Alexander has recently played (some of you will be saying finally!) the ASL Starter Kit #1 with a friend and he put together this video review with his thoughts on the system.
Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Starter Kit #1 teaches new players the basic concepts of the major Infantry and Terrain rules from Advanced Squad Leader by using an abbreviated and illustrated rulebook.
The ASL Starter Kit #1 is a stand-alone game, with six scenarios that require only the maps and counters provided in the module. The two mapboards that are included also work with both Squad Leader and Advanced Squad Leader, and the scenarios can be played using full Advanced Squad Leader rules if desired.
For those that don’t know, Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is a tactical-level board wargame, originally marketed by Avalon Hill Games, that simulates actions of squad sized units during World War II. It is a detailed game system for two or more players (with solitary play also possible). Components include the ASL Rulebook and various games called modules.
-Grant
The Players' Aid 
Despite having a great fan base, I think the system is old.
I played it at launch but the problem is that they started from a “I go – You go” system with interrupts.
That meant an incredible number of interrupts in a game turn and a complex sequence of play…
These days games use initiative mechanics that smooth out play.
The full version of ASL is an extreme deep and incredible data driven tactical simulation but at a too steep price. Both in money and in time.
A personal remark of the scale… AFV’s do not function very well as the scale is 40 meters/hex which prevents the more grand tactical game play.
I prefer the Panzer series with its 100 meter per hex which offers a wider area of tactical battle or the excellent Grand Tactical Series.
And frankly for fun the miniatures game of Bolt Action offers a great alternative with 5% of the rules format.
Also nicer to look at 😜 and it is simply fun to 3D print your latest Skdfz 251 or Panzer IV… 😜and fight with it on your table.
LikeLike
I can hear the mob grabbing their pitchforks and burning torches, preparing to storm Alexander’s house! It’s going to be a bloodbath to see who can get Alexander’s copy of Decision at Elst!
My one bone of contention with MMP is their lack or reprints, particularly with several ASL products. Another example is BCS with 4 of the games out of print/stock.
I’m surprised that Alexander struggled with the rules, given that some of the games you play and review are just as complex or more so than ASLSK. I would be interested to hear Grant’s take on learning and playing ASLSK. As to ASL the rules are extensive and cover a multitude of aspects, but rarely do you use that many. These days there are also a wide range of youtube channels that teach or explain the rules. Like any game, the more you play the more adept you become with the rules and game. I started with the system back in the late 80’s.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The original Squad Leader was first published in 1977. The game system, now ASL, in its many modules and Starter Kit guises is still going pretty strong and is still in print. I may well be wrong, but I do wonder if any war board-game system published now (2024) would still have as strong a following in 2071.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Probably not. I just bought myself ASLSK #4 The Pacific.
LikeLike
I am a now ancient AH original age board gamer. Boring! Summarizes my view of the original AH Squad Leader, ASL and the ASL (trainer wheels) Starter Kits. The suspense of combat is lost in a ridiculous set of plastered on layers of action requirements to falsely give the impression of great detail. I still have the original AH in my collection just to enjoy the cover art on the box. The scenario mission sheets are the only excellent thing in the games as the historical mission art, mission descriptions and unit set-ups is where the best part of the game came to die! Whereas my love for AH’s game, Up Front, has no limit even after 41 plus years of enjoyment as my all-time favorite WW2 wargame. Whether tournament play, or just repeat head-to-head scenario faceoffs using all the rules, and even designing one’s own scenarios the game is a rich squad level combat game. With built in fog of war, requiring constant tactical flexibility, the acceptance of the possible whims of fate along with the elimination of limiting hex maps, dice rolling and manufactured odds, Up Front, creates all the excitement missing in ASL. I do find it interesting how many competitive SL and ASL players lack the imagination to play and enjoy a war game where they don’t have all the God like ability to control a game searching for dice odd/chart result superiority. You often see them attempt to card count in UP Front (a 162-action card deck on a bell curve) to try to control the odds rather than enjoy the surprise suspense behind a card reveal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
SL was the first tactical squad level system I played and that initial buzz and excitement that it gave me has been rarely matched wargaming-wise. Down the years I moved onto both ASL and ASLSK. Whilst I had fun, the immense rules overhead of (especially) ASL eventually annoyed me no end – spending as much time flicking through the tome of the rulebook as much as moving pieces around became tiresome, and it’s lack of any command and control dynamic riled me. ASL is a lifestyle game, you have to play it regularly to keep the core rules fresh.
I’ve tried quite a few newer systems but it was Old School Tactical which was the first tactical game that gave me that same feeling and buzz that SL did all those years ago. It’s 90% of the detail of ASL with under 10% of the rules. Each to their own but for me OST is the perfect balance.
LikeLiked by 1 person