StAtiC9 wrote:
After many years of playing the wonderful and entirely FREE PC game Steel Panthers and seeing many of the maps inspired by this or that Squad Leader Scenario, I've decided to take the plunge and see what all of this Hex and Chit based madness is all about. And I must say, I am giddy with excitement.
Compared to Steel Panthers, I think you will find playing SL and/or ASLSK to be a much more immersive experience, although the boardgames will play slower and require more effort on your part. Playing SL/ASLSK will show you exactly why everything happens the way it does, because you see all of the rules detail in action, whereas a computer hides most of that detail from you in the process of making the computer game easy-to-play.
StAtiC9 wrote:
I have both a copy of the original squad leader and a copy of ASLSK #1 on the way and I was curious as to some of the differences between the two. What exactly makes ASL advanced?
The "Advanced" part of ASL's name was, I suspect, primarily a marketing decision on Avalon Hill's part back in 1985.
I would summarize the differences between SL and full ASL as follows:
* The SL system eventually had four rulebooks filled with multiple versions of rules that conflicted with one another, and most of those rules were also completely optional. ASL has a single rulebook with no internal conflicts between rules, and very few optional rules.
* ASL is a "cleaned-up" version of SL: quite a number of interesting, but funky, SL rules were simply discarded in ASL. Other SL rules have been streamlined or simplified in ASL (snipers, for one example).
* ASL is more comprehensive than SL. It has counters for every combatant that fought in WWII, and rules to cover any possible situation. So, for example, if you wanted to have paratroopers dropping at night in a snowstorm, and then have them call in naval gunfire support from a friendly battleship, only to discover that the enemy was expecting them and had booby-trapped every building in the vicinity... well, ASL can handle that. Of course, you could also play ASL for years and never use ANY of those rules (let alone all of them at once)!
* ASL is less predictable than SL, due to such things as changes to the rate-of-fire rules, and new rules such as Heat of Battle. This high level of unpredictability makes ASL feel more realistic, and gives it a high replay value.
* If there is one single thing that sets ASL (and also ASLSK) apart from SL, and all other tactical wargames as well, I would say it is the defensive fire rules that allow defending units the ability to fire multiple times at moving attacking units. New players can find these defensive fire rules difficult to learn, but the intense interaction between moving units and the defenders that are firing at them is a distinguishing feature of ASL.
Much of the above would also apply to a comparison of SL to ASLSK, but not all of it, simply because some of the things mentioned are not used in the ASLSK rules (such as snipers, Heat of Battle, naval gunfire support, night, snow, etc.)
StAtiC9 wrote:
I can't wait to play these games and, if things go well, turn my gaming buddies onto them as well. Should we start with normal Squad Leader, or just go straight on to ASL?
Well, why not try them both?
If you are interested in eventually playing full ASL, then playing the Starter Kit is a better route: the ASLSK rules are a subset of the ASL rules, so moving up to ASL will be easy. The SL rules differ from the ASL rules in some areas, so moving from SL to ASL would involve "un-learning" some of the SL rules.
On the other hand, you may find that SL's "programmed instruction" approach – where a few rules are introduced, and then you play a scenario using just those rules before you move on to learn the next set of rules – works better for you than just diving right into ASLSK #1.
And, of course, some people still feel that SL is a better game than either ASL or ASLSK, and it possible that you might end up agreeing with them.
The main thing, however, is to just have fun, and to not be afraid to ask for help from either the ASL players or the SL players.
Posted Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:36 pm
