Reference Material for Advanced Squad Leader

By David Garvin

When playing any game, and Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is no exception, having readily-accessible material to help you learn the game is a bonus. I have already explained how to improve your play, but in this post, I’m going to discuss what kind of support one can find when learning ASL. Let’s face it, ASL is not an easy game to master.

By researching articles on The Game™, one can find insights that maybe one would never have thought of. This can span the decades since ASL first came out, spanning the divide from the pulp and paper industry of the 1980s through to the bits and bytes of the 21st Century. And it has certainly been quite the journey! Some articles are in fact videos found on such platforms as YouTube. But first, let’s see where this all began.

With the release of Beyond Valor and the Rule Book, the first General Magazine to feature ASL was released in early 1986. As a reminder, the General was the magazine of the Avalon Hill Game Company, published from 1964 until the company’s demise in 1998. This edition contained 3 articles on ASL. The first article, titled “First Impressions: ASL Infantry Training” focused on just that, infantry, as well as examining new features of ASL, such as the revamped Infantry Fire Table, tables on the effects of firepower on various morale levels, and so on.

The second article, “Squad Leader Clinic“, examined the 3 original scenarios from the old Squad Leader and focused on the differences in how the scenarios played with the new rules. Finally, “Design Analysis” by game designer Don Greenwood, simply answered some questions that had been flooding their offices since ASL was announced.  As a final touch, this magazine included 3 scenarios, all from the original game: ASL A The Guards Counterattack, ASL B, The Tractor Works, and ASL C, The Streets of Stalingrad, the very scenarios analyzed in the previously-mentioned article. And with each subsequent edition that was published, there was almost always some more ASL content to be had.

Within only a few years, Avalon Hill was beginning to realize that ASL was taking on a life of its own. In 1989, it released the first of its periodicals based on ASL with a tip of the hat to the original game, Squad Leader. The ASL Annual was published from 1989 until around the time of Avalon Hill’s demise, the last issue coming in 1997. In each issue were articles of various natures. Some were historical looks at various nations, such as Eight Million Bayonets: Utilization of Italian Manpower and Material in ASL.

 This 7-page article reads more like a Ph.D. dissertation as it weaves a history of the Italian soldier from the Great War through to the end and then translates that into ASL data. Others were specific to various scenarios and how they were developed. But the point was clear: no longer did the ASL aficionado have to sort through various General magazines to find the articles he was looking for. It also allowed the General to focus on other games, as it was arguably becoming flooded with ASL-related material.

Avalon Hill was not the only one to publish ASL-related magazines. On All Fronts (OAF) started as a Squad Leader fan-zine back in 1982 and evolved into an ASL publication over the years. OAF wasn’t a pioneer in terms of having high-quality scenarios or articles, but it was a pioneer because it was, for a time, the only unofficial source of ASL-related material. It was published and distributed long before the internet made it easier for people to connect, especially those seeking opponents.

Apparently, the publisher didn’t have even an early version of a computer to create his issues, but that’s of little concern; the publisher was a groundbreaker, proving that there was an appetite for more and more ASL-related material and scenarios. At the end of its run in 1997, OAF had published one hundred and twenty-three issues. That was no small feat. I also note that it came to an end around the same time that Avalon Hill was about to fold. One day, I’ll write about this bleak time in ASL history, but on to more glory!

As stated, OAF actually predates ASL. The first ASL-specific publication came out of Europe: Tactiques was first published in 1991. One can imagine that even with the ASL Annual and the General, there was still a void for certain ASL players. The non-English speaking players decided to create their own magazine and even though it ran only until 1995, Tactiques remains one of the hallowed pioneers in the hobby.

The publication was professionally produced with a variety of articles and scenarios that only got better issue by issue. All of the scenarios published by Tactiques have been translated into English, with some being adapted into official status, most notably the popular scenario Commando Schenke, which started as scenario TAC 12. So, with their publication, the fine folks at Tactiques had proven that with a bit of effort and investment, quality ASL-related fanzines were viable. As once famously stated elsewhere, build it and they will come!

In 1997, the Yankee-ASL group out of New England started up their newsletter, Dispatches from the Bunker (DftB). This periodical started to be published at the previously alluded low point of ASL in 1997. It still publishes to this day (I received the latest copy about a week ago) and it is noteworthy in that it started as a printed periodical and is now exclusively in electronic format. It is filled with quality articles as well as quality scenarios. As a matter of fact, Multiman Publishing published a scenario pack back in 2010 entitled “Out of the Bunker“. This was the first time that an entire scenario pack dedicated to a third party was published as part of the official canon. The Yankees had made the big time!

I have thus far discussed the official literature, which continues to this day with the ASL Journals, the latest of which was published in 2017, and I have discussed three ground-breaking periodicals. The first predated ASL, the next was the first to start as an ASL-only publication (and a foreign language one at that!), and finally, I discussed one that started in print and is now in digital form.

However, there are so many more sources and the final one I will discuss is the ASL Scenario Archive, run by two fine gents in the UK. Dave and Martin host a remarkably comprehensive site that really ought to be the primary source for any ASL-related search. As an example of what they have, there is a list of ASL-related articles, as well as a list of scenarios, the ability to create an account to track your own playing history, events, lists, and so forth. But the most powerful asset, in my opinion, is the ability to do an advanced search for scenarios. One can search for scenarios based on nationality, time, special rules, and so forth.

So there you have it. If you’re new to ASL and you’re looking for some reading material to help you along, I’ve only shown the tip of the iceberg. There are periodicals from France, Sweden, and of course from across the US. Many of the materials are still available today, thanks to the Internet. Some of the articles are less about how to play the game but rather more in-depth articles on tactics, techniques, and procedures in the game. These could be considered advanced-level material, I suppose. But the main thing is that there are articles for everyone.  I recommend starting at the ASL Scenario Archive as a starting point and then going from there. But be forewarned: there is enough material to keep you reading for years to come!  Enjoy!

David Garvin is an ASL aficionado in Nova Scotia who has more ASL articles to read than he has time for.