Advanced Squad Leader
Encyclopedia
Advanced Squad Leader is a tactical-level board wargame
, originally marketed by Avalon Hill Games, that simulates actions of approximately company
or battalion
size in World War II
. It is a detailed game system for two or more players (with solitaire play also possible). Components include the ASL Rulebook and various games called modules. ASL modules provide the standard equipment for playing ASL, including geomorphic mapboard
s and counters
. The mapboards are divided into hexagons
to regulate fire and movement, and depict generic terrain that can represent different historical locations. The counters are cardboard pieces that depict squad
s of soldier
s, crews, individual leaders, support weapons, heavy weapons, and vehicles.
s. These scenarios are printed on card stock
with specifications of game length, mapboard configuration, counters involved, special rules for the conditions of the particular battle such as weather, and victory conditions. In addition to the scenarios published in the modules, there are numerous other sources for scenarios, both official and unofficial. There is also a detailed set of instructions in the ASL Rulebook for Design Your Own (DYO) scenarios based on a point-purchase system.
Additional variations on ASL include Deluxe ASL (DASL), which was a short-lived experiment in fusing miniature wargaming
with ASL; Historical ASL (HASL), which used historically accurate map
s, usually in a campaign
setting where the outcome of one scenario affected the setup of following scenarios; Solitaire ASL (SASL) with many rules changes for fog of war
and command to enhance solitaire play; and the ASL Starter Kits (ASLSK), a series of stand-alone introductory kits.
The game was first published by Avalon Hill
in 1985 as a successor to the award-winning Squad Leader
series, on which the game is based and from which the rules and components were directly developed. By the time the fourth and final installment of Squad Leader debuted, there were four separate rulebooks in existence with poorly integrated and sometimes contradictory rules. For example, U.S. forces
had lower morale and were disadvantaged by the use of morale ratings to determine the ability to push ordnance
through snow or mud, but there is no real reason for morale to affect such an attempt. It was clear that the system had grown in ways never dreamed of in 1977; large amounts of "nutmail" to Avalon Hill convinced the developers of the need to streamline the rules.
and assault gun types, and only five different armor ratings, from -2 to +2. By contrast, ASL has separate counters for 56 different types of tanks and assault guns for the Germans alone, with armor values from 0 to 26, based on actual thickness and degree of slope. Beyond Valor includes 99 separate German vehicles simulated in the game, including halftracks, armoured cars, anti-aircraft vehicles, and softskins.
A significant percentage of fans were taken aback by the need to replace the four modules they had bought; only the mapboards of the earlier series were compatible with the new game.
The new game requires at least two products, the Advanced Squad Leader Rulebook and an initial module, either Beyond Valor, which contains a brand new counter mix for the German, Russian and Finnish armies, as well as all necessary system counters, or else Paratrooper, which contains a limited counter mix for system markers, US paratrooper units and their German opponents in Normandy
. Either initial module
also requires ownership of boards from SL in order to play the included scenarios.
The new game does not feature programmed instruction
, instead requiring a thorough reading of at least four chapters of the ASL Rulebook to play a game with ordnance and/or vehicles in it. Even the most basic ASL components were no longer introductory in nature, although Paratrooper masqueraded as such. (This would be redressed in 2004 by the introduction of ASL Starter Kits). Avalon Hill actually suggested that anyone wishing to play ASL also purchase the original Squad Leader and gain experience with that system first, and kept the original SL and three gamettes in print. The necessity of owning boards from these modules in order to play printed scenarios in the core modules of ASL may also have been a factor in this decision. So while ASL was intended to replace SL, there was a certain ambiguity for many years about the status of SL's replacement; the original game was still necessary as a steppingstone to learning ASL, and a source for needed mapboards.
ASL was the first of Avalon Hill's 'advanced' games (the others were Advanced Civilization
and Advanced Third Reich
).
In 1998 Monarch Avalon, Inc. sold its entire line of games to Hasbro
. On January 15, 1999, Multi-Man Publishing
, LLC (MMP) announced an exclusive association with Hasbro, Inc. "to develop, produce, and distribute games and other products for Avalon Hill's Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) game system." MMP is a gaming company started by Curt Schilling
and his partners to preserve ASL and other Avalon Hill games. Multi-Man Publishing made many changes to the new system; a decision not to reprint the earlier Squad Leader games resulted in reorganization and 2nd editions of many ASL core modules in order to include boards from the earlier games, necessary for play of the printed scenarios in those core modules.
The Avalon Hill Game Company themselves described ASL in their 1996 catalogue as:
Playtester Jon Mishcon described the new game rather more succinctly in Volume 21, Number 5 of The General Magazine
, in relation to Squad Leader
; he wrote that the game was "Closely akin to SL but NOT the same." ASL took longer to play, punished use of "cheats" that worked in the old game system (one example was flooding an isolated defending unit by moving multiple units towards him; in ASL, units could fire more than once at moving targets in certain situations, which was impossible in the original SL), and emphasized realism over playability. He clarified that while playability had in many cases increased with the new rules organization, there were still many "special" circumstances that called for special rules. The new rules did, however, have a very strong systemic approach whereby, in his words, you could
In that same issue of "the General", Don Greenwood - developer of ASL and also editor of the magazine - responded to harsh criticism by consumers who felt that the redesign of the system was a cash-grab, or worse, a betrayal.
Despite the price tag and the expensive lists of prerequisites for each new module, the game system caught on and new modules continued to be produced twenty years after the original release - a feat unheard of in the board wargaming industry, especially with the decline in sales due to rising popularity of console
and PC games
. A large and active worldwide hobby community thrives around ASL, including tournaments, community websites, clubs, and fanzine
s. An active trading and auction community enables participants to buy and sell used ASL modules. ASL can be played over the Internet using a system called Virtual Advanced Squad Leader (VASL), using the "Vassal" game engine designed by Rodney Kinney. This is a Java-based
application that allows for real time input by one or more participants/oberservers who can manipulate graphical representations of mapboards and counters, including random dice rolls, LOS
checking, chart consultation and all the necessary administrative tasks to play a full game of ASL.
A number of third-party developers also continue to publish modules and scenarios for ASL.
The rules themselves were heavily streamlined, as promised, though many more procedures were introduced to the game, increasing complexity and playing time (as well as the likelihood of rules arguments). The modelling of infantry weapons was overhauled to prevent unrealistic tactics, and machineguns and ordnance were given variable rates of fire (in other words, the ability to fire more than once per phase, with a certain unpredictability as to how many times worked in). Squads equipped only with small arms now had many options to reflect weapons types; semi-automatic and automatic weapons could be simulated with rules for Spraying Fire or Assault Fire, for example.
Above all, the use of standardized abbreviations and jargon made the rules very technical in outlook; this language is known as "legalese" and is in contrast to more "conversational" types of rules. The debate of the merits of both approaches went as far back as the original Squad Leader rulebook written by John Hill and Don Greenwood. ASL came down firmly on the side of "legalese", though not coincidentally Don Greenwood was the driving force behind ASL with John Hill having moved on to other projects after the original SL.
A 2nd Edition Rulebook was introduced by Multi-Man Publishing
in early 2001, combining all previous errata and including updates to Chapters A, B, C, D, H (German/Russian), and J as well as Chapter E (previously available only with the Yanks module) and Chapter K Days 1-8 (previously available only with the Paratrooper Module (Days 1-6), Pegasus Bridge HASL Module (Day 7) and ASL Journal #2 (Day 8)).
All Historical ASL Module rules associated with Historical Study Modules and the ASL Journal were incorporated into a new Chapter Z.
Chapter N is no longer supported in the 2nd Edition ASL Rulebook, and all Chapter N pages have been deleted from reprinted modules. The new rulebook also includes (minor) material not covered in any previous issue of errata, making ownership of the 2nd Edition essential for compatibility with new products or other players who use the 2nd Edition. The 2nd Edition does reflect most, but not all, previous changes to the rules via issue of replacement pages. There are also cosmetic differences such as larger typeface and improved layout.
, and the dates of their release. There were complex prerequisites for just about all modules after the release of Beyond Valor and Paratrooper, and 2nd Editions of most of the following have reorganized the mapboards and rules chapters released with each. Specifically, re-release of boards 1 to 4 has been necessary given MMPs
decision not to reprint the original Squad Leader
game and its three gamettes.
The original Avalon Hill
West of Alamein module originally contained the entire British/Commonwealth order of battle; reprintings by MMP
have reorganized the content, splitting the original WOA content into two modules, a 2nd Edition West of Alamein, and a new For King and Country module.
The following images illustrate the prerequisites (click on image for full-size):
It should be noted this is not a complete list.
As well, the problem of prerequisites extends to the playing of printed scenarios, many of which require components from multiple modules, particularly those scenarios released by third party publishers. For instance, the Order of Battle (OOB) from a module may be needed to play one module while a single map board from the same module may be required to play a particular scenario. The Hollow Legions (HL) Module was originally intended to add on to West of Alamein (WOA) and as such the OOB from For King and Country will not be enough to play all scenarios in HL as the WOA map boards are required as well. Furthermore, an MMP Action Pack is required for one module, a Historical Study.
Finally, the release of the 2nd Edition rules further complicates the process by making some sections of the 1st Edition obsolete. Full compatibility with 2nd Edition rules is only possible by owning the 2nd Edition. This forces some players to purchase the ASLRB all over again. An area the new rules simplifies is the Chapters included in various Modules. Originally a new module would add a new chapter to the ASLRB to cover the new material. For instance, the release of Yanks included special rules in a Chapter E and a chapter detailing the American OOB. Any players wishing to use these rules in a following Module would also have to own Yanks. The 2nd Edition helps to alleviate this problem by supplying more rules in one binder. It still does not supply all rules for all situations. For instance if you wish to play a scenario using Jungle terrain you will need the Code of Bushido module with its rules section. Also, the OOB of particular nationalities and the map boards from particular Modules may still be required for subsequent Modules.
, the concept never really took off, at least in the printed form sold by Avalon Hill
, and only two modules were released, both in 1985.
The 1st edition ASL Rulebook contained a chapter on painting 1:285 scale miniatures, and the Deluxe Advanced Squad Leader Modules were released soon after Beyond Valor. These mapboards were 11" by 26" and had greatly enlarged hex grids, each hex being 2.2" inches across. The maps were designed to be used in conjunction with 1:285 scale miniatures, but could naturally be used with the standard cardboard counters and a very brief rulebook chapter gave some additional special rules for using the cardboard counters in the larger hexes. Only two modules were released; the drawback of the larger scale mapboards was that the terrain being simulated had to be fairly close-in, and scenarios based on fighting in these kinds of environments. The two official releases focused on city fighting and the hedgerow country in Normandy.
Scenarios: DASL1-DASL8
country, with many hedge depictions and more rural type terrain types.
Scenarios: DASL9-DASL16
s, or HASL, feature maps based on actual terrain as well as historical "campaigns" (known as Campaign Games (CG)) where interlinked scenarios depict several days of fighting over historical objectives. MMP took over production of HASL with A Bridge Too Far, and also released "Historical Studies", or modules in which the geomorphic mapboards were sometimes substituted for actual terrain maps.
was designed by MMP, using dice and charts to generate "enemy" actions, in a system similar to earlier solitaire games like Ambush!
or Tokyo Express. Only one module has been released, and MMP has announced that no reprint will be made. No new boards were released with the module, though Chapter S was included covering the special rules for SASL (a 2nd edition was released with expanded solitaire rules), informational counters, several types of charts, and 14 "Mission Cards", which were the SASL version of scenarios. Only German, Russian, Partisan and US forces were covered in this game, and the rulebook, Beyond Valor and Yanks were prerequisites.
A 2nd Edition was released expanding the charts to include all nationalities covered by ASL, with the exception of Axis Minors and the Finns. An expanded version of Chapter S was included and 21 Mission cards. Prerequisites for play of SASL depend on the nationalities involved.
Scenarios: s1-s6
The second Starter Kit adds rules for using artillery pieces, anti-tank guns, mortars and shaped-charge weapons (SCW - in ASL specifically referring to infantry carried and shoulder fired weapons like the bazooka, PIAT or Panzerschreck). This game, like the first Starter Kit, is intended as a stand-alone game and includes two infantry-only scenarios. Only what is included is necessary for play of the game, with the expectation that players who enjoy the experience will feel comfortable "graduating" to the full-blown ASL game series. In addition to counters depicting various nationalities and boards, a small 20 page rules booklet, pair of quick reference charts, and two dice are included.
Scenarios: s9-s16 (Scenarios s7 and s8 were sold separately in issues of Operations Magazine).
Scenarios: s20-s27
was the house organ of Avalon Hill
, and as such, regularly promoted ASL by in-depth articles on gameplay, "series replay" features where games were recorded and printed move for move for further analysis, and of course published scenarios. There were three main categories of ASL Scenarios printed in the General
; conversions of scenarios from the original Squad Leader
system, new scenarios, and tournament scenarios.
Squad Leader Conversions were lettered A-W, with the first scenarios appearing in Volume 22, Number 6 and the last in Volume 32 Number 3.
Tournament Scenarios were numbered T1 - T16, and ran between Volume 24, Number 2 and Volume 29, Number 1.
New scenarios included those for ASL (G1 - G46, Volume 23, Number 3 to Volume 32 Number 2) as well as three Deluxe ASL scenarios (DASL A - DASL C), one Historical ASL scenario, and one interesting new scenario using the mapboard from the Devil's Den game by Avalon Hill (a game about a battle of the American Civil War
). This latter was numbered Scenario 3000. Scenario 2000 had been an SL scenario called Operation Hubertus, a "monster scenario" set in Stalingrad and apparently utilizing the research from the later module Red Barricades.
This is a complete listing of articles in General related to ASL (click on image for full size view):
Aside from regular features in The General Magazine
, AH also produced a series of magazines focused on ASL but with some original SL content also, beginning in 1989. The ASL Annual was, as the name implies, released once a year, with issues in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992, and two issues were published in 1993 (called ASL Annual '93a and ASL Annual '93b). No issue was published in 1994, with issues again appearing in 1995, 1996 and 1997. The 1995 issue was named ASL Annual '95w (Winter) in anticipation of a second issue that year being printed in the summer, but it did not materialize. Scenarios located in the ASL Annual were numbered sequentially with an "A" prefix, either ASL Scenario A1, A2, etc., or SL Scenario A1, A2, etc., Deluxe ASL Scenario A1, A2, etc.
was released by Avalon Hill's computer division in 1985 but like most Avalon Hill
computer games, was behind the industry standards for graphics and gameplay. It was not billed as a computer version of ASL, though it did bear some similarities in that players commanded roughly company sized forces. Only three maps were available for play. The game was released for Apple II, Commodore 64, and DOS systems. The game was unique (and rather unsatisfying to many) in that for each of the nine scenarios, victory was not declared at game's end. A results screen would show losses in men and equipment, and list possession of objectives, leaving the determination of "victory" to the player.
Approximations of a computerized version of SL/ASL was the 1981 release of Close Assault, also by Avalon Hill
, which included an actual mapboard and counters that the human player used to make his moves. He would then input them into the computer for resolution of sighting and combat. Then the computer would make its move, and print only the results that the human units could see.
Though the counters were larger, they used the factors from Squad Leader. The player input the weapons and leaders directly into the game rather than using counters as in the board game.
Like the original Squad Leader
board game, German
, Russia
n and American
nationalities were represented. The computer allowed three scenarios and any combination of two forces, including a hypothetical US vs USSR 1945 scenario.
The game was released for the Apple II, Atari 800, and the TRS-80.
Close Combat by Atomic Games
was originally devised as a computer game version of ASL. Atomic Games had already developed several games for Avalon Hill, however, with Avalon Hill embroiled in a financial crisis that would ultimately lead to its demise, Atomic Games took what work they had completed, severed ties with the board game franchise and completed the game's development for Microsoft. The first three Close Combat games were notable, at the time, for being among the few games published by Microsoft. The final two games in the original series were, however, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
In 1998 Big Time Software negotiated with Avalon Hill to do a computerized version of Advanced Squad Leader, but plans fell through. Big Time Software went on to produce Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord, which was a 3D tactical computer game very similar to Advanced Squad Leader but with significant differences. While lacking much of the arcane detail of ASL (you could not swim, climb cliffs, or descend onto the battlefield by parachute), it also featured an innovative simultaneous turn-based system, and provided complete orders of battle for German, American, British, Canadian, Free French and Polish forces in Northwest Europe from 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945.
Close Combat and Combat Mission both inspired later computer games which are beyond the scope of this article, including GI Combat (a 3D version of CC which also inspired Eric Young's Squad Assault and CMX2, a second-generation version of the Combat Mission game engine. None of these later offspring of CC or CM were directly related to ASL, and both series took on lives of their own.
or Advanced Squad Leader, was well behind industry standards in terms of graphics and gameplay, had an awkward interface and was on a completely different scale than the actual SL and ASL games. It was largely regarded as an embarrassing joke by the gaming community and quickly faded into obscurity.
While the turn-based format was nothing new (and had in fact been used successfully in earlier titles such as Soldiers at War, Jagged Alliance, and X-Com) the graphics were done poorly with little flexibility in adjusting the camera angles; animations were poor, voice acting was also poor, pathfinding was antiquated, and multiplayer features were lacking. While Squad Leader
and progeny had the squad as the main combat unit, this computer version had individual soldiers as the main units. Reviewers pointed out that the game was reminiscent enough of Soldiers at War that it was likely only minor improvements to that three-year old game engine had been made and re-released under the Squad Leader
banner.
Board wargame
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer, or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The hobby around this type of game got its start in 1954 with the publication of Tactics, and saw its greatest popularity in the...
, originally marketed by Avalon Hill Games, that simulates actions of approximately company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
or battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
size in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is a detailed game system for two or more players (with solitaire play also possible). Components include the ASL Rulebook and various games called modules. ASL modules provide the standard equipment for playing ASL, including geomorphic mapboard
Geomorphic mapboard
A geomorphic mapboard is a game board that can be configured in different ways and reused to create different playing surfaces. The concept was introduced in PanzerBlitz, though the number of configurations was low...
s and counters
Counter (board wargames)
Boardgame counters are usually small cardboard squares moved around on the map of a wargame to represent armies, military units or individual military personnel. The first modern mass-market wargame, based on cardboard counters and hex-board maps, was Tactics, invented by Charles S. Roberts in 1952...
. The mapboards are divided into hexagons
Hex map
A hex map, hex board or hex grid is a gameboard design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into small regular hexagons of identical size.-Advantages and disadvantages:...
to regulate fire and movement, and depict generic terrain that can represent different historical locations. The counters are cardboard pieces that depict squad
Squad
In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...
s of soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s, crews, individual leaders, support weapons, heavy weapons, and vehicles.
Introduction
Twelve core modules provide representations of nearly every troop type, vehicle, and weapon to see combat action from any nationality involved in World War II. Each module comes with 6 to 20 researched situations depicting historical battleBattle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
s. These scenarios are printed on card stock
Paperboard
Paperboard is a thick paper based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a basis weight above 224 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single...
with specifications of game length, mapboard configuration, counters involved, special rules for the conditions of the particular battle such as weather, and victory conditions. In addition to the scenarios published in the modules, there are numerous other sources for scenarios, both official and unofficial. There is also a detailed set of instructions in the ASL Rulebook for Design Your Own (DYO) scenarios based on a point-purchase system.
Additional variations on ASL include Deluxe ASL (DASL), which was a short-lived experiment in fusing miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
with ASL; Historical ASL (HASL), which used historically accurate map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s, usually in a campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
setting where the outcome of one scenario affected the setup of following scenarios; Solitaire ASL (SASL) with many rules changes for fog of war
Fog of war
The fog of war is a term used to describe the uncertainty in situation awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign...
and command to enhance solitaire play; and the ASL Starter Kits (ASLSK), a series of stand-alone introductory kits.
The game was first published by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
in 1985 as a successor to the award-winning Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
series, on which the game is based and from which the rules and components were directly developed. By the time the fourth and final installment of Squad Leader debuted, there were four separate rulebooks in existence with poorly integrated and sometimes contradictory rules. For example, U.S. forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
had lower morale and were disadvantaged by the use of morale ratings to determine the ability to push ordnance
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
through snow or mud, but there is no real reason for morale to affect such an attempt. It was clear that the system had grown in ways never dreamed of in 1977; large amounts of "nutmail" to Avalon Hill convinced the developers of the need to streamline the rules.
ASL
Avalon Hill had originally promised a new rulebook streamlining procedures, eliminating redundancies, and possibly revising the "To Hit/To Kill" system used to simulate armor protection and penetration in tank combat. Instead, by the time it debuted, Advanced Squad Leader had become a complete replacement of the games of the original SL series. As an example, the original SL has only twelve different tankTank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
and assault gun types, and only five different armor ratings, from -2 to +2. By contrast, ASL has separate counters for 56 different types of tanks and assault guns for the Germans alone, with armor values from 0 to 26, based on actual thickness and degree of slope. Beyond Valor includes 99 separate German vehicles simulated in the game, including halftracks, armoured cars, anti-aircraft vehicles, and softskins.
A significant percentage of fans were taken aback by the need to replace the four modules they had bought; only the mapboards of the earlier series were compatible with the new game.
The new game requires at least two products, the Advanced Squad Leader Rulebook and an initial module, either Beyond Valor, which contains a brand new counter mix for the German, Russian and Finnish armies, as well as all necessary system counters, or else Paratrooper, which contains a limited counter mix for system markers, US paratrooper units and their German opponents in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. Either initial module
Advanced Squad Leader Modules
Modules for the game Advanced Squad Leader contained all the equipment needed to actually play the game. There are twelve official so-called "core" modules that contain the essential components for a complete order of battle of all major nationalities to participate in the Second World War...
also requires ownership of boards from SL in order to play the included scenarios.
The new game does not feature programmed instruction
Programmed instruction
Programmed instruction is the name of the technology invented by the behaviorist B.F. Skinner to improve teaching. It is based on his theory of verbal behavior as a means to accelerate and increase conventional educational learning.-Programmed instruction:...
, instead requiring a thorough reading of at least four chapters of the ASL Rulebook to play a game with ordnance and/or vehicles in it. Even the most basic ASL components were no longer introductory in nature, although Paratrooper masqueraded as such. (This would be redressed in 2004 by the introduction of ASL Starter Kits). Avalon Hill actually suggested that anyone wishing to play ASL also purchase the original Squad Leader and gain experience with that system first, and kept the original SL and three gamettes in print. The necessity of owning boards from these modules in order to play printed scenarios in the core modules of ASL may also have been a factor in this decision. So while ASL was intended to replace SL, there was a certain ambiguity for many years about the status of SL's replacement; the original game was still necessary as a steppingstone to learning ASL, and a source for needed mapboards.
ASL was the first of Avalon Hill's 'advanced' games (the others were Advanced Civilization
Advanced Civilization
Advanced Civilization is the expansion game for the board game Civilization, published in 1991 by Avalon Hill. Ownership of the original game is necessary to play...
and Advanced Third Reich
Advanced Third Reich
Advanced Third Reich is a board wargame originally designed by Bruce Harper and published by Avalon Hill, who then sold the license to Hasbro. The game was marketed as "the ultimate World War II strategy game". A3R, a rewrite of Rise and Decline of the Third Reich is a simulation of the European...
).
In 1998 Monarch Avalon, Inc. sold its entire line of games to Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. On January 15, 1999, Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing, LLC is a game company formed by baseball player Curt Schilling and his partners to keep the game series Advanced Squad Leader in print. MMP operates some of the former Avalon Hill games under license from Hasbro, Inc...
, LLC (MMP) announced an exclusive association with Hasbro, Inc. "to develop, produce, and distribute games and other products for Avalon Hill's Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) game system." MMP is a gaming company started by Curt Schilling
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...
and his partners to preserve ASL and other Avalon Hill games. Multi-Man Publishing made many changes to the new system; a decision not to reprint the earlier Squad Leader games resulted in reorganization and 2nd editions of many ASL core modules in order to include boards from the earlier games, necessary for play of the printed scenarios in those core modules.
The Avalon Hill Game Company themselves described ASL in their 1996 catalogue as:
Our crowning achievement, and the ultimate wargame. No other can match its combination of beauty, detail and excitement. ASL is a system based on the original Squad Leader game, but revised and expanded so that ultimately a player can simulate any company or battalion-level ground action in any theater of WWII. Playing pieces (counters) represent squads, half-squads and crews, plus individual leaders, heroes, vehicles and guns. Each ASL module contains eight or more carefully balanced, historically based scenarios -- but players can also design their own using the 40+ geomorphic SL/ASL mapboards, numerous terrain overlays, copious historical notes, and thousands of counters depicting virtually every vehicle, gun and troop type in action during the war by every major and minor combatant nation.
Playtester Jon Mishcon described the new game rather more succinctly in Volume 21, Number 5 of The General Magazine
The General Magazine
The General Magazine was first published in 1964, as a bi-monthly periodical devoted to supporting Avalon Hill's line of wargames, with articles on game tactics, history, and industry news...
, in relation to Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
; he wrote that the game was "Closely akin to SL but NOT the same." ASL took longer to play, punished use of "cheats" that worked in the old game system (one example was flooding an isolated defending unit by moving multiple units towards him; in ASL, units could fire more than once at moving targets in certain situations, which was impossible in the original SL), and emphasized realism over playability. He clarified that while playability had in many cases increased with the new rules organization, there were still many "special" circumstances that called for special rules. The new rules did, however, have a very strong systemic approach whereby, in his words, you could
learn a concept and it applies, with varying D (ice) R (oll) M (odifiers), in all similar situations. This makes the game easier to learn and play. The rules make more sense. Most of the old 'funny' rules that allowed 'cute' tricks have been deleted. Mostly, I guess, its a distillation of the best of SL....In short, there's a lot less crapping around in the rules. Most importantly, the vast majority of the rules really will tend to benefit the player who thinks as did his historical counterpart. (Sigh, an end to our torching most of the mapboard.)
In that same issue of "the General", Don Greenwood - developer of ASL and also editor of the magazine - responded to harsh criticism by consumers who felt that the redesign of the system was a cash-grab, or worse, a betrayal.
The SL game system, for all its acclaim...was based on a flawed foundation. The subsequent gamettes, in building on that start, only complicated matters by attempting to patch that foundation rather than replace it altogether....here's how I rationalize it. A few years ago, ...I was so enamoured by (video cassette recordersVideocassette recorderThe videocassette recorder , is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time...
) that I just had to have one. Two years later they were selling models for half the price with twice the features which mine had. Sometimes I regret buying that VCR so soon, but then I recall all the fun I had with it when it was new and eventually concluded that my money was well spent after all.
Despite the price tag and the expensive lists of prerequisites for each new module, the game system caught on and new modules continued to be produced twenty years after the original release - a feat unheard of in the board wargaming industry, especially with the decline in sales due to rising popularity of console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
and PC games
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
. A large and active worldwide hobby community thrives around ASL, including tournaments, community websites, clubs, and fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s. An active trading and auction community enables participants to buy and sell used ASL modules. ASL can be played over the Internet using a system called Virtual Advanced Squad Leader (VASL), using the "Vassal" game engine designed by Rodney Kinney. This is a Java-based
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
application that allows for real time input by one or more participants/oberservers who can manipulate graphical representations of mapboards and counters, including random dice rolls, LOS
Line of sight (gaming)
Line of sight, sometimes written line-of-sight or abbreviated to LoS, is a term used in wargames and some role-playing games . It refers to visibility on the playing field. Many abilities can only be used against an enemy within line of sight.In some games, miniature figures are used to determine...
checking, chart consultation and all the necessary administrative tasks to play a full game of ASL.
A number of third-party developers also continue to publish modules and scenarios for ASL.
ASL rulebook
The ASL Rulebook was revolutionary in its design, as far as wargames go. Based on military field manuals, the rule book was contained in a three ring binder. Each chapter was colour coded along the top of the page, with brightly coloured section dividers of heavy cardboard stock reproducing charts and diagrams associated with that chapter. Errata would be provided on a regular basis, and coupons in the back of the rulebook could be exchanged by mail for the initial updates to the rulebook. The errata would come in the form of altered pages, with page numbers annotated with the date of any changes; old pages were simply removed from the binder and discarded and the new page inserted. The two largest updates were the '87 and '89 sections that came with many pages. The first edition rules shipped with Chapter A, B, C, D, H, J, and N. Chapter N was a visual inventory of all game pieces included in Beyond Valor and several follow up modules, but was not fully supported. While early modules did contain the appropriate Chapter N pages, some modules did not have the pages included immediately (Paratrooper's Chapter N pages, for example, were not provided until the release of Yanks). HASL modules did not have associated Chapter N pages, and neither did Doomed Battalions.The rules themselves were heavily streamlined, as promised, though many more procedures were introduced to the game, increasing complexity and playing time (as well as the likelihood of rules arguments). The modelling of infantry weapons was overhauled to prevent unrealistic tactics, and machineguns and ordnance were given variable rates of fire (in other words, the ability to fire more than once per phase, with a certain unpredictability as to how many times worked in). Squads equipped only with small arms now had many options to reflect weapons types; semi-automatic and automatic weapons could be simulated with rules for Spraying Fire or Assault Fire, for example.
Above all, the use of standardized abbreviations and jargon made the rules very technical in outlook; this language is known as "legalese" and is in contrast to more "conversational" types of rules. The debate of the merits of both approaches went as far back as the original Squad Leader rulebook written by John Hill and Don Greenwood. ASL came down firmly on the side of "legalese", though not coincidentally Don Greenwood was the driving force behind ASL with John Hill having moved on to other projects after the original SL.
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
A 2nd Edition Rulebook was introduced by Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing, LLC is a game company formed by baseball player Curt Schilling and his partners to keep the game series Advanced Squad Leader in print. MMP operates some of the former Avalon Hill games under license from Hasbro, Inc...
in early 2001, combining all previous errata and including updates to Chapters A, B, C, D, H (German/Russian), and J as well as Chapter E (previously available only with the Yanks module) and Chapter K Days 1-8 (previously available only with the Paratrooper Module (Days 1-6), Pegasus Bridge HASL Module (Day 7) and ASL Journal #2 (Day 8)).
All Historical ASL Module rules associated with Historical Study Modules and the ASL Journal were incorporated into a new Chapter Z.
Chapter N is no longer supported in the 2nd Edition ASL Rulebook, and all Chapter N pages have been deleted from reprinted modules. The new rulebook also includes (minor) material not covered in any previous issue of errata, making ownership of the 2nd Edition essential for compatibility with new products or other players who use the 2nd Edition. The 2nd Edition does reflect most, but not all, previous changes to the rules via issue of replacement pages. There are also cosmetic differences such as larger typeface and improved layout.
Unique elements
Perhaps one of the most unusual elements of the ASL system is the use of dice. While using two dice to obtain a bell curve result between 2 and 12 (36 possible outcomes) is not unique to ASL, there are many other ways in which the dice are used. One die is a "colored" die, so that when two dice are rolled, not only will the sum of both dice be used (for example, an attack by a machinegun on an enemy unit will have the result of two dice cross-referenced on the Infantry Fire Table (IFT)), but other results may also be achieved simultaneously. (To continue the example, if the colored die is equal or less to a printed Rate of Fire (ROF) number given for the machinegun, it may fire again in that phase). Comparing the results of the two dice to each other will also create simultaneous results; so while the sum of the dice will be used on the IFT, two sixes (a natural 12) will result in the machinegun suffering a stoppage. If the roll was for an attack by an infantry squad, identical results on both dice would result in "cowering" and a different column on the IFT would be consulted with the dice roll. Double ones will result in a Critical Hit if rolling for an ordnance weapon "To Hit" an enemy target. As well, ASL gives each side in most scenarios a Sniper Activation Number (SAN) that will activate a random sniper attack whenever one side rolls the other's SAN for any purpose during game play. The dice thus feature heavily in game play providing multiple random events every time they are rolled.ASL modules
The following is a list of Advanced Squad Leader ModulesAdvanced Squad Leader Modules
Modules for the game Advanced Squad Leader contained all the equipment needed to actually play the game. There are twelve official so-called "core" modules that contain the essential components for a complete order of battle of all major nationalities to participate in the Second World War...
, and the dates of their release. There were complex prerequisites for just about all modules after the release of Beyond Valor and Paratrooper, and 2nd Editions of most of the following have reorganized the mapboards and rules chapters released with each. Specifically, re-release of boards 1 to 4 has been necessary given MMPs
Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing, LLC is a game company formed by baseball player Curt Schilling and his partners to keep the game series Advanced Squad Leader in print. MMP operates some of the former Avalon Hill games under license from Hasbro, Inc...
decision not to reprint the original Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
game and its three gamettes.
- 1—Beyond Valor (1985)
- 2—Paratrooper (1986)
- 3—Yanks (1987)
- 4—Partisan! (1987)
- 5—West of Alamein (1988)
- 5a—For King and Country (2004)
- 6—The Last Hurrah (1988)
- 7—Hollow Legions (1989)
- 8—Code of Bushido (1990)
- 9—Gung Ho! (1991)
- 10—Croix de Guerre (1992)
- 11—Doomed Battalions (1998)
- 12—Armies of Oblivion (2006)
The original Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
West of Alamein module originally contained the entire British/Commonwealth order of battle; reprintings by MMP
Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing, LLC is a game company formed by baseball player Curt Schilling and his partners to keep the game series Advanced Squad Leader in print. MMP operates some of the former Avalon Hill games under license from Hasbro, Inc...
have reorganized the content, splitting the original WOA content into two modules, a 2nd Edition West of Alamein, and a new For King and Country module.
ASL module prerequisites
A tremendous strength in the ASL system is its flexibility. Most tactical situations from Second World War history can be recreated using the components of the game system. However, special rules, maps, or map overlays may be required in order to properly portray these situations. ASL modules usually have dependencies on one or more previous module(s) (in other words, use of the material in one module is dependent on ownership of another). Very few modules can be played in isolation.The following images illustrate the prerequisites (click on image for full-size):
It should be noted this is not a complete list.
As well, the problem of prerequisites extends to the playing of printed scenarios, many of which require components from multiple modules, particularly those scenarios released by third party publishers. For instance, the Order of Battle (OOB) from a module may be needed to play one module while a single map board from the same module may be required to play a particular scenario. The Hollow Legions (HL) Module was originally intended to add on to West of Alamein (WOA) and as such the OOB from For King and Country will not be enough to play all scenarios in HL as the WOA map boards are required as well. Furthermore, an MMP Action Pack is required for one module, a Historical Study.
Finally, the release of the 2nd Edition rules further complicates the process by making some sections of the 1st Edition obsolete. Full compatibility with 2nd Edition rules is only possible by owning the 2nd Edition. This forces some players to purchase the ASLRB all over again. An area the new rules simplifies is the Chapters included in various Modules. Originally a new module would add a new chapter to the ASLRB to cover the new material. For instance, the release of Yanks included special rules in a Chapter E and a chapter detailing the American OOB. Any players wishing to use these rules in a following Module would also have to own Yanks. The 2nd Edition helps to alleviate this problem by supplying more rules in one binder. It still does not supply all rules for all situations. For instance if you wish to play a scenario using Jungle terrain you will need the Code of Bushido module with its rules section. Also, the OOB of particular nationalities and the map boards from particular Modules may still be required for subsequent Modules.
ASL Action Packs
ASL Action Packs (AP) are published by MMP. They include new scenarios and boards. They do not contain new rules or counters, with the exception of AP 2 and AP 4 which have new rule pages inserts.- 1-Action Pack 1 (AH, 1997)
- 2-Action Pack 2 (MMP, 1999)
- 3-Action Pack 3: Few Returned (MMP, 2007)
- 4-Action Pack 4: Normandy (MMP, 2008)
- 5-Action Pack 5: Eastern Front (MMP, 2009)
- 6-Action Pack 6: A Decade of War (MMP, 2010)
- 7-Action Pack 7 (MMP, 2011)
Deluxe ASL
Deluxe Advanced Squad Leader was a version of the Advanced Squad Leader game introduced in 1985. Intended to be a fusion of 1:285 scale miniatures (so-called "micro-armor") and Squad LeaderSquad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
, the concept never really took off, at least in the printed form sold by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
, and only two modules were released, both in 1985.
The 1st edition ASL Rulebook contained a chapter on painting 1:285 scale miniatures, and the Deluxe Advanced Squad Leader Modules were released soon after Beyond Valor. These mapboards were 11" by 26" and had greatly enlarged hex grids, each hex being 2.2" inches across. The maps were designed to be used in conjunction with 1:285 scale miniatures, but could naturally be used with the standard cardboard counters and a very brief rulebook chapter gave some additional special rules for using the cardboard counters in the larger hexes. Only two modules were released; the drawback of the larger scale mapboards was that the terrain being simulated had to be fairly close-in, and scenarios based on fighting in these kinds of environments. The two official releases focused on city fighting and the hedgerow country in Normandy.
Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire was the first of only two Deluxe ASL modules to be released; the maps were very similar and depicted city terrain similar to that found on the mapboard 1 from Squad Leader or the "city boards" found in Beyond Valor.Scenarios: DASL1-DASL8
Hedgerow Hell
Hedgerow Hell was the final Deluxe ASL module to be released. The maps represented typical bocageBocage
Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages. It may refer to a small forest, a decorative element of leaves, a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, or a type of rubble-work, comparable with the English use of 'rustic' in relation to garden...
country, with many hedge depictions and more rural type terrain types.
Scenarios: DASL9-DASL16
Historical ASL
Several modules known as Historical Advanced Squad Leader moduleHistorical Advanced Squad Leader module
-HASL modules:Historical Advanced Squad Leader modules are addons for the tactical wargame Advanced Squad Leader intended to depict actual historical events using maps produced from actual terrain maps, and featuring linked scenarios...
s, or HASL, feature maps based on actual terrain as well as historical "campaigns" (known as Campaign Games (CG)) where interlinked scenarios depict several days of fighting over historical objectives. MMP took over production of HASL with A Bridge Too Far, and also released "Historical Studies", or modules in which the geomorphic mapboards were sometimes substituted for actual terrain maps.
HASL modules
- 1—Red Barricades (1989)
- 2—Kampfgruppe Peiper I (1993)
- 3—Kampfgruppe Peiper II (1995)
- 4—Pegasus Bridge (1996)
- 5—A Bridge Too Far
- 6—Blood Reef: Tarawa
- 7—Operation Watchtower (historical study)
- 8—Operation Veritable (2002) (historical study)
- 9—Valor of the Guards (2008)
Solitaire ASL
A module designed for solitaire playSolitaire board wargame
Board wargaming in the modern, commercial sense have generally concentrated on gameplay designed for two or more participants. While playing solitaire is possible with any game, it is generally done so as an exercise in analysis rather than for enjoyment.-History:Commercial solitaire wargames...
was designed by MMP, using dice and charts to generate "enemy" actions, in a system similar to earlier solitaire games like Ambush!
Ambush!
Ambush! is a man-to-man wargame developed by Avalon Hill. It was released under Avalon's Victory Games label and was developed by Eric Lee Smith and John Butterfield. In 1984, Ambush! won the Origins Award for Best 20th Century Boardgame of 1983...
or Tokyo Express. Only one module has been released, and MMP has announced that no reprint will be made. No new boards were released with the module, though Chapter S was included covering the special rules for SASL (a 2nd edition was released with expanded solitaire rules), informational counters, several types of charts, and 14 "Mission Cards", which were the SASL version of scenarios. Only German, Russian, Partisan and US forces were covered in this game, and the rulebook, Beyond Valor and Yanks were prerequisites.
A 2nd Edition was released expanding the charts to include all nationalities covered by ASL, with the exception of Axis Minors and the Finns. An expanded version of Chapter S was included and 21 Mission cards. Prerequisites for play of SASL depend on the nationalities involved.
ASL Starter Kits
In 2004, in recognition that newcomers to the ASL hobby would have a hard time learning 200 pages of rules quickly and happily, the Starter Kits were introduced. Along with the new semi-mounted mapboards replacing the older mounted style, these kits provided newcomers to ASL with everything they needed to get into the game with a minimum of reading. In a form of Programmed Instruction not possible with the ASL Rulebook, each starter kit comes with a small pamphlet outlining only the bare minimum of rules necessary for play of the game. Each kit focuses on a particular aspect of ASL.- 1—ASL Starter Kit 1, German, American and Russian forces, infantry, support weapons
- 2—ASL Starter Kit 2, German, Italian, British, Allied Minor, and American forces, ordnance
- 3—ASL Starter Kit 3, German, American, British and Russian forces, Tanks, armored cars
ASL Starter Kit #1
The first Starter Kit includes very basic rules to quickly get players into a simplified version of ASL. Counters are included for German, Russian and American infantry units and is intended as a stand-alone purchase with the expectation that players who enjoy the experience will feel comfortable "graduating" to the full-blown ASL game series. In addition to counters and two geomorphic boards (this release also marked the end of expensively mounted mapboards, introducing a less durable cardboard map style), a small rules booklet, quick reference chart, and two dice are included.Scenarios: s1-s6
ASL Starter Kit #2
Scenarios: s9-s16 (Scenarios s7 and s8 were sold separately in issues of Operations Magazine).
ASL Starter Kit #3
ASL Starter Kit #3 adds rules for tanks and other vehicles. It contains a comprehensive starter kit 28-page rule book, and a 12-page Historical Notes (ASL chapter H) reference for the vehicles and ordnance contained. Two dice are included.Scenarios: s20-s27
The General
The General MagazineThe General Magazine
The General Magazine was first published in 1964, as a bi-monthly periodical devoted to supporting Avalon Hill's line of wargames, with articles on game tactics, history, and industry news...
was the house organ of Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
, and as such, regularly promoted ASL by in-depth articles on gameplay, "series replay" features where games were recorded and printed move for move for further analysis, and of course published scenarios. There were three main categories of ASL Scenarios printed in the General
The General Magazine
The General Magazine was first published in 1964, as a bi-monthly periodical devoted to supporting Avalon Hill's line of wargames, with articles on game tactics, history, and industry news...
; conversions of scenarios from the original Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
system, new scenarios, and tournament scenarios.
Squad Leader Conversions were lettered A-W, with the first scenarios appearing in Volume 22, Number 6 and the last in Volume 32 Number 3.
Tournament Scenarios were numbered T1 - T16, and ran between Volume 24, Number 2 and Volume 29, Number 1.
New scenarios included those for ASL (G1 - G46, Volume 23, Number 3 to Volume 32 Number 2) as well as three Deluxe ASL scenarios (DASL A - DASL C), one Historical ASL scenario, and one interesting new scenario using the mapboard from the Devil's Den game by Avalon Hill (a game about a battle of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
). This latter was numbered Scenario 3000. Scenario 2000 had been an SL scenario called Operation Hubertus, a "monster scenario" set in Stalingrad and apparently utilizing the research from the later module Red Barricades.
This is a complete listing of articles in General related to ASL (click on image for full size view):
ASL Annual
The General Magazine
The General Magazine was first published in 1964, as a bi-monthly periodical devoted to supporting Avalon Hill's line of wargames, with articles on game tactics, history, and industry news...
, AH also produced a series of magazines focused on ASL but with some original SL content also, beginning in 1989. The ASL Annual was, as the name implies, released once a year, with issues in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992, and two issues were published in 1993 (called ASL Annual '93a and ASL Annual '93b). No issue was published in 1994, with issues again appearing in 1995, 1996 and 1997. The 1995 issue was named ASL Annual '95w (Winter) in anticipation of a second issue that year being printed in the summer, but it did not materialize. Scenarios located in the ASL Annual were numbered sequentially with an "A" prefix, either ASL Scenario A1, A2, etc., or SL Scenario A1, A2, etc., Deluxe ASL Scenario A1, A2, etc.
ASL Journal
When MMP took over publication of ASL components, they started to produce ASL Journal on a generally annual basis. Format for the magazine remained very similar to the ASL Annual, though no SL-themed content was included. with no outside advertising, and full of articles, variants, and scenarios for all incarnations of SL and ASL. New scenarios of ASL (or DASL) were given "J" numbers, while SASL scenarios were given an "r" prefix (since they utilized the Red Barricades mapsheets).Third party products
A variety of "third party" products have been developed for ASL on an ongoing basis by a variety of publishers, including scenario packs and historical modules (including mapsheets). Two prolific "third party" publishers are Critical Hit and Heat of Battle, who have both produced scenario packs, geomorphic and historical mapsheets, and even new playing pieces. In recent years Le Franc Tieur and Bounding Fire productions have also produced a number of substantial products. Other products include player aids such as cards indicating SAN (Sniper Activation Numbers) and for resolving OBA (Off Board Artillery) battery access. There is also an English online free-to-view fanzine called View From The Trenches containing articles, reviews, and occasionally scenarios.Early computer programs based on Avalon Hill games
While a computerized assistant for ASL was released (ASL Gamer's Assistance Program, or ASL GAP), no computerized version of the game itself has yet materialized. A similar game called Under FireUnder Fire (computer game)
-Description:Under Fire was a tactical level computer game released by Avalon Hill's computer division in 1985 but like most Avalon Hill computer games, was behind the industry standards for graphics and gameplay. It was not billed as a computer version of Squad Leader, though it did bear some...
was released by Avalon Hill's computer division in 1985 but like most Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
computer games, was behind the industry standards for graphics and gameplay. It was not billed as a computer version of ASL, though it did bear some similarities in that players commanded roughly company sized forces. Only three maps were available for play. The game was released for Apple II, Commodore 64, and DOS systems. The game was unique (and rather unsatisfying to many) in that for each of the nine scenarios, victory was not declared at game's end. A results screen would show losses in men and equipment, and list possession of objectives, leaving the determination of "victory" to the player.
Approximations of a computerized version of SL/ASL was the 1981 release of Close Assault, also by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
, which included an actual mapboard and counters that the human player used to make his moves. He would then input them into the computer for resolution of sighting and combat. Then the computer would make its move, and print only the results that the human units could see.
Though the counters were larger, they used the factors from Squad Leader. The player input the weapons and leaders directly into the game rather than using counters as in the board game.
Like the original Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
board game, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
nationalities were represented. The computer allowed three scenarios and any combination of two forces, including a hypothetical US vs USSR 1945 scenario.
The game was released for the Apple II, Atari 800, and the TRS-80.
Computer ASL interpretations
There have been a number of computer game interpretations of ASL.Close Combat by Atomic Games
Atomic Games
Atomic Games is a video game developer, specializing mostly in wargames. The company has developed titles such as the Close Combat series, the World at War series, as well as the V for Victory series. Atomic Games was acquired by Destineer Games on May 6, 2005 while collaborating on Close Combat:...
was originally devised as a computer game version of ASL. Atomic Games had already developed several games for Avalon Hill, however, with Avalon Hill embroiled in a financial crisis that would ultimately lead to its demise, Atomic Games took what work they had completed, severed ties with the board game franchise and completed the game's development for Microsoft. The first three Close Combat games were notable, at the time, for being among the few games published by Microsoft. The final two games in the original series were, however, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
In 1998 Big Time Software negotiated with Avalon Hill to do a computerized version of Advanced Squad Leader, but plans fell through. Big Time Software went on to produce Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord, which was a 3D tactical computer game very similar to Advanced Squad Leader but with significant differences. While lacking much of the arcane detail of ASL (you could not swim, climb cliffs, or descend onto the battlefield by parachute), it also featured an innovative simultaneous turn-based system, and provided complete orders of battle for German, American, British, Canadian, Free French and Polish forces in Northwest Europe from 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945.
Close Combat and Combat Mission both inspired later computer games which are beyond the scope of this article, including GI Combat (a 3D version of CC which also inspired Eric Young's Squad Assault and CMX2, a second-generation version of the Combat Mission game engine. None of these later offspring of CC or CM were directly related to ASL, and both series took on lives of their own.
Avalon Hill's Squad Leader
Hasbro eventually permitted the release of a game called Avalon Hill's Squad Leader which was a disastrous use of the trademark name. The game, released by Microprose in 2000 (but developed by Random Games), bore no resemblance to either Squad LeaderSquad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
or Advanced Squad Leader, was well behind industry standards in terms of graphics and gameplay, had an awkward interface and was on a completely different scale than the actual SL and ASL games. It was largely regarded as an embarrassing joke by the gaming community and quickly faded into obscurity.
While the turn-based format was nothing new (and had in fact been used successfully in earlier titles such as Soldiers at War, Jagged Alliance, and X-Com) the graphics were done poorly with little flexibility in adjusting the camera angles; animations were poor, voice acting was also poor, pathfinding was antiquated, and multiplayer features were lacking. While Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
and progeny had the squad as the main combat unit, this computer version had individual soldiers as the main units. Reviewers pointed out that the game was reminiscent enough of Soldiers at War that it was likely only minor improvements to that three-year old game engine had been made and re-released under the Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
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Virtual Advanced Squad Leader
The most successful literal adaptation of ASL to the computer has been Virtual Advanced Squad Leader, as described above. VASL still officially requires ownership of the physical components of the games, however, or at least of the printed scenario cards, reference cards, and rulebook. In addition to possession of these physical components, a detailed understanding of the rules must be expected of players, as the computer version does not enforce rules - it merely serves as a means of manipulating 2-dimensional virtual game boards and pieces in an online environment facilitating long distance play, either by email or in real time. The closest the game comes to performing any of the "chores" of playing ASL is by providing random dice roll results for both players and recording moves from hex to hex on the mapboards. Some LOS calculations can also be made by the computer engine.External links
- ASL homepage on Multi-Man Publishing's website
- VASL, an online version of Advanced Squad Leader
- ASL Starter Kit 1 at BoardGameGeek
- ASL Starter Kit 2 at BoardGameGeek
- ASL Starter Kit 3 at BoardGameGeek
- View From The Trenches, online UK fanzine mentioned in section on third party products
- ASL Series on Consimworld
- ASL E-Mail Distribution List for discussion on Advanced Squad Leader
- The ASL Scenario Archive, the scenario archive site
- ASL Wiki, primer on rules and tactics
- Desperation Morale, for a comprehensive gallery of ASL material
- Google Map of ASL Players World-Wide, Add yourself and find nearby opponents!