So what scenarios have you played Recently?

[ecz]

thanks, I have seen.
I was lucky enough to not suffer many breaks early in the game staying standing even at Morale 6 against 1 MCs a few times. The German defended the first and closer stone building with only an HS. Everything else was left back. This simplified very much the American attack IMO.
Of course all moves were shielded by smoke when necessary.

 

[JRKrejsa]

I won it as the US, but if I remember correctly, it was a tight thing. The Germans were difficult to pry out of the buildings.

 

[wrongway149]

I'm curious to see if is doable because the all-back -defense seems rather ineffective.

I hope not, as I would consider that a poorly designed scenario. (ASL is best when both players have to maneuver skillfully.)

 

[Eagle4ty]

I hope not, as I would consider that a poorly designed scenario. (ASL is best when both players have to maneuver skillfully.)

It would certainly be a less dynamic scenario (perhaps less fun to play for many) but not necessarily a poor design as one should always design for effect and the effect may be that akin to a P-38 trying to open a C-Rat can with the Pound Cake in it. (This is NOT that type of scenario BTW).:nod:

 

[AdrianE]

AP107 Better Fields of Fire

Let me start by saying Woof! Woof!. and take the Germans. Woof! Woof!

I played this twice against a new ASLer recently. He chose scenario and side (American).

This scenario features 5 German squads defending board 44 for three turns and then counter attacking with 8 squad equivalents lead by a 9-2.
The objective is an old stone castle of overlay X30. The American side gets a choice of two OBs (either 11 squads or 8 squads and toys).

The German gets to place 5 shellholes to wipe out any cover and make the approach wide open. On top of that the is a bonus -1 drm for all fire against American units on turns 1 and 2 (SSR 4).

Game 1 was over in 1.5 turns. He took the 11 squad OB. I took every shot I could and the result was a broken rabble of 6ML and 7ML american troops scrambling for cover. There wasn't any.

We flipped it around and I took the Americans and the same OB even though I prefer the other for the 81mm MTR and smoke. I used fire, maneuver of HSs and infantry smoke to close on the objective. Even then it took bullshit luck (his 9-2 boxcared himself into a wound on a NMC) and German mistakes to just barely squeak out an American win.

I think that between equal players the at start German forces delay the American just long enough to get 9-2 3x lmg/548 into the building. Then the Americans won't have the firepower, morale or time to achieve the VC.

 

[ecz]

I hope not, as I would consider that a poorly designed scenario. (ASL is best when both players have to maneuver skillfully.)

I think instead that there is more "movement" if the German setups near the Americans: part of the Attackers must enter from the side, and in general they try to get into the village from two direction while the Germans must try to stop/delay the Americans and certainly they will: 1) try the breakthrough to the exit or 2) play a fighting withdrawal to the village. At the end it looks more much more dinamic this way.
In my game Germans sit down in the village and waited for passively for the shock wave.
Besides the fact that German can setup till the American setup zone, very very far from the village, it's a hint about the fact the German could (and should IMO) do it. Otherwise why allow this?
It's interessant that nobody said that he tried to play the German this way, however.

 

[Perry]

AP107 Better Fields of Fire

Let me start by saying Woof! Woof!. and take the Germans. Woof! Woof!

This seems to be a minority opinion, even if the scenario favors the Germans a bit.
Should have taken the MTR?

 

[buser333]

If it's that obvious that the Americans should take the mortar then why even include an option for the other group and, having played it recently from both sides, it is. The whole nature of the "haha I fooled you into taking the wrong group" aspect of that is just plain silly. Our game where the Americans chose the mortar was much more enjoyable, but it's still small, dicey, and a bust in my book as well.

 

[Perry]

I think whether you take the MTR or the dudes is more a question of your personal preference and style of play. Better Fields of Fire is on the smaller and diceier end of the spectrum. Some like that better than others do.

 

[jrv]

In AP107 the name of the fort is, I think, Fort de Penfeld, not Fort Penfield. The Penfeld is a river that flows past the fort and through Brest. That could be the problem.

http://utopiesmetropolitaines.org/brest-penfeld/category/le-fort-de-penfeld/

JR

 

[jrv]

At first glance it looks like the MTR group is better, but on closer inspection the infantry-heavy group has not only three more squads, but five squads are elite instead of first line. The Americans can give a MMG to an 8-0 and the hero, and with that they should be able to form a massive firegroup with a -1 DRM. The SSR that gives the Americans a -1 DRM for all attacks against them means that the first two turns they will probably not propose to move immediately upon the German works. They will probably sit at five-six hex range for the first two turns and shoot away. I have not played this however.

edit: Better Fields of Fire has a similar feel to "Yes Sir!" in that the American player has to handle his infantry with kid gloves lest they get sulky.

JR

 

[JRKrejsa]

Siberia Diversion ASL 218 Asymmetrical warfare. And, this is Advanced Advanced Squad leader. But the search lights were not bad at all. If you are comfortable with night, this is very doable.
The at start Chi Com OB just needs to hide. With all those hill hexes, and night, the Marines need to find them. The POA-CWS-H5s were able to find 2 Chinese squads, with predictable results. The 3rd stayed hidden until a Marine squad walked into it's hex- HtH CC, and both were dead, leaving no Chinese on the hill. The first counterattack went better, making it onto the hill and into CC. The the Marines held. The second wave tried to avoid the Marine 9-2, but no such luck. Marine Victory
I definitely should have put the OB Chinese foxholes somewhere else. I put them on the counter attack side of the hill, thinking I could get to them before the USMC. Nope. They just became cover for them. Kinda like playing the IJA, you are gonna get wiped out, but if one squad can get through...

 

[volgaG68]

DB 076 Out Of The Shadows..... US win at end of German Turn 7a (7b) when Jerry only has Control of 6 (7 needed!) ground floor VC Locations. Germans only had 19 CVP (35 needed), and the US only had 8 EVP (16 needed). Very close end game however! US AFV reinforcements did not enter until 5b, and made an angry dash along with an onboard squad towards a weak German flank to try for the immediate EVP win. The Marder that circled back around to hopefully bag at least one of the group was promptly hit by a '1' sniper. Minutes later, the 6-6-6 running headlong with no one to stop him was hit by the only German sniper activation of the game, '1'! This caused the other rampaging M10 to turn back and assist the infantry. Very enjoyable with a '3-way' VC that really added to it. The Germans have to push for the VC buildings, trying to bag CVP along the way, but can not afford to allow any weak spots or outright gaps in their line, lest the US charge a couple of AFV and a few troops past them for the EVP win. Nice design.

 

[Jude]

Played a fun scenario, AP17 The Valley of Death. My friend set up a reverse slope defense as the Russians which left me only able to see one squad that was within reasonable range to banzai. The banzai didn't do much other than get several squads up close fast. I slowly chipped away at the Russian defenses and by turn four all he had left in good order was one conscript squad. With two turns left, my buddy called it. I'd say we both played a decent game but it came down to a few critical situations. His 76L ART failed three shots on my tanks - two after hitting. The tanks ended up being critical to my victory by breaking squads and getting FtR kills. The second was when I revealed my hidden 81 MTR on turn three. The rate tear broke the crews manning the 82 MTR and ART gun on the heights. The final one was when the Russians decided to stay in place in the two hex woods clump on the largest hill mass. Breaking them with the tanks and finishing them with FtR took out three squads and his commissar. Fast playing and fluid, I'd recommend it for either side.

 

[RevJJ]

AP37 Apples to Apples Quagmire for the Americans. My Panthers covering board 44 caused the Amis to reverse their attack and move laterally through the Bocage on 54. They ran into my roadblock and got jammed up losing ~1/2 their AFVs and Halftracks mostly to PFs which I had good luck with tonight. I had one Panther recalled but both nailed a vehicle including one of the U.S. TDs. I kept my infantry a hedgerow in front of the Americans where I could shoot, drop WA, and move. The Yanks couldn't get their overwhelming firepower into play. Barely any infantry casualties, or even breaks, and I only lost one 237 but he Fausted a Sherman before he bit it. My opponent called it at the end of Turn 5 as victory for the Americans was pretty unlikely at that point. I still had both VC buildings and the Americans only had a chance to perhaps take one of them by game's end.

 

[volgaG68]

I kept my infantry a hedgerow in front of the Americans where I could shoot, drop WA, and move.

Of course, you realize that in order for a GO unit to "drop WA" in bocage, there must be some other form of positive TEM in the hex for it to claim, otherwise the WA is mandatory? Perhaps you only mis-described the sequencing of how it unfolded, but a quick look at the boards in play and route of advance show there are only a handful of bocage hexes where this tactic could have been used. [Admittedly, sometimes this is all it takes, a HS or two in these key positions.] Most of them seemed to contain OG/Orchards/Grain, which is not enough for you to drop the Mandatory WA. There are a handful of lone woods hexes with bocage hexsides where this would have been possible, but they are few and far between for you to have implemented such a 'rolling' strategy.

Am I missing something, or were you?

 

[RevJJ]

Of course, you realize that in order for a GO unit to "drop WA" in bocage, there must be some other form of positive TEM in the hex for it to claim, otherwise the WA is mandatory? Perhaps you only mis-described the sequencing of how it unfolded, but a quick look at the boards in play and route of advance show there are only a handful of bocage hexes where this tactic could have been used. [Admittedly, sometimes this is all it takes, a HS or two in these key positions.] Most of them seemed to contain OG/Orchards/Grain, which is not enough for you to drop the Mandatory WA. There are a handful of lone woods hexes with bocage hexsides where this would have been possible, but they are few and far between for you to have implemented such a 'rolling' strategy.

Am I missing something, or were you?

Yep, good catch. My opponent and I both forgot about mandatory WA with regards to the bocage. Oh well. Twas a friendly game with lots of beers :highfive: We'll put an asterisks on it and remember next time.

 

[JAGgamer]

PBP14 Under Siege. I played Russians w/ 3 KV1s & a bunch of 1st line sqds & 2 E sqds. Our first time w/ snow rules. Really slows down the movement as Russians scrambled to grab buildings. I lost but got close to having enough buildings before German reinforcments arrived. Dropped the transmission in one KV1 first time it started up. Malf'd MA in another at first shot (but the crew fixed it the next turn). I did pull one into a sfptreet and fall victim to the German 75L ATG. Luckily a single Russian squad fired on the ATG crew and routed them away from their gun and they never rallied. Really missed that crashed KV1 and it may have been key to getting the last few buildings. Highly recommend this scenario.

 

[Jude]

Played another version of the same battle I fought last week. This time it was FrF5 The Valley of Death. Other than the name and location, it plays nothing like AP17. Whereas in AP17 I actively tried to get my Italian troops into battle, with this scenario, I did everything I could to avoid it. To win, the Italians need to have more CVP on ground and or 1st level locations past hexrow W than the Russians. I figured the best options for the Italians was to try and punch their way up the middle - not very viable given their 6 morale, 2 ELR, and a lot of open ground - or skirt the heights on the west side of the playing area (the east side doesn't have as many 1st level locations). With 5 1/2 turns, ammunition shortage, and a bit of a ways to go, Prep firing is probably going to lose the game for the Italians. I only used the HMG, MMG, and MTRs to soften up the Russian early defense while everyone else stayed moving. I ended up abandoning the MTRs pretty quickly and, of course, the HMG Xed out. I sent the StuGs to the heights on the opposing board edges and they were in perfect position to take out the lone T-34 that entered on turn 3. All my guys were pretty much clumped together on the 1st level locations right at hexrow W at the end of my move at the top of turn 6. It was tough even reaching that point. Even low odds shots from the Russians had a chance of breaking my guys. Although I think I only broke maybe two Russian squads the whole game, I was winning because I had more men than them. However, the Russians had an onboard spotting round that they were itching to correct and convert to a FFE. If it hit my mass of humanity on the hill, with a 6 morale and no cover, my men would have been toast. My friend rolled for radio contact and...boxcars. Game over. Hell of a way to lose. Even though ROAR has it as 10-2 Italians, I never felt like I was really winning because it always seemed like I was one good (for him) or bad (for me) roll away from disaster. It was a tense scenario in a cat and mouse sort of way. Better than I expected, I'd recommend it for either side.

 

[wrongway149]

If it's that obvious that the Americans should take the mortar then why even include an option for the other group and, having played it recently from both sides, it is. .

Definitely one of the top questions for playtesters when I do this for a scenario: "Are there good arguments for either choice?"