So what scenarios have you played Recently?

asloser

The Head Tuomo of the Finnish ASL Community
Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
1,047
Reaction score
1,593
Location
Klaukkala-Finland
Country
llFinland
I realized it has been over a month sinceI have bored you with my ASL Games - small notes of the recent games I have played.

AP059 Taking Heads

My first ever VASL PBEM against Adam Lunney. In a lucky co-incidence I decided to try out PBEM in February and it has proved to be a wise decision.

I played the US. I set up my defense into board 48/3a seam. Adam maneuvered into position for two moves and on turn he launched 2 Banzais. The first one managed to get into my 9-1 .50 cal 447 location in a jungle hex guarding the road. I fired with all I got and got TPBF 36 FP -1 DRM and rolled snakes. 6 KIA and Rate, the .50 cal was able to lay down a 6FP firelane down the road to interdict the other banzai until it malfunctioned. This got some units into one of my halftrack hex, but I managed to make my motion attempt and ht missed killing it in CC by one.On my move I manged to pull both halftracks and the .50 cal into the village to my next defense line , repaired the .50cal and the game went fast out of Japanese hands.Adam made well timed banzais which put my defense into trouble, I got some nice rolls and managed to extract my key units to the next defense line, close game which culminated in the banzais which did not give return for the losses he suffered.

SP247 The Golden Arrow

Quick one to introduce my Cousin Mikko Lukkari to live VASL gaming as this seems to be the way to go for the near future in gaming. I was the attacking American I must say I botched my attack badly and got nowhere and it was over in three turns. I cannot recall winning anything ever on board 41. That board does not suit my play at all, any advise is welcome

BFP108 Ceramic City

I continued my Poland In Flames Games with Rami Saarinen - we are not into a play-through but we cherry pick the scenarios we like form the module. I defended with poles and Rami was attacking. This is a great infantry scenario but both sides need to be well versed in nuances of OBA, especially the German. I managed to win as Rami did not get the German OBA into a proper position to help out in the crucial moments. I would recommend this one.

RPT141 Volunteers Became Scarce

I had played couple of Korea scenarios but it has been more dabbling than a serious effort to learn the theater. Me and my cousin decided to a a have a go at it - the pre- game rules study revealed a few things we got wrong before. I was the South Korean. This was a fun game and we both liked the scenario. In the end Mikko won, I made some mistakes with my timing of my withdrawal on board 62 which cause some losses. Also I exposed my 9-2 led MMG stack to T-34/85 fire unnecessarily and the resulting MCs caused the 9-2 go berserk and the the squad followed their leader into a charge to certain death. Also my use of tank hunter heroes was not as good as it should be, this is one aspect of PTO/Korea play I really need to improve.

This is a great combined arms scenario.

BFP111 Before the Blunder

Last one in this batch was another Poland in Flames offering against Rami Saarinen. This time around I was the attacking Germans.I made a good progress in the early turns, but mid game I ran into the pillboxes with HMGs in them, and my attack was stalled. I got into the village and took all victory hexes on my last move, Rami however had enough troops to make a counterattack which broke enough of my troops so I could nto hold onto my victory. I had fun but in my opinion with a proper setup I like the Poles more on this one, those pillboxes are tough to overcome with the assets German player has in this in one.
 
Last edited:

von Marwitz

Forum Guru
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
14,357
Reaction score
10,207
Location
Kraut Corner
Country
llUkraine
Q6 Per l'Honore di Roma from the Lone Canuck Quick Six scenario pack.

In June 1941 Italian infantry attempts to assault a Russian village across some grainfields and to win a number of Stone Buildings...

Sounds like a massacre and failed Italian Morale Checks right, left, and center! See the full AAR here.

von Marwitz
 

Carln0130

Forum Guru
Joined
Mar 25, 2006
Messages
5,980
Reaction score
2,583
Location
MA
Country
llUnited States
Q6 Per l'Honore di Roma from the Lone Canuck Quick Six scenario pack.

In June 1941 Italian infantry attempts to assault a Russian village across some grainfields and to win a number of Stone Buildings...

Sounds like a massacre and failed Italian Morale Checks right, left, and center! See the full AAR here.

von Marwitz
What's interesting about this scenario, and we have used it twice now at Nor'Easter and I have seen it used in other tourneys as well, is that the balance is pretty much right on the screws. A pity your playing has seen extreme results. After several playing's over two years now, this one is dead even in tourney play for us. I have played it a couple of times myself and won with both sides. Very doable for both.
 

holdit

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
414
Reaction score
568
Location
Ireland
Country
llIreland
Scenario B - The Tractor Works: 2 turns to go but I think I can call if for the Germans at this point despite their having got off to a terrible start. The Russian SMG infantry stomped all over the Germans to the west of the factory, and the factory assault troops, although initially repulsed, eventually got in an cleared out the whole building. Lots of prisoners and captured gear and heavy losses all round, but a clear win for the Germans.

13254
 

gorkowskij

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Messages
162
Reaction score
502
Country
llUnited States
As promised, J32 Panzer Graveyard just got a lot hotter. The German tank rush knocked out the Churchill and the Sherman, but then the British 57mm ATG knocked out two Panzer IVs. It's neck and neck with the Germans holding 13 of 20 required buildings and two turns remaining.
 

Attachments

Mister T

Elder Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
4,204
Reaction score
1,680
Location
Bruxelles
Country
llFrance
As promised, J32 Panzer Graveyard just got a lot hotter. The German tank rush knocked out the Churchill and the Sherman, but then the British 57mm ATG knocked out two Panzer IVs. It's neck and neck with the Germans holding 13 of 20 required buildings and two turns remaining.
This scenario never disappoint in terms of intensity.
 

Carln0130

Forum Guru
Joined
Mar 25, 2006
Messages
5,980
Reaction score
2,583
Location
MA
Country
llUnited States
I'm not so sure, but this is only a preliminary impression. In round 1 of a tournament, that would be a suitable place for it.
If you get a chance, give it another try. At the very least, it is not a large investment in time.
 

Markdv5208

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2003
Messages
2,988
Reaction score
280
Country
llUnited States
Bark you dogs vs. Curtis Brooks. We played it twice and couldn't get the Russians to win. TOUGH for the Russians defense despite all the cool things the Soviet have ie heroes, fortified bldg, Fanatic status

THE RAVINE vs. Jeff DY. Ok so my Marines did get a hero. As always. And they lost. REALLY hard to play that as the USMC without getting ONE arty shot across.
 

Ray Woloszyn

"Fire and Movement"
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Messages
4,080
Reaction score
1,215
Location
Kernersville, NC
First name
Ray
Country
llUnited States
Messenger Boys [J152] Finally after six weeks of no ASL got in a face to face game against Dave Stephens yesterday. Living in the country and I in a small town we figured we could take a chance to sit across the table for a few hours. As we are (gulp) both 70 now we have been taken our state's lock down seriously but was lifted slightly yesterday.

Game went as expected, we were both out of practice and I lost as the Brits. I played poorly and managed to stupidly overstack with my 9-2 leader who broke and was later hit with a sniper killing him. Tanks did well and routed the Germans from their front lines and a half squad found the AT Gun. Despite that knowledge, time pressure forced me to race a Sherman to the rear and on a very marginal shot the AT Gun destroyed it forcing me to risk the others but that risk never paid out.
 

WuWei

Elder Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
1,168
Reaction score
914
Location
Germany
First name
Tobias
Country
llGermany
This year we had to move our Conscripts! ASL tournament into virtual space due to Corona and then split it over two weekends. This weekend was the first half and I had a real highlight. The scenario was "SP2 Holding the Hotton Bridge": During the Battle of the Bulge in winter 1944, my motley group of Americans had to defend the eponymous bridge over the Urt against German tanks and panzergrenadiers. The situation was tactically very unusual, with a bridge over a frozen river (of course ASL has rules about what happens when you enter an ice rink and when it collapses, I had never needed them before). My setup worked very well, only my luck with the dice was very variable. And my opponent also played mercilessly well. In the end, with a little luck I could have won in the last turn if my relief in the form of an M5A1 had reached the bridge. But it was knocked out by a critical hit from a Panther meters before the finishing line.
A great, exciting game, even if I lost in the end. At least I could destroy four enemy vehicles, so I still play for the "Panzerknacker" trophy.
 

Ray Woloszyn

"Fire and Movement"
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Messages
4,080
Reaction score
1,215
Location
Kernersville, NC
First name
Ray
Country
llUnited States
This year we had to move our Conscripts! ASL tournament into virtual space due to Corona and then split it over two weekends. This weekend was the first half and I had a real highlight. The scenario was "SP2 Holding the Hotton Bridge": During the Battle of the Bulge in winter 1944, my motley group of Americans had to defend the eponymous bridge over the Urt against German tanks and panzergrenadiers. The situation was tactically very unusual, with a bridge over a frozen river (of course ASL has rules about what happens when you enter an ice rink and when it collapses, I had never needed them before). My setup worked very well, only my luck with the dice was very variable. And my opponent also played mercilessly well. In the end, with a little luck I could have won in the last turn if my relief in the form of an M5A1 had reached the bridge. But it was knocked out by a critical hit from a Panther meters before the finishing line.
A great, exciting game, even if I lost in the end. At least I could destroy four enemy vehicles, so I still play for the "Panzerknacker" trophy.
Great that you were able to hold this virtually. How many participants? With everybody working from home my internet connection tends to give me problems so any online meetups, etc. would be problematic for me.
 

Jude

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
408
Reaction score
468
Location
Colorado Springs
Country
llUnited States
With the covid quarantine loosened and both my friend and I working from home (no exposure), we finally got a chance to make up some time we missed. In all scenarios I was the Japanese and my friend the Allies.

First up was J189 Buckley’s Block. I used several Banzais to cover ground. Got shot up but got some kills as well. Took out the halftrack which was a good point boost. Near the end I realized that getting enough men off the board might get me the 20 VPs I needed but it would be tough. I pivoted to capture the AT Gun and won with 22 points. Super close!

DB131 A Thorn in the Side. My friend had a good defense. Still, I managed to get two DC heroes on two of the tanks. The first had normal placement but I blew the TK roll. The other got a good placement but I rolled boxcars on the TK roll. I didn’t even get close to the third tank. I didn’t like it because it was too small and dicey, but I appreciated the scenario for trying to do something, if a bit gimmicky, different.

BFP-50 Alligator Tanks. I got my butt handed to me by vicious dice rolling by my friend. I, on the other hand, rolled awful. This theme went the entire scenario. Normally, I would have called it, but the Americans needed to find and take out three hidden pillboxes. My friend found two. The other never revealed itself. Cheap, and hollow, victory.

BFP-51 Kwajalein Crush. Better than I thought it’d be. My friend couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn but damn could he pass MCs with those 6 ML squads! He took it too slow, though, and simply ran out of time.

ASL 63 The Eastern Gate. Kind of boring actually. Four turns of column movement and then another PTO CC killfest. I never used an animal pack before and now I know why I don’t see them in scenario designs. Too hard to unload and dangerous to expose. The Guns did nothing. In fact, I didn’t even bother trying to unpack the second one. My friend kept pushing towards the hill when he probably should have started falling back. A bunch of CCs and 16 points later it was over.

AP113 Maintaining the Box. I took the hill overlay but it was way harder than I thought it should have been. Then the Lees rumbled forward and pounded the living daylights out of my men at point blank range. My highlight was an elite HS in a trench on the hill that made MC after MC on the very last turn until finally rolling boxcars to vaporize under the tremendous shelling he took. The British retook the hill. At the end of the game all I had left was a striped squad (of 12 squads), one of two crews, and one of four leaders. None were on the hill so thankfully those cardboard men avoided that horror!
 
Last edited:

WuWei

Elder Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
1,168
Reaction score
914
Location
Germany
First name
Tobias
Country
llGermany
Great that you were able to hold this virtually. How many participants? With everybody working from home my internet connection tends to give me problems so any online meetups, etc. would be problematic for me.
We are 13 players and a few spectators. So far, we didn't have major technical difficulties (that I'm aware of).
 

buser333

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
940
Reaction score
419
Location
central WI
ASL 63 The Eastern Gate[/QUOTE]
. Kind of boring actually. Four turns of column movement and then another PTO CC killfest. I never used an animal pack before and I now know why I don’t see them in scenario designs. Too hard to unload and dangerous to expose. The Guns did nothing. In fact, I didn’t even bother trying to unpack the second one. My friend kept pushing towards the hill when he probably should have started falling back. A bunch of CCs and 16 points later it was over.

Completely agree. This scenario should be 7.5 Turns, with the Japanese setting up on Board 35, and the Gurkha column moving first and entering Japanese LOS on Turn 1. That Turn 3 early VC is absolutely silly. No Gurkha commander should ever allow that to happen. The Japanese must make it to the hill first for this scenario to have any merit.
 

Jude

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
408
Reaction score
468
Location
Colorado Springs
Country
llUnited States
Completely agree. This scenario should be 7.5 Turns, with the Japanese setting up on Board 35, and the Gurkha column moving first and entering Japanese LOS on Turn 1. That Turn 3 early VC is absolutely silly. No Gurkha commander should ever allow that to happen. The Japanese must make it to the hill first for this scenario to have any merit.
It seemed really scripted for the Japanese. Three elite squads, six MTRs. An on board animal pack, a convenient trail right at the meeting of the boards. Group one starts on board, CX, normal, CX and the route to the hill is effectively cut. The turn 2 reinforcements have to enter board 35 (and pretty much I1) because of the terrain restrictions for an animal pack. Turn four reinforcements should pick the border between the two boards to reinforce group one and to avoid very costly terrain. We didn't engage until turn 4 because my friend waited to see if I would move group one somewhere else. Since they were in column and they couldn't voluntarily disband, I left them there. Together we had 10 MTRs but the heavy jungle negated their use. I already mentioned the waste of the animal pack Guns. The turn 3 thing is just a game mechanic to make sure the Gurkhas don't just come on board and hunker down in the corner of Board 37 daring the Japanese to come to them. So you're right, just cut some time off and restructure the opening. I actually like longer scenarios where you have a chance to maneuver first, but because of the mechanics of convoy movement (follow the leader), it is wasted time in this one. On paper it looked promising, but in practice, not so much.
 
Last edited:

pensatl1962

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2011
Messages
665
Reaction score
514
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
First name
Jim
Country
llUnited States
It's fitting to be playing DN5 Grande Ferme de Meez 80 years to the day. I'm playing it on VASL with Steve Dedier, but it looks so much cooler when you set it up with real bits and pieces. We're currently about to begin French turn 2. Steve's Germans have just received a flash intel message that Grande Ferme is actually a disguised Stella brewery. Perhaps to motivate them to get them up the reentrants or up the cliffs?

13369
 

von Marwitz

Forum Guru
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
14,357
Reaction score
10,207
Location
Kraut Corner
Country
llUkraine
It's fitting to be playing DN5 Grande Ferme de Meez 80 years to the day. I'm playing it on VASL with Steve Dedier, but it looks so much cooler when you set it up with real bits and pieces. We're currently about to begin French turn 2. Steve's Germans have just received a flash intel message that Grande Ferme is actually a disguised Stella brewery. Perhaps to motivate them to get them up the reentrants or up the cliffs?

View attachment 13369
Nice gaming table!

Though the drawback of covering the map is considerable glare and the offset when checking LOS. Yet, I have not seen any solution combining the advantages of a 'flat' and 'protected' mapboard with one which is free of glare and without LOS-offset.

von Marwitz
 

pensatl1962

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2011
Messages
665
Reaction score
514
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
First name
Jim
Country
llUnited States
Nice gaming table!

Though the drawback of covering the map is considerable glare and the offset when checking LOS. Yet, I have not seen any solution combining the advantages of a 'flat' and 'protected' mapboard with one which is free of glare and without LOS-offset.

von Marwitz
Thank you very much! Yes, the glare is a drawback for sure.
 
Top