Introduction

This review is not intended as a review of the Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) system. There is plenty of info out there on that. I am writing this from the perspective of someone that loved the original Squad Leader and had been intrigued by ASL, but was too intimated to try it. Because of where I live and time restrictions, Face to Face learning did not seem realistic. Taking all that into account, I had come to the conclusion that I would probably not ever play ASL. My discovery of the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kits has changed all that.

In 1980, at the age of 13, I purchased Avalon Hill’s Squad Leader. My 12 year old brother and I taught ourselves the game through reading the rules and playing it. At some point we acquired Cross of Iron for the improved vehicle rules and it too was a must-play for us from then on. We never did purchase Crescendo of Doom or GI: Anvil of Victory due to time and money constraints.

We spent hours play scenarios such as The Guards Counter Attack, The Tractor Works, and our all time favorite, Hill 621. Those scenarios are classics today and fondly remembered in the Squad Leader Community.

I picked up the Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Rule Book and Beyond Valor - ASL Module 1 sometime in the early 1990’s but after flipping through the manual, was too intimated to try to play it. The manual read like a foreign language, and was HUGE.



Over the years, I would crack open the manual occasionally, but after a few minutes of paging through the rules, I would put it back on the shelf, overwhelmed.

Recently I was bitten by the Squad Leader bug again. Going online, I read several positive reviews of the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kits. I had seen mention of them several years ago, but had dismissed them out of hand as too basic. I had assumed they were heavily stripped down and not worth having. After paying attention to reviews more carefully this time around, I decided to try them out.

Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #1 lists for $24 plus shipping, so I would not be out much if I didn’t like it. I purchased it and Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #3 together to save on shipping costs. At the time of purchase, Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #2 was out of stock just about everywhere, though it has recently become available again.

What you Get

The images on the box and the cover of the manual for Starter Kit #1 are comforting to veterans of the original Squad Leader.



They are very similar to the cover of the box and manual from Squad Leader.



I am very impressed with the contents of the kit, and it is much more complete than I expected. I had assumed the Starter Kits would require ownership of other ASL material, and would probably be oversimplified without much being offered. How wrong I was!

As the SK#1 box says, “This game contains everything you need to begin playing Advanced Squad Leader”.

There are two dice included, as well as two map boards and a nice sized counter sheet. Two my surprise, there are three nationalities included in SK#1, just like the original Squad Leader: Germans, Russians and Americans. You would have to purchase two separate modules in full ASL to have the opportunity to play the same three countries. Granted, you get a small sampling of their total Order of Battle, but the ability to at least try the big three in the Squad Leader universe is a nice touch. There is a nice mixture of troops ranging from Conscripts to Elite, so you can get a feel for the differences the quality of your troops can make in the game.

The map boards are printed directly on light-weight cardboard, as all future ASL map boards will be.



The 280 counters are actual, die-cut cardboard just like I remember from my Squad Leader days.





All the components can be used interchangeably with ASL for anyone that wants to play the full system down the road.

There are a number of play-aid markers such as Prep Fire, Counter Exhausted, Smoke, Melee, Final Fire and etc included. The one counter not included that would have been nice to have in SK#1 is a Turn Marker. I understand there probably was just not room for one, and again, it is no problem to use something else. I grabbed the one that came with my SK#3.

Included is one Quick Reference Data Card, with the charts necessary to play such as among others the Infantry Fire Table, Terrain Effects Chart and the Turn Sequence. There is even a nice diagram with information about what everything means on the counters. Finally, there are six scenarios in the same format as I remember from my old Squad Leader days.



What do you get to play with? Besides infantry, you also get a few Support Weapons such as light, medium and heavy machine guns, and even demolition charges and flame throwers. Naturally a Squad Leader product is going to include leaders.

The manual is about 12 pages, with many nice color illustrations and examples.



The ALS Rules

Paring down the 150+ pages from the full ASL Rule Book into the 12 pages in the SK#1 manual obviously means a lot is left out. What impresses me is what is included.



Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #1 includes only infantry rules. Those wanting weapons such as mortars, artillery guns and bazookas will need at least Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #2 and vehicles, including tanks and armored cars, are introduced in Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #3.

Concepts that will be new to former Squad Leader Players include Residual Fire that affects future moves by other units through a fired upon hex during that Movement Phase, the possibility of squads decreasing in quality due to combat results, Self-Rallying of non-leaders, Rate of Fire that allows some weapons such as machine guns the potential to take more than one shot in a phase, Inherent ability for many units to lay smoke and so on. I understand many of these concepts were originally introduced in Crescendo of Doom or GI: Anvil of Victory, but they are new to me and anyone else that stuck with the basic Squad Leader and/or Cross of Iron.

What is not included from the full ASL system? Machine gun Fire Lanes, Snipers, Multi-level buildings, By-Pass Movement, Walls, Hedges, Off-Board Artillery and many other like details. This is only a 12 page manual, remember?

Reading the full ASL manual after I had been playing the SK#1 for a while, I was surprised to learn the Turn Sequence in the Full rule book is color coded to match the text color on some of the player-aide markers to indicate to the player when a marker should be removed from the board. Residual Fire markers, for example, are printed in Green text, which as it matches Movement Phase being printed in Green, indicates to the players the Residual Fire counters should be removed from play at the conclusion of the Movement Phase. I am curious as to why the color coding was left out of the Starter Kits. Perhaps it was simply a matter of space available in the 12 pages of rules. I think new players would have really benefited from its inclusion.

Getting Started

My preliminary read of the rules was still a little overwhelming with all the abbreviations used in ASL. Fortunately, there is a list of definitions in the manual. After a while, the abbreviations and manual just started to make sense. I learned to read “FFNAM” as First Fire Non-Assault Movement, for instance. The rules, though greatly reduced from the full ASL Manual, are still dense. It took reading and re-reading for it all to start clicking.

I found three very useful third-party aids to getting started. There are many more great aids out there, but these are what I used:

The First is a comprehensive list of ASL abbreviations and what they mean found at:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/file/info/16247

A Second aid is the Detailed Sequence of Play found at:

http://www.grognard.com/info1/aslsksheet.pdf

It is very helpful, walking you through a turn and most of the possible activities that may occur in the order they occur.

The Third and most significant resource I found is Jay Richardson’s excellent tutorials at:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/file/info/24930

When my brother and I got together for our first session of a Squad Leader game in the last 17 years and our first ever ASL game, we set up the pieces and moved them around as we read his step by examples of basic combat. Jay’s tutorials are excellent, not only for their illustration of how to play, but with explanation of some of the logic behind how the game works and what it is simulating.

After walking through a couple of Jay’s combat examples, we jumped into the first scenario, S1 Retaking Vierville, referring to the rules as necessary. From the time we started playing through the tutorials until completing the first scenario was about four leisurely hours.

A couple of turns into playing, it occurred to me “Hey, I’m playing Advanced Squad Leader!” It was a pretty exciting realization. We both had a great time that afternoon.

The Game

The scenerios included are very well done, and offer good variety and replayability.

For example, Retaking Vierville starts out nice and simple on the surface, with only infantry in play. There are no Support Weapons to learn about for this scenario. The situation is much more interesting than it might appear at first glance, with both sides receiving reinforcements over several turns.



The second scenario introduces machine guns, demo charges and flame throwers. It has a nice twist with the defending Russian player rolling a die every turn to see if his reinforcements arrive. That random element can make for some tense, unpredictable games.



As a former Squad Leader player, much of what the Starter Kits introduce is very familiar. It feels very good to be playing in the ASL word, albeit at an introductory level. It took some work to get the hang of Defensive Fire, but Jay Richardson came to the rescue here as well:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/88350

Now that I have it figured out, the new Defensive Fire rules make a lot more sense than the original SL.

Observations

Comparing the Starter Kit rules to the full ASL manual, I am amazed at how well the SK’s introduce the system. The Full Rule Book is now fascinating reading instead of overwhelming. I foresee starting to play utilizing many of the full ASL rules in the near future.

There are those that argue the Sk’s are not real ASL. I disagree. While they may not be FULL ASL, they are ASL, just culled down to some of the core basics, and much more of the core than I expected before I received my SK’s.

My opinion from visiting various ASL forums is that many veteran ASL players have picked up the Starter Kits. I think they were motivated in part to help introduce new players to ASL. I have also read commentary from some ASL players that don’t get to play very often. They find the Sk’s useful as they don’t have as many rules to remember when they do finally get to play after a long absence.

There are veterans willing to play the Starter Kits online via VASL:

http://www.vasl.org/

My first game ever on VASL was against an opponent that plays full ASL. He was happy to have someone to play against and was extremely patient with all my questions as we played. I was very pleased to see my interpretation of the rules as self-taught was generally pretty accurate.

I think the SK’s are great to pick up and take to a gaming session. Everything you need fits right in the box, and you can be up and playing in a few minutes with the small but tense scenarios included. You can finish a typical game in a few hours. It is not a huge time or space commitment.



The concepts of the game are relatively easy to pick-up for players new to the system, especially if you have a teacher to help you through your first game or two. Experienced players can use the Starter Kits as a fun, pre-packaged kit to introduce new players to ASL.

An interesting advantage to purchasing additional SK’s is the fact each subsequent manual contains all the info from the previous manual and then adds the new rules introduced in that SK. Info that is new or is updated is highlighted in a salmon color, so a player familiar with the previous SK can quickly jump to the new information in the manual.

Updates and clarifications are in each subsequent manual as well. If you have the most recent Starter Kit manual, you have the most current, accurate set of rules for the Starter Kit system. I still recommend starting with the SK#1 manual and working your way through the system. There is less to learn or to be distracted by that way. 12 pages of rules are certainly easier to flip through than the 28 pages in SK#3.



What next?

What next for the player that likes SK1 and wants more? There are a lot of possibilities. I will be working through SK#2 and SK#3 in that order, so there are 22 total scenarios right there.

I know some players view the Starter Kit’s as simply a means to get into full ASL. My advice for many new SK players is to enjoy the journey, and don’t be in a huge rush unless that’s what you want. The SK’s are complete, entertaining games themselves. You are missing some great gaming if you skip over much of their content.

MMP’s house magazine Operations has included a SK scenario in several recent issues and will to continue doing so. Sherry Enterprises’ Rally Point, Volume #2 scenario pack includes 10 scenarios that are designed to be played with either SK or ASL rules. MMP is working on an at least one Action Pack/Expansion for Starter Kit players. Whether it will introduce more rules like in the first three SK’s, or simply provide more scenarios to play, I know I will be purchasing it.

I have really enjoyed playing solo, and have done so quit frequently since picking up the Starter Kits several months ago. Playing online via VASL has also been a great experience, so I definitely anticipate playing more that way. It can be fun just watching others play on VASL, and I highly recommend current or potential players check it out. When I was playing my first couple of games via VASL, my opponent and I received some great advice from spectators after they asked us if we were interested in input. I most look forward to getting some time in Face to Face with my brother when his schedule allows. There are some great times ahead for me in the ASL world.

Will I ultimately play the full ASL system? I don’t know. I do pull out the full ASL manual a lot of evenings and read through it. The willingness of potential opponents will probably have the biggest influence on which rules I use in the future.

I have already purchased or pre-ordered several ASL products and will be purchasing more. MMP has made some sales beyond the SK’s to me that they would not have made without the SK’s. That has to be good for all ASL players as more purchases will help drive and support more products.

The list of expansions seems almost limitless, so if you get into full ASL, I don't think you will run out of new material.



Summary

Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #1 will take some effort for the gamer new to the world of ASL to get into. There are only 12 pages in the manual, but they are dense with information and illustrations. If you have an interest in the subject matter, and are willing to spend some time learning the system, your patience will be VERY well rewarded. There are very few systems that have remained as popular and supported for so many years as Advanced Squad Leader.

I think future ASL players will look back on scenarios such as Retaking Vierville, War of the Rats and Clearing Colleville like former Squad Leader players look back on The Tractor Works and The Guards Counter Attack. They are quick to set up, fun to play, and frequently revisited.

The Starter Kits are the obvious spiritual successors to the original Squad Leader, and a great entry point for former players of Squad Leader and players new to the Squad Leader world in general. You might be happy staying in the Starter Kit World, or you might find yourself moving onto full Advanced Squad Leader. Either way, I predict you will have a lot of fun in the process.


I want to thank all the photographers whose photos here on Boardgame Geek I used to illustrate my review.