Commentary:  Steel Master Module A (hereinafter SMMA) is an interesting ASL accessory and the first third party product to consist entirely of counters (the only other item one can even marginally fit into that category was an attempt some years ago by an idiot to produce pirated versions of the black SS counters that appeared in the module A Bridge Too Far). 

The counters of SMMA, which is the first of a planned set for the entire ASL AFV countermix, are AFV-specific turret counters for German and Soviet vehicles.  They seem to be 9/16" in size (halfway between the 1/2" infantry/SW counters and the 5/8" AFV/Gun counters) and are designed to replace the generic CE/BU markers from the standard ASL countermix.  Ostensibly, these counters are designed so that you don't have to lift up the BU/CE counter to see the gun or armor values of the AFV underneath the marker.  Actually, this will still be fairly frequently, as the designers left bow machine guns off the counter.  This was a decision made apparently because they are not part of the "turret," but since such MG will often be fired together, excluding them from the counter means that players will often have to look underneath the turret counter to get the BMG value (unless they have memorized it).  MP factors also don't appear.

The countersheets are professionally printed and die-cut.  The die-cutting uses side nibs rather than corner nibs, though wargamers prefer the latter (because side nibs leave irritating "bumps" on the sides of the counters that must be cut or shaved off).  The printing job looks good.  The counters are matte (i.e., not shiny or glossy), which makes them look darker than they actually are (especially for the Soviets).  The turret graphics look good; they are very detailed (obviously painstakingly rendered) and apparently to scale (relative to each other). 

The main problem with the turret counters is that much of the information on them uses a tiny font.  Presumably, this is partially due to the fact that the designers had to accommodate most of the information of a standard-sized ASL counter onto the smaller turret counter, and also had to accommodate a large turret graphic.  However, there is still room enough to make the armor factor and MG factors larger--and indeed, if needed, the turrets should have been reduced in size to accommodate this, because in wargame graphic design, form should always follow function, and the graphics should never trump the information.  As a result, players will often have to pick up the turret counters anyway, simply because they can't read the values on the counters. 

This is especially a problem for the Soviet counters, where the dark brown color  makes some of the values (especially red values, which blend into the brown of the counter) particularly hard to read.  The vehicle names are also extremely tiny and needed to have been made larger (though the designers did intelligently put them on top of a yellow background to increase contrast and therefore readability).  The main armament and ROF info is perfectly legible; it is the other factors that need to be increased in size.  For some inexplicable reason, the CE status of the counter (on the back) is white (seemingly with a tiny shadow), but the BU status on the front is red and not at all readable on the Soviet counters.  It should have been white, too.

In general, the German turret counters are fairly easily readable, but the Soviet turret counters are quite hard to read.

The designers did add some innovations to the counters, such as including smoke dispenser information (always handy), and striking out weapons that cannot fire.  For example, an AAMG with a value that has a red line through it on the BU side cannot fire while the AFV is BU; a MA with a line through it on the CE side cannot fire while the AFV is CE.  This is very handy, especially for novices.   The turret counters AF also take into account the circles and squares on the original counters; thus an AFV with a circled front AF of 3 will be represented by a turret counter that has a non-circled front AF of 2.  This might take a little getting used to for some people; they will also have to remember (if their vehicle gets hit in the hull) that these factors only represent the turret armor, not the hull armor.

Basically, each nationality gets about a sheet and a half worth of counters.  For some vehicle types there are an inordinate number of turret counters--more turret counters than vehicles in the original counter-mix.  For example, there are an amazing 24 (!) BT-7 M37 turret counters--12 for the CMG-only version and 12 more for the CMG/AAMG combo version.  The designers also introduce four new variants, such as T-34s fitted with a high-velocity 57mm gun "to serve as panzer hunters." 

In general, this is an interesting, if not totally successful (primarily for the Soviets) experiment.  Given its pricey nature, one may legitimately ask for whom this product is intended, as it is very much a niche product.  It will probably appeal most to ASL armor aficionados (as the designers themselves pretty obviously are).  For others, the product certainly has some novelty value and may cause your opponent to go "ooooh" when they see the pretty new counters.  Obviously, collectors will want these counters, too.  It is not, of course, a product for everybody.

Though one can easily understand why Countersmith Workshop would have wanted to "lead" with the German and Soviet turret counters, it might have been better to have started with a lesser nationality, so that the release could serve as a "test run" before trying one of the "big boy" nationalities.  As it is, the designers may eventually want to tweak their basic turret counter designs (especially increasing the font size and the readability contrast), and might end up re-releasing this product down the road.

If Countersmith Workshop continues with making "alternative" ASL counters, there certainly is a lot they could work with.  There are a number of ASLers out there, for example, who might enjoy Free French counters in French colors, or a set of Canadian counters with their own color scheme, etc.  It will be interesting to see in what direction their journey takes them.

Commentary:  Steel Master Module B, the follow-on to Countersmith Workshop's introduction of custom, vehicle-specific turret counters for ASL, provides custom AFV turret counters for American and British AFVs. 

These 9/16" turret counters provide a wealth of information about the vehicle, including not just BU/CE status or MA and CMG information, but also a variety of esoteric rules/vehicle notes reminders, as well as variants.  Counters can remind you that smoke mortars can only fire within their TCA, that AAMG cannot be fired while BU, that a vehicle's turret may not be able to traverse or fire through the "starboard" side of the vehicle, and so forth.  In a nice touch, there are also counters for gyrostablized tanks, a feature represented by a double-circled or double-squared turret symbol, as opposed to the single circle or square on regular tanks.

The counters of Steel Master Module B are improved over the versions that appeared in the first module.  First, the die-cutting now has corner nibs rather than center nibs, a feature much preferred by wargamers.  Second, the counters now have a gloss finish rather than a matte finish, which makes them look in both color and appearance much more compatible with their official vehicular counterparts.  The counters are also supposedly very slightly thicker.  All of these are welcome improvements.

The counters are now very nice, and armor aficionados and those who might want to impress their friends by whipping out some cool custom counters can definitely do so by bringing these puppies out.  It is a shame, though, that the AFV designations, armor values, and MG values are still in such a tiny type, as there is room on the counters for them to be made larger and more readable.  However, overall it is a good achievement.

AFV Logic Basic:  300 AFV Smart Cards of 50 AFV models

AFV Logic Plus:  102 transparent PVC Marker Cards, 12 PVC Armor Leader cards

AFV Logic Basic Plus:  All of above, plus carrying case

Commentary:  AFV Logic is one of the more unusual ASL products ever produced.  In essence, it is a new form of AFV card of the type that appeared in Avalon Hill's DASL modules Streets of Fire and Hedgerow Hell. 

The first AFV Logic set--one presumes there will be more--contains AFV cards for 50 different types of German, Soviet, British, and American AFVs (with 6 duplicate cards for each AFV, and A-F alphabet stickers to put on the cards to differentiate them). 

Each card is two-sided and full-color.  They are business-card sized.  This makes them more convenient to carry or store, but less convenient to use, as only half of the needed information is printed on each side of the card, requiring fairly frequent flipping.  Data on the cards include armor values, movement values, gun and machine gun values (oddly, on different sides of the card), weight, crew survival, smoke dispenser info, vehicle note references, and specialized To Hit and To Kill information.  Not all of it is intuitive and there is no guide provided--and one is clearly needed.  There is some clarifying information on the Countersmith Workshop website. 

What makes the AFV Logic cards different from other AFV cards is that instead of using counters on the cards to represent things like loss of special ammo, AFV Logic uses transparent plastic overlays to provide this information.  Thus the full set includes a large number of tiny plastic sheets, each of which is transparent except for a single information graphic such as "MA Malfunction" or "BOG" or "BU" or "SHOCK."  Each of these items is located on the transparent sheet in a specific location so that, laid over the corresponding AFV card, it relates to the information on the card.  For example, the "BOG" graphic would appear right above the movement value of the AFV.  A "Depleted" graphic would appear over the special ammo section.  Because the cards are otherwise transparent, essentially an endless number of such cards can overlay an AFV card.  There is nothing to keep such overlays on a card, though, unless players use a paper clip or some other device; otherwise, a simple brush of the hand might scatter a stack of overlays.  Though interesting looking, it is not clear that this overlay method has any practical value over AFV cards that use counters.

The main problem that this product has is that it really doesn't have much of an audience.  In his ASL travels, this author tends to see AFV cards in use by ASL players perhaps once every two years or so.  The past history of AFV cards suggests that they are used primarily by novice players, who discard them relatively quickly, as they really do not provide that much added value.  They take up space, are fairly cumbersome, and most players do just fine without them.  Because of this, it is not really clear how many people would truly be attracted to this system.  It is expensive, coming from Hong Kong, but also obscure, for much the same reason, which means that many novice players will not ever even hear about this product, unless they read about it right here.  ASL completists might well get it, because they tend to get everything ASL-related, but even they are unlikely to actually use it, as opposed to simply hoarding it.

Countersmith Workshop deserves credit for ingenuity, and for trying new things, but this particular type of product is probably not the best use of their resources.