So what Starter Kit Scenario have you played recently?

TheSQLGuru

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S57 - Hasse to Hold On

My daughter and I just finished a playing of this last night. This is a wonderful scenario! 12 squads vs 17 squads with a good amount of chrome but plays in a pretty concentrated section of the full board allotted. Plus there is a snow SSR that REALLY challenges the Attacking Russians to plan their assault and routes carefully!

Throughout the game we alternately thought we had the upper hand. She had a miraculous first line German HS that held out for a long time in the middle of the street I had to cross, including standing up to a 4-1 CC round at the end of her last phase. That caused the game to come down to the very last CC DR in the last uncontrolled hex of the second VC Building. She ambushed my 8-0/8-0/458/458/426(Partisan) stack with a 447. She didn't get the 2 or 3 needed for the outright win. Needing a 6 for a 42% chance for the win at 3-1 + 1 odds, I rolled a 9. NAIL BITER!!

For those who are ready for a beefy Infantry scenario with a single AA Gun, SW MTR, DCs and 2 interesting SSRs (Snow and Partisans) this is a very good one!!
 

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S57 - Hasse to Hold On

My daughter and I just finished a playing of this last night. This is a wonderful scenario! 12 squads vs 17 squads with a good amount of chrome but plays in a pretty concentrated section of the full board allotted. Plus there is a snow SSR that REALLY challenges the Attacking Russians to plan their assault and routes carefully!

Throughout the game we alternately thought we had the upper hand. She had a miraculous first line German HS that held out for a long time in the middle of the street I had to cross, including standing up to a 4-1 CC round at the end of her last phase. That caused the game to come down to the very last CC DR in the last uncontrolled hex of the second VC Building. She ambushed my 8-0/8-0/458/458/426(Partisan) stack with a 447. She didn't get the 2 or 3 needed for the outright win. Needing a 6 for a 42% chance for the win at 3-1 + 1 odds, I rolled a 9. NAIL BITER!!

For those who are ready for a beefy Infantry scenario with a single AA Gun, SW MTR, DCs and 2 interesting SSRs (Snow and Partisans) this is a very good one!!
Glad you enjoyed it. It was a little tricky to design without 3-3-7 partisan counters in the SK system but worked out in the end. Lots of close in fighting for the last building! Thanks for posting the AAR
 

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Those Conscript/Partisan back-side morales of 5 and 4 were really a PITA for me, I must say! :) The 2 range was a bit constraining as well. But as you (and I say), it definitely did work out in the end. Bravo!
 

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I hope to get a ASLSK scenario in this coming weekend, not sure yet on which one?
I really should try one from the Xmas scenario pack!!
Anyone else have anything lined up to play soon?

Regards
Joe
 

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S-014 "88s At Zon" (John vs Tou Mu)

This week just passed, Tou Mu and I completed S-029 "88s At Zon". I played the defending Germans, whilst Tou Mu played the attacking Americans. American balance (and a 7-0 leader to the Americans entering on turn 1) was in effect. To win, the Americans need to exit 7 VPs off the south edge on/between F0 - L0. They have a total of 11 squads, 3 leaders (increased to 4 c/- balance), which enter in 2 groups during turns 1 and 2, and they have 5.5 turns to complete their VCs. Opposing them are 6.5 German squads, 3 leaders, and 2 crewed 88L AA guns.

The defense is quite simple, a point defense around the exit area, with the AA guns as the linchpin of the defense. Meanwhile, the squads try and buy as much time as possible (the terrain of board W is a lvl 0/lvl 1 town, which greatly lends itself to skulking and reverse slope defending).

S-014-Ger-setup-jpeg.jpg

Tou Mu was bold with his turn 1, and this cost him a squad for modest gains. Form turn 2, he showed more patience, and it was good to see him using smoke a lot. The game of cat and mouse had begun !!! Tou Mu forced me south with a slow and steady pace, preparing for a final turn exit. For the most part, I kept nearly all of my German forces intact, except for turn 5, when a number were overwhelmed in CC. In the final turn, he made his dash, but residual FP in F0 and G1 pinned or broke most of his squads. Oddly, he forgot to use his infantry smoke, which I think would have made a big difference. Nonetheless, the 9-2 leader, plus an 8-0 leader (that was created in CC), and a 747 managed to exit, leaving Tou Mu 1 point short. It came down to final fire vs G1, which in the end saw the 8-1 leader pin, and the squad break, leaving Tou Mu 1 point short, a very close game in the end.

S-014-Ami-06-AFPh-jpeg.jpg

John.
 

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Played 'S51 Enter the young' against Hennie yesterday. Bruised and battered, but had a lot of fun finally playing ASL again. Turned out that my last game had been in November 2016... :(

Interesting scenario with quite some tactical possibilities. Want to play this again.
 

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Gentlemen

I and others have been play-tesing a number of scenario in the last several months, hopefully these will see the light of publication soon?

Thanks
Joe
 

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I haven't played David in an age, but finally we got a game in this past afternoon. After such an absence, a simple, but interesting infantry scenario would be just the tonic. After looking at a few possibilities, David chose S-059 "Mopping UP, with myself defending as Germans, and David attacking as Americans. We played the scenario as is with no balance added.

This scenario depicts a force of 9.5 American squads, 3 leaders, and 3 SWs attacking a German force of 6 squads, 3 leaders, 4 SW. To win (at game end), the Americans must control all buildings on/east of row M (a total of 25 hexes), or prevent any unbroken German units from being in play. The VCs appear demanding, but the Americans do enjoy a full 7 turns to achieve them. There is also a steeple location in Q6 (we used an AFV wreck to depict the steeple location), from which the Germans get a great view of the approaching Americans. However, the Americans receive a form of 150mm OBA, which can hit (and even destroy) the steeple, as well as it's adjacent locations. The Germans also receive 3 tunnels, which certainly helps to keep the American player on their toes!!!

Contrary to convention, the (attacking) Americans sets up first in this scenario, which puts the Americans a little on the back foot. The artillery is a bit scary for the Germans, but nonetheless, I started the 8-1, MMG/247 in the steeple location, with tunnels in T5-V5, R1-P3, and Q6-O8. David attacked mostly through the AA5 building and the BB8 grain-field. My firing was a bit erratic to start with; a great many 3's and 11's, which helped to make the Americans stumble a little. But nonetheless, the Americans got squads into blind spots, and so I abandoned the steeple in my turn 1. The disparity in numbers means that the Germans need to keep trading territory for time. Luckily, the Americans don't have many SWs, so with the +3 TEM of the plentiful stone buildings, the Germans can often stand up to the American FP.

We had a very close game in the end. David had reduced me to 2 squads and about 4 building hexes at the start of turn 6, but my remaining 2 squads did a great job of holding off the Americans until the final turn. In the last turn, David was able to swarm and ultimately advance a number of squads into the final 2 building hexes that he needed, but missed on both attacks (a 4:1 and a 3:1 @-1). So, we go to German turn 7, the final turn of the game. My leader tries to reach one of the melees, so that he might help out, but a 2MC pins him. In the last CCPh, I miss on both shots, whilst David makes both of his to win by building control right at the very end. No units were ever affected by the artillery (the steeple location actually survived the scenario), but its presence no doubt gave both sides pause for thought !!!

A good scenario and a great afternoon !!!

John.

(I can't seem to upload the 2 photos I took, so to see them, use this link: http://twasler.666forum.com/t47-s-059-aslsk-game-in-wugu-john-vs-david#73)
 
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TheSQLGuru

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Nice AAR. I have wondered about this one. I like the comment in the Taiwan ASLer forum about smoke changing the game. I agree. Those 666's need to be thinking smoke and move pretty much every turn.

I think it is a risk given the OBA, but I might have put a full squad with the MMG in the Steeple. That gives you at least one more shot while the US are moving and taking a -1, -2 or even -3 modifier.
 

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I think it is a risk given the OBA, but I might have put a full squad with the MMG in the Steeple. That gives you at least one more shot while the US are moving and taking a -1, -2 or even -3 modifier.
The steeple location has a stacking limit of 1 half-squad.
 

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Last Sunday, we had an ASLSK meeting in Ximen with 7 players (later 9, when Tou Mu and Little Wolf popped by to say hello), including 3 (very) new guys that I have not seen before. The objective was to teach the game; Robin's wish was that those that have played at least a few games would then teach some very new guys. Ray played S-01 "Retaking Vierville" with one of the new guys, whist Robin was running the same scenario being played by the other 2 new guys. Roy wanted to get familiar with AFVs, so I was to play some suitable intro AFV scenarios from ASLSK. We played 2 in the end, S-033 "Few And Far Between" and S-044 "Across the Border".

S-033 "Few And Far Between"

I'm surprised that there are only a few playings of this on ROAR; it seems to be the most suitable option for introducing AFVs. A lone PzIIA (PZIIF if balance is used) supports 7.5 German squads, 3 leaders, 3 SWs to attack 7.5 Dutch (Allied Minor) squads, 3 leaders, 2 SWs. A 4.5 turn game in which the Germans have to control all buildings within 2 hexes of yFF5 (5 buildings in total). The PzII can help the Germans plenty by using its sD, its Bounding First Fire (3.3.2.2), and its immunity to small arms fire allows it to easily get behind the Dutch and prevent routs. It can also give a modest amount of cover to infantry trying to get across otherwise dangerous open ground. The Dutch don't have a lot of resources to destroy the tank; a pair of LMGs (which are only effective against the sides and rear vs the PzIIF) and Close Combat.

Most of my squads went in the VC buildings, with 1 in uBB4 to slow the Germans down for a turn. Roy had some hot dice, and I found myself taking a number of MCs. I was able to pass a number of them (including a 3MC at one point), but in the final turn, Roy was able to break all of my squads, and I was left with a lone 8-0 leader in yCC6 at the end of the German turn 5 RtPh, and the buildings were there for the taking in the German APh. Roy took care not to lose the tank to MG fire early on and was rewarded with some hot Bounding First Fire DRs in the later turns. It won't always turn out that way in an ASL game, but that's certainly the right philosophy for the cardboard tank commander to be adopting.

(I neglected to take any photos of this game, alas)

S-044 "Across The Border"

This scenario is from the ASLSK Expansion Pack, and features 4 Slovak (Axis Minor) OA vz 30 armored cars, 10 squads, 2 leaders attacking 6 Polish (Allied Minor) Squads, 2 leaders, 2 SWs. To win, the Slovaks need 6 VPs. They get 1 for each AFV exited off P3 and/or P6, and 2 VPs for controlling buildings K6, M5 and M7 (each building is a 2 hex building). There are only 4.5 turns available, so the Slovaks need to hurry, but the Polish get to set up their entire OoB HIP, so despite having scant forces, they get the ability to ambush the Slovaks. The armored cars have 0 AF, so the ATR and MMG can be quite deadly to them, so the Slovak player must choose between trying to exit VPs, or supporting the 2nd-rate Slovak infantry.

In our game, an AFV was quickly claimed by both SWs early on. The game was quite tight for the first 3 game turns, each time I put a hurt on the Slovak infantry, they would reply by breaking a squad that would be eliminated in the rout phase. But in turn 4, one of the CCs went against the Slovaks, and left Roy a lot to do in the final turn. One of his AFVs already exited, and another was in position, albeit in sight of the ATR. Roy had a chance for victory in the final turn, but nothing really went right for him, and he was only able to capture 1 building. Taking a look at the map, there's barely any infantry left !!!!

Nonetheless, I was encouraged by how Roy is learning to use AFVs. It's a long road, but a start has nonetheless been made !!!!

John.

(for a couple of photos, go here: http://twasler.666forum.com/t48-asl-meeting-in-taipei-john-vs-roy#75)
 
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62nd Army

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Last Sunday, we had an ASLSK meeting in Ximen with 7 players (later 9, when Tou Mu and Little Wolf popped by to say hello), including 3 (very) new guys that I have not seen before. The objective was to teach the game; Robin's wish was that those that have played at least a few games would then teach some very new guys. Ray played S-01 "Retaking Vierville" with one of the new guys, whist Robin was running the same scenario being played by the other 2 new guys. Roy wanted to get familiar with AFVs, so I was to play some suitable intro AFV scenarios from ASLSK. We played 2 in the end, S-033 "Few And Far Between" and S-044 "Across the Border".

S-033 "Few And Far Between"

I'm surprised that there are only a few playings of this on ROAR; it seems to be the most suitable option for introducing AFVs. A lone PzIIA (PZIIF if balance is used) supports 7.5 German squads, 3 leaders, 3 SWs to attack 7.5 Dutch (Allied Minor) squads, 3 leaders, 2 SWs. A 4.5 turn game in which the Germans have to control all buildings within 2 hexes of yFF5 (5 buildings in total). The PzII can help the Germans plenty by using its sD, its Bounding First Fire (3.3.2.2), and its immunity to small arms fire allows it to easily get behind the Dutch and prevent routs. It can also give a modest amount of cover to infantry trying to get across otherwise dangerous open ground. The Dutch don't have a lot of resources to destroy the tank; a pair of LMGs (which are only effective against the sides and rear vs the PzIIF) and Close Combat.

Most of my squads went in the VC buildings, with 1 in uBB4 to slow the Germans down for a turn. Roy had some hot dice, and I found myself taking a number of MCs. I was able to pass a number of them (including a 3MC at one point), but in the final turn, Roy was able to break all of my squads, and I was left with a lone 8-0 leader in yCC6 at the end of the German turn 5 RtPh, and the buildings were there for the taking in the German APh. Roy took care not to lose the tank to MG fire early on and was rewarded with some hot Bounding First Fire DRs in the later turns. It won't always turn out that way in an ASL game, but that's certainly the right philosophy for the cardboard tank commander to be adopting.

(I neglected to take any photos of this game, alas)

S-044 "Across The Border"

This scenario is from the ASLSK Expansion Pack, and features 4 Slovak (Axis Minor) OA vz 30 armored cars, 10 squads, 2 leaders attacking 6 Polish (Allied Minor) Squads, 2 leaders, 2 SWs. To win, the Slovaks need 6 VPs. They get 1 for each AFV exited off P3 and/or P6, and 2 VPs for controlling buildings K6, M5 and M7 (each building is a 2 hex building). There are only 4.5 turns available, so the Slovaks need to hurry, but the Polish get to set up their entire OoB HIP, so despite having scant forces, they get the ability to ambush the Slovaks. The armored cars have 0 AF, so the ATR and MMG can be quite deadly to them, so the Slovak player must choose between trying to exit VPs, or supporting the 2nd-rate Slovak infantry.

In our game, an AFV was quickly claimed by both SWs early on. The game was quite tight for the first 3 game turns, each time I put a hurt on the Slovak infantry, they would reply by breaking a squad that would be eliminated in the rout phase. But in turn 4, one of the CCs went against the Slovaks, and left Roy a lot to do in the final turn. One of his AFVs already exited, and another was in position, albeit in sight of the ATR. Roy had a chance for victory in the final turn, but nothing really went right for him, and he was only able to capture 1 building. Taking a look at the map, there's barely any infantry left !!!!

Nonetheless, I was encouraged by how Roy is learning to use AFVs. It's a long road, but a start has nonetheless been made !!!!

John.

(for a couple of photos, go here: http://twasler.666forum.com/t48-asl-meeting-in-taipei-john-vs-roy#75)
John

Nice!! two cool looking scenarios here!!

Thanks
Joe
 

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Two days ago I played the just released S62 Reaper's Harvest from the latest Special Ops magazine. Canadians and Royal Marine Commandos attacking SS on board p. We both made some mistakes along the way, but my opponent gave me a few too many stack-move shots that paid off for me and in general the dice were quite favorable to me so my German defenders held out for the win.

I think this one could be destined to become a classic. We both agreed we would play it again in an instant, and in fact I started a second playing of it last night with a different opponent this time as the attacking Allies.



The second ASLSK scenario in that magazine is S63 Nothing Left to Lose. This is late-war slug fest!! It features TWENTY Elite Russian squads (10 each 628 and 458) with awesome leadership (including a 10-2) and plenty of SWs and 4 T 34/85s to start. I say "to start" because they are quite literally "belt fed" AFVs! Get this SSR - when a T34 is eliminated place a wreck and on the next Russian turn another T34 enters from offboard!!! That is just CRAZY!

Speaking of crazy, there are EIGHT total SSRS!! If you are familiar with S35 The Volga is Reached!, this is even MORE intense and chrome-filled than that beast!

How about an incongruous German force of 658s and 436s. :-D But lets throw in a King Tiger, 2 Panthers and a StuG to make it interesting.

I can't see how the Germans can hold off that hoard of Russian Elites AND unlimited T35/85s (oh, and did I mention the OBA they get?!?). But it sure as heck sounds like a great way to spend an evening!!

Everyone simply MUST get a copy of SpecOps so you can have these two scenarios!
 

62nd Army

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Gentlemen

Quite around here, any playings happening?

Thanks
Joe
 

62nd Army

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I see a lot more on Facebook now.
Yep, you are quite correct on that. Don't mind the FB postings of course, but it would be nice to see more activity here dealing with ASLSK. I guess I have to take it as it comes .

Thanks!
Joe
 

TheSQLGuru

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Gentlemen

Quite around here, any playings happening?

Thanks
Joe
Most of my playings lately (what little I have been able to get in) have been playtesting for various upcoming ASLSK offerings. All I can say is that there is some GOOD stuff coming, and not just from MMP! I did play Putot-en-Bessen-1 and the Canadians crushed the German Elite force.

My daughter has had a too-long break from ASLSK too sadly, so not much to report from her either. :( She did get in a playing of S41, Sink's Encouragement last week. She added to the German defender's imbalance in the number of wins, despite stacking too much initially and getting a stack of 2 squads and a leader broken from the OBA. She had a 1MC from that OBA against a bigger stack and passed them all quite luckily.
 

62nd Army

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Most of my playings lately (what little I have been able to get in) have been playtesting for various upcoming ASLSK offerings. All I can say is that there is some GOOD stuff coming, and not just from MMP! I did play Putot-en-Bessen-1 and the Canadians crushed the German Elite force.

My daughter has had a too-long break from ASLSK too sadly, so not much to report from her either. :( She did get in a playing of S41, Sink's Encouragement last week. She added to the German defender's imbalance in the number of wins, despite stacking too much initially and getting a stack of 2 squads and a leader broken from the OBA. She had a 1MC from that OBA against a bigger stack and passed them all quite luckily.
Nice! I hear you on the available time front,bit of a busy stretch, not as much playing as I would have liked!!

Thanks!
 

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Catching Up...……..

( I try to report in all my ASLSK games on this thread, but realize that I haven't recorded an ASLSK game completed in nearly a year !! )

It's been a while since I've played a FtF game of ASLSK. It's not my fault; my regular Taiwanese opponents mostly want to play ASL these days. However, I did overlook 3 ASLSK logfile games, so let's quickly report those.

S-039 "Use Your Tanks And Shove" (finished 07/01/2018)

Tou Mu and I played this as a logfile game to help him learn about AFVs, with him as the Americans and myself as the Germans, with American balance (downgrade a Germans 9-1 to an 8-0) in effect. This scenario uses board q, and depicts a combined arms American assault on a German defended village. The Americans attack with 10 squads, 2 leaders, 3 SWs, and 2 tanks (M5A1, M4A1). The Germans defend with 7 squads, 2 leaders, 2 SWs, and a crewed flak gun. On turn 3, both the Americans and Germans get reinforcements. Americans get 2 squads, 1 leader, and either a SW or AFV, based on the number of buildings they currently control. The Germans get a PzIVF2. The Americans win at the end of 5.5 turns by controlling 12+ buildings from rows L - S.

Tou Mu played a good, cautious game of it, but the 8 morale of my 548s proved too tough to dislodge. Tou Mu tried to infiltrate with the M5A1, but the 37L gun wrecked it. From there, both sides exchanged squads and time and buildings, the PzIVF2 wrecked the M4A1 with a crafty LOS shot, and was in turn wrecked by a bazooka. But in the end, the Americans came up short of their required building total. A good scenario.

8961

S-053 "Workers Unite!" (finished 01/28/2019)

Robin and I finished off this logfile game that we began a while back, with him as the Germans and myself as the Russians, with German balance (German reinforcements arrive 1 turn earlier) in effect. This scenario uses 2 half-boards (r, z), and depicts a German infantry assault on a Russian position in an urban environment. The Germans attack with 15 (467) squads, 4 leaders, and 6 SWs. The Russians defend with 9 (426) squads, 2 leaders, and 2 SWs. Both sides get reinforcements on turn 3. The Germans get 3 (468) squads, 1 leader, and 3 SWs. The Russians receive 9 (447) squads, 2 leaders, and 3 SW. The Germans at the end of 6.5 turns by controlling buildings rW8, zE4, and zI1.

Robin attacked aggressively and my Russians were having quite a hard time slowing him down. At one point, it looked like there might not be much left to reinforce. When my reinforcements did arrive, I only had only a few defenders hanging on to building rW8, with the Germans lining up on its flanks. My reinforcements were forced to run the gauntlet, but a few did make it to the last VC building. From there, it was simply survival, and I managed to hold on to the last building for an unexpected Russian win. I hear that this is a popular scenario, and its easy to see why.

8960


S-033 "Few And Far Between" (finished 05/01/2019)

Tou Mu and I played this as a logfile game to help him learn about AFVs, with him as the Germans and myself as the (Allied Minor) Dutch, with German balance in effect (upgrades the PzIIA to a PzIIF). This scenario uses 8 rows of 2 boards (u, y), so is roughly half a board in size, and depicts a German assault on a Dutch defended village. The Germans attack with 7.5 squads, 3 leaders, 3 SWs, and a PzIIA (upgraded to a PzIIF in our game). The Dutch defend with 6 squads, 2 leaders, and 2 SWs. The Dutch are reinforced on turn 2 with 1.5 squads and 1 leader. The Germans win at the end of 4.5 turns by controlling all 5 buildings within 2 hexes of yFF5.

Tou Mu played a good game of it, but very little went his way. My Dutch were able to completely stonewall the Germans for 4 turns, leaving them a final turn suicide charge, which saw the Dutch clinch the game when no MMC was able to reach yFF4. A case of a good scenario, but mostly bad luck to work with for the Germans.

8962

Yesterday, I played a scenario from ASLSK #4, which I'll try and write about tomorrow.

John.
 
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