ASL

By David Garvin

In 2019, released Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #4, Pacific Theater of Operations. With it, players new to Advanced Squad Leader could learn how to play the various forces that fought in the Pacific Theater in the Second World War.  Players new to the system, or even just new to the Pacific Theater and its nuances, could learn such things as how the Japanese Squad would stripe when it failed a morale check, or how to conduct a banzai. Due to the nature of the fighting, players also learned how to use concealment, a first for the Starter Kit system. Other new concepts focused mainly on the unique terrain of the Pacific, such as jungle and kunai.

Where it begins for many in the Pacific

By David Garvin

I have been playing Advanced Squad Leader for about eight years now.  In that time, I have recorded five hundred and thirty one matches and played against over one hundred and eighty opponents. As an aside, to say that I keep a detailed record of my matches would be an understatement.  That said, the point is that I’ve played quite a few different opponents over the years. And it is through playing all these fine ladies and gentlemen that I have seen my play improve. Such is the basis of this article: my own experience in how I went from a terrible ASL player to an average one.

By David Garvin

The effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic are still with us and as gamers, the one thing we all strive to do – play games against an opponent – was a rarity.  Thankfully face-to-face opportunities are with us once again, masks notwithstanding! Such was the case recently for players of Advanced Squad Leader in Eastern Canada.

By David Garvin

In the many wargames I’ve played, most countries’ soldiers were treated fairly equally. Some units were stronger than others, and some were faster than others, but in , units do not only differ by nation, but also by class and type. Section 25 of Chapter A of the rule book is dedicated to the various nations; however, there are other parts of the rule book that lay out the various characteristics of the many countries that fought in the Second World War and the Korean War.

Chapter A covers the nationalities that fought in Europe, Chapter G expands into the Pacific and Chapter W covers Korea. In order to maximize your forces in ASL, a complete understanding of your national characteristics is vital. Before getting into the meat of the characteristics and traits, a note from the authors of the rule book is in order. As they say, “Nationality Distinctions vary troop capabilities from one nation to  another, and while patently unfair in their application of stereotyped and over-simplified traits to all troops of a country without exception, nonetheless do serve to give the game much of its flavor.”

Squad Leader: Where it all began

By David Garvin

With the 1977 release of , the wargaming world experienced an earthquake. The virtual tectonic plates didn’t just rattle; they shattered the gaming world!

The late , designer of Squad Leader, had developed a game like none other. Now gamers could re-fight various battles of the Second World War at such low tactical levels like never before! Not only did players get to move squads around, but also some individual and even key leaders!

Squad Leader spawned three successive games, (called gamettes by the designer); , and . These were later supplanted by Advanced Squad Leader, developed in great part by and .

By 1986, Advanced Squad Leader had released its revolutionary rule book as well as the first module in the system, . With the 2013 release of , pretty much every nation that fought in the war had a module covering its actions. And in 2017 with , the ASL universe had expanded into the Korean War.

By David Garvin

In May of every year since 1997, the (CASLA) has hosted an (ASL) tournament. This started as the brain child of the late of the Winnipeg ASL club. Last year’s event, won by Carl Nogueira of Massachusetts, was to be held in Fredericton, New Brunswick; however, Mother Nature had other plans and we are still feeling those effects.

COVID-19 wasn’t enough to completely stop the tournament, and through the use of the freeware program , the show indeed went on. This year, the 25th n (CASLO) was once again hosted by the crew out of Winnipeg. Where last year’s tournament was a last minute effort by the tournament director, this year’s online tournament was a full-on plan by CASLA’s committee as a whole. As such, the event was not held over a single weekend, but rather throughout the month of May.

By David Garvin

Games that create memories are what we as wargamers strive for. Such games capture the imagination and immerse the player in the game. No longer is are the players sitting by a table at home, but rather their imaginations have taken them to some far away battle! For my money, no other game captures the imagination like . This game, first released in 1985 by the now-defunct Avalon Hill (but perpetuated by ), is a tactical wargame of the hex-and-counter variety.

The battles are primarily from the Second World War; however, it has since expanded to include the Korean War. Each player maneuvers his squads, crews and AFVs and guns across generic and historical battlefields in games that can last anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours or even days. Practically every game will end up with a narrative that will leave an indelible mark in the players involved.  Allow me to illustrate.

The date was 14 September, 1942, and as the German battalion commander, , I was leading an initial attack in Stalingrad in the historical scenario “In Sight of the Volga”. The simulated battle was noteworthy for several reasons. My opponent, Will, ended up being reluctant to try for his Molotov Cocktails (A 22.6).

By David Garvin

There is a perception among gamers that (ASL) is for old people. There is some truth to that, given that the game has been around since 1985. Almost 36 years since it was released, a young adult who played it since the beginning would be in their mid to late 50s. And if they started with when it came out in 1977, then they would be in their 60s!

The surprising thing is that there is a significant population of ASL players who are younger than the game itself. I am talking Millennials and Zoomers, or those born after 1981, who are avid ASL players. These generations, Generation Y and Z, were the first to grow up in an information age. These generations have always lived in the age of the home computer. Their members were also the first to experience the internet at a young age. Gen Xers like myself learned to adapt to the internet, but for Gens Y and Z, it’s always been there.

I first noted the younger generation playing ASL when I was at in 2018. Two friends, both named Will, were playing. Both are Gen Y Millennials and both are avid ASL players. I decided to find out what motivated them to play ASL. I know for people like me, board games were all we had growing up and as such we were easily exposed to war games, such as , and of course Squad Leader.

But I did not know what would motivate a child of the Internet to play a board-based game. I reached out to the greater ASL community, seeking people who were born after the release of ASL. I was surprised by the results and found a few commonalities among almost every respondent.

By David Garvin

Sorry, we’re closed…

is an annual tournament that began only in 2018. It is run by the , an ASL club based in the Washington, DC area. The initial two tournaments saw around 20 or so participants each time come together in Tysons Corner, Virginia to play a four-round tournament. This year was looking to be a bigger tournament in terms of participation when the Pandemic hit.

When the lockdowns and border closings began back in March, everything went into flux. We did not know how long this would last nor what the implications would be. Soon it was evident that it would be impossible to host a tournament in Northern Virginia at the end of June. But the tournament was not dead, thanks to a freeware program called , or VASL as it is more commonly referred to.

By David Garvin

If you’ve been intrigued by my posts here on NO DICE NO GLORY, and you want to start into Advanced Squad Leader (ASL).  I can well imagine that you’re thinking “Well?  How do I start?”  Simple question and with typical ASL style, there is no easy answer. There are a few paths to playing ASL. In this article, I’m going to lay out five paths to playing ASL. Then I’ll tell which path I took.