Do you prefer solo ASL or SASL?

DQuin

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For those of you that play solo ASL (both sides of a scenario), or SASL, which do you prefer and why?

Personally, I sometimes get stuck between the two and which I’d rather spend my time playing. I love SASL, and generally find it a more satisfying solo experience. The problem is, I have a bunch of HASL’s and mini HASL’s staring at me, begging me for attention.
 

csiemers

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After not playing for probably 10-15 years I came back into playing solo ASL because it meant less rules to read, to get going again, and there's so much variety in the scenarios and HASLs that I have that I haven't touched either.
Maybe when I get bored (unlikely) with the multitude of scenarios I might go back to SASL.
Although I just this week received OSS' War and Peace so I'm going to be playing that for awhile (solo).
 

Honza

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I play solo and do own SASL but prefer playing with the normal rules (not SASL rules) because it is tense, exciting and balanced enough as it is. Have played several huge CGs on my own and loved every minute of it.
 

DQuin

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Yeah, sometimes I crave a regular scenario for balance and a classic ASL slug fest. Other times I crave the fog of war and element of surprise that SASL offers.
 

Actionjick

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Briefly what are the differences between the two? Thanks! OMOOT.
 

goatleaf

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Solo with the ordinary rules. SASL is more rules overhead and tremendously fiddly. Probably only worth the effort if you are interested in keeping score of your units over a number of scenarios. ASL is great solo because the huge variety of outcomes mean that you can never be certain of anything.
 

von Marwitz

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For those of you that play solo ASL (both sides of a scenario), or SASL, which do you prefer and why?

Personally, I sometimes get stuck between the two and which I’d rather spend my time playing. I love SASL, and generally find it a more satisfying solo experience. The problem is, I have a bunch of HASL’s and mini HASL’s staring at me, begging me for attention.
For many years, I almost did almost exclusively play solo ASL for lack of opponents. It was fun enough for me to stick with it for more than 10 years. But it did not make me a savvy player.
Since I do like ASL the way it is supposed to be most, I never ventured into SASL (despite my owning it).

von Marwitz
 

vetsurg

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Solo ASL is great but it's hard for me to separate myself between the two sides sometimes when I know what I am planning. SASL provides some unpredictability for me to have to make more decisions and does provide the missing fog of war from solo play. Though it is not perfect and the game engine makes some moves that I question, SASL is still more challenging to my decision-making and I enjoy it more. Of course, nothing beats face to face. SASL also does allow you to break out those HASL's with a bit of imagination and set up some of these scenarios, so I don't feel that I can't play any scenario I wish.
 

STAVKA

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Briefly what are the differences between the two? Thanks! OMOOT.
In SASL we two played against the "system" we played a Russian coy Each scenario is a month, operation Barbarossa we played 6-7 scenarios June-December and can encounter two flame throwing tanks surprisingly roaring into your depleted coy lines (happened once we played) in ASL it can only happen if they are on the scenario card and without the surprise.
 

Actionjick

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In SASL we two played against the "system" we played a Russian coy Each scenario is a month, operation Barbarossa we played 6-7 scenarios June-December and can encounter two flame throwing tanks surprisingly roaring into your depleted coy lines (happened once we played) in ASL it can only happen if they are on the scenario card and without the surprise.
Thanks!
 

Actionjick

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I appreciate the responses. Both solo and SASL seem to have their advantages.

I was never one for solo play except for video and computer games.

Any port in a storm though!🤗
 

DQuin

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I’m a new player of average intelligence and the SASL rules were really pretty easy to grasp, for me at least. It’s certainly a different flavor than standard ASL, but the added fog of war and element of surprise surpasses even FtF ASL by a mile.
 

Cpl Uhl

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When I play solo I balance the omniscience by sticking closely to "doctrine". Ie, this is what a unit(s) WOULD do given the mission, tendencies and information they WOULD have in a real game. For key decisions I sometimes use a dr - "he First Fires at the HS on a 6" for example. Puts some uncertainty into it. It's all for fun and to check out the scenario.
 

volgaG68

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Have played several huge CGs on my own and loved every minute of it.
Same. I solo played the big CG (Night dates included) from Pegasus Bridge, had it come down to the last CC of the last turn for Control of that one building by the VC road-intersection, and had a BLAST. A couple of years later, I played the same CG against @Grumblejones and it came down to the last CC of the last turn for Control of that one building by the VC road-intersection, and had a BLAST. I knew it was a very well balanced CG, and my ftf-playing confirmed my prior solo-playing of it.

Taking nothing away from the bevy of great (guys) opponents I have had over the years, I am likely one of the few that actually enjoys solo play just as much as ftf/contested play. I have a current opponent I play webcam-with-boards/counters, and I always keep a solo game set up as well. It's all good to me!
 

Barking Monkey

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Having started on SASL, I'll never play a game of 'solo' ASL old-style again (playing both sides of a scenario.) I'll probably give the game up altogether before I do that. If I want to play a HASL module I play one of the SASL missions that has been written for one. If I want to play a standard scenario I just adapt one to SASL (admittedly only a fraction of them lend themselves to this.) When I want to play a HASL module that has no SASL content written for it I'll adapt it to SASL (it hasn't quite come to this yet, but I'm working on Festung Budapest right now as an exercise.)
 

DQuin

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Having started on SASL, I'll never play a game of 'solo' ASL old-style again (playing both sides of a scenario.) I'll probably give the game up altogether before I do that. If I want to play a HASL module I play one of the SASL missions that has been written for one. If I want to play a standard scenario I just adapt one to SASL (admittedly only a fraction of them lend themselves to this.) When I want to play a HASL module that has no SASL content written for it I'll adapt it to SASL (it hasn't quite come to this yet, but I'm working on Festung Budapest right now as an exercise.)
I’m coming to the same decision. I started with SASL for so play and now I tend to become bored while playing solo (both sides). I just find SASL’s fog of war, random events, and campaign structure a huge part of the fun. I’m also looking forward to creating some SASL adaptations/rules for my HASL’s that don’t have them.
 
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