGowan

So, the Tussle in the Tundra: what is it?  Well, put simply, it is the Northeast's best little ASL Tournament.  Typically participation is around 20 to 25, but in spite of that size, the competition is tight.  Players come from all over New England, New York and this year from as far away as Virginia and California!  It starts on Friday and goes until Sunday, with the option for warm up games on Thursday.

New Scenario from Hatten in Flames

To kick things off, I got off to an early start playing my first-ever ASL opponent, Rob Loper of Vermont.  He brought along his brand-new copy of Hatten in Flames, an historical ASL game-set based on battles in Alsace in early 1945.  He played the US player and I the German.  The game was a tight one, came to the end, but Rob was able to win one for the good guys!  It was a great battle and the set, just released the week previous, was a beauty to behold.  So, warmed up, the next day would see me fighting a battle set on the Eastern Front in Stalingrad

Welcome to Stalingrad

I arranged things such that I would be facing off against Sean Deller, a fantastic player who has an impressive record as both a player and a scenario designer.  Sean is a gentleman and I was looking forward to learning a thing or two from him in this game.  For this one, I would be the Germans, attacking the Soviets with a view to capturing a divisional HQ.  This is set in October, 1942 about a month before the Soviet counterattack that destroyed the German 6th Army. 

Putting on the Pressure!

My initial attack was successful and I was pressuring his HQ building on turn 2.  Things were looking bleak for the Soviets, especially since I wounded one of his two leaders.  As luck would have it, his initial reinforcements arrived in the nick of time!  A Commissar got to the HQ and was able to cycle his broken man back forward into the battle time and time again.  Now the pressure was starting to hit me!

Too little, too late

As it turned out, at game end I had four squads in that victory building, but so did Sean.  I needed to have more in there than he, and in this I was just shy of the required amount.  No matter, this was a fantastic game and I was able to make good account of myself.  On to game two!

Operation Citadel

For my next game, I was up against David Kuchta.  I had never met David before and this is one of the highlights of ASL: getting to meet people from all over.  Not only did we play our battle, set in the USSR in 1943, but we were able to talk and chat about our respective ASL histories.  For this one, he would be attacking with the Soviets and I would attempt to defend as the Germans. 

German counterattack

In the end, David was very aggressive and got into the objective area in good order and I was forced to try to get around his flank.  I did my best, but his gunnery was just too much for me.  I made some tactical errors along the way, but most of all, had fun.  0-2 and time to head to bed: Saturday would see me switching over to bolster the ranks of the mini tournament.

Day 1 of the war: September First, 1939.

Round one of the mini would see me in an epic see-saw battle vs Mike Allexenberg in a battle set on the very first day of the war as the Germans invaded Poland.  My meager force of Poles would attempt to stop his attack using some very odd Armored Cars, the type that were so poorly protected that machine guns stood a better than average chance to knock them out.

Polish Counterattack

This battle swung both ways.  At first, Mike's forces were pushing me back further and further into the village I was defending.  Then in an act of brilliance, I started rolling well.  I knocked out a substantial portion of his force and it looked as if I would emerge victorious!   But then Mike would really put the pressure on me and was able to take out my leader and machine gun nest with one of his pathetic armored cars.  So, I was now 0-1 in the mini and 0-4 for the weekend.   And as it would turn out, Mike would go on to win the tourney, and I was but a mere speedbump in his path!

Early Battle

Here come the Germans

For the next round of the mini, I was paired off against my old pal Keith Talbot.  He and I first played against one another in 2015 when I attended my first-ever ASL tournament.  This time I would be attacking his guys in Latvia.  My force would have to get through machine-gun riddled streets to try to force the issue by capturing a building well to the rear.  I was able to use cover and found myself in his building by the 4th turn.  It was a see-saw battle in the building, but in the end, I was able to force his men out of the building.  One thing I did was apply what I had learned in my 4 years of ASL play: take prisoners whenever possible!  I had a half-squad in the back running around with 3 squads and a leader: the most he can guard at once!

"Start spreading the news..."

I had a long way to go, so I decided to head back to Virginia early.  I head out that night around 5 pm and made it to New Jersey, passing through New York City along the way.  I had a great weekend and a great time with so many friends along the way.  Once again, I find myself at home on a Sunday with fond memories of the weekend past and its battles with tiny men of cardboard.

Human Wave 2018

One of my first experiences with Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) was to play in a tournament.  In fact, my very first full-rules ASL game was at a tournament.  I lost 3 games and won one.  But right then and there, I knew that I was hooked.

I moved on up!

Once I moved to the Northern Virginia area, I discovered the DC Conscripts, a group of ASL players who got together about once a month.  My first match was a disaster for me: I was destroyed.  Completely.  But I learned so much from that game.  The bite was getting deeper and I was out playing in more tournaments.  I went to Tussle in the Tundra, Huzzahcon (my first), Nor'Easter, NY State Championship and the ASL Oktoberfest.

So much travel!

What I was missing was a local tournament.  So I decided to take a leap of faith and organize one locally.  I had met some pretty heavy hitters in the local area when it came to gaming ASL, so I knew that we would have a good core of players.  Going with the theme of us being "Conscripts" (the local crew has a schtick in which we emulate the poor bloody infantry of the Red Army), I named the tournament "Human Wave".  If I had to describe the tournament as it turned out using just one word, that word would be "Success".  People had fun and there was some pretty epic gaming.

URRAH!

So the tournament was set for 8 to 10 June.  There would be a main tournament of four rounds (16 gamers) and a mini of three rounds (8 gamers).  We also made room for open gamers and of course Starter Kit players.  In the end, we had 16 signed up for the main and 8 for the mini, though 3 people had to bow out just before the tournament due to unforeseen circumstances.   In addition to those 21 players, we had 8 open gamers show up, including 3 for Starter Kit.

Starter Kits: The Gateway to ASL Awesomeness!

29 people over the weekend far exceeded all expectations.  Also present was Perry Cocke of MMP.  It sure was nice having him there, especially when a rules question came up.  I would give the answer, pause, turn to Perry and then see if he was nodding or shaking his head.

So Many Prizes!

Another perk of the game was all the prize support.  Prizes were donated by the following great organizations:

1. Bounding Fire Productions
2. Lone Canuck Publishing
3. Yankee ASL (aka "The Bunker")
4. The Gamer's Armory
5. Multiman Publishing; and
6. Key's Games and Hobbies in Moline, Illinois

In all honesty, there is no way that this could have succeeded without their support.  Also of note is that two members of the Conscripts donated some loot.

Main Tournament Trophy

Mini Tournament Trophy

"Box Cars" booby prize

The trophies were a hit.  Our very own Scott Bricker built and painted these wonderful trophies and they were the hit of the tournament!  

The Game is afoot!

The games kicked off on Friday Night for round one.  Unfortunately our room was unavailable due to a failed Air Conditioning system, but we made do.  Having two air conditioners in there on a hot and muggy DC-area weekend sure did help!  After a quick intro, the dice were being tossed and the games were underway!

Round 2 Main and Round 1 Mini underway

Saturday was a tight day.  That room was packed.  The patience of all involved was amazing and there were no complaints to be heard.  Like most gamers, they were able to made do and all made their personal morale checks.  On day 2, it was off to round 2 and 3 for the main tournament as the mini went through all 3 rounds in that one day!

Mini Tournament Champion, Jim Bishop

It was no surprise that Mr Jim Bishop (as seen as a 9-1 in the ASL Starter Kit Expansion Pack!) emerged with a perfect 3 and 0 record to claim the top prize in the mini tournament!  He took home a gift certificate along with the amazing trophy that Scott did.  Congratulations, Jim!

Last Men Standing!

The Last Scenario

In Progress

In the end, Tom Arnold and Neil Stanhagen were the final two standing for the main tournament.  They squared off on Sunday morning playing J103 Lenin's Sons.  Neil drew the Soviets and Tom the attacking Germans.  it was a tight game that came down to the final phase of the final turn!  In the end, the winner was...

The Winner!  Neil Stanhagen

Neil!  In addition to the trophy, he received a gift certificate from Lone Canuck Publishing.  

Scott (left): "I designed that Box Cars model"
Andy (right):  "And I own it now!  I think I set a record!"

Finally, the winner of the Box Cars: Andy Hoskins!  What a champ!  We think he had loaded dice!  Ha!  I think the final number of 15 box cars in four games.  The next nearest was maybe 7.  Poor Andy.  But he did get a sweet trophy!

So, in the end, a lot of ASL was played and the tournament ended up one shy of 30 gamers.  What a great success.  To all who came out for Human Wave 2018, thank you!  And I look forward to seeing you again at Human Wave 2019!  I promise, the room will be bigger!

David

A Study of my Insanity: how I fell in love with the Advanced Squad Leader system

Back in 1983, my friend Gary Olson came over to my place and brought with him a game.  That game?  Squad Leader.  "Welcome to Stalingrad!" was the cry as he and I took on the roles of the Soviets and the Germans in a little scenario called "The Guards Counterattack".  I think I was German and I don't know who won.  It doesn't matter.  That game was all it took for me to be hooked on war gaming in general and Squad Leader in particular.

How we saw ourselves as we rolled the dice!

Gary had Squad Leader and its follow-on components, known as "gamettes".  All were necessary for the full experience, and Gary had them all: Cross of Iron, Crescendo of Doom and GI: Anvil of Victory.  Each one of the gamettes added rules progressively.  In fact, Squad Leader as a system was known for its so-called "Programmed Instruction" approach. So, you would get a set of rules, then you would go play a scenario, get more rules, another scenario and so on.  The system worked!


Well, it did work, but stopped working once you got to the next gamette.  Invariably, each new gamette would add new rules that made previous rules obsolete.  As an example, Squad Leader had rules for tanks and ordnance.  The very first rules in Cross of Iron gave completely new rules.  But all through Crescendo of Doom, the index, page numbering and all else was in sequence. 

GI: End of the Line

This all changed with GI: Anvil of Victory.  The game designers had by the time Crescendo of Doom was released in 1981 realized that the system was growing in leaps and bounds and was spurred on by its popularity.  They decided to go back to the drawing board and remake the system from ground up, incorporating all the elements developed thus far.  As such, the effort into GI: Anvil of Victory, though extensive, was not comprehensive.  Its index failed to refer back to Squad Leader and led to all sorts of confusion.  The new system, Advanced Squad Leader, would fix all that anyway, or so the designers had hoped.

DAWN OF A NEW ERA

By 1985, the rules and initial module for Advanced Squad Leader was ready to go.  Almost.  The first module was released in the autumn of that year, but the rules went back for some refining and then were finally issued in early 1986.  The initial module was set on the Eastern Front and contained maps, scenario cards and the game counters for the system, as well as the entire order of battle for the Germans and the Russians, as well as some for the Finns. "Beyond Valor" became the first of many modules. 

The first of it all

Gary bought Beyond Valor and the Rule book and I think we both just gasped.  Here was a monster of a game and neither of us really had the impetus to crack the code, as it were.  Besides, we were of legal drinking age and girls were really interesting, so we both sort of drifted away from such nonsense.  Well, sort of.  We kept gaming, but we stuck to other games, such as Assault by Game Designers Work Shop and of course the original Squad Leader.

Passing through time now

Flash forward from 1986 or so to 2013 or so.  I was in at work one day and my pal Quentin noted that I had some literature on Squad Leader.  He noted that he had a friend who played, so he was going to put us together.  Alas, turned out he played Advanced Squad Leader.  I related that I had never gotten into it, nobody to mentor me, etc.  "Well, he plays the Starter Kit".  The what?  I had no idea!  I went online and quickly found that there were not one, not two, but THREE starter kits.  ASL Starter Kit 3 was available for purchase for around 30 bucks or so, so I made the leap and bought it.  I tried it, and I liked it!

Where have you been all my life?

I got a hold of Gary and asked if he had the ASL still.  He did, and I bought what he had (Rule Book, Beyond Valor and Paratrooper).  I joined a Facebook community and on the suggestion of the masses purchased For King and Country, a module containing the UK and Commonwealth forces.  But my real luck came a few weeks later.  I met a fellow online who told me of a tournament in "nearby" Portland Maine (6 hours by car...).  I took the leap and went.  And wow!  What a weekend!  Chuck ran a low-key tournament and the players were all great and especially patient with me.  I actually won one game out of 4!

Two or three weeks later, I ran into a fellow who was selling his gear.  And by "gear" I mean the entire collection that was available up to that time.  I bought it, which included both official and third party gear. 

So, I've since played in tournaments and local.  I've played online and I've played solo.  And the best part is the fun I have playing people *and* the relationships I've made over the past few years.  I log my games and I have played over 200 matches in my 3 or so years of serious play.  I realize that this game is not for all, but I do find it both engaging *and* time consuming.  But in a good way. 

So, if you see me with some dice and a happy look in my eyes, fear not!  I am probably just on my way to play some ASL.  See you at the tournament!