Multiman Publishing

By David Garvin

With the new year, many gamers across the land get excited for the annual Winter Offensive, hosted by the folks at Multiman Publishing (MMP). With over 150 attendees, this is one of the larger annual conventions, but it differs from many in that it does not focus on a wide variety of games.  The two major games here are Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) and the Great Campaigns of the American Civil War (GCACW).

There were some other games being played, but those two were the main ones.  Furthermore, the Winter Offensive is a charitable event, with the benefactor being the World War Two Foundation. Every year, MMP raises thousands for this important group, raising awareness of this important event in our shared history.

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.”

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.