ASL First Fire

Aaah, flamethrowers, one of the most fearsome weapons of the Second World War, and in ASL as well. Flamethrowers (FT) are a wonderful weapon for both close-in city fighting or the complex terrain in PTO. They have the very useful trait of being immune to TEM effects, making them very valuable in the high-TEM terrain found on the city boards. The hardest part sometimes is simply getting them into position to use, due to the inherent vulnerability of a unit armed with one.

Who can use them? Any unit can, but only elite units can use them without the penalties for non-qualified use. Remember that SMC are generally considered elite and so may use these weapons accordingly, although they are probably not ideal for such use. For non-elite units, the X# is reduced by two (or four if the weapon is also captured). With an already low X10 for FT, use by non-elite units is highly likely to result in a permanently disabled weapon, but in most scenarios containing FT you will be given appropriate elite units to go with them. Some players have advocated giving the FT to half-squads to limit the damage to your forces when that unit inevitably draws a large amount of fire. However, one Casualty Reduction will leave your FT unpossessed and lying in the open. A crew can be used (remember, all crews are also considered elite), which has the advantage of self-rally, but still is vulnerable to Casualty Reduction. A squad then may be the best choice, as one bad roll is less likely to take your FT out of action before even being fired.

How are they fired? Simple enough, they have a FP of 24 at one hex range, and 12 FP at two hexes, and cannot be fired beyond 2 hex range (although some vehicle-mounted FT have a normal range of 2 hexes and can fire as Long Range fire out to 3 hexes). They have two very important characteristics which make them quite different from other support weapons. First, fire during the AFPh is not halved as Area Fire, even if the unit has moved during that turn. Other forms of Area Fire do apply however (e.g., halving the FP for firing against a concealed target). The other big difference with FT is that there is no DRM for TEM. Hindrances do still apply, which with the limited range of FT mostly means the effects of smoke (since smoke applies as a Hindrance whether present in the firer's hex, the target hex, or anywhere in between). Obviously though that stone building is no longer quite as secure a defensive position as it would otherwise be, one of the reasons why flamethrowers are nice to have in the big city, and a huge potential threat to the defensive player.

What are the hazards of flamethrowers? Aside from the fact that a unit carrying a flamethrower will be a magnet for the opposing player's bullets, the flamethrower makes the unit more vulnerable to that fire by applying a –1 DRM to all attacks against it.

So how do you make best use of a flamethrower? Here's the problem. The FT's short range (along with the –1 DRM for attacks against the carrying unit) is its greatest drawback. There's no possibility of a standoff attack here. The firing unit has to get to one or two hex range to make use of the weapon, and it's getting to that point that is the hard part. The FT-equipped unit will likely attract as much fire as the opponent can muster, particularly as it closes in on a critical location (such as a victory location or a fortified building). To use the FT at full FP, the unit has to be adjacent to its target, which obviously makes it even more vulnerable to return fire. This is another reason why a city is a great place to use these, since it provides enough cover to get close to the target. However, what do you do if you have to cross some open ground (such as a street) to get to the target? And how do you use this might weapon to greatest effect?

One thing to keep in mind is that the FT is a very disruptive weapon even without ever firing. Once your opponent knows where it is, he will concentrate his troops and firepower to protect his own forces and his critical locations from the flames, or move units accordingly to keep them out of harm's way. The FT's presence alone may be enough to disrupt his otherwise well-planned defense, or at least divert part of that defense from another critical point.

If you do have to get in close and use the FT though, there are several ways to accomplish this task, using tactics that are helpful in many situations. Say you have to cross a street with your FT-toting unit but a MG-laden enemy squad is covering that street, skillfully placed so as to lay fire down the length of the boulevard. One option is to use half-squads (deploy as much as possible). Run a half-squad or two at his strongpoint. If he shoots at them, you may lose those units, but you will have limited his further defensive fire options for that turn. If your unit survives, then his SFF options will likely be limited by the presence of that half-squad (see A8.3 for the range limitations on SFF). For instance, if the surviving half-squad is closer to the enemy MG than where your unit with the FT wishes to cross the street, it will be immune to SFF from that MG. If your opponent is wise, he will hold his fire against those initial half-squads. However, by doing so he allows those units to close with his strongpoint, putting it under greater threat. Meanwhile, if he ignores too many units, he will have defeated the purpose of placing that MG in that location in the first place by letting too many units pass unmolested. (Another thing he could do is lay a Fire Lane down the street if your half-squad scouts approach from that angle, but at least this reduces the effectiveness of the fire he could direct at your FT unit.)

This may be effective in taking care of peripheral units, but does nothing for the defending units your FT unit is gunning (flaming?) for. Again, moving up adjacent to them will invite point blank fire, and drawing their fire with other units won't necessarily help because of both SFF and FPF possibilities if you try to move your important unit adjacent to the target location. One option here is to stay at two hex range which at least avoids the point blank fire modification for defensive fire. Your subsequent attack will be halved to 12 FP, but this is still a pretty good shot to take since no TEM will apply (a 12 FP attack with no DRM has an 83% chance of at least a NMC). If you simply must move to point blank range, then you can try distracting him with other units first to draw fire (as described above), which means his attacks against you will at best be normal firepower (halved for area fire and doubled for point blank fire) as SFF or FPF. Another option is to throw smoke grenades from other units (or even the FT unit). This will get your FT unit out in the street and adjacent with the protection from the smoke to limit the damage from any defensive fire. Also, the smoke will dissipate before the AFPh allowing you to fire (assuming you survived) at full 24 FP strength with no hindrance modifiers.

Ultimately, though, the best way to protect your FT is to mount it on an AFV. The –1 vulnerability DRM for a FT-equipped unit does not apply to PRC of a vehicle with a FT. Some vehicular FT have a normal range of 2 (with a Long Range of 3 hexes).

FT are great weapons, but can be hard to get into position to use effectively. Remember that the threat of the FT is sometimes worth enough by itself to significantly affect your opponent's tactics, so don't throw them away needlessly by taking unnecessary risks with the carrying unit or firing them against low-yield targets at the risk of permanently disabling the weapon. And if you are lucky enough to be given a vehicular FT, it's time to play a little "Crocodile Rock" for your opponent. Enjoy.

Two weeks since last updating this site. Too much real life involvement right now, not helped when one of my partners at work broke his hand resulting in a little more work to go around. Thus I haven't had much time to do anything new here, and am struggling to get any time in to continue my current SASL game of "Hoch Hoch!".

In the meantime I've received through the mail or purchased issues of two magazines, "Against the Odds" and "Armchair General", both relatively new magazines that in one form or another provide a game in each issue. Neither has anything to do with ASL, but are both well worth trying out, and I'll post an OOTW review here soon. I'm also working on an article on learning the OBA rules, but am struggling to make sure that the article actually takes less time to read than the rules themselves. Also, there are still a number of "Obscure and Frequently Forgotten" rules that can be examined. I hope these are proving to be useful.

In response to a couple of discussions on the ASL Forums and Consimworld, I've started a list of ASL Acronyms. These aren't intended to duplicate what's already in the ASLRB index, but rather to list those frequently used acronyms which don't show up in the Rulebook (e.g., MMP, KGP, etc.). The purpose of this of course is that there are (hopefully) a bunch of new players coming to ASL, many of whom will have no familiarity with the various manufacturers of ASL materials and their products (as has been apparent with some of the discussions that triggered the creation of this list). To them, a discussion of HOB's new module BtB will be meaningless. Hopefully, this will help somewhat. If you think of anything that should be added (including common Rulebook index acronyms that may not be available to someone with only the Starter Kit), please let me know at the e-mail address listed in the left-hand column of this page. Thanks.

8. A SMC who is wounded by a K/# result does not have to take the #MC (A7.302) - To quote from the rule: "...all other target units (including any just-Reduced HS) must take a MC, adding the number indicated (#) to the MC DR." If a squad is randomly selected to be casualty reduced, the remaining half-squad will take the MC along with all other units in the target Location. However, note that a SMC is not included in that quote. This has been confirmed by previous Q&A published in the Annuals and also in the A.9 example.

9. A MG is limited to a range of 16 hexes unless directed by a Leader, and all infantry targets greater than 16 hexes away are treated as concealed (A9.4) - Easily overlooked in the heat of the moment, especially with the longer range HMGs. Note the exceptions to the rule, especially CMG/IFE.

"The new phonebook's here!"

Well at least that's what it felt like when the UPS package arrived the other night. In one of the most anticipated ASL releases of recent years, the new ASL Starter Kit is out, and most of the comments online appear to be strongly positive. According to the MMP guys, the response from retailers is apparently also quite good. For those few of you who either don't already have this or haven't read many other similar reviews, here is my take on the package, followed by some comments about what it all means to ASL, both currently and in the future. If you'd like to see some examples of the maps and counters, see Norm Smith's site.


1. The Package
Starting with the first look, there is very much a deja vu feeling about the ASL Starter Kit, one that is undoubtedly very intentional. From the grenade-throwing German soldier silhouetted on the cover to the "He is the Squad Leader…" blurb on the back, the box is clearly designed to recapture the appearance of those classic Panzerblitz, Panzer Leader and (especially) Squad Leader games released thirty years ago. For those of us who remember finding those games on store shelves back in that ancient time when stores actually stocked such things, this is a very eye-catching approach to packaging, much more so perhaps than all those wonderfully illustrated but perhaps less distinctive ASL modules released in the last twenty years. Whether this merely represents nostalgia-based illusion on the part of veteran gamers or really represents great packaging that will help attract new players remains to be seen. However, it sure looks great to me. The box itself is of the same construction as the other recent releases have had, seemingly less sturdy, but apparently able to hold up to wear and tear (not to mention stacking) much better than the older style rigid box.

Ultimately, though, the most important part of the package may well be the little bit of text pointing out that the box contains everything needed to play. Compared to the existing modules, which usually have a lengthy list of prerequisite modules needed to play, not to mention requiring a completely separate (and expensive) rulebook, this is bound to be less likely to scare off the uninitiated.


2. The Counters
One counter sheet, all ½" counters, containing infantry units (leaders and squads, no crews or heroes) and support weapons for the Germans, Russians and Americans. It also contains, of course, the requisite informational markers. Speaking of nostalgia, just seeing these three nationalities together, without an additional ten or more countersheets, should bring back fond memories for anyone who remembers starting out with the original Squad Leader. In fact, the only thing missing would be the red Berserk Russian counters from the original. The physical quality of the counters is just fine, consistent again with MMP's other recent releases, and they punch out with out much trouble. While a few players seem to disagree, I think the basic SL/ASL infantry counter format has aged quite well and can't see how switching to a multi-color format (like many newer games) would in any way improve the appearance, especially without detracting from the ability to convey a large amount of information on such a small counter. The format used is the same as with the usual ASL counters, meaning the counters are identical to their ASL brethren, even down to the underlining of the range number indicating the ability to use spray fire, which is not (yet) part of the Starter Kit rule set.

3. The Rules
Twelve pages. Quite a switch from the full ASL Rulebook in all of its Chapter A thru E glory (not counting all of the additional chapters). Obviously, the Starter Kit has greatly reduced the number of rules in play, but nevertheless a surprising amount of basic chapter A (and a little of Chapter B) is represented in those twelve pages. Given the number of illustrated rules examples, along with the back page consisting mostly of credits, a nationality chart, and an ad for the full ASL game, the actual number of text pages is probably more like eight. Amazing, and a large amount of credit is due to Ken Dunn and the other designers for their ability to pull this off. Frankly, a number of the rules are probably written more clearly than their ASL counterparts (although time will tell whether the more sparsely written text will be even more vulnerable to the type of rules-lawyering hair-splitting so common in the ASL online community – hopefully not, since this is designed for new players). There is certainly room for quibbling over which rules were left out and which were included (e.g., Spray Fire, Heat of Battle, Concealment and Snipers were left out but ELR was left in) but this is a tremendous accomplishment to reduce the text this much and yet still keep the overall spirit of ASL tactical gaming intact.

4. The Scenarios
Sam Belcher has already posted a detailed rundown of the six scenarios contained in the Starter Kit. Suffice it to say that they look like good introductory stuff, none bigger than one full board or two half-boards. Two are Germans vs. Russians (both using the "city" board) and the other four are Germans vs. Americans. The first has no SW at all. These look good, but the AARs that show up will tell just how good they are, especially for the new players for whom they were designed.

5. The QRDC
One card containing the IFT, the CC table, a terrain chart, and a couple of charts listing MF and PP combinations. Readable, useful and uncomplicated, just as desired.

6. The Mapboards
Here's my only real quibble, and it's on very minor aesthetic grounds more than anything practical, since on practical grounds they seem to work very well. I would judge the mapboards on three aspects: physical quality, effectiveness and aesthetics.

Physical Quality – There's been a lot of talk about the new mapboards being printed on card stock, rather than being hard mounted in the traditional manner. If these are well received, MMP has stated that all of the ASL maps will eventually be reprinted in this fashion which they say costs about an eighth of the cost of a mounted board. I like the new boards just fine. For comparison, they are about the same weight card stock as the Chapter A divider from the 2nd edition ASL Rulebook. They of course will be much more portable and should play just fine, especially for anyone used to using plexiglass to cover their boards and mapsheets, but probably without plexiglass as well. Given the cost savings, I find it hard to argue against this approach.
Effectiveness – One map is a pseudo-city board, although less dense perhaps than the usual ASL-in-Stalingrad maps. The other is more of a village (although still with mostly stone buildings). Terrain available includes buildings, woods, orchards, grain and roads. There are no hills, valleys, water obstacles or walls/hedges (best to stay away from Wall Advantage in an introductory package). Orchard terrain is therefore the only inherent terrain present. Overall, they seem to successfully portray terrain on which to play ASL without bogging down in a lot of detail, just what the Starter Kit is intended for. The terrain that is missing may limit the maps' utility for regular ASL, but they work fine for the Starter Kit.
Aesthetics – This is the pickiest of nitpicking, but my only quibble is the overall appearance of the artwork. Admittedly, the lack of walls, hedges and some other terrain features does make the landscape look a bit starker than the usual ASL boards, but the artwork itself doesn't really appeal to me. The buildings especially look computer generated (like clip-art as some have mentioned), not painted as in most previous boards, and the contrast makes the overall effect a bit cartoonish in my view. They work just fine as noted above, but the more refined "painted" appearance of past boards seems to work better at making you feel as if you are playing on a map of an actual battlefield rather than on a diagram of "typical terrain." Others have pointed out that in keeping with the clip-art approach, some of the buildings are identical or resized copies of other buildings on the same board. Nitpicky, as I said, especially if this reflects attempts to keep costs down, but the appearance of the artwork just isn't as good.

7. The Dice
Two dice. What did you expect? Well actually, since most of my game purchases in the last several years have been ASL related, it has been a long time since I've opened a game box and found dice. Besides, this adds to the "THIS IS A COMPLETE GAME" approach.

8. The Future

"This is the kind of spontaneous publicity I need! My name in print! That really makes somebody! Things are going to start happening to me now!"

And this is ultimately what it all boils down to. I don't think there is any question that the ASL Starter Kit is completely successful at distilling ASL into a manageable (and far less intimidating) introductory game that should easily allow an interested player to progress to the full game. But the real question is whether this will succeed at bringing in new players for the hobby and for ASL in particular.

The next two Starter Kits are expected to introduce Ordnance and Vehicles respectively. MMP plans to update the rules with each additional kit so as to introduce the new stuff while updating the previously introduced rules and thereby to also apparently keep each new Starter Kit fully self-contained. I can't think of a better description of "Programmed Instruction." Some have speculated as to whether this will lead to a subculture within the ASL community, a group of players content with playing "ASL Lite" while eschewing the full system. Based on the presentation of the first Starter Kit, I think that actually, once all three kits are released and digested, the jump to full ASL will be a lot less than many people expect in terms of added complexity. While some may continue to produce additional scenarios for the stripped-down rules system, the sheer volume of material and nationalities already available (pending reprints of course) for ASL will likely never be matched by "ASL Lite." Someone who has gone through all three kits is likely to find much less in Chapters A thru E that is unfamiliar than he might think. If this turns out to be true, then the Starter Kit may be likely to bring a large number of new players to ASL.


Traditionally, the standard ways to enter ASL have been to do one of the following: 1) Buy the ASLRB and Beyond Valor and start from scratch, 2) Buy the ASLRB and Paratrooper and start from scratch, or 3) Do either of the above options after having played Squad Leader and its expansion modules. Of course, the best approach has been to do one of the above options with an experienced player available to guide you. However, none of those options has ever been conducive to bringing in the casual gamer who might like to get a taste of the system before committing.

The combination of the Rulebook and Beyond Valor has always required an initial investment of at least $90-$100, and given increased production costs, Beyond Valor alone may cost that much once reprinted, even with the cheaper mapboards. The Paratrooper approach made some sense in the days when most players were expected to be graduating from the Squad Leader system. However, that was almost twenty years ago now, and Squad Leader isn't even available. By this time, the old Squad Leader players have probably mostly already moved on to ASL or aged out of the hobby altogether. There are some stalwarts still out there who are a potential audience for ASL still, but for ASL to grow (or at least survive), it has to bring in players without that prior exposure. And for that group, the initial outlays of either RB/BV or RB/Para are simply too much to ask in order to "get a taste" of ASL. Also complicating that approach is the fact that both modules in question contain scenarios requiring boards that aren't included with that module.

From that standpoint, the Starter Kit is a wonderful chance for those players who are either not very familiar with ASL or who have looked at it and rejected it in the past, perhaps without giving it a try. Priced at $24, a remarkable price in today's market, that is a tremendous "impulse buy" opportunity, and comments on forums like Consimworld indicate that some of these players are indeed taking the opportunity to give ASL a try in its stripped-down form. $24 is a small amount of money to have spent (these days) if a player decides not to go farther with ASL, but is also small enough that a player who decides to take the full plunge won't likely feel he wasted it unnecessarily in getting his feet wet.

It will also be interesting to see what kind of retail response MMP receives from this game. It's hard to imagine a tremendous shelf presence in an age when wargaming retail shelves are as sparsely populated as the powder room at an ASL tournament. However, based on the comments from the MMP guys, the enthusiasm from retail stores for this project has been higher than just about anything they've done in the last five years. Could the presence of an eye-catching and self-contained game for $24 bring back any of the retail glory of the seventies? Probably not, for reasons that have been endlessly debated elsewhere. The potential audience for board wargames should be larger than it was thirty years ago, but there are so many other choices for that audience, both computer and non-computer in nature, that the actual number of people playing and buying these games will almost certainly never approach what was happening in those glory days of yore. However, it can't hurt to have such a game on the shelves in the local hobby store, and just maybe the audience for ASL will expand beyond the existing group of hard-core boardgamers.

So in summary, I believe that MMP has succeeded remarkably well in producing a game that will appeal to non-ASL players and yet provide a good stepping-stone for those players who decide to continue in the ASL system. Whether that translates to a lot of new blood for the system or not, we may not know for some time, but the initial results are very promising. Well done guys. The future looks a little brighter.

A couple more. OOTW review of the Starter Kit coming soon.

6. Inexperienced Personnel have a basic MF Allotment of 3. (A4.11, A19.31) - Maybe not that easily forgotten, especially if you start a scenario with Conscript troops, but in the heat of battle, once unit quality begins to decline due to ELR failure (and you "acquire" new Conscripts), the restrictions on Inexperienced Personnel can easily be overlooked. In addition to the MF restriction, remember that these units reduce the breakdown number of SW by one (turning the original B# into an X# as per A.11) and also lose two columns (instead of one) on the IFT for Cowering. The other restrictions are listed under A19.3. Also important to remember is that a Green unit stacked with a leader is exempt from these restrictions, but a Conscript unit is not.

7. The Assault Fire bonus is not applicable to Long Range Fire. (A7.36) - Okay, this wasn't on the original list, but is one I just noticed. Assault fire is a wonderful thing to have, permitting units such as the German 5-4-8 squads to use 4 FP in Advancing Fire, a full column better on the IFT than would otherwise be the case. However, this only applies to shots in normal range. This is kind of comparable to a Hero's DRM only applying if the Hero is firing at normal range of either his inherent FP or his weapon. Can't say how long I've played this (Assault Fire) wrong, one of the hazards of most of my playing not being Face-to-Face. What makes it even more interesting is that I figured this out by reading the rules from the new Starter Kit. It seems there are some added benefits to a streamlined rulebook.