So what Starter Kit Scenario have you played recently?

ChrisM

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Got in a playing of One More Hedgerow (S42 from the SK Bonus Pack) last night. i had the Germans and held on for the win. ROAR has this at 5-0 for the Germans, including last night's game - and this one does feel kind of pro German.

Clearly you are going to set the 4-6-7 with the HMG up HIP in one of those rear stone buildings with the 8-1 and clearly another fire group will be in the other rear building. The US has to cross at least one or two OG hexes to take thos buildings, so they will need to move up quickly, etsablish a 20+ FG to crack one of them and have squads left over to move in and take it. Given HIPpies in the wheat and the orchard, the American must balance this need for speed and consolidation of fire with caution in not blundering into any point blank shots from HIP units.

I was pretty comfortable all the way through - a skirmish line of 1/2 squads died valiantly but heldp up his advance as I planned. He conceded on Turn five when he failed to get SMOKE form the units that amde it to the bocage and I nailed a squad trying to assault move into position to set up a high FP AFPh shot.

All in all the secnario offers a nice primer on HIP and we even folded in the Searching rules from the full ASLRB. But its a static defense and not very exciting for the defender (even though they have won all five recorded games). I don't think its got a lot of replay value, but for the player transitioning to th full system, its probably a necessary scenario to run through once - so you get a feel for HIP.
 
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custardpie

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Got in a playing of One More Hedgerow (S42 from the SK Bonus Pack) last night. i had the Germans and held on for the win. ROAR has this at 5-0 for the Germans, including last night's game - and this one does feel kind of pro German.

Clearly you are going to set the 4-6-7 with the HMG up HIP in one of those rear stone buildings with the 8-1 and clearly another fire group will be in the other rear building. The US has to cross at least one or two OG hexes to take thos buildings, so they will need to move up quickly, etsablish a 20+ FG to crack one of them and have squads left over to move in and take it. Given HIPpies in the wheat and the orchard, the American must balance this need for speed and consolidation of fire with caution in not blundering into any point blank shots from HIP units.

I was pretty comfortable all the way through - a skirmish line of 1/2 squads died valiantly but heldp up his advance as I planned. He conceded on Turn five when he failed to get SMOKE form the units that amde it to the bocage and I nailed a squad trying to assault move into position to set up a high FP AFPh shot.

All in all the secnario offers a nice primer on HIP and we even folded in the Searching rules from the full ASLRB. But its a static defense and not very exciting for the defender (even though they have won all five recorded games). I don't think its got a lot of replay value, but for the player transitioning to th full system, its probably a necessary scenario to run through once - so you get a feel for HIP.
You also get a little HIP and OBA in Clearing Caratan from the same pack. One More Hedgerow is the only one I have yet to play from the pack so will try to get that in with the next new player I get to play (I will take the Yanks!!)
 

BattleSchool

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Got in a playing of One More Hedgerow (S42 from the SK Bonus Pack) last night.

All in all the secnario offers a nice primer on HIP and...for the player transitioning to the full system, its probably a necessary scenario to run through once - so you get a feel for HIP.
Thanks for posting this AAR Chris. I hadn't looked at the scenario SSRs for this pack. The Hidden Initial Placement (HIP) SSRs are an improvement on the one used in S23 Monty's Gamble. I like the Low Crawl reference; and I especially like the ambush drm. This does bring HIP in ASLSK more in line with the ASLRB.

On reflection, the Low crawl bit and the ability to continue with routing are contrary to A10.533. (Normally, a routing unit would be forced back to its previous hex where it would end its rout and be eliminated for ending its RtPh adjacent to a Known enemy unit.) However, I think that this was deliberate. The Amis could lose a few units this way in S42 and unhinge the scenario. Maybe they should have been given an extra HS (or two) at start. If recorded games are any indication, the GIs would likely have benefited more from this than the ability to continue routing after "bumping" into a hidden Landser.

Moreover, the ambush drm should also apply to units in grain and orchard hexes, as well as buildings. (And technically, the ambush drm should also apply to woods in S43.)

Having said that, the HIP SSRs used in the Bonus Pack are more comprehensive than those that appeared in earlier ASLSK scenarios. As such, I think that they give players a better feel for how hidden units impact on game play, both from rules and tactical perspectives.

Now to do some editing to one of the SSRs for our scenario "The Russians are Coming."
 
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ChrisM

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Thanks for teh kind words guys - and custard - the only one I have left to go is Clearing Carentan. I exposed my opponnet to the quasi OBA scenario first (Sink's Encouragement) and then this one. We will wrap up with Carenatn and synthesize both themes. Then I'll pick a teaching scenario from the full ASL canon to ease him inot OBA for real - probably Death in Carentan or Hedgehof of Piepsk.

Point being - even though these aren't full ASL rules, they are tricky subjects and i am finding it helpful for new and tarnsitional palyers to get a sense fo concept before they dive into the density of the rules.
 

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Played two ASLSK scenarios today. A new guy joined us for a day of ASL. Initially there were only four of us, so I suggested that I play an ASLSK scenario with him. He's only played a couple scenarios, but already has a good grasp of the infantry rules.

We played "The Russians are Coming." The scenario takes place on the day (17 September) that the Russians invaded Poland to reclaim territory occupied by the Poles in the 1920s. (The Poles received this territory--the Eastern Provinces--as part of the treaty settlement after their war with the nascent Soviet Union.) The Germans have already taken half of Poland by this time and the Eastern Provinces have been stripped of their best men and materiel. Facing the Soviet juggernaut are 18 understrength Border Guard battalions, strung out along 1400 kilometres. That worked out to about one Soviet army corps per Polish battalion. This scenario takes place in a small border town opposite the Soviet frontier. In town, local police and volunteers--including high school students--came to the aid of the border guards. "The Russians are Coming" gives players a taste of early war Soviet infantry combat. The Soviets were not well prepared for the invasion, and many soldiers were poorly trained conscripts. The only thing holding this rabble together in my case, was a stern looking commissar (see S18 Baking Bread). My opponent, the new kid in town, was saddled with a mix of first-line and green Poles, and some policemen (3-4-7/1-3-7) and a few unsteady volunteers (1-3-6s/1-2-6).

The Poles have a lot of ground to cover in this scenario. The Russians have three principle avenues of advance. To win, the Reds need to exit a certain amount of MG FP and two squad-equivalents. The broad frontage compels the Poles to spread themselves out at start. However, they need to be able to shift their forces quickly to meet the main Soviet threat. The Poles have a few stone buildings to hunker down in. But most of these buildings on are the Polish left and in the centre. There is nothing but woods and grain on their right. However, the Poles get to set up all of their police units and volunteers hidden. Although weak, the Russian player cannot ignore the danger posed by these units, especially when moving through Open Ground. Given that 60% of the Russian force are conscripts, it doesn't take much fire to break up a Red rush. I opted for the Russian company with the extra LMG, although this left me with a 7-0 instead of an 8-1. To compensate, I grabbed the commissar over the 8-0 and hoped that my precision dice would keep the commissar's temper in check.

My opponent had, for the most part, a layered defence. But the woods area looked suspiciously bereft of troops. I decided to push most of my force, including the commissar, through this area. A smaller group advanced cautiously in the centre. The 7-0 and a 4-4-7/LMG were the backbone of this group. I hoped that they would keep the enemy's main force--especially his dreaded 8-1 stack in the high school--occupied. At the same time, this reinforced platoon would try to interdict enemy units trying to shift southward to meet my main thrust.

As it happened, there were no enemy units to impede my initial advance in the south. In the centre, I quickly overran a group of dazed high-school students, before stumbling upon a police outpost. The police managed to slip away and join the enemy command post in the centre. Once they rallied, they would continue to be a pest for the remainder of the game. In fact, no Poles in the school compound broke during the entire game.

As my force in the south pushed deeper into the Polish defence, my opponent made a spirited effort to shift his northern force southward. However, my LMG position in the centre worked wonders and held them back--in one case, rolling a splendid three on a one-down-two shot on a tricky LOS. I stumbled upon two more groups of volunteers. My MMG squad made short work of one, as the other fell back in good order. Although this second 1-3-6 did not perform any spectacular feats, it did prevent my commissar stack from rushing off early. A nearby 4-3-7 did stellar work, breaking a Russian squad and holding the line until the second last turn. The scenario came down to the last turn. With his line in the south smashed, the Polish commander conceded, against our advice. Adrian and I explained afterward that the Poles still had a chance to win by using long range fire. Although this fire would likely have amounted to little more than one or two low FP, long-range shots, the -1 FFMO DRM would give him a chance to get a PTC. If even one of my MG squads had pinned during its assault movement, it would have been unable to exit for a win.

I believe that the scenario illustrated some of the nuances of ASL that he had not encountered before. He certainly learned how frustrating it can be to move Inexperienced units. However, the most significant lesson that he took away from this scenario was the importance of seeing a scenario through to the finish, even when a win appears unlikely. All in all, he played a solid game. I was impressed by his understanding of the rules, and his ability to recall quite specific points from the rules. He brought with him copies of Jay Richardson's tutorials. These copies weren't for show. He clearly had read and understood them, that much was plain. His difficulty, he admitted, was in figuring out how to use the rules to his advantage. Tactics! That, Adrian and I explained with a few examples, would come with practice. Play more, try more, and do more with as many opponents as possible. I hope that we have not seen the last of this promising new player.

After our guest player left, I played Adrian. Adrian had arrived near the end of my first game, and was looking for a quick pick-up game. I had a limited counter set with me, so we ended up playing an ASLSK scenario. Two ASLSK scenarios in one day, I haven't played that much Starter Kit since last year in Cleveland. Adrian and I rolled for sides. I got the low roll and the Germans. He got the Amis and their fast-firing 57LLs in S15 Hammer to the Teeth. It looked grim for the Yanks at first blush, but his ATGs systematically cut my troops in stone buildings to pieces with AP shots. The final indignity came in the bottom of the sixth when an ATG got a CH with AP, killing the 9-1 leader, and breaking two squads in a stone building. This after wiping out the nearby MMG squad with repeated HE and AP shots. I must admit that I pushed the Germans hard early, and paid for this with a few squads, but I had secured much of the area around the square by mid game. His AT gunners were just superb. German Tip: set the mortar up where it can target the most likely location for an ATG and pound away at it. (My mortar did some decent work early, but soon became redundant--you can't dismantle them in ASLSK and pushing them, while possible, is not that practical given the restricted LOS (due to the hills) on this board. That said, we discovered a host of nasty LOS when playing--ouch!)
 

sunoftzu

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Hi,

Played S2 "War of the Rats" yesterday as Russians. Looking at the opposing OoBs, I thought that the Rusians really didn't have the necessary resources to defend 3 buildings, so instead defended the L6 and O6 buildings very stoutly. I also don't care for defending F8, as I feel the rout/rally possibilities are not good.

Anyway, the game started with a big hiss, as the 9-2,mmg/467,lmg/467 (16-2 deathstar) rolled snakeyes to remove a 447 squad. the ROF broke another, and the FT also picked up 1 more, and the Germans grabbed the initiative around L6. They also waltzed a leader and 3 squads into F8, and picked up the first of their three objectives without incident. The 2 brokies die in the RtPh, as the KIA actually allows the Germans to get in an adjacent squad to cut the routs. The Russians are in trouble early.

However, the reinforcements very luckily (if 16.7% qualifies for 'very'. In the context, you'd have to say yes) show up on turn two. Reinforcing either L6 or O6 is looking hazardous, but in their euphoria, the Germans have not maintained any sort of garrison in F8. So. they enter C9,D9,E9,F8 (6mf) and recapture F8. The Germans are a little stunned by this move understandably!!!

The battle for F8 goes back and fourth until a successfully placed DC (rolling 1,1) elims 1 527 and breaks another, allows the German to regain the initiative. By the start of German 6, The Russians are barely hanging on in F8 and O6. But a not very good RPh for Russians combined with some more 1,1 DRs from the 16-2 deathstar sees the Russian defense finally collapse. The Russians rally for a futile 1-squad-suicide-counterattack, but it fails on its first morale check. Well done to Mike. His first ASLSK victory, and despite some helpful dice, he still had to work for it in the end.

Good stuff!!! I'll be playing this one again (as Germans) on Wednesday. Despite being something of an ASL veteran, I'm enjoying my weekly ASLSK 'fix'. :yummy: :yummy: :yummy:

regards,

John Knowles.
 
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ChrisM

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Nice AAR John - I think this one leans German, though ROAR doesn't really back the contention up.

Maybe its because I have never had those Russian reinforcements turn up before Turn 5 or 6 and have just gotten smashed over and over again by the German players.
 

custardpie

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It seems a resonable number of us ASL'ers get some enjoyment playing a little (or a lot) of ASLSK. I personally can't wait for the Expansion set to come out.

Cheers
Ian
 

kempenfelter

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Me too. And though I'm excited about the prospect of Hakaa Paalle--the final mounted board--I imagine I'll get more action out of the Expansion Set. In the past month I've played "The Trouble With Tigers" and "Miracle At Sinagoga" from Schwerpunkt's Rally Point, lost the former and won the latter, and I'd be happy to play them again.
 

custardpie

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Me too. And though I'm excited about the prospect of Hakaa Paalle--the final mounted board--I imagine I'll get more action out of the Expansion Set. In the past month I've played "The Trouble With Tigers" and "Miracle At Sinagoga" from Schwerpunkt's Rally Point, lost the former and won the latter, and I'd be happy to play them again.
I am also not on fire over Hakaa Paalle but AP6 has got me hot (arrives today) but I will play more of EP1 than HP but I hope both are behind AP6!!!

One of my two SK players is now ready to move onto ASL so that just leaves the one at the moment.

Cheers
Ian
 

Kala

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Played today S26 Last ally, last victory, against Dagalord, the play has not finished, we have run out of time, so no one had get the victory. At the time of turn three I have lost one T-34 M43 and one T-34/85 but I have inmobilized one Pz V far of were going to be the final action, the 57LL is still HIP and the german has only taken 2 multihex buildings, all the final rush for victory still to play. Playing against Dagalord is always fun, and with a fresh beer is better, waiting the next match.

Kala
 

jpellam

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I am also not on fire over Hakaa Paalle but AP6 has got me hot (arrives today) but I will play more of EP1 than HP but I hope both are behind AP6!!!

One of my two SK players is now ready to move onto ASL so that just leaves the one at the moment.

Cheers
Ian
Not a big fan of the finish module but will buy it to complete my set. Currently teaching a friend ASL and will go through most if not all of the official SK scenarios with him.
 

custardpie

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Not a big fan of the finish module but will buy it to complete my set. Currently teaching a friend ASL and will go through most if not all of the official SK scenarios with him.
In my mind if you plan to move to ASL then going through all the scenario's is too much. Habits will form that have to be unlearned and that's harder once they are enbedded with lots of play. I think 4-6 scenario's would be enough, then move onto ASL. On the other hand if you plan to stay with ASLSK then no issue. I am having a blast with Gorring's men at the moment from Opperations mag.

Cheers
Ian
 

Spencer Armstrong

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In my mind if you plan to move to ASL then going through all the scenario's is too much. Habits will form that have to be unlearned and that's harder once they are enbedded with lots of play. I think 4-6 scenario's would be enough, then move onto ASL. On the other hand if you plan to stay with ASLSK then no issue. I am having a blast with Gorring's men at the moment from Opperations mag.

Cheers
Ian
Completely agree. I think if you're serious about ASL, SK1 is valuable, SK2 & 3, not so much. Better to learn the basics, get up to full ASL, then add vehicles/guns. Bypass, concealment and a few toher things teach you some really wrong lessons tactically. I lost an SK scenario partially because I didn't realize that I couldn't voluntarily break and there was no disruption, so I should have FPF'ed my conscripts until they broke. My head STILL hurts.

S
 

jpellam

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In my mind if you plan to move to ASL then going through all the scenario's is too much. Habits will form that have to be unlearned and that's harder once they are enbedded with lots of play. I think 4-6 scenario's would be enough, then move onto ASL. On the other hand if you plan to stay with ASLSK then no issue. I am having a blast with Gorring's men at the moment from Opperations mag.

Cheers
Ian
True and I will probably encourage my friend that we skip a lot of the scenarios that are not as interesting or do not introduce something different. I will skip a lot of the SK2 itailian ones as I have played them all and there were some there that were less interesting IMHO. Will play a majority of SK 3 with him to get him into tank hunting which is my favorite part of ASL.
 

kempenfelter

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My friends, you know that stuff your dog leaves on your neighbor's lawn? Well, I would respectfully suggest you guys are full of it. Habits will form that have to be unlearned? Like what? Except for a few idiosyncrasies, Starter Kit is ASL. So you lost a scenario because you didn't realize voluntary break was not an option, how is that different from losing a scenario because you were unfamiliar with some rule in full ASL? I play both Starter Kit and regular, and playing at the SK level has made me a better ASLer. Yes, there are some scenarios in the Kits that are absolute woofers--S10 Paper Army, for instance--but those are exactly the scenarios to play against a beginner, as long as you can hold your competitiveness in check and take the least favored side. In fact, I think I'll go play S10 right now--there HAS to be some way for the Italian to win...
 

Spencer Armstrong

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My friends, you know that stuff your dog leaves on your neighbor's lawn? Well, I would respectfully suggest you guys are full of it. Habits will form that have to be unlearned? Like what? Except for a few idiosyncrasies, Starter Kit is ASL. So you lost a scenario because you didn't realize voluntary break was not an option, how is that different from losing a scenario because you were unfamiliar with some rule in full ASL? I play both Starter Kit and regular, and playing at the SK level has made me a better ASLer. Yes, there are some scenarios in the Kits that are absolute woofers--S10 Paper Army, for instance--but those are exactly the scenarios to play against a beginner, as long as you can hold your competitiveness in check and take the least favored side. In fact, I think I'll go play S10 right now--there HAS to be some way for the Italian to win...
My example was of a brain-fart of my own, I admit that. And on an ephemeral hole in the SK rules. When playing SK (and I do), I have to keep the rules differences in mind. As for how it's different from, say forgetting I could take a snap shot, well, it's a question of positive and negative. I was relying on an option that was missing, rather than failing to take advantage of one that was present. That's a significant difference, IMO.

But since you're respectfully suggested I'm full of dog-mess, I'll respectfully (really) suggest that what you're peddling is a similar product of the bovine variety. ;) The suggestion that concealment and bypass are "a few idiosyncrasies" is absurd. Bypass changes speed of attack by an amount measured in whole turns worth of movement, concealment utterly recasts defensive tactics. I'm only a middling player, but I know enough ASL tactics to know there are essential differences between how you play SK and ASL successfully. Now, if you read my history on this topic, youll see I'm not anti-SK. I think it's a great thing for the hobby, I've bought every SK product and will continue to do so. And there are people who are quite happy playing SK. That's cool. All I'm saying is that if you want to use SK as a step to ASL (and clearly, that is not its only use), SK1 is great, but SK2/3 represent something of a rabbit trail, especially if you have someone to help you along.

Oh, and taking every lousy 2+2 is another SK habit you definitely have to unlearn in ASL. Though it probably only takes one 9-2 capped by the sniper to teach you...

S
 
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