What Types of Scenarios Will You NOT Play?

[zgrose]

DP = Damage Points?

Yes

 

[kcole4001]

Hmmm...
Caves: nope
Partisans: not a fan
Seaborne assault: probably too much like working as an accountant
Anything that mandates using battlefield integrity...yuck
I have trouble remembering terrain changes IE: grain is bamboo, etc. This is one reason I like HASL maps.

re: Overlays - I cut them all out and laminated them, so using them is OK

 

[zcrater]

What scenarios will you likely pick and which ones will you automatically say no to and flip on the next scenario?

If I have to finish in less than six hours I will be looking at the number of turns, the number of vehicles, the number of squads, and the number of rarely used rules. Each adds time to scenario play so to finish in six hours I will be calculating how each will impact scenario length.

HIP (including caves), terrain transformations, and overlays are so much easier for me on VASL that I would probably skip over any such scenarios for face to face play.

After those considerations, my personal likes and dislikes would color my choice of scenarios:

I personally dislike late war so I would gravitate toward scenarios taking place 1931 - 1942.

I personally like simple victory conditions so I would skip scenarios with complicated victory conditions.

I personally dislike variable OBs so I would skip scenarios with variable OBs.

I personally dislike city fights so I would skip scenarios that look to be a building-to-building grind.

Zeke

 

[von Marwitz]

Too many terrain substitutions will make me turn away quickly. “Woods are Brush”, is ok, but crazier ones like, “all hills are grain “, or “all buildings are crags”. Nope.

We have too many boards and overlays for that at this point in the hobby.

While this used to be a factor for me in the past, nowadays it is no longer so.

When playing via VASL, this is a non-factor, because VASL can depict the necessary terrain alterations. At times, this makes "old boards" even feel different and interesting.

When playing face-to-face, I have taken to the habit to print out the VASL maps and play on them in all cases where there are significant terrain alterations (Ground Snow, Plowed Fields, any overlays). This has made it a non-factor for face-to-face games as well.

von Marwitz

 

[BattleSchool]

I usually make a VASL png of the board layout showing transformations, HIP, etc. that I print and bring with when playing FtF. (If I had the ability to print a full size map sheet at home, I'd probably opt for that when terrain transformations and overlays are prominent.)

I find it easier to consult a printed page than a png on anything but a tablet* or larger.

As for scenarios, I'm less interested these days in vanilla-flavoured, baby-formula fare mass produced for the dwindling masses. Ditto, the TV-dinners of the 80s. I played one of the latter a couple weeks ago and it seemed to drag on foreva'. It wasn't a bad scenario. But I'm done with the old meal plans. Finding a smaller serving size that still delivers all the major food groups and essential dietary supplements can be a challenge. But with dozens of scenarios released every year, I'm confident that the ASL larder isn't quite empty.

------
*I gave up on tablets several years ago, as constantly changing security protocols (or whatever they're called these days) effectively made devices obsolete at a certain point. So much for pixels delivering us from print.

 

[Blaze]

When I see this: All Hills are Grain, all grain is a level 1 hill. All orchards are crags all crags are rough. All Stone buildings on Board 24 are wooden. All Wooden builds are stone.
I don't mind minor changes in terrain and OOB tweaks. But when they are out of control, I'll pass over them. Honestly with over 100 geoboards, there no reason to SSR terrain excessively.

 

[von Marwitz]

(If I had the ability to print a full size map sheet at home, I'd probably opt for that when terrain transformations and overlays are prominent.)

You don't need the ability to print a full size map sheet at home.

• Take your .PNG map file.
• Put it into a tool like this: https://posterazor.sourceforge.io/ which will produce poster tiles.
• Print it out on a standard home office printer on 160g/m² paper (thickness like a scenario card).
• Cut (white) edges with scissors where needed and put pages together with tape and/or gluestick.

The printout for a Fort-Board or one geoboard will be two pages. Cutting/glueing/taping will take you not more than 2 minutes.
For two geoboard sized playing areas, this needs maybe 5 minutes.
There are few scenarios nowadays which use more than two full geoboards of size.

von Marwitz

 

[Sparafucil3]

So you say “well, let’s pick something out of that new Whatchamapack you got” and start flipping through to find something you can play.

What scenarios will you likely pick and which ones will you automatically say no to and flip on the next scenario?

First question that goes through my mind is "who am I playing"? The old saying "There are horses for courses" applies to ASL too.

If I am playing @Fort then I am willing to play just about anything. I know he and I can finish playing just about anything in a reasonable amount of time. We probably aren't playing anything "tourney sized" either.

If I am playing someone who I know to be a slow player then I am probably gravitating towards something smaller. I would still want something "larger" than tournament size if I think I can push the pace of play to a reasonable amount of time.

I like to look for pieces that interest me. Combined arms. Maneuver. Unusual board configurations. Interesting terrain. I don't like to see one side sitting. I find the concept of a sitzkrieg to be boring as hell.

 

[BattleSchool]

You don't need the ability to print a full size map sheet at home.

It's not about need, it's desire.

 

[BattleSchool]

I find the concept of a sitzkrieg to be boring as hell.

Have you tried using a desk treadmill while playing? It's de rigueur among a certain set these days, though few if any adherents of the practice will have even heard of d'ASL.

To be fair to scenarios involving a fixed or prepared defence, they do represent the bulk of combat actions. Many just aren't fun to play (especially as the defender) after the first WCDR. Reinforcements for the defender can change that, if done well. Still, some players enjoy setting up a cunning defence as much as they enjoy playing the scenario out. When it comes to cave complexes, for example, or hitting a heavily fortified beach, I'll pass. Been there, done the second with BRT, a statistician's wet dream.

 

[Sparafucil3]

To be fair to scenarios involving a fixed or prepared defence, they do represent the bulk of combat actions. Many just aren't fun to play (especially as the defender) after the first WCDR. Reinforcements for the defender can change that, if done well. Still, some players enjoy setting up a cunning defence as much as they enjoy playing the scenario out. When it comes to cave complexes, for example, or hitting a heavily fortified beach, I'll pass. Been there, done the second with BRT, a statistician's wet dream.

I have played them. I find most can be played as a fighting withdrawal to some extent. I find the key is often in the VC. But then players complain about "scripted" scenarios.

 

[von Marwitz]

It's not about need, it's desire.

Ha! The Oberst's desires are usually two-legged and well curved.

von Marwitz

 

[PresterJohn]

Ha! The Oberst's desires are usually two-legged and well curved.

von Marwitz

Definitely and always, consider the desires of your opponent first.
Then see what overlapping interests (e.g. Tiger I) there are to be had.

 

[Paul John]

Hard pass: Late war Marines (but love PTO otherwise) and anything with lots of HIP (esp. Night) as I will only play those on VASL, and the old style scenario with huge possible swings in reinforcement arrival.
Tend to Avoid: OBA (too dicey), and super short (I want at least 5.5 turns; same reason), or overly vanilla OB's. After almost 40 years, I want something a little more varied. I'll play all of these latter choices in the right settings and choose simpler ones with newer players of course.

 

[JimWhite]

Anything involving DP is going to be skipped

DP = Damage Points?

Yes

Thanks for clearing that up...

 

[zgrose]

Thanks for clearing that up...

I mean, it's literally in the Index.

When we talk about BFF, who thinks of Best Friend Forever?!?!?

(edit) and for those wondering why so specific to DP. I don't mind LC scenarios like Thai Hot and When I Call Roll. I really don't want to deal with 1 or more turns of navigating a monstrous flow chart just to shoot at LC (or be shot at). DP is an instant buzz-kill.
(edit2) much like Gliders and Paratroopers, just start the scenario when the boots hit the ground. the crunch to fun ratio is just too low for me for these 3 (maybe more) elements in ASL.

 

[wrongway149]

(edit2) much like Gliders and Paratroopers, just start the scenario when the boots hit the ground. the crunch to fun ratio is just too low for me for these 3 (maybe more) elements in ASL.

I feel the same way about OBA. Unless the historical context highlights advancing troops moving into their own artillery concentration --(such in 'All the Stops") I don't feel like it's worth it most of the time.

I would be fine if there were no OBA in ASL at all -- or at least if it were more heavily abstracted.

 

[wrongway149]

Too many terrain substitutions will make me turn away quickly. “Woods are Brush”, is ok, but crazier ones like, “all hills are grain “, or “all buildings are crags”. Nope.

We have too many boards and overlays for that at this point in the hobby.

If I feel like I need more than three overlays for a scenario I am designing -- I look at other boards or save the draft for an AP or WO pack with a new board that might work better.

 

[zgrose]

I feel the same way about OBA. Unless the historical context highlights advancing troops moving into their own artillery concentration --(such in 'All the Stops") I don't feel like it's worth it most of the time.

I would be fine if there were no OBA in ASL at all -- or at least if it were more heavily abstracted.

I think there is a certain cinematic aspect to OBA and Air Support that lend themselves to an ASL experience.

Could OBA be reduced into fewer bits? For sure. Usually LOS isn't a thing in the movies and that seems to be 90% of the fidgety bits with Leaders and Radios.

 

[pensatl1962]

I tend not to like OBA in scenarios — but I love it in Campaign Games, where I feel it’s a real blast. Quite fun. For example, I’m playing Ponyri right now and the rocket OBA is a thing of beauty. Well, my Nebelwerfer version at least. There’s plenty of units that can be lost while not being a game-killer.