Desperation Morale Central: The ASL Website of Mark Pitcavage

 

 

 

  

 

 Unofficial ASL Products
ASL News
Periodicals  
   
   
World of ASL Main Page    

 

Producer Name:  ASL News (1990?-1996)
Still Active?: No
Commentary:  ASL News began as a newsletter and ended as a magazine.  Many ASLers wish it had never ended at all; ASL News was the first true international ASL publication.  Printed in Belgium by Philippe Léonard (with Pedro Ramis and Jean Devaux), ASL News eventually was published in English and attracted an audience from many countries and at least two continents.  It showed how, after only a few years of existence, ASL had already attracted an international audience (one that would continue to grow), and it showed too that Americans had no monopoly at all on ASL talent--clearly many of the best ASL players and designers came from the other side of the "pond." 

 

Periodicals

Title:  ASL News
Publisher/Date:   ASL News (1990?-1996 ) Product Type: Newsletter/Magazine (originally published quarterly; its last issues biannually)
Contents:  Magazine, occasional insert (geomorphic map, unmounted counters, overlays)
Commentary:  ASL News lasted for 31 issues.  It began as a quarterly newsletter, but as ambitions and audiences grew, ASL News grew too.  In its last few years of existence it was a quite nicely produced black and white magazine.  Philippe Léonard was the mainstay behind the publication, but he had plenty of help, especially from Pedro Ramis, Jean Devaux and Claude Scref, but also from a host of other contributors, mostly French and Belgian, but also including Brits, Americans, Italians, and others.

The production values of ASL News never approached those of Tactiques or Le Franc Tireur, but in its later issues became better than those of the average newsletter (for those days before sophisticated desk-top publishing was inexpensive and color newsletters could be distributed via PDF or color inkjet printers).  The magazine was in English (except for some articles in its earlier issues), but it was more a functional English than anything else.  Even leaving aside the language issues, the quality of the articles varied widely.  On the whole, the article content does not compare favorably to that of most of the other ASL magazines.

As ASL News grew in size, it became more difficult to produce.  Its publication schedule dropped to biannual, and there was a very long delay between Issue 30 and Issue 31, as Léonard experienced difficulties with his printer.  Finally, Léonard made an arrangement with American third party publisher Critical Hit for that company to take over ASL News' subscription obligations and to give Critical Hit the right to reprint ASL News scenarios.  This resulted in several scenario packs (the first several Euro-Packs) and one magazine issue (Scroungin' ASL News, a "best of" compilation).  Several of the contributors for ASL News, including Pedro Ramis and Ian Daglish, would also become frequent designers for Critical Hit.  Others, such as Jean Devaux, would move on to the French ASL magazine Le Franc Tireur. 

In addition to the "regular" issues listed below, ASL News reprinted some of its older articles in what it called "ASL News Special Oldies." 

ASL News Special Oldies
#1, #2, #3 These three issues included articles and a total of 17 scenarios from the first 15 issues, all in English.
#4/5 This double issue includes all of ASL News' French language articles, as well as 6 scenarios (which were all reprints from other ASL newsletters and magazines).
#6/7 This double issue included English articles and 8 scenarios from issues 16-20.

Issues

NO IMAGE AVAILABLE Issues #1-23:  No information available. 

 

 

 

Issue #24.  December 1993.  24 pages, including 2 scenarios (ASL News 44, Cornered Tigers, a DASL scenario, and ASL News 45, Red on White).  This issue contains news about recent official and unofficial ASL products, an article on Soviet infantry winter tactics by Andréa Matteuzzi, a scenario analysis, an article on ASL terrain oddities and another on ASL lines of sight, and tournament reports. 

Issue #25.  February 1994.  28 pages, including 2 scenarios (ASL News 46, Justify the Losses, and ASL News 47, Shout for Piats).  This issue contains news about recent official and unofficial ASL products (including the much awaited release of Kampfgruppe Peiper I, designed by none other than Philippe Léonard himself), some history of the game Kampfgruppe Peiper as well as the battle it represents, an article on air support by Pedro Ramis, a lengthyASL situational analysis/puzzle on a combat between two AFVs (certainly interesting for people trying to increase their AFV abilities), and scenario designer's notes. 

Issue #26.  May 1994.  20 pages, including 2 scenarios (ASL News 48, For One More Hour, and ASL News 49, Assault on Pointe-Du-Hoc).  This issue contains news about recent official and unofficial ASL products, a scenario analysis, designer's notes, an article on early war AFVs in ASL, tournament reports, an article on German motorized machine gun battalions, and an overview of an amphibious assault.

Issue #27.  September 1994.  32 pages, including 2 scenarios (ASL News 50, The Grain of Sand, a DASL scenario, and ASL News 51, Forward Defense).  With this issue, ASL News took a step up in production values, printed rather than Xeroxed, and appearing much more like a magazine than a newsletter.  This issue, deep in the "dark days" of ASL, contains a plaintive plea from editor Philippe Léonard:  "Advanced Squad Leader might well soon become an orphan game.  The age of steadily incoming new modules and material might be over.  However, new fanzines keep appearing and people continue to play, enjoy the system and maintain it...Being CREATIVE truly is essential these days if we want to see more ASL today and tomorrow.  Just don't play alone in your corner.  Share it with others.  Think.  Write.  Imagine.  Try again.  That's the real life."  This issue also includes news on recent official and unofficial ASL products, a lengthy article on command & control rules, an article on bocage, tournament reports, a quiz, and an article on British anti-tank units at Arnhem. 

 

Issue #28.  December 1994.  48 pages, including an unmounted 8" x 22" geomorphic mapboard, 4 scenarios (ASL News 52-55), and Kampfgruppe Peiper campaign game.  The most intriguing aspect of this issue of the magazine is an included geomorphic mapboard, the first every printed by a third party publisher (indeed, it would be half a decade before anyone else would even try).  The map depicts the railway station at Stoumont in the Ardennes; one scenario, Roadblock at Stoumont, uses the map.  The map is attractive, especially considering that it was printed in a magazine in 1994, but it does suffer from some ambiguities concerning hill levels.  This was clarified in an errata insert, which some copies may not have (so see errata below).  Critical Hit later made the map available in PDF format in two parts at www.Criticalhit.com/ASLNews1.pdf and www.Criticalhit.com/ASLNews2.pdf.

Article content included news on recent official and unofficial ASL products, a scenario analysis, an analysis of Japanese strategy for the scenario ASL News 51 (Forward Defense), a look at the T.O. & E. of U.S. armored infantry battalions, a Kampfgruppe Peiper I campaign game (KGP IV, Above the Prayers), detailed design and play notes for that campaign, tournament reports, and a comic strip of very questionable taste.

The four scenarios, ASL News 52 (Time for Lunch), ASL News 52 (Fuel Depot #2), ASL News 53 (Devils in the Graveyard, using the Stoumont map), and ASL News 54 (Roadblock at Stoumont, using the included ASL News map), are all Battle of the Bulge scenarios.

Errata #28.

Railroads.  In the Movement Chart, delete the "Across RR" row and replace "Along RR" with "Railroad."  Delete the "Ground Level" row.

ASL News Map.  The levels of some of the woods hexes on the map are not very clear.  Use the following information for clarification:  The woods in hexes G3, H3, I3, J3, K3, L3, M3, M4, N3, O3, O4, P3, Q3, R3, S3 are also level 3 hill hexes.  Woods in C2, D2, E2, E3, F2, F3, G2, G4, H2, H4, I2, I4, J2, J4, K2, K4, L2, L4, M2, M5, N2, N4, O2, O5, P2, P4, Q2, Q4, R2, R4, S2, S4, T2, T3, U2, U3, U4, V2, V3, W2, W3, X2, X3, Y2, Y3, Z2, Z3, AA2, AA3, BB2, and CC2 are on level 2 hill hexes.

 
Issue #29.  March 1995.  48 pages, including 4 scenarios (one of them a reprint), and a sheet with 6 unmounted counters (M4 Allis Chalmers high speed tractor).  Article content included news on recent official and unofficial ASL products, a scenario analysis, an article on the Chalmers tractor (which suprisingly never appeared in Yanks), a historical article on Chinese communist military forces in World War II, an article on developing counterfactual Operation Sea Lion scenarios, an article on clearance, an article on airdrops, and tournament reports.

The scenarios include ASL News 56b (Tumult from the Clouds, a revision of an earlier published scenario), ASL News 57 (Red Dragon), ASL News 58 (Nemesis), and ASL News 59 (Misty Morning, using the Stoumont historical map). 

 

Issue #30.  September 1995.  48 pages, including 4 scenarios (inserts, but on cardstock, an interesting experiment) and a sheet of railroad embankment overlays.  Article content included news on recent official and unofficial ASL products, a scenario analysis, an article on terrain anomalies in ASL, a set of universal railroad rules, an article on clearance and elimination of fortifications and obstacles, designers notes, a historical article on the action represented in the Kinetic Energy scenario Tiger 222, an article on German infantry battalion TO&E, and tournament reports.

The scenarios include ASL News 60 (Call them Ironsides), ASL News 61 (Elusive Armor), ASL News 62 (Down the Road, which uses the geomorphic map published in ASL News #28 and the railroad overlays from ASL News #29), and ASL News 63 (DC Party). 

 

Issue #31.  1996.  48 pages including 6 scenarios.  This issue, the last issue of ASL News, came out only after a lengthy delay.  It did last long enough to see the publication of Kampfgruppe Peiper II, designed by editor Philippe Léonard.  Article content included news on recent official and unofficial ASL products, an article critiquing the historicism of AS Annual scenario A30 (Defeat in Java), an article on a Belgian tank (with blank and white unmounted colors printed in the magazine), a scenario analysis, a playtest report on SASL, designer's notes, rules for a new type of fortification (the weapon pit), and tournament reports.

The scenarios include ASL News 64 (Stubborn Insurrection), ASL News 65 (Frontal Collision), ASL News 66 (L'Abbaye Blanche, which uses the geomorphic map published in ASL News #28), ASL News 67 (Their Darkest Hour, a counterfactual Operation Sea Lion scenario, ASL News 68 (Art Nouveau), and ASL News 69 (L'Amour, L'Amour, L'Amour, a nice title for the final ASL News scenario). 

Images:
 
   

Top of Page

Back to World of ASL Main Page