ASL First Fire

new·bie ('nü-bE, 'nyü-) noun BEGINNER, NOVICE;

I’m a partially-reformed newbie, quite comfortable with the Advanced Squad Leader system, but still fairly inexperienced in actual play of the game. ASL is a wonderful game of tactical warfare, but can be incredibly daunting to the new player. What I wanted to do here was provide an article listing the best means of learning ASL, based on what has worked for me and taking into account the resources currently available.

What is ASL? If you don’t know, see the ASL FAQ for a good background.

Okay, so you’ve managed to procure a copy of the Rulebook and Beyond Valor, or you’ve tried the new Starter Kit. Either way, you’re ready to take the plunge into the madness that is ASL. How do you get started? This article is to help with finding information, opponents and materials to allow you to learn to play ASL. This article doesn’t try to provide tactical help, or give you a how-to. Too many people have already put too much time into doing just that. This is here to help you find what’s already been done.

By far, the best way to learn ASL is to have someone already familiar with the game help you. The first section below should help you find out if someone is in the area, or tell you how to find an opponent if no one is near you. Other sections will focus on learning how to play the game (ie, the rules) and learning how to play the game (ie, tactical help). In addition, I'll give sources for finding scenarios to play. Welcome to ASL and enjoy!

1. Finding Help

The ASL Rulebook is a very large collection of rules, and is generally thought of as a reference more than a rulebook. Unlike most games, it's very difficult to start at the beginning of the rulebook and figure out how to play by reading straight through. Finding someone to teach you ASL directly is by far the easiest method of entry into this game. If you have someone local, so much the better. How do you find out whether there is someone? If there’s a game store nearby, you can ask there, but these days, fewer and fewer are carrying ASL or other Conflict Simulations, so that is probably less likely to help. You are better off trying the online forums, posting an introduction (including your location), and asking if anyone is around. Where are these online sources of information?

Multiman Publishing (MMP) - The makers of ASL. These guys are hobbyists, just like us. They have a contract with Hasbro (the owners of the copyrights for ASL) to produce ASL stuff. This site is one source for obtaining in-print ASL material. The website has a player directory which may provide a local contact. They also have a list of clubs. Both of these may be a little out of date, but are a good starting point.

The ASL Mailing List (ASLML) - Only a shadow of its former self, but still a terrific source for ASL help, information and rules interpretations. Post a rules question here and you may be amazed by the number of responses you get (most of which may agree with each other). While traffic may not be what it once was, the flame wars aren’t quite as bad either. Traffic is down in large part because of frequent server problems since late 2002, which has led to the development of several other new forums.

The ASL Forums - Relatively new (started in early 2003), but a pretty heavily trafficked site.

Warfare HQ - Also relatively new, with ASL information and articles, plus a forum on ASL.

ConsimWorld - "Conflict Simulation Gaming News and Discussion." Here, you can find discussion boards for almost any wargame (and many non-wargames), including boards for ASL in particular and MMP in general.

Virtual ASL (VASL) - VASL is a Java-based application that allows you to play ASL online. This a terrific resource for many reasons, but most importantly because it allows you to play without being bound by geography if you happen to live in an ASL-deficient area. The application has also been the basis of VASSAL, a more generic engine that allows you to play other games as well. Check out the server and you may find someone willing to teach you, or you can look in on a game and watch others play. The documentation and the website tell you about how to manage all of this, as well as etiquette for doing so.

2. Learning the Rules

ASL is a very complex game. Surprisingly, once you are familiar with the rules, it is actually very playable, but getting to that level of familiarity is what’s hard, especially if you have no prior experience and are staring at the rather large rulebook wondering how you’ll ever understand what this is about. What online resources are available to help you learn ASL? Well, obviously the sites listed above are a good place to start, especially VASL, but there are other options available to guide you in learning the system.

Eight Steps to ASL: A Programmed Instruction Approach - This is an article by longtime ASLer Jim Stahler that presents the rules in manageable bits, so that you only have to learn a few at a time, with scenario suggestions that allow you to apply the rules you’ve just learned.

Tuomoland - This is Tom Repetti’s website. The "Examples of Play" provided here are detailed move-by-move recaps of ASL scenarios, which are perfect for letting you see how the game flows as well as getting a feel for how the rules apply. Invaluable as a training aid. The site also contains Tom’s Spuddy awards from past years, which are collections of the funniest postings from the ASLML from its glory days. Obviously of limited value for learning ASL, but very funny reading at times.

3. What to play

Okay, now you know the basics of how to play, and hopefully have found an opponent, whether local or online. What do you play? The obvious answer is to play the scenarios from whatever modules you own. However, there are scenarios available for free downloading as well, especially at the MMP website. Many of these are good introductory or teaching scenarios, meaning they have small unit density and allow you to focus on only part of the rules (ie, either infantry- or vehicle-only) at one time.

Multiman Publishing (downloads) - Several sets of scenarios are here for downloading. The most important for the new player are the ASL Classic scenarios. These are a series of scenarios reprinted in a magazine a few years ago which is now out of print. These include "T1 - Gavin Take" and "A – The Guards Counterattack", two of the most widely played scenarios. T1 especially is a commonly used teaching scenario and Guards is the subject of one of Repetti’s Examples of Play at the Tuomoland website. "T2 – The Puma Prowls" is commonly used as a teaching scenario for vehicles. Two newer scenarios are bonuses from the most recent MMP Journal (Journal #5), W1 and W2. These appear to be good teaching scenarios as well.

Also available here are the scenarios for Streets of Fire and Action Pack #1, two out of print modules. These are a bit more advanced, as is the Provence Pack, a nice set of scenarios which come complete with notes and tips on play. Feel free to download these, but there aren’t any real scenarios for beginners here.

Print Magazines - The best source beyond your core modules are the magazines published by Avalon Hill and MMP. The ASL Annual was produced (more-or-less) annually from 1989 through 1997. Unfortunately, these are now all out of print, although they can be found through such sources as eBay, for those willing to fork over a few bucks. These contain many fine scenarios, as well as some terrific articles. The earlier Annuals tended to emphasize historical articles, with a greater concentration on tactical tips in later issues. Hopefully with MMP's plans to release more issues of Out of the Attic, more of these scenarios and the best of the articles will be reprinted in the future.

The Journal is MMP's version of the Annual, and issue 5 has recently been released. These are generally of very good quality as well (although the best of these, Journal 2, is now out of print) and again offer many fine articles along with a large number of scenarios. These are all worth obtaining.

4. Tactics and Play Aids

Learning the rules is the hardest part of starting play in ASL. Once you’ve gotten a feel for the game, however, you’ll need to develop a sense of the tactics that are necessary to play this game. Obviously it’s not enough to learn what stacking is; you also need to learn why it’s usually inadvisable, and when it’s absolutely necessary. Participating in the various online forums is a good way to begin to pick up tips on how to play ASL, simply by following the discussions. The print magazines listed in the last section are a great resource, but must be bought or are no longer available. Fortunately there are a number of resources online, including some magazines.

Online Magazines – Several ASL players and clubs publish their own journals. These often feature information about the club and its members and are directed towards its members in terms of content. However, they often feature general ASL content as well, including tactical tips, product reviews, scenario analysis and after-action reports. Occasionally, they'll have articles explaining certain rules, which can be a big help.

View From the Trenches - This may be the best of the online magazines. Produced by U.K. ASLer Pete Phillips, there are more than 40 issues available for download. Most of these are useful and all make entertaining reading. The ASL scene from a British perspective, but lots here for any ASL player. You could clearcut a small forest for enough paper to print out all of these.

Hit the Beach! - Produced by the SoCal ASL Club. This is their club newsletter, but does contain some general ASL information. The website for the club also has a great many links to other ASL websites (under "ASL Resources").

Banzai!! - Produced by the Central Texas ASL Club. Similar in focus to the SoCal publication. The April Fools Day issues (Bonsai!! and Bonanzai!!) are worth checking out too.

Other Websites - Many ASL players have their own websites and have put a tremendous amount of work into making the game easier for all of us. Tom Repetti's site has been listed earlier, and is the best of the sites for learning the game. Here are a few more sites that are useful for the play of ASL.

Desperation Morale Central - Mark Pitcavage has created this site for the benefit of all of us. The downloadable play aids and "cheat sheets" are the highlight here, but be sure to check out the "ASL Museum" as well, which documents the levels of fanaticism ASL players can achieve in playing this game.

Dicetower.com - Sam Belcher's site, originally dedicated to Sam's dice towers, but also containing other useful information, including the most complete list available of "Perry Sez" rules clarifications. Perry Cocke is one of the members of MMP, and is the current "rules guru". This collection lists the various clarifications he has issued on the online forums, in addition to collecting the known rules errata and clarifications listed in the official publications.

Yankee ASL - The website for the Boston ASL Group. Several items of interest here, but particularly useful is the Chronology of War, a searchable database of every ASL scenario published, both official and "third-party" products, with an Excel spreadsheet that is downloadable.

5. Conclusion

ASL is a very complex game, but is an absolute blast to play, once a player is familiar with the game. Getting started is usually the most difficult hurdle to clear, and hopefully the resources listed here will help the new player past that obstacle. Roll low!

I reached a milestone two weeks ago. With my purchase of the Operation: Watchtower Historical Study several months ago, I now own all of the "official" ASL modules [EXC: For King and Country, since I already own West of Alamein]. I recently reorganized my Plano containers and in doing so finally finished punching out all of my counters [EXC: The counters from 2nd edition SASL and the purple German counters from KGP II]. Thus, for the first time since first buying the Rulebook and Beyond Valor in 1993, I have no counters or other components left to organize.

So what to do next (besides actually playing ASL)? Like any self-respecting ASL junkie, I immediately began looking for more product to buy. Until now, the only “Third Party” ASL products I’ve bought have been a couple of Critical Hit magazines, but no modules. However, I’ve generally heard good things about Heat of Battle (HoB)’s products and headed over to their website. What followed were two purchases over the next couple of days. Onslaught to Orsha and High Ground arrived yesterday. Recon By Fire and Firefights! are on the way.


High Ground - This module contains the first two boards HoB has produced. They are mostly geomorphic (on three sides) with the other ASL boards, but the fourth side of each board has a level 4 hill extending to the board edge. Put together they make a very large hill complex extending across the two boards. Eight scenarios utilizing the “High Ground” boards are contained, and this looks like a nice package to have. I felt even better about the purchase when the HoB people announced online that this product is now sold out. Phew!


Onslaught to Orsha - This is a historical module on Operation Bagration (aka, the destruction of Army Group Center). This is also a nice package, containing a historical map, a counter sheet in the format of the counters shown above, and a total of 22 scenarios, 2 SASL missions and a CG based on the battle. Also, the product contains a chapter of rules for the new terrain and pieces as well as the campaign game. A very nice looking product and almost equal in quality (based on the components) to the “official” historical modules put out by AH and MMP. The scenarios look nice, ranging from small low density scenarios to some real monsters. As with MMP’s Historical Studies, some of the scenarios are on the map while others use geomorphic boards. Based on Chas Smith’s track record, this should be a lot of fun.

Both of these look great and I look forward to organizing my rulebook, scanning the rules into my ongoing “eASLRB in html” project, and punching out and sorting the counters.

Oh yeah, maybe I’ll play a little too.

Someone who starts with the new ASL Starter Kits scheduled to be released in the near future may not see counter storage as a major problem. However, someone who starts out in the more traditional route with Beyond Valor will quickly realize that organizing the counters will be of great importance, especially as you add more and more modules. Storage is not much of a problem. Heck, just dump them in zip-loc bags, and indeed some ASL players have done fine using just such a system. However, for most players, a better system is needed in order to allow for finding specific counters in a timely fashion. You’ll find this out quickly the first time you need a particular halftrack, found on only four counters, only one of which has the optional AAMG. Hard to dig this out of a plastic bag in a hurry.

Many, many storage systems have been devised. The most popular revolve around fishing tackle boxes made by Plano, the most popular of which is the model 3701 box with 34 compartments. Others swear by Raaco, which appears to be mainly available in Europe but hard to find in the U.S. Others use coin envelopes for Vehicles and Ordnance, organized by the Vehicle/Ordnance number in the Chapter H listings, with various other means used to organized the infantry counters. One person has described gluing matchboxes together to organize the Vehicles and Ordnance. ASLers are very imaginative people, and I’m sure this brief listing only scratches the surface, but the tackle box approach seems to be the most popular.

I use Plano 3701s. There are several different schemes for organizing these. One is given on Tom Repetti’s site as Counter Storage for Dummies. I originally used this but then recently found a better solution. This is a Microsoft Excel file with sheets already made up to fit the Plano 3701s and is by Tom Lynch. The system uses two boxes each for the Russians, Germans, Americans and British (one for infantry, one for ordnance and vehicles) and one each for the remaining nationalities. The Axis Minors and Finns are combined in one box, awaiting publication of their respective vehicles. The system and information counters take up three more, thus giving me a total of 17 boxes currently (I think). I like this system a lot, although I’ve slightly modified some of the counter placement.

Basically, you’ll have to find whatever works for you. This works great for me but may not be for everyone. Try whatever you like. For many of us, counter organization is an obsession almost matching our obsession for ASL itself.

And don’t even ask about counter clipping.

Pretty much everyone who plays ASL at some point runs into an aspect of the game they wish was "more realistic." Realism arguments are one of the most common threads on the various ASL online sites, with several having played out recently on the ASL Forums (see links). Here is my reply to one of these which states my view on "realism" and ASL:

Probably everyone who plays this game makes the mistake at some point of thinking it's more realism based than it actually is. The incredible detail (and chrome) of the ASL system implies much more of a "simulation" than is actually the case, and probably leads to most of the "realism" arguments that this and other forums so entertaining.

John Hill, the designer of the original Squad Leader, made it clear that the game was originally designed with playability in mind as the foremost objective, and that the actual details were abstracted as necessary to achieve this goal. To quote from his original preview article in The General:

The first step was in defining what both AVALON HILL and I wanted in the game. After some discussion the following objectives were generally agreed upon. SQUAD LEADER was to be a "basically simple" game that could be "gotten into" quickly. It had to have a high emphasis on playability with ready access to "playing data". We would avoid the usual polyglot of different tables and charts and confine ourselves to one basic systems chart that would calculate the effect of everything. All basic player info would be contained on one sheet, printed both sides. Bookkeeping would be kept to a minimum. Graphically, it should be the most "visually descriptive" game ever printed. AND within all these pre-set parameters of playability all the following effects of infantry combat must be portrayed:

1. Firepower differentials between different squads.
2. The effect of differing ability of individual NCOs and leaders.
3. Effect differences between all main infantry type weapons.
4. A morale system that would capture all the subtle psychological differences in different nationalities, situations and types of cover.
5. The effects of armor in an infantry environment must be realistically portrayed, but the effects of armor vs. armor could be simplified.
6. Mechanical reliability of armament by nationality.
7. The game must show the concept of leadership as it portrays probable tactical success.
8. The game must show how as key leaders of squads and platoons become casualties the overall performance of an entire battalion suffers.

Now, all those nice realistic effects have been captured and portrayed before, BUT never under the very strict playability standards that were clearly defined prior to listing the "realism standards." And both Don Greenwood and myself agreed that we would both become quite strict if either I, as the designer, or he, as the developer, attempted to water down the "playability" and "reference ease" standards that we originally set down. Compromises, could and would be made, only with great hesitation. SQUAD LEADER would primarily be a "players game."

Some players would laugh at the insistence on playability, given what a "monster" ASL has morphed into over 25+ years. However, IMO, no amount of "realism" and detail grafted onto the original framework can change the underlying abstractions at the heart of the system, abstractions that still exist in the system to this day. I've always contended that the wonderful thing about ASL is the "feel" one gets for tactical combat. If you break it down into the most minute detail, it doesn't hold up to scrutiny from a realism standpoint, but if you look at the end result as a whole (ie, like reading the prologue and aftermath on every scenario card), you get an experience that gives a great experience of WWII combat, and is damned fun and playable to boot.

None of this means that additional rules can't be added in (eg, SW crews, different representations of LMGs, etc.) when appropriate in representing specific concepts or to help in capturing the "flavor" of the action being "recreated", based on the individual designer's tastes. That's what SSRs are for. Certainly all rules in the game had some ultimate basis in reality. It just shouldn't be done with the idea that it's making ASL more "realistic".

So be it. It's easy to get caught up in the incredibly intricate detail of ASL's approach to infantry combat and assume that what is being protrayed is more realistic than it is intended to be. Sacrifices in "realism" were made from the very beginning to ensure "playability" and adding detail without a change in the fundamental structure of the game does not lead to greater realism. Besides, as the detail in ASL attests, the designers had a pretty good idea of what ASL combat involved. Don't assume that just because your favorite squad-level weapon doesn't have its own counter or the degree of representation you feel it should have that the designers weren't aware of its existence. The greater likelihood is that that weapon is well represented, but more abstractly, in line with the basic design philosophy behind the original Squad Leader.

It is a great time to be active in ASL. Armies of Oblivion is just around the corner, thereby completing the core modules (with the exception of the Finnish module). MMP's upcoming projects should be worthy as well, with (from the sound of things) several Historical modules in various stages of development, including Valor of the Guards, Central Stalingrad/Red October, Ortona, and so on. The reprints of the ASLRB and Beyond Valor will hopefully take place within the next year. Perhaps most importantly, the new Starter Kit (which may or may not take the place of iASL) should be available in the next couple of months. This should make introducing new players to the system much less painful (for the newbies, that is) and hopefully supply new players for some time to come.

It may not be the Golden Age. Gone are the days when the supplier (Avalon Hill) could keep everything in stock almost indefinitely. ASL is now produced by people who are really hobbyists, just like the players, with limited resources. However, they are clearly no less dedicated to keeping the game alive (perhaps more so), and we owe all of them a great deal of gratitude. It may not be the Golden Age, but the future still looks very bright.

My major contribution to the hobby (to date) is the poem listed below (from Poe's "The Raven", of course), a Spuddy winner in its time, and my (hopefully) helpful pdf file on Critical Hits using the Infantry Target Type.

Of course, if none of the above makes any sense to you, you've probably wandered into this site by mistake.

(with apologies to Edgar Allen “Roll Low” Poe)

Once upon a CG dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over plans to stretch my defense line out to the Volga shore.
While my conscripts all were napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As one not so gently rapping, rapping at their cellar door.
‘Tis some rotten Kraut’ they muttered, ‘tapping at our cellar door -
Only this and nothing more.’


Ah, distinctly, I remember, Stalingrad in cold November,
Dying embers settled from the scorched earth up above the floor,
Signs now that a new day’s started, my line of defense has parted,
Jerry troops commencing their assault where they had failed before.
This small building left behind by his retreating troops before,
Hope to hold out one day more.


Now I found myself afraid he would clear out the Barrikady,
Smashing through my brave heroic troops defending Russia’s core.
Lest I found some way to stem this Nazi armored troop offensive,
Mother Russia’s imminent demise I felt must be in store,
German troops parading through the Kremlin could soon be in store,
Lest I won in CG IV.


How to turn the tide of battle, how to cause my foe to rattle,
His marauding band of blue-eyed blonds to founder in their chore,
I must try a new approach, some different tactic I must broach,
Some means to give a winning Russian entry to upload to ROAR,
A triumph in this campaign game to balance German wins in ROAR;
I picked the Rulebook off the floor.


The Book I viewed with apprehension, far beyond my comprehension,
Full of often studied, just as quickly then forgotten lore,
Rules to frighten any gender, all in erraticized splendor,
Page on page of Q&A all oozing out from every pore,
Packed with information and examples over which I pore,
Doomed to forget even more.


Still I had no hope of finding, hidden in the 3-ring binding,
Rules to help me in my defense of this barricaded door,
Strategies to hold this sector, hidden in their page protectors,
Page protectors purchased from the local Office Depot store,
Economy weight page protectors from the Office Depot store.
I Purchased these and nothing more.


Sewer movement has its value, simply if it would allow you
Stealthily to move your conscripts out beyond the cellar door,
But emergence is no given, matters not how hard they’re driven,
Their escape must find concealment if to safety they should soar,
Safe escape my conscript troops out from the sewer they would soar,
Quoth the Rulebook, ‘Roll a 4.’


Puzzled now, my planning altered (so far all my troops had faltered)
Searching desperately to find a way to bring force to the fore,
OBA would be my savior, causing Hun retreat behavior,
After all that’s why I spent those campaign purchase points before,
Points to bring on Russia’s off-board might I hadn’t used before,
OBA would be the score.


Thus I thought of using my artillery to start a fire,
Torching what few buildings stood to mark the city’s glorious yore,
Perchance this would save my conscripts (Is this damn Book writ in Sanskrit?
What the hell are these damn rules on OBA put in here for?
Where’s the flowchart made to show what OBA is useful for?
Torture me for evermore).


So the Rulebook did I ponder, staring there in abject wonder,
Stricken by its opacity, secrets kept behind a door,
Keeping me from soon attaining knowledge beyond basic training,
Tactics able to preserve my armies for one campaign more,
Dying conscripts overrun to never fight for one day more,
Damn the Rulebook evermore.


Thus I came to this conclusion, lost in desolate confusion,
German planes would be forever crossing Russian skyways o’er,
No more would my brave troops tussle with the Nazi armored muscle,
Armored might extending closer to the Eastern Volga shore,
Destined now to reach the Urals far beyond the Volga shore.
One more Russian loss for ROAR.

Welcome to First Fire, an ASL blog. At this point I have no idea what will be here but this is a beginning. Hopefully it will grow into something useful to somebody, somewhere.