ASL rules, tips, and tactics
MMP changed the Mandatory Fire Group rule (A7.55) in ASL Journal 13. For ASL grognards, I doubt they even recognized the change since it codified the way we have been playing the game all along. Newer players probably didn’t notice it much either since we grognards probably taught you the “correct” way to play. It…
Read More “A Brief Examination Of Mandatory Fire Grouping” »
Jim’s recent article on Bocage presents the argument that the ASL rules covering our favourite Normandy terrain favours the attacker. Jim’s position aligns with my own opinion and experience. At the end of his article, he asked for other examples where the rules support the attacker, rather than the specific situation he provided. His article…
I believe bocage terrain favors the attacker. I am not shy sharing this belief and some of you may have heard me say this personally. In a recent discussion with George Hiotis on a Strum Front video, George and I wandered into a Bocage discussion. Listening back, my discussion with George lacked focus. This article…
A user asked a question on the ASL Discord. He wanted to know what happened to a stack of units when a leader was lost in Close Combat. In this example, the stack had participating and non-participating units. There is an old Q&A applicable to the question, and another reader provided that. The example in…
If you are reading this, I imagine you have been playing ASL for a while. You grasp how to move units across the board and how to attack with the various weapons available to you. You routinely check Chapter H. By now you’re recognizing what is not working all that well and you’re wondering where…
A discussion about armored warfare broke out recently on the ASL Discord server. People began discussing tactics and articles covering the topic. Inevitably the discussion turns to Bruce Bakken’s seminal article Panzer Gegen Panzer: Tank Warfare in ASL. Historically, I have been critical about portions of this article. As I was supporting my position it…
FORWARD: This article originally appeared in HazMo Horizon. I republish it here for the sake of collecting all my work into one place. This version also includes the image highlighting the plan which was inadvertently left off the Horizon version. I have also corrected a few typos which crept into the earlier article. Without further…
Read More “Scenario Analysis: HazMo 31 – The Cloak Of Disorder” »
It has been a while since I have written anything covering ASL. I have been busy finding and buying a house, preparing to return to the US. In addition to that, I attended ASO in Copenhagen and I have been busy editing the next product from one of the third party producers. By far, the…
I repeatedly ask my readers if there is a topic or scenario I could cover on their behalf. After reading my last article, a reader asked me to analyze this scenario in the comments section. I pulled the card and had a look and I agree, this one looks to be a very interesting scenario. …
Read More “Scenario Analysis: FT 318 – Arsenal Of Communism” »
A friend asked me to look at this scenario and discuss how I would set it up as the defender. I emphasized my article on Fortifications in ASL and Defenses is ASL and asked him to see if those helped. He reached back and noted they were great for a generalization, but as a means…
The final topics to discuss as we close out this series are TEM and Fire Lanes. Like every other slope-related topic, these are really not too difficult either. They are each covered in a single paragraph in the ASLRB. As we will see, the key to resolving this is recognizing “Up-Slope” and “Down-Slope” Locations. If…
A recent Q&A answered by Perry and subsequently amended shows there is some confusion around this topic. I admit, the rules on this are not helpful. They create confusion and make this topic harder than it needs to be. So let’s look at the rules and see how they work together to arrive at the…
I have been thinking about planning for a while now. It wasn’t a conscious thought; it was an internal monologue that I wasn’t really aware of. I had outlined the process I used without realizing I had done that. Then I authored an article on Obstacles. This article opened my eyes to the process I…
Welcome to the second installment of the Demystifying Slopes series. This short article will cover the effects Slopes have on movement. Much like we saw in the LOS article, the effect of Slopes on movement is not too difficult to grasp. Moving Up-Slope will have some effect on movement. Moving Down-Slope only affects movement in…
This is the first in a couple of short articles examining Slopes in ASL. For such a short section of Kampfgruppe Peiper, later added into Pegasus Bridge, there seems to be a lot of confusion around these rules. What’s worse, this confusion has led many players to skip scenarios using Slopes. This aversion has further…
I came across a small How-To I wrote on using Discord while cleaning up my documents directory this morning. As I was about to push it into the Recycling Bin I thought someone might appreciate it. As such, I created a download here on my blog. If you find errors or think corrections are in…
Joel Olson created this flow chart after reading one of my articles. He has graciously allowed me to share it here. If you have any questions or comments, leave a note below and I will convey them to Joel. Thanks Joel!
A reader on Facebook asked me to write an article covering the nuances of Motion. As I thought about it, I wondered if there is a mathematical way to decide when a unit should attempt a Motion check. I researched the existing literature and found several articles covering AFV combat, but none specifically covering this…
Read More “AFV Combat: Examining Motion Attempts Relative To Bounding First Fire” »
I often see questions asking how far a unit can move when carrying some Support Weapon. This seems to genuinely confuse people. In this article, I will discuss how to sort this all out, and highlight the table which takes all the guesswork out of the task. Let’s get started. Rules Dive Every Good Order…
As ASL players, we have all used Bypass Movement. If you are an experienced ASL player, I am also sure you have used Bypass Movement to avoid taking fire. As an experienced player, I am sure you also looked at the vertices to make sure your units aren’t exposed to incoming fire. But is that…