Precision in Advanced Squad Leader

What does it mean to have precision? Some may equate it with accuracy, but that is, well, inaccurate.  Consider the following: an armed force has a target in a building. Their 155mm round may hit the target accurately, 99 times out of 100; however, if the resulting blast levels the five adjacent buildings, was the effect precise? Not in the least! In order to be precise, one must first be accurate and then one must ensure that the effects are only those desired.

Wargames by their very nature have to sacrifice some precision and be abstract to some level. How abstract a game is comes down to game design. Does the designer want to design for effect, or for outcome, or does he want to design for process? This is the question that must be answered before any game designer starts his work. And this comes to precision: wargame designers strive to be precise in their abstracted effect.

By their very nature, miniature games tend to be more abstract. In some respects, the game is a spectacle. A casual observer passing by a table doesn’t need to really grasp the rules to appreciate what is happening on the table. A major appeal of games such as Team Yankee and Flames of War is the rich diversity of the models and terrain. The best players are those who can demonstrate not only tactical still but artistic skill. Models that are painted well draw in spectators to the game. And this appeal is key to maintaining the hobby.

No need to explain what’s going on here. The pageantry of miniatures gaming appeals to many

Casual appeal is a challenge for Advanced Squad Leader (ASL). An observer may feign interest when passing by; however, he is most likely to quickly lose interest unless he is engaged by a player who can accurately relay what is being portrayed in the game as it unfolds. And this brings me to an appeal of ASL that may not be a greater draw to gamers at large, and that is precision.

If nothing else, ASL is precise. Yes, you may have a Tiger Mk VIE, but is it a late model? Is the crew commander exposed? Does it have the Nahverteidigungswaffe? What direction is its turret facing? Is it hull-down? And so on and so forth. In some games, many of these questions are irrelevant; not so in ASL. This comes down to scenario design. A popular aspect of ASL is that it allows for design your own scenarios, and the vast majority of published scenarios are based on actual battles. The better scenario designers will conduct extensive research into the battles they seek to cover.

A single counter explained. All information is concise and conveyed in each counter. This is amplified in Chapter H

The lengths to which scenario designers knows no bounds. A noted game designer, Nadir Elfarra, lives in California. In 2016, he found himself in Washington, DC. He wasn’t here to testify before congress nor was he here to see the sights. Instead, he was at the National Archives, doing research on a World War Two battle. How do I know this? Because he took the time to come visit me and we played ASL. During the match, he told me what he was doing in town. That, my friends, is dedication.

The best designers get deep into their research all with a view to be precise. If the German Mk IV tanks were H models and not J models at some battle, then that is important to note as this will determine if it has a fast turret or a slow turret. The general supply situation can affect ammunition availability, which means the difference between plentiful ammunition vs. ammunition shortage. They will see if leaders were available or if they were called away when the enemy attacked. How rested were the troops, therefore setting the ELR level? Were snipers active and if so, in both sides? What then should the SAN be? Were their any soldiers in the battle who rose above and beyond, therefore justifying the inclusion of a hero? All these questions and more would need to be properly researched in order to create a rich and realistic scenario.

No Squad Leader gamer needs explanation: this is the graphic for ASL A Guards Counterattack. Welcome to Stalingrad!

One such scenario that has captured the imaginations of ASL players for decades and has also stood the test of time is ASL A Guards Counterattack.  This short scenario is set in late October in Stalingrad and as of the 18^th of February, 2019, there have been 483 recorded playings of it as recorded on the  (Remote On-line Automated Record).  The record is 244 wins for the German and 239 for the Russians. This battle captures the feel of street fighting in Stalingrad, with submachine-gun armed Russians in their dozens attacking outnumbered but well-armed and well-lead Germans. Inevitably the play of this scenario will see the Germans using MG-34s to tear gaping holes in the Soviet lines, yet still struggling to hold onto their buildings. The Russians may launch human wave attacks and the Germans could yet mount a valiant counterattack into the ruins.

This scenario has been played out since the release of the original Squad Leader in 1977 and this returns us to the original question: how abstract must a game be in order to spark the imagination of the gamer? A good ASL scenario will do just that by presenting both players with a challenge that is achievable.  In ASL A Guards Counterattack, both sides can win if only they can out maneuver their opponent. Yes, the scenario is abstract in that flanks beyond the board edges don’t exist and no, streets in Stalingrad were not over 40 meters wide. But the rules and the scenario combine to give the players enough precision as to be accurate historically, but also abstract enough to allow the game to be won by either side.

Such brutal streetfighting can be precisely gamed in ASL using trenches, rubble and assault movement.

Another aspect of precision can be found in the HASL maps. Take the maps for Red Barricades as one example. In a recently uploaded YouTube  by the US Army University Press, one can follow along a battle in Stalingrad for the so-called Commissar’s House. Using the Red Barricades map, one can follow along quite easily. This ought not be too surprising given that the maps were based on German reconnaissance photos of the city during the battle.  In another example, one game designer of a yet-to-be-released HASL focused on the 1940 battles around Dinant, Belgium, used his paper HASL map to navigate that very area when he was touring the area (doing research). Astonishingly, he was able to use the map when asking directions of a local; the local was able to point out what the designer was looking for!

Essence of Stalingrad in one snap-shot.

In conclusion, ASL appeals to its players, not so much with the pageantry that a casual observer may witness and easily grasp in a miniatures game, but rather in its precision in capturing the essence of a battle.  If at the end of a scenario a player feels both elation and exhaustion, irrespective of whether he won or not, then that scenario has done its job.  It has quite possibly woven a rich narrative of the battle that both players can then discuss at the end – often over a dram of some fine scotch.  And it is this result that the good ASL scenario will seek to evoke through its precision in capturing the essence of an historical battle.

David Garvin is an avid gamer who prefers ASL as his tactical-level game. He lives precisely in Northern Virginia