So what scenarios have you played Recently?

[volgaG68]

The Stukas are perfect for blowing up Russian T-34's, but in our game I lost one T-34 to a FT shot, and another was doing bypass sleaze freeze on a group of Germans, had another unit come over and place a demo (captured German one to boot) charge on the frozen Germans, in advancing fire phase I roll for the DC and roll Snake Eyes, I ended up killing 4 German squads (two ere on the first level), 9-1 and 8-0, rubbled the building and killed my own T-34. Gotta luv ASL.

Yep, this is the storyline magic of ASL!

 

[Jude]

Played a surprisingly fun game of A85 Airborne Samurai. I say surprisingly because ROAR has this one very pro Dutch. I played as the Japanese. It has been forever since I did a paratroop landing and the last time my opponent did, his forces scattered everywhere. I chose board 35 for my men and board 38 for the MMG. I lucked out and three of my five wings landed where I wanted. Of the other two, the lone support weapon landed near the airstrip while the other wing of five sticks landed right between two of my on target wings. My buddy concentrated his forces around the airstrip. The Dutch defensive fire was surprisingly ineffective as I swear my friend must have rolled five or six tens. The end result was one striped squad and one striped crew. Since my guys were conveniently all located near each other, I spent a couple of turns sorting out where I wanted them to go. I went for a straight push from board 35 to the airstrip. A couple of banzai charges, with a decent amount of striping, got my men into position for CC. Smoke definitely helped the cause. With many of my men reduced to 1/2 squads and the Dutch squads broken or disrupted (2 ELR), the game was touch and go for both sides until the top of turn six. That's when my three MTRs went on a serious rate tear. They didn't KIA anything but managed to break enough squads to crumble the Dutch resistance. A furious Dutch counterattack ended badly on turn 6 and with one unbroken squad left, my opponent called it.

Obviously, with an airdrop, the scenario is hard to judge. We both had a great time with this one until the MTRs took over. I seriously lucked out by having all my men pretty much land in the same area. It also helped that the defensive fire against them was terrible. Still, crossing that open ground to take the airstrip was tough. I'm glad I won for one reason - I totally forgot about my air support! Had I lost such a close game and then remembered I never rolled for an automatic two fighters I would have been kicking myself for days! I'd recommend this one for either side with the proviso that as with all air drops, the dice could be very kind (like they were to me) or horribly cruel.

Oh yeah, we played this one with the errata which leads me to one final point. The write up says the Dutch were completely taken by surprise. However, there is no SSR that reflects that. You'd think if they were "completely" taken by surprise they might have to be TI during the airdrop or have to pass a NTC to be able to fire. To top it all off, if not using the errata, the Dutch could HIP up to three squads. I'd hate to see what they'd be like if they were on alert!

 

[Gunner Scott]

It was an oh shit moment that is for sure. Next we plan on playing VotG20 Terror at Twilight, though the only question I would have thus far is do the 37L ATG's get Heat? Anyway, looking forward to playing lots of Stalingrad action for most of the year and it is basically a run up to Red Factories.

Yep, this is the storyline magic of ASL!

 

[Danno]

HEAT is available for Germans May 1942. Russians 1943.

 

[STAVKA]

When we played it at first with its release we had problems to believe it had ever been playtested - since only a lucky Japanese landning and attack could fulfill the VCs the odds for that to occur is less than 1 out of 10 I guess.

Then in 2010 I decided to update it with the following; More restrictions on Allied Minor set up (more spread out). Harder VCs for the Allied side to fulfill. All Allied Minor Units set up CX at start (to simulate the surprise).

Less Chance for the Japanese to drift off b'd during landing. There were a couple of other changes to the scenario also.

Playtested it against a handful of players and it is now both fun (since now even some of the Allied units must attack) and the most balanced Para drop scenario in my coĺlection.

Used it as a tournament scenario for SAT 2011.

Played a surprisingly fun game of A85 Airborne Samurai. I say surprisingly because ROAR has this one very pro Dutch. I played as the Japanese. It has been forever since I did a paratroop landing and the last time my opponent did, his forces scattered everywhere. I chose board 35 for my men and board 38 for the MMG. I lucked out and three of my five wings landed where I wanted. Of the other two, the lone support weapon landed near the airstrip while the other wing of five sticks landed right between two of my on target wings. My buddy concentrated his forces around the airstrip. The Dutch defensive fire was surprisingly ineffective as I swear my friend must have rolled five or six tens. The end result was one striped squad and one striped crew. Since my guys were conveniently all located near each other, I spent a couple of turns sorting out where I wanted them to go. I went for a straight push from board 35 to the airstrip. A couple of banzai charges, with a decent amount of striping, got my men into position for CC. Smoke definitely helped the cause. With many of my men reduced to 1/2 squads and the Dutch squads broken or disrupted (2 ELR), the game was touch and go for both sides until the top of turn six. That's when my three MTRs went on a serious rate tear. They didn't KIA anything but managed to break enough squads to crumble the Dutch resistance. A furious Dutch counterattack ended badly on turn 6 and with one unbroken squad left, my opponent called it.

Obviously, with an airdrop, the scenario is hard to judge. We both had a great time with this one until the MTRs took over. I seriously lucked out by having all my men pretty much land in the same area. It also helped that the defensive fire against them was terrible. Still, crossing that open ground to take the airstrip was tough. I'm glad I won for one reason - I totally forgot about my air support! Had I lost such a close game and then remembered I never rolled for an automatic two fighters I would have been kicking myself for days! I'd recommend this one for either side with the proviso that as with all air drops, the dice could be very kind (like they were to me) or horribly cruel.

Oh yeah, we played this one with the errata which leads me to one final point. The write up says the Dutch were completely taken by surprise. However, there is no SSR that reflects that. You'd think if they were "completely" taken by surprise they might have to be TI during the airdrop or have to pass a NTC to be able to fire. To top it all off, if not using the errata, the Dutch could HIP up to three squads. I'd hate to see what they'd be like if they were on alert!

 

[Jude]

When we played it at first with its release we had problems to believe it had ever been playtested - since only a lucky Japanese landning and attack could fulfill the VCs the odds for that to occur is less than 1 out of 10 I guess.

Then in 2010 I decided to update it with the following; More restrictions on Allied Minor set up (more spread out). Harder VCs for the Allied side to fulfill. All Allied Minor Units set up CX at start (to simulate the surprise).

Less Chance for the Japanese to drift off b'd during landing. There were a couple of other changes to the scenario also.

Playtested it against a handful of players and it is now both fun (since now even some of the Allied units must attack) and the most balanced Para drop scenario in my coĺlection.

Used it as a tournament scenario for SAT 2011.

Thanks for the insider information about the scenario, Melvin. Very interesting. I like the CX start idea. The version we played only had two rule changes as per MMP's website: delete the 3 HIP Dutch squads and add a half turn. Like I said in my mini AAR, I seriously lucked out with the paradrop. I figured I'd spend most of the game rounding up scattered guys and have to attack from several directions with less than an optimal force. Or worse yet, have a wing or two land directly on top of or in front of the Dutch defense. ASL certainly does a good job simulating the fickle nature of WW II paradrops.

 

[Philippe D.]

For the VASL "tournament" organised on the French ASL forum, I played two scenarios on the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945 (each round has a theme and this was the theme for this round): FrF24/BoF12 Forging Spetsnaz, and FrF60 A War of their Own.

Both scenarios were a lot of fun to play, and both were decided by the very last turn. Both were Japanese wins, in fact.

In Forging Spetsnaz, the "reinforcing" 527 were absolutely slaughtered on their way to the canal - out of 9 initial squads, only 1 managed to reach it, and all they collectively accomplished was to stripe a Gun Crew. Things became a bit tougher for the Japanese when they had to attack the 628 at close range, though, but they managed to break the final squad "guarding" one of the bridges, for the win.

In A War of their Own, the initial massed assault on the Russian defending Guns (in the form of a Banzai Charge closely followed by Overruns by the whole Japanese armored force) went very poorly, resulting in a lot of dead Japanese (both Infantry and Armor) - but the Guns were taken out. Then the dice were a little more favorable to the Japanese, until the very end of the Russians' last turn, when they managed to place 3 unbroken squads in the contested victory zone (the Russians only needed one unbroken MMC in the area to win at the end of the last Japanese turn) - and to tie up one of the last Japanese squads in CC with a wounded 8-0(!). In the end, though, after the Japanese Guns exhausted their Intensive Fire capability, and after a DC Hero managed to take out one of the squads, it all came down to a Close Combat between a Berserk Russian 447 and everything that remained of the Japanese OB, namely:
* two CHI-HA tanks (in Motion)
* one 9-0
* one 4-4-7
* one 1-2-6

In the sequential CC the Russian tried to take out the whole Japanese Infantry, and failed; and the Japanese managed to kill the Berserkers, winning the game in the very last CC of the very last turn.

 

[Jude]

Got my behind handed to me playing as the Japanese in PB3 Children of the Kunai. I spread out to cover most avenues of approach. I was far back enough so there weren't many good firing opportunities for the Australians at start. My opponent just pushed straight forward in my face. First Fire, Subsequent First Fire, FPF all fizzled. It wasn't that the dice were bad; I rolled low enough to at least force MCs, the Australians just happened to make them all. I pulled back but he was hot on my tail. Same thing happened in turn 2. He just mowed me over and punched a hole in several places. Nothing materialized for me so we called this one early. Very disappointing as I hear this scenario is very competitive. Just didn't work out for me this time.

 

[Jude]

My longtime opponent and I finished our early 1942 PTO campaign with G28 Ramsey's Charge. I was proud of my friend as he actually decided to charge the Japanese half squads surrounding the VP building. Some decent rolls stopped the majority of the Calvary to the point where he decided to stop running them up. The building held until turn 4 when I ambushed his men as he jumped into CC and I rolled a lousy 12. Of course his subsequent roll killed my last two 1/2 squads defending the building. The Americans consolidated along the eastern side of the bank to clear out a couple of the initial squads that forded across. My friend then made a fatal error. At the bottom of turn 6 he spaced moving towards the Q1 victory location. He realized his mistake when I flipped the turn marker for my half of the turn. With a couple of squads blocking the way to Q1 he realized he'd never take it in his last player turn and called it. Not moving part of his force over earlier to contest Q1 cost him. He got too caught up with the building. I have to say, though, his MC rolls were incredible. Three squads battle hardened as well as an 8-1 leader. He even created a leader in CC. Luckily his fire wasn't as good. I thought the scenario was pretty fun and would recommend it for either side. Now to the Eastern Front in January 1942.

 

[JRKrejsa]

Broken Bamboo ASL AP15 Played on a printed VASL map, with no hills and the Palm trees, it looked much nicer! The IJA defended in the village itself, and on the crest behind it. Tough struggle, but I secured enough huts in my last Gurkha player turn. The IJA launched a Banzai, but it was held off- by a whisker. Played the new version from Rising Sun. Good stuff.

 

[Mister T]

Played J187 In Deadly Combat a scenario with currently a 16-4 ROAR record. I had the Soviet side, with a handsome amount of squads (24), handicapped however by low ELR and few leaders. As an option, it is possible to get 2 extra KVs with the penalty of one extra building to seize. I would recommend taking the add-on, as you need as much firepower as possible to uproot the Germans from their buildings. The Germans also took three additional Stugs, but these are less useful to the German cause (and it cancelled the building VC penalty). The Soviet attacked on both boards and were fortunate to see that their allocation of force closely matched the respective German allocation so it was possible to push on both maps. The Soviets were also fortunate to benefit from the early breakdown of the 105 Gun, which could have been a killer. Half the soviet tanks were immobilised, but the other half were invaluable in helping the attacker. At the end of turn 5, i had five buildings under control with a good chance of getting a sixth, so the Germans gave in. Despite that outcome, I would still consider the scenario pro-German, albeit not to the point the current ROAR indicates. Enjoyed the game as every turn provides intense action. A possibility to consider could be to add a 7-0 to the Soviet OB.

 

[ecz]

Played J187 In Deadly Combat a scenario with currently a 16-4 ROAR record. I had the Soviet side, with a handsome amount of squads (24), handicapped however by low ELR and few leaders. As an option, it is possible to get 2 extra KVs with the penalty of one extra building to seize. I would recommend taking the add-on, as you need as much firepower as possible to uproot the Germans from their buildings. The Germans also took three additional Stugs, but these are less useful to the German cause (and it cancelled the building VC penalty). The Soviet attacked on both boards and were fortunate to see that their allocation of force closely matched the respective German allocation so it was possible to push on both maps. The Soviets were also fortunate to benefit from the early breakdown of the 105 Gun, which could have been a killer. Half the soviet tanks were immobilised, but the other half were invaluable in helping the attacker. At the end of turn 5, i had five buildings under control with a good chance of getting a sixth, so the Germans gave in. Despite that outcome, I would still consider the scenario pro-German, albeit not to the point the current ROAR indicates. Enjoyed the game as every turn provides intense action. A possibility to consider could be to add a 7-0 to the Soviet OB.

Interesting, I played this recently and have had the same impression. A simple 7-0 could adjust the balance. The Russian in my game were not such lucky and they lose badly in front of my few Germans. Also I agree the Stugs are not that useful for the Defender. Note we played giving the balance pro-Russian (no German 105 gun) but the key is the German can administrate the terrain and the buildings turn by turn with a quiet withdrawal concentrating in the needed buildings as game goes on. Also is very important (IMO) concentrate the fire having the Russian leaders as main target where possible. Also the Sniper must be played accordingly. Once one of the two Russian leaders is gone, the game itself is gone.

Nice scenario, if one want to test a mega Human Wave, but pro-German.

 

[Jude]

Played another airborne drop scenario (the second in as many weeks and both just because that's the way they came up in our play queue), G10 Grab at Gribovo, as the Germans. Not only is this one a paratrooper scenario, but it also happens at night. Tough victory conditions helped me win as the Germans. Taking 22 buildings in eight turns is asking a lot under normal circumstances, but throw in a Russian paradrop (they drift 50% farther), night, and deep snow makes for a very rough go as the Russians. My opponent tried to hit me from three directions - both sides of the board 12 village and one wing on board 4. All were off target and all landed on 18. Weird. Scatter wasn't horrible but enough so that they were strewn all over the western side of board 18. That made things even tougher since once he got close I could skulk with no threat to any flanks (there is no cloaking and the night visibility is 5). My three leaders did a good job of alerting the troops. By the end of turn 6 my friend realized there was no way he was going to take the rest of the village (about 1/2 was still in German hands) and called it. Not bad for a night scenario due to no cloaking and the high NVR, but there still are a lot of extra rules that need to be read including extreme winter. Hard to recommend one way or the other. I found it kind of boring for the Germans and my buddy spent a lot of his turns just trying to get through the snow. Had he landed right on top of my forces, it would have been a completely different story. In the end, I suppose it wasn't worth the effort to go through so many rules based on how our game turned out. Your actual mileage may vary.

Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one other thing that makes this scenario extremely difficult for the Russians. All German units that start out HIP (25% because of night) can start outside of the German set up area. So the Germans could strategically place some half squads in a few secluded woods clusters within one movement phase of the outlying village buildings to swoop in and steal a building at the end of the game. They most likely should see a Known Russian unit as it attempts to take these initial buildings or as they are landing/land. Sleaze or gamesmanship? Either way, another thing that makes the scenario tough to win for the Russians.

 

[Roy]

but there still are a lot of extra rules that need to be read including extreme winter.

Have always enjoyed the "Weather" scenarios. In ASL, WWII was mostly weatherless.

 

[Jude]

Have always enjoyed the "Weather" scenarios. In ASL, WWII was mostly weatherless.

Going to play 10 more Eastern Front scenarios in the January/February 1942 time frame. Looking ahead, there's going to A LOT of extreme weather. Those poor German support weapons...

 

[jrv]

Your actual mileage may vary.

It probably won't. Grab at Gribovo has a well-deserved reputation as a dog going back to the dawn of time.

JR

 

[Jude]

It probably won't. Grab at Gribovo has a well-deserved reputation as a dog going back to the dawn of time.

JR

From what I saw today, I can believe it. Maybe the only chance the Russians have is to drop on the village and hope for the best. The problem with that is they'll get blasted twice before they can even do anything about it - and that's if they can actually land where they hope to. Trying to slog through deep snow at night (extra 1/2 MF per hexside and extra 1 MF if they decide to enter concealment terrain) just eats up too much time for them. Well, since my friend and I are one and done scenario players, at least we don't have to worry about ever revisiting this one.

 

[Mister T]

Played Grab and Go as Soviet attacker, who has to cross several boards and exit more EVP than the German player. Both sides are elite and well-led, this being more unusual for the Soviet player. The German has a decision to make: should he have recourse to the hard-hitting firepower of a 81mm MTR and a HMG or should he hide them and wait for the turn 5 HTs to pick them up and therefore score 16 EVP, a very substantive amount? The decision may create very different gameflows. The Soviet can attempt to take some multi-hex buildings to score EVPs, but only before turn 5. In the game, the central thrust was happy to seize one multi-hex building but made slow progress from there. The flank attack encountered little initial resistance and moved fast, piecemeal reinforcements failed to hold up the large batch of advancing MMC, largely due to mediocre fire attack DRs. The german 9-2 HS+HMG still commanded considerable respect in the village but it all ended following a meagre 1 FP attack that caused them to break. The unpossesed piece of equipment drew attention to many and it changed hands a couple of times but eventually more Soviets were around to deny German repossession. This, combined with significant German casualties, led my opponent to throw in the towel on turn 5. A pretty dynamic scenario with an original SSR

 

[Roy]

a meagre 1 FP attack that caused them to break.

Isn't it always? 16, 20, 24 won't scratch them. It's always the 1 or 2 fp attack that crumbles a defense or stops the attack

 

[Jacometti]

Isn't it always? 16, 20, 24 won't scratch them. It's always the 1 or 2 fp attack that crumbles a defense or stops the attack

This is why every shot that can result in a NMC is worth taking.