Advanced Squad Leader Australia

[Filomeno Robles]

AdvancedSquad Leader (ASL) 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). ASL his the successor of the old Squad Leader from Avalon Hill.

Components include the ASL Rulebook and various games called modules. ASL modules provide the standard equipment for playing ASL, including geomorphic mapboards 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 squads of soldiers, crews, individual leaders, support weapons, heavy weapons, and vehicles.

Advanced Squad Leader has set the standard in tactical combat gaming since its 1985 debut. A thriving community of ASL players extends throughout the world. No other game matches its flexibility, scope, and challenge. Players can simulate nearly any battle in any theater up to the battalion level. Maneuver 10-man squads, five-man half squads, and individual leaders and vehicles across a combination of over 75 geomorphic map boards or fight a campaign game on one of several highly detailed campaign game map sheets.

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 32,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 12 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

All the action on the right were the IJA trying to pile more troops into the factory. The Chinese started shooting a lot better than they did a turn before unfortunately. The good bit was that the IJA finally broke the folks in the Fortified hex. The IJA folks in the top part of the map were starting to appreciate how exposed their positions were. Having said that, the Chinese MMG malfunctioned the turn before and so they were having a go at crossing the street.

The Chinese shifted their forces to the right as other sectors were not under threat (a street party was in progress around the bonfire by now). Notice also the 2 LMG squads closing in on the lone AC sitting in the middle of the board.

These are some of the major points I should have done better. In real life the IJA prevailed (and the ROAR was 15:11 Japanese:Chinese). As with real life, this is how much damage a bad leader (yours truly) can do!

[0.0] VERSION HISTORY

[0.1] INTRODUCTION

[0.2] CREDITS

[0.3] ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY

[0.4] THE HASBRO BUYOUT OF TAHGC

[0.5] HASBRO/MMP PRESS RELEASE (abbreviated)[1.0] WHAT IS ASL?[2.0] WHAT DO I NEED TO PLAY ASL?

[2.1] SHOULD I BUY SQUAD LEADER FIRST?

[2.11] WELL, I ALREADY HAVE SL. HOW DO I START PLAYING ASL?

[2.2] WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR ASL?

[2.3] TAHGC PRODUCTS

[2.31] MODULES

[2.32] ANNUALS/JOURNALS

[2.33] ACTION PACKS

[2.34] THE GENERAL

[2.35] ASL GAP

[2.36] WEB-BASED PRODUCTS

[2.37] ANNOUNCED FUTURE PRODUCTS

[2.38] PARTS

[2.4] THIRD-PARTY PRODUCTS[3.0] WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY ASL?

[3.1] Learning Scenarios[4.0] WHAT ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ASL?

[4.1] ASL Internet Mailing List (ASLML)

[4.2] The ASL Digest

[4.3] The Expanded ASL Index

[4.4] WWW & FTP

[4.5] CompuServe

[4.6] VASL

[4.7] GAPs

[4.8] Other Software[5.0] HOW DO I PLAY BY E-MAIL?

[5.1] Ladders[6.0] I DOWNLOADED THESE STRANGE FILES; WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM?

[6.1] Compressed files: ZIP, ARC, Z, TAR, etc.

[6.2] .ps

[6.3] .pdf[7.0] WHAT AND WHERE ARE THE ASL TOURNAMENTS?

[7.1] North America

[7.2] Europe

[7.3] Australia[8.0] WHAT WAS THE ASL RECORD, AND WHAT IS ROAR?

[8.1] I know the scenario name, but not where to find it?[9.0] WHAT IS AREA?[10.0] ARE ALL THE Q&A COLLECTED IN ONE PLACE?

[10.1] Can I send Q's to MMP via e-mail?[11.0] WHAT ARE THE COMMON ASL QUESTIONS?

[11.1] RULES PHILOSOPHY

[11.11] Why do the US Marines have ML 8?

[11.12] IFT vs. IIFT

[11.13] Where did the squad FP values come from?

[11.14] How can I tell if a scenario is balanced?

[11.15] Why isn't there an electronic ASLRB?

[11.16] What is the Australian Balance System?

[11.17] Why can't I declare H-T-H Melee in non-Deluxe scenarios?

[11.2] SPECIFIC ASL RULES

[11.201] How does a Human Wave work?

[11.202] How does Bocage work?

[11.203] CX and leader movement bonus

[11.204] Moving vs. Motion etc.

[11.205] Assault move and laying SMOKE

[11.206] Area Target Type vs. Area Fire

[11.207] Do mortars get ROF with SMOKE?

[11.208] Infantry Target Type CHs

[11.209] Building vs. Location vs. Hex Control

[11.210] Why do the concealment markers have a morale level printed

on them?

[11.211] Do I have to declare it when my opponent rolls his SAN?

[11.212] Can a leader direct fire when he can't use his DRM?

[11.213] What does "momentarily reveal" mean?

[11.214] Can I dm a weapon and still move?

[11.215] OBA confuses me! How can it be made simpler?

[11.216] What is that thing on Board 8?

[11.217] The centre dots on my board aren't in the centre of the

hexes! What do I do?

[11.218] The rules say I can HIP my foxholes. Does that mean the

units in the foxhole are HIP also?

[11.219] Can I remove CX by declaring TI?

[11.220] What is "VBM Sleaze"?

[11.221] When is CC "simultaneous"?

[11.222] Is "No Quarter" always applied to both sides when in effect?

[11.223] Must I use my MGs when making a SFF attack?

[11.224] OVRs confuse me! How can it be made simpler?

[11.3] PRACTICAL MATTERS

[11.31] The Rulebook

[11.32] Counter storage

[11.33] Overlays

[11.34] Scenarios

[11.35] Good mail-order stores

[11.36] Where are the errata pages?

[11.37] I'm missing pages from Chapter N=====================================================================[0.0] VERSION HISTORYThis is v2.11, dated 11 Nov 1999.Revisions: 2.11: [11.35] Boulder Games Web address updated; [4.5] (GEnie)& [4.7]

(AOL Club) Deleted (other sections renumbered accordingly); [7.2]

Link for Toulouse Tourney deleted (no longer active); [10.0] Info

on

Bas' unofficial Q&A deleted (no longer active?); [11.35] Link to

"other stores" deleted (MMP info updated); [6.1] Macintosh info

updated; [4.6] VASL info updated; [8.1] added; [2.4] updated;

[7.0] &

[7.1] expanded; [7.2] reworded dramatically. It's almost

impossible

to keep this list up-to-date; [2.37] updated; [2.11] updated;

[11.222] & [11.223] added; [11.201] expanded; [3.1] expanded and

updated; [11.37] added; [4.1] updated (Virus alert etiquette

added);

[0.1] & [0.2] updated (third FAQ website removed as it wasn't

being

kept up-to-date); [0.3] minor updates, more cross-references;

[0.5]

most of MMP's original press release deleted to reduce space;

[2.31]

expanded (BRT & ABTF added, module dependency graph updated); new

[2.36] added (PP) (following sections renumbered accordingly);

[2.32]

Annual & Journal info updated; [11.224] added; [2.33] expanded

(AP2

info); [2.34] updated to include pointer to [8.1]; [2.37]

updated;

[11.15] updated; [11.211] updated; [11.33(ii)] updated; [11.36]

updated; [6.3] updated. (Nov 11, 1999) 2.1: Many changes, mostly due to the release of "Doomed Battalions"

and the buyout of TAHGC. [11.33] updated; [11.36] updated; [0.1]

updated (FAQ maintainer no longer has CompuServe account); [0.3]

updated; [0.4] added; [2.31] updated (description of DB added);

[2.32] updated; [2.34] updated; [2.36] wiped pending new info;

[2.37]

updated; [2.2] & [2.4] updated (replaced term "amateur" with

"third-

party"); [4.4] updated; [4.1] updated (info on WWW interface to

ASLML

added); [6.3] updated; [7.3] updated; [11.17] updated (Gurkhas

can

now do H-T-H too); [11.201] updated; [11.209] updated; [11.35]

updated (TAHGC mail-order deleted, MMP mail-order added);

[11.220]

added; [11.221] added; [0.5] added; [10.1] updated. (Jan 16,

1999)

2.04: [11.218] added; [4.2] updated (new Digest editor); [0.1] New FAQ

site added; [10.0] info on Scott Romanowski's compilation added;

[2.34] updated (info on Classic ASL added); [2.36] updated

(complete

rewrite); [11.17] added; [11.219] added; [3.1] expanded; [4.9]

More

info on Zundel GAP and ASLAP, and SALSA info added; [2.31]

updated

(Partisan! info corrected); [8.0] rewritten to reflect demise of

Record and creation of ROAR; [11.12] updated; [11.14] updated

(ROAR

replaces Record); [11.202] updated ('97 Annual Q&A); [11.205]

expanded; [11.210] reworded; [11.215] expanded (reference to OBA

chart errata). (May 9, 1998)

2.03: [8.0] Updated Will Scarvie's e-mail address; [11.33] expanded

(thanks to Tom Huntington); [4.1] expanded (again thanks to Tom

and

Paul Ferraro); [5.1] a notation on the use of VASL for PBEM play;

[11.211] some terminology corrected; [11.214] added; [11.35]

Boulder

Games address updated (again); [11.215] added; [11.216] added;

[11.217] added; [2.32] updated; [0.1] and [0.2] updated. (Dec 5,

1997)

2.02: [11.35] TAHGC web-site info updated; [4.8] VASL info updated;

[2.34] GENERAL info updated; new [4.3] (Index) section added

(later

sections renumbered accordingly); [11.208] (ITT CH) reworded

slightly

to correct minor terminology error; Pegasus Bridge info moved

from

Section [2.36] to [2.31]; [4.5] (GEnie) updated; [4.9] Work on

GAP

info started (needs lots more work still!). (May 11, 1997)

2.01: [11.36] expanded slightly; [11.35] New Boulder Games website

address; [7.2] More info on Belgian tournaments; Section [4.2] &

[4.9] added (following sections renumbered appropriately).

2.00: Complete update and rewrite by new FAQ maintainer (Jan 13, 1997)[0.1] INTRODUCTIONThis FAQ is intended to serve as a brief introduction to the boardgame

ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER, produced by The Avalon Hill Game Company

(TAHGC). It also aims to provide pointers to many amateur resources

available for the game, and to answer many common questions, both

about the game as an entity, and some specific common rules questions.This FAQ will be posted by the FAQ maintainer regularly to the ASLML,

the newsgroup rec.games.board, and the web site

Cross-posting of this FAQ to other online services and web pages of

interest to ASL players is encouraged, so long as the contents are not

altered and the FAQ is provided in full. Please let the FAQ

maintainer know if you store this FAQ on your site.The FAQ is currently available in HTML form at two different main sites:

skip/aslfaq.html, and

Please note that these

versions of the FAQ are *not* maintained by the FAQ maintainer, and

any problems with the information at those web sites should be

directed to the respective web-site owners.Errata and suggestions for this FAQ are always welcome. Please

contact the FAQ administrator at the address below.[0.2] CREDITSThis FAQ is currently maintained by Bruce Probst (bpr...@ibm.net).

It is based on the previous version of the FAQ that was maintained by

Don Hancock, but has been substantially updated and reorganised.Much assistance and many important suggestions were given to the FAQ

maintainer by the following individuals:Ole Boe, Scott Brady, Paul Ferraro, Patrik Manlig, Tom Repetti, Matt

Romey, Asad Rustum, Hennie van der Salm, Fritz Tichy, Tom Huntington.Thanks to NJ Hickman and Skip Kreitz maintaining the HTML FAQ sites.Thanks also are due to the miscellaneous members of the ASLML who

provided additional proof-reading and suggestions for this FAQ.And finally thanks also to The Avalon Hill Game Company for producing

"The Game". Where would we be without it?[0.3] ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARYThe following terms may be of use for those not familiar with them:ABS Australian Balance System. See [11.16].ASLRB The ASL Rules Book. (Often referred to as "The Holy Tome",

"The Word", etc.)ASLML ASL Internet Mailing List. The online "discussion group". See

[7.1].CG Campaign Game. A series of scenarios played in sequence,

usually using survivors of one scenario to determine the OB

for the next. CG rules are usually integral parts of HASL

modules.DASL Deluxe ASL. ASL played on boards with very big hexes.ETO European Theatre of OperationsFTF Face-to-Face. Your opponent is sitting across from you, as

opposed to PBEM.Grognard "Old grumblers". Originally the term used by Napoleon to

describe his veteran troops, who were habitual complainers,

it's now applied to "veteran" wargamers (not just ASL

players) -- you know, those "old fogeys" who remember way

back when ....HASBRO The mega-game-company that as of October 1998 is the new

owner of TAHGC (and hence ASL).HASL Historical ASL. Used to denote a module using a mapboard

designed to recreate a specific battle, rather than using the

generic geomorphic mapboards.ML Morale LevelMMP Multi-Man Publishing. The group of ASL players (and longtime

playtesters for TAHGC) that have been contracted by HASBRO to

oversee all future ASL products.OBA Off-Board ArtilleryPBEM Play By E-Mail. Your opponent is on the other end of an

electronic connection, as opposed to FTF.PTO Pacific Theatre of OperationsQ&A Questions and Answers. Rules clarifications from TAHGC/MMP.SASL Solitaire ASL.TAHGC The Avalon Hill Game Company, now a Hasbro affiliate.[0.4] THE HASBRO BUYOUT OF TAHGCIn October 1998 the Hasbro corporation (www.hasbro.com) completed

their purchase of TAHGC from the previous owners, Monarch-Avalon.

Naturally enough, this purchase threw the ASL world into a chaos of

uncertainty; what was the future of ASL likely to be under the new

regime? Would there even BE a future?Fortunately, it would appear that Hasbro are well aware of ASL's

popularity, and Hasbro have announced that they will continue ASL in

the same fashion as TAHGC did before it: namely, the third-party group

MMP has been sub-contracted to produce new ASL material for publication

by HASBRO. See [0.5] for more information.Furthermore, if HASBRO is committed to producing new ASL material,

logically it would follow that the older material needs to be kept in

print. There may even be an opportunity to retrofit errata to older

products.On a more practical level, any references in this FAQ to "TAHGC"

should be assumed to include an implicit understanding that TAHGC is

actually now an affiliate of HASBRO, and that MMP are sub-contracted

to HASBRO to produce new ASL material.[0.5]HASBRO/MMP PRESS RELEASE (abbreviated)(Released 15 Jan 1999)MMP Partners With Hasbro's Avalon Hill Games For ASLMulti-Man Publishing, LLC (MMP) is proud to announce its new exclusive

association with Hasbro, Inc. to develop, produce, and distribute games

and other products for Avalon Hill's Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) game

system. Hasbro's purchase of the Avalon Hill line puts the undeniable

resources of this industry giant squarely behind the ASL game system

and combines with MMP's proven track record for developing quality ASL

products to promise a ton of ASL fun this year and the years to come.

We are truly thrilled about the prospects for ASL and for the other

great games of Avalon Hill. ...Product information is available at, and purchases can be made via,

our web sites: www.advancedsquadleader.com or via phone at: 410-519-4411or via fax at: 410-519-4151or e-mail at: sa...@advancedsquadleader.comor via mail at: MMP, PO Box 601, Gambrills MD 21054-0601Contact us at through any of the above methods or e-mail us at:

in...@advancedsquadleader.com[1.0] WHAT IS ASL?To quote the TAHGC 1996 catalogue: "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."In addition to the above, there have been many "amateur" products

released over the years since ASL was first released in 1985, so that

now there are hundreds of scenarios and campaigns that can be played in

addition to the "official" ones produced by TAHGC. It is quite possible

to play nothing but ASL for the rest of your life, and you still might

not get to explore every facet of the game.[2.0] WHAT DO I NEED TO PLAY ASL?The bare minimum required is the ASL Rulebook (ASLRB), and either

Beyond Valor (Module 1), or Paratrooper (Module 2) plus boards 1-4.

You'll also need at least two (preferably four) six-sided dice of

different colours (dice are provided in BV), some cotton thread or

string (for tracing LOS), and somewhere to set it all up!See the product listing below [2.2] for more information on what's

available for purchase.[2.1] SHOULD I BUY SQUAD LEADER FIRST?Before ASL, there was SL. The original SL game was released in 1977

and was an instant hit. It became so popular that additions and

expansions were deemed necessary, and these followed as Cross of Iron

(COI), Crescendo of Doom (COD) and GI: Anvil of Victory (GI). Each new

module required that you owned all the previous ones, and provided

additional rules, revisions of old rules, and new boards and counters.

While an excellent game, it became something of an administrative

nightmare: important rules were scattered through several rules books,

early parts of the system didn't sit well with later ones, and it

became obvious that things couldn't go on this way. So, ASL was born.

A complete revision from the ground up, with all new rules and

components that were based on the SL system but clearly separate to

them -- and, in the opinion of most players, a considerable improvement

overall.SL (without the add-ons) remains an excellent game, though it is much

simpler and more abstract than the ASL system. However, there are so

many differences in detail between the SL rules and the ASL rules that

learning SL can actually hinder your ASL development. So although SL

can teach you some basic ASL concepts, it is the opinion of the author

that you are usually better off going direct to ASL.There is a caveat: many ASL scenarios require the use of the boards

supplied with SL and its expansions. If you do not have SL/COI/COD/GI,

there are 12 boards (1-8, 12-15) that you will need to purchase

separately before you can play these scenarios. Usually it is cheaper

to buy them separately from your local game store or direct from TAHGC

than to buy the four SL games, but if you can pick them up second-hand

or whatever you may end up saving money. (GI also includes several

terrain overlays to modify the mapboards, but to date no official ASL

scenario has used any of these overlays.)[2.11] WELL, I ALREADY HAVE SL. HOW DO I START PLAYING ASL?Probably the most important thing to remember is to not make any

assumptions. Many rules in ASL are similar to SL rules, but have

important differences. Almost no rule is identical between the two

systems. If you're busily flipping through the ASLRB trying to find

that rule you're *sure* you read somewhere, chances are you may be

thinking of a SL rule instead.In the '90 Annual [see 2.32] an article is provided for those players

who are changing from SL to ASL. In eight steps you're taken through

the rules chapters, starting with infantry rules to OBA and finally

AFV's. The article uses a "programmed instruction" technique very

similar to the way the original SL rules were presented, and makes use

of (modified versions of) the scenarios provided in the original SL

set. Unfortunately the '90 Annual is very hard to find these days, but

fortunately the article was reprinted in Vol.30 #1 of the General [see

2.34]. Even more fortunately, this article is now available in its

entirety on the MMP website at www.advancedsquadleader.com.See also Section [3.0].[2.2] WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR ASL?ASL products fall loosely into two categories: "official" products,

which are released by TAHGC, and "third-party" products, which are

released by others. While it is generally true that the TAHGC

products are better-looking and better researched, this is by no means

always the case, and many of the third-party products are the best

things that an ASL gamer could spend his money on. There is a tacit

understanding however that if it comes down to rules conflicts or

similar problems, the "official" products will win out, mostly because

the TAHGC products usually have a much wider distribution, and it is

unfair to expect new players to know about the alternatives.Within the above broad categories, ASL products may be defined as

"modules", "magazines", or "other". Modules are self-contained

settings for a particular nationality or campaign, usually with rules

and counters. Magazines should be self-explanatory. "Other" includes

things like scenario packs.[2.3] TAHGC PRODUCTS[2.31] MODULESThe meat and potatoes of ASL. Every player will need at least some of

the following:ASLRB: Binder and rules organised in chapters. Chapters A-D, H, J

and N included. Subsequent Modules provide new chapters (and

expansions of existing ones). Necessary for all ASL play.1: BEYOND VALOR (BV): German, Finnish, Russian and Partisan

counters. Important informational counters, 4 mapboards (20-23), 10

scenarios. Required for all other modules (except Paratrooper).

Boards 1-4 and 8 are recommended.2: PARATROOPER (Para):