So what scenarios have you played Recently?

Eagle4ty

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Played FrF74 Out of their Element, as the attacking Germans. My opponent (returning to ASL after a break) setup his forces mostly along the tree line, trying to slow the attack (which it did) but with little thought to how he would retreat - and it cost him. I attacked strongly on the southern flank, with just a token force in the center.

Over the first 3 turns I managed to push strongly to the south, taking out three squads (one POW, two broken with little hope of rallying), the 8-1 leader, and the Russian MMG, and losing only one sIG to a lucky ATR shot. With his turn 3 reinforcements to enter directly under fire, and the remainder of his force unable to efficiently come back to the victory area before my forces could get there, the Russian player conceded.
Played this one several years ago as the Russkies in a tournament. At the end of German Turn 1 the Germans were ready to give in up having only two sIG's remaining (1 shocked) IIRC and two & a half unbroken squads with an 8-0 Ldr ready for the Russian turn. My buddies' game was even shorter as his opponent gave up part way through the German 1st turn before the Germans gave up the ghost.
 

Thunderchief

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Ost 03 - Fortune Favours the Bold (George Kelln Ost front Pack 1).

I was the Germans, Darryl had the Soviets. he had foxholes on both sides of the bridge and the best units in/near the woods overlay. I ran everyone up on their motorcycles to the building/grain/hedge area and split the tanks either side. By the end of his turn three all my units except two leaders were broken and things looked very drab. To give my infantry time to recover I charged across the bridge with some of the tanks and messed with his troops there for a bit. By the midpoint of Turn 4 I had the bridge, but had to secure my original side and keep him from taking back the side closest to his best guys. All vehicles on the board had malfed MAs (4-5 vehicles).
Victory was achieved by freezing his leader/447/MMG/Atr and running my infantry across the bridge and smashing the frozen guys with advancing fire.

This is a smaller design from George but the stress was high. I nearly gave up on turn 2 but managed to pull things together for a win - sometimes you do have to hang on and play a bit longer :)
 

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Hi-

Got together with my buddy Bob today and we tried TX-8 Hit and Run. I ended up with the Russians so Bob had his guys to set up. This is a very math intensive scenario due to how much damage the Russiabs can do / exit vs the Germans exiting guys off also. Very confusing and we both thought the scenario was not fun. I had the Russians and by turn 3 I was getting crushed. I did take out a panther and stug but my losses were heavy. This can also be a very gamey scenario due to the germans sitting on the board edges and exiting guys off at the last minute. This is in the ASL open and so I would highly recommend taking the Germans, even with balance, it wont help.
 

Eagle4ty

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Hi-

Got together with my buddy Bob today and we tried TX-8 Hit and Run. I ended up with the Russians so Bob had his guys to set up. This is a very math intensive scenario due to how much damage the Russiabs can do / exit vs the Germans exiting guys off also. Very confusing and we both thought the scenario was not fun. I had the Russians and by turn 3 I was getting crushed. I did take out a panther and stug but my losses were heavy. This can also be a very gamey scenario due to the germans sitting on the board edges and exiting guys off at the last minute. This is in the ASL open and so I would highly recommend taking the Germans, even with balance, it wont help.
Is the list out already Scott?
 

Jacometti

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Hi-

Got together with my buddy Bob today and we tried TX-8 Hit and Run. This is a very math intensive scenario due to how much damage the Russiabs can do / exit vs the Germans exiting guys off also. Very confusing and we both thought the scenario was not fun.
I understand your pain here. One thing I have learnt from twenty years of ASL is that victory conditions have to be VERY CLEAR and both players must be able to grasp how well they are doing (relative to the VC requirement) throughout the game.

Some designers create VC which really obscure the players' understanding of "where they are" and "what they still need to do". In my experience, that is really not a rewarding game experience. Some of these scenarios may be better the second time around, but even then.....

I once played a scenario at the Grenadier tournament, my opponent and I had NO CLUE who was winning until about the last Turn. It was impossible to keep count how many units worth how many VP were in which victory areas, some which counted double, etc.....so suddenly with a Turn left we both look at each other and say - ow wow so I just need to get two squads into that hexrow or into that building and they count as 8 EVP and that would win me the game right?
 

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Played SP265 Defending Jandrain with the great @Carln0130 last night. Despite Carl's best efforts to let my win by breaking every gun in his arsenal, he managed to secure a pretty easy victory over my Germans. We both agreed that the scenario appears pretty hard on the attacking Germans, made even harder by my plodding efforts which don't go well with Schwerpunkt scenarios.
 

Eagle4ty

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I understand your pain here. One thing I have learnt from twenty years of ASL is that victory conditions have to be VERY CLEAR and both players must be able to grasp how well they are doing (relative to the VC requirement) throughout the game.

Some designers create VC which really obscure the players' understanding of "where they are" and "what they still need to do". In my experience, that is really not a rewarding game experience. Some of these scenarios may be better the second time around, but even then.....

I once played a scenario at the Grenadier tournament, my opponent and I had NO CLUE who was winning until about the last Turn. It was impossible to keep count how many units worth how many VP were in which victory areas, some which counted double, etc.....so suddenly with a Turn left we both look at each other and say - ow wow so I just need to get two squads into that hexrow or into that building and they count as 8 EVP and that would win me the game right?
Totally agree, and very complex VC violate a basic military axiom of making sure your objective statement is clear, concise, and easily understood. Some time designers become so enthralled with themselves on developing a scenario with complex aspects they lose focus of the ultimate objective, both militarily and game wise.
 

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Today we played A49 Delaying Action, a small German force of HIP half squads and SMC 's with 9 Panzerfausts have to stop or reduce an unaccompanied Russian tank force attacking on a narrow front in 1944 Lithuania. I lost as the Russians when I couldn't corner and finish off the final 2 German units needed to make up for my early tank losses. This seems to be a difficult scenario for the Russians to win, but in our playing, the end result was much closer than I had expected. We enjoyed this one very much and I would play it again as either side. Also would be great for an evening game, as we finished it in about 2 1/2 hours.
 

ecz

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Just played Crickets in Spring [AP131] as last scenario of the year. I won as German because at Turn 5 the heavy Russian losses decided the scenario.
In this scenario wins who earns more CVPs, but there are also 18 multihex buildings each 2 VPs worth all in the Russian control at the start. The strong attacking SS force (12X 658 + 3 Pz VG + 3 SIG 150 coming later) must move and attack to control as many multi hex buildings as possible keeping low its casualties and at the same time must try to destroy the Russian garrison ( 6X 447 + MMG + HMG + 3 ART 76mm guns) ) reinforced in turn 2 by 6X 628 and 6X T34/85 . The Germans also have three HTs necessary to carry infantry in the rear of the village.

There are several elements that must be considered by the players and that make challenging the scenario:
1) the setup of the three ART guns. It is not easy because there are very few locations where they can setup emplaced. The Russian must think about to forfeit the hip and the emplacement status of a pair of guns to have them where they really are useful.
2) the cost of the mud that slows down the German advance but also make each AFV move out the road inherently risky.
3) the role of the German HTs, that could be the winning card for both players. Important for the German to move quickly infantry across the board, important for the Russian as an easy source of CVPs if the attack is not wise.
4) the use of the large Russian armor force. Better help the infantry to defend the buildings or better go on the hunt of the German armor riskying bog, PFs and 75LL shells?
5) Russian tactis. There are only 6 squads at start, that become 12 when 6 elite squads arrive. But there are 18 multi-hex buildings to defend. Potentially 36 VPs all in the belt of the Russian at start but quickly changing hand. where and how try to restist? and until at which point?
6) Prisoners. Althought the scenario is Russian vs SS (hence no quarter is in effect), the double CVP value of prisoners in this scenario can really make the difference. So both sides should try to capture enemy infantry units where possible.
7) lastly the setup of the two Russian MGs. The obvious best locations are also the places from where it is more difficult adjust their position when Germans approach. The 5pp load and the mud make almost impossible retreat these heavy SW quickly and use them effectively a second time from a different position.

the different combination of all these factors ensures that each game will be different form the other. Very good scenario.
 

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Played a long (two gaming sessions) scenario, TAC56 The Fox's Offspring. Playing as the Germans, I don't feel I used my all assets as well as I should have. However, some timely dice rolls and many in game tactical adjustments overcame my lack of strategic vision. I think the Germans need to be very aggressive initially as they need to exit 20 VP off the opposite side of one of the boards while maintaining a 10 CVP lead by game's end. I got spooked by a hidden AT Gun slowing my halftrack push. This gave my friend's US tank reinforcements a chance to interdict the exiting forces. Like I said, some timely rolling allowed me to rush a tank and three halftracks off the board edge giving me more than the 20 VP I needed. I easily had more on board CVP than I needed due to knocking out a bunch of halftracks early so I decided to pull back and let the Americans come to me. I probably did this one turn too early as I left my infantry vulnerable to his tank swarm. Thankfully, for me anyway, they were far enough back to prevent capture if they broke - and many did. By the end of turn 7 (of 8), my friend realized he couldn't get enough points with the German squads that were within reach and called it.

I liked this one as there are many tough choices for both sides to make each turn. It is very meaty so a few bad decisions or dice rolls won't decide the outcome. I think I played a flawed game (based on things I realized I should have done early but didn't) but the scenario is large enough that I was able to recover. I'd recommend playing as either side - just make sure you're ready for a long session - or two!
 
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Ray Woloszyn

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Today we played A49 Delaying Action, a small German force of HIP half squads and SMC 's with 9 Panzerfausts have to stop or reduce an unaccompanied Russian tank force attacking on a narrow front in 1944 Lithuania. I lost as the Russians when I couldn't corner and finish off the final 2 German units needed to make up for my early tank losses. This seems to be a difficult scenario for the Russians to win, but in our playing, the end result was much closer than I had expected. We enjoyed this one very much and I would play it again as either side. Also would be great for an evening game, as we finished it in about 2 1/2 hours.
To tip my hand on how long I have been playing SL/ASL I must admit to playing the COI version in 1979 at Origins at Widener College against Robert McNamara. As you can guess, I lost as the Russians. A picture of our game graces an old "Moves" magazine.
 

Michael R

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Finished a PBEM game today: AP59 TAKING HEADS. David Gillies had the Japanese. Good use of smoke and Banzai brought the Japanese into the village with few casualties. Americans conceded on Jap turn 5 because of lack of good order units.
 

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Trigger Happy Joes SP 167 Bulge fest '17 German balance- no US M2 MTR, and added a 4-6-7, and an 8-0. Played on a printed VASL map, for the snow... I think the Germans should take the longer route to the VC building, with more cover. Had trouble making progress past the board 42 hill. US victory.
 

JRKrejsa

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Sterlin Castle LC CiI#13 Canadians defend the buildings on the board 50 hill. Canadian balance, got a 9-2, instead of 9-1. I had an inner and outer defense set. I should have routed away from CC, but didn't. This cost me a 4-5-8, and I was handicapped for the rest of the game. In spite of this, it came down to last turn CC. German Victory.
 

ecz

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I have played J102 The Yelnya Bridge today, as first scenario of the year, winning as Russian. The job for the Germans is simple in theory, they must exit 16 EVPs (4 at least of Infantry) from the small portion of board 47 in play, OR control the three buildings in the middle of the board. My opponent tried to use from turn one of the ACs aggressively moving it along the road, but the ART gun on the hill destroyed it. The Russian MMG in a nearby trench and a 426 in the pillbox, avoided any bold attempt of the Germans to cross the stream using the bridge until turn 4. On the right flank - looking from the German perspective- a few SS squads successfully crossed the bridge with the help of the Pz II, but made little progress blocked by a minimal pinning force (three squads and the Commissar). When in turn 3 the MMG and the ART has been finally silenced by the long range fire of the PzIII, the SS remaining were too few, even because two of them were held in melee. So, with the Russian reinforcements in sight, unable to add 16 EVPs or control the three buildings, the Germans resigned.

This is the second time I play this scenario, and in both cases it was a clear Russian victory. I suspect that the "exit option" chosen by the German in both playings simply cannot work given the difficult nature of the terrain that forces the attacker to move in OG or pass across narrow paths easily predictable. (note the Russian can BS the Gun, the MMG and a light mortar). So it seems it is far better an all out attack on the village hoping to place a lucky shot on the gun and/or on the MMG.

Nice and enjoable scenario with scarce replayability.
 

Jacometti

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I have played J102 The Yelnya Bridge today, as first scenario of the year, winning as Russian. The job for the Germans is simple in theory, they must exit 16 EVPs (4 at least of Infantry) from the small portion of board 47 in play, OR control the three buildings in the middle of the board. My opponent tried to use from turn one of the ACs aggressively moving it along the road, but the ART gun on the hill destroyed it. The Russian MMG in a nearby trench and a 426 in the pillbox, avoided any bold attempt of the Germans to cross the stream using the bridge until turn 4. On the right flank - looking from the German perspective- a few SS squads successfully crossed the bridge with the help of the Pz II, but made little progress blocked by a minimal pinning force (three squads and the Commissar). When in turn 3 the MMG and the ART has been finally silenced by the long range fire of the PzIII, the SS remaining were too few, even because two of them were held in melee. So, with the Russian reinforcements in sight, unable to add 16 EVPs or control the three buildings, the Germans resigned.

This is the second time I play this scenario, and in both cases it was a clear Russian victory. I suspect that the "exit option" chosen by the German in both playings simply cannot work given the difficult nature of the terrain that forces the attacker to move in OG or pass across narrow paths easily predictable. (note the Russian can BS the Gun, the MMG and a light mortar). So it seems it is far better an all out attack on the village hoping to place a lucky shot on the gun and/or on the MMG.

Nice and enjoable scenario with scarce replayability.
Very much agreed - Yelnya Bridge is excessively hard on the attacker.....and would not play it again if given other options. If you have never played it and the stronger player takes the Germans, it is a good fun scenario though. Good introduction to board 47.
 

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I wrote about that scenario in Banzai 19.1. Curious whether my analysis jibes with your experience.
http://texas-asl.com/banzai/banzai19_1.pdf
Matt,

I'll try and give your article a read in the next week or so, work permitting. The game is starting to fade in the mists of time (and age), but I clearly recall hitting Sebastiano's armored cupola in the center of town, and never hitting the turret. The damn thing was a tough target to hit.

Alan
 

wrongway149

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Trigger Happy Joes SP 167 Bulge fest '17 German balance- no US M2 MTR, and added a 4-6-7, and an 8-0. Played on a printed VASL map, for the snow... I think the Germans should take the longer route to the VC building, with more cover. Had trouble making progress past the board 42 hill. US victory.
I think I should have let the Germans set up on onboard, maybe 3 hexrows in. It's a Schwerpunkt scenario, so ya gots ta move-- but the US Firepower will slow you down regardless.
 

Ray Woloszyn

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Dave Stephens and I got in our first game of the new year with a playing of the new Schwerpunkt scenario, The Tjiater Pass [SP268]. It was an easy victory for me as the defending Dutch vs. the Japanese leading me to think that this scenario might be out of balance. Being Schwerpunkt, the Japanese must race toward the Dutch (and certain death) who have three ROF of three weapons to hurt them. Our game never got past four of six with good DR's decimating a Banzai charge that turn. The Dutch must make certain not allow a Banzai charge on turn one by staying beyond the allowable eight hex range. This will slow the Japanese somewhat but would not prevent them from going CX turn one and doing a Banzai charge on turn two. Keeping the bulk of the victory fortifications in the back is a must. With HIP possible for all the Dutch fortifications, the Japanese are no longer the jungle kings. The three Japanese tanks stand no chance against the AT Gun or the three MG's along with the two AC with their MG MA. The "balance" of making the Japanese elite only allow their one MTR so have a better smoke exponent.
 

Mister T

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I understand your pain here. One thing I have learnt from twenty years of ASL is that victory conditions have to be VERY CLEAR and both players must be able to grasp how well they are doing (relative to the VC requirement) throughout the game.

Some designers create VC which really obscure the players' understanding of "where they are" and "what they still need to do". In my experience, that is really not a rewarding game experience. Some of these scenarios may be better the second time around, but even then.....

I once played a scenario at the Grenadier tournament, my opponent and I had NO CLUE who was winning until about the last Turn. It was impossible to keep count how many units worth how many VP were in which victory areas, some which counted double, etc.....so suddenly with a Turn left we both look at each other and say - ow wow so I just need to get two squads into that hexrow or into that building and they count as 8 EVP and that would win me the game right?
I still think there is a market segment for scenarios with complex VC. Because i am becoming tired of unimaginative VCs and scenarios which look way too much like others that were produced in the past.

I concede that complex VC should nevertheless allow players to "feel" how they are doing in the scenario. In the case of TX-8, the VCs seem clear to me, however they require, if wishing to get that feel, a rather tedious count of VPs, which might not be of the liking of everyone (a bit like battlefield integrity lol). That aspect would not necessary lead me to reject the scenario outright.

Bedburg Bite is a very good design, yet it might not be easy to feel whether you are doing good or bad during the course of the game (barring major cock-ups on one side of course).
 
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