Hi all,
I have done a fair amount of playing "full" ASL, but I've been out for a few years, and as a way to refresh myself on the rules I have been reading through the ASL SK rules, as well as looking at scenarios. I also have done a fair amount of reading on this list. At this time I've got ASL SK 1-3 and Expansion Pack 1, I've looked through the ALS SK 4 rules post on the MMP website, dug out my old Squad Leader rules, and done research on the other products on Desperation Morale.
First, I think the Starter Kits are great, and despite anything I will say, don't think anyone has to go full ASL if they don't want to. I personally think the full system is so much richer that it would be a great experience, but people get out of the game different things, and the bottom thing is to have fun.
So, having given a long winded preface, one of the things I really noticed about the ASL SKs is that, as great as they are, they have simply lost touch with their SL/ASL roots. In this regard, one thing I have noticed is that even with 50+ scenarios, there are only 7 Russian vs. (at this point always German) in the game system. This includes only 3 infantry scenarios, and 4 AFV/combined arms scenario.
Now I get that some people don't like [X]. In full ASL, there are people who would not touch a Western Theater/Eastern Theater/Desert/PTO/SS/Night/OBA/etc. with a ten-foot pole. But the truth is, as someone who has gone all the way from SL (1980) to now (no, I am not abandoning full ASL for ASL SK--but I am reviewing and hoping to bring new people into the game), the thing that strikes me is just how far from ASL tradition the Starter Kits are.
The truth is, any new product takes an investment of time and resources, often taking years (how long between Starter Kit 3 and 4?) to come out. The problem I see here is that the strategy has been to "reinvent the wheel;" not literally of course. And I am not criticizing that; having looked over the scenarios, I see a lot of fun, and, as ASLers are obsessed with getting more (not a criticism--I am an ASLer, too), there's nothing wrong with new boards and scenarios (what is it now--like 6,573?). I am sure in five years there will be boards a-z, and in ten years a-zzz. By then I am sure we'll have Boards 1-400 as well. (People are probably thinking by now, "shut up, and get on with it!")
What am I proposing? It's simple--take the scenarios published in ASL Classic, adjust them to ASL SK (which really shouldn't be hard--almost all of them are SK compatible), package them with Boards 1-4 (or if we're generous, Board 5 so we can throw in Paw of the Tiger and Hube's Pocket). Sell it as an Expansion Pack (you will need a lot more Russians!), and voila!, a product that is quick and cheap to produce. After all, Boards 1-4 (5) are already available on the MMP website in the same format as ASL SK's board for $6.00 each.
These are the best of the scenarios from the old Squad Leader (and the Board 5 scenarios does a more limited sampling of the Cross of Iron). The only scenario lost from the list would be The Puma Prowls! (Board 22), and there is Scenario S21, which is essentially TPP with Tigers and T-34s in place of armored cars and Russian junk tanks.
ASL SKers will finally get to experience iconic scenarios like The Guards Counterattack and Hill 621, and find out why (or not) they are so iconic. There are very few rules that need to be learned--essential rules like terrain, sniper, fortifications are all really simple, and some are essentially identical to rules already used. And they will be playing on Boards 1-4, which are the first boards all ASLers play on. Also, there will finally be Russian scenarios (hey, if you don't like Russians, remember a lot of people don't like PTO, and most people don't care for desert--I personally am good with both, by the way). Although I don't have my ASL Classic at hand (you can download the scenarios for free at the MMP website and the whole magazine from Wargame Vault for $8.00), but I think this pack will more than double the number of SK Russian scenarios. And yes, there are a whole bunch of American vs. German scenarios as well, if you really need any more.
This product would integrate ASL SKers into the SL/ASL game in a way that additional rules can't. Rather than expanding a product line that a lot of people believe is in direct competition with ASL, it will be a simple way to integrate both groups, at least at a more spiritual level (yeah, you can't please everyone). So there it is. (I am really bad about writing long posts, by the way.)
