ASL First FireSunday, April 04, 2004
Out of the Wrapper, III
"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.
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.
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.
