For example, RetroPak #7 (The Road to Berlin) began as OAF 9 (Hell's Fire at Meuncheberg[sic]), a scenario originally printed in the ancient ASL newsletter On All Fronts, then reprinted some years later by Critical Hit with some other OAF scenarios as "OAF Pack."  In Retro Pak I, the scenario reappears as The Road to Berlin.  The historical text is the same (although, ironically, its changes do not even include fixing the misspelled "Meuncheberg" from the original), and the order of battle is arbitrarily tweaked.  For example, a Soviet force of 9 4-5-8 squads and 3 6-2-8 squads is now a force of 8 4-5-8s, 2 6-2-8s, and 4 4-4-7s.  It originally had 1 .50 cal MG and 3 LMG; now it has 2 MMG and 3 LMG.  And so on and so forth.  The original scenario appeared to have favored the German (with a 2-8 ROAR report), but the Germans are strengthened in the new version, which raises questions about balance, although of course since the boards were arbitrarily changed, the new version will play differently.  No playtesters are listed, so it is not clear if any of these revised reprints were even fully playtested.

Five of the scenarios are East Front (i.e., Soviets vs. Germans), while two are Americans vs. Germans and one is USMC vs. Japanese.  Six of the scenarios are large in size, while two could be considered medium-sized.  There are no small scenarios in the pack.

The bottom line is that it is hard to recommend this scenario pack to anyone.  Veteran ASLers stand a good chance of already owning the original versions of these scenarios--scenarios that appeared as their designers intended, without maps, orders of battle, and SSRs arbitrarily changed.  And because the amount of playtesting on these "new" scenarios is unclear, it is hard to recommend this pack to new ASLers, either.  That pretty much leaves completist collectors only.

TAP2, following in its footsteps, adds a dozen new scenarios, but only one additional map, a long narrow map with a town on one end and orchards and fields in the middle and on the other end.  It is unremarkable and not particularly interesting.

Many of the scenarios use maps from Total Axis Pack I; thus, ownership of that previous pack is more or less REQUIRED.  Only 2 of the 12 scenarios use the included map.  Another 6 scenarios use the maps from TAP1.  The remaining scenarios use geomorphic maps, including TAP#21 (Last Message Home), which uses a DASL board (or rather, part of one!).

The scenarios are a real mix of nationalities and actions, including:  Finns vs. Soviets 1939 [2], Finns vs. Soviets 1944, Americans vs. Germans (1943 in Sicily, 1944 in Normandy, 1945 in Alsace), Germans vs. Soviets 1945, New Zealanders and Greeks vs. Germans (1941, in Greece),  Germans and Hungarians vs. Soviets 1945, Italians vs. Japanese 1943 [2], and Slovak partisans vs. Germans 1944.

The pack is heavily weighted towards large scenarios; only 1 is small and only 3 are medium-sized.  Four scenarios have OBA (including one NOBA); several have Finnish ski-capable troops.

Two of the scenarios immediately stand out for their exoticism and interest level; these are the two scenarios featuring Italian and Japanese troops fighting each other:  TAP#21 (Last Message Home) and TAP#22 (Last Outpost).  Both take place in Tientsin, China, in September 1943, following the armistice between the Allies and Italy.  The Italians had long had a battalion to keep order in this quasi-colony of theirs, and following the Italian surrender, the Japanese surrounded the Italian quarter and demanded their surrender.  The Italians offered this soon enough, but not before some skirmishes had occurred, and these fights provided scenario grist for designer David Lamb.  Not surprisingly, they are the only Italian vs. Japanese scenarios in the ASL milieu.

This is a pack that probably has good play value, but its cost value is lessened by the need to own TAP1.

The laziness of Critical Hit is amply demonstrated.  StalPack#1 (Ivan's Way), for example, contains the exact same historical description as the Valor of the 37th Guards scenario On Yeremenko's Orders.  Ivan's Way appears to be a rough approximation of that earlier scenario (which itself is an approximation from End Tide from Dzerhezinsky Tractor Works.  StalPak #2 (Yards Paid in Blood) does the same for Yards Measured in Blood from Valor of the 37th Guards.  And so on. 

One of the 10 scenarios is medium-sized, the rest are large.  StalPak#9 (Zholudev's 37th Guards) is the largest, with 23 German squads pitted against 36 Soviet squads and 13 AFVs.  The Germans have AFVs, too, bu the number is questionable.  In addition to 10 other tanks, the scenario card calls for 27 Pz IIIHs.  It's not often an entire armored regiment gets to see battle in ASL.  Of course, that is almost certainly errata.  The scenario is a clone of the DTW scenario To the Banks of the Volga, which calls for only 3 Pz IIIHs.  Clearly some mistake was made--and no proofreading caught the rather amazing error.  Apparently CH even has problems when cannibalizing its own scenarios.

This product is a transparent attempt at a fast buck, a throw-back to some of Critical Hit's shoddy products in the late 1990s.  Two thumbs down.

This time around, 10 scenarios are included.  Most of them are not Critical Hit originals, but rather obtained from other third party publishers (who published them in the mid-1990s) and originally reprinted by Critical Hit during the period 1996-1998.  Because most of these re-reprinted scenarios in RP2 have been renamed, their origins are not immediately obvious.  However, research reveals that most of the scenarios are from the European 1990s-era ASL newsletter ASL News (the rights to which Critical Hit later acquired) and were originally reprinted by Critical Hit in a compilation called Scroungin' ASL News.

Below is a list of the Retropak II scenarios and their provenance, along with how the scenarios were changed.  Note that essentially the only meaningful changes were minor OB variations (although Blade Force had a more serious set of OB changes).  Rules and victory conditions were reworded in most of the scenarios to make them more clear, but their meaning was not changed.  In summary, then, there are few significant changes from the originals.  This pack is essentially a reprint of reprints.

Though all of these scenarios are out of print, many of them are still relatively available.  Critical Hit scenario packs such as Rout Pack 1 and Scroungin' ASL News can be found without too much trouble (or expense) on the secondary market.   Not too much more difficult to obtain is the 1997 Special Edition issue of Critical Hit Magazine.  And Prussian Panic can be downloaded for free from the Web.  That basically leaves one scenario, Forward Defense, which is legitimately hard to find. 

Of the scenarios, only one, Victoria Cross, has gotten a fair amount of play over the years.  Most of the others have been languishing in obscurity, justly or unjustly.  The cosmetic changes and different names are not likely to make them any better or more enjoyable (or less so).  Veteran ASLers will probably already have a number of them in their possession; there is little need to purchase new versions.  That leaves relatively new ASL players as the possible target audience for this product.  The inexpensive price of Retropak II means that some older, not well known scenarios can be purchased cheaply. 

For some reason, though, the conversion process was never applied to the original ATS scenarios themselves, or to the early ATS expansion packs set in North Africa.  In 2010, Critical Hit decided to go back to the well and convert those early ATS products to ASL.  The initial result is a series of one core product (this one, AK-EL) and five additional scenario packs (which contain nothing but additional scenarios).  It is not clear why Critical Hit decided to divide this project up into a half-dozen different projects, instead of combining them into one or two products.  Perhaps a financial calculation was involved, with the idea being that more units might be sold if composed of separate, cheaply priced packs rather than one or two more expensive products, or proportionately more profit per unit could be realized.  On the other hand, the release of six products at once (in nearly identical packaging) is fairly confusing, and it can be easy for potential purchasers to miss one or more of the products; it is also likely that on-line or real world retailers might not have all six in stock.  So Critical Hit may have been too clever for itself in this regard.  In any case, getting the whole kit and caboodle will currently set someone back $130, so this will be an expensive endeavor for gamers no matter how one slices it (in late August, Critical Hit suddenly announced another half-dozen AK packs would be imminently released, so one can essentially double the comments mentioned here).

The timing of the product's release is a bit off, as required ASL component West of Alamein has long been out of print, and its replacement has not yet been released.  Thus many newer ASL players will not have all of the requisite components.  This will presumably improve over time.

ATS's approach to the North African desert, now brought to ASL, was to abandon the desert-themed geomorphic mapboards introduced in West of Alamein and Hollow Legions and instead use a large 22" x 34" generic desert mapboard, which could be modified as needed through the use of overlays.  This was probably a wise decision, as the expansive nature of desert warfare means that most ASL desert scenarios used most of the desert geo-boards anyway, so there was not that much of a reason to have individual but nearly identical geomorphic mapboards.  The larger mapboard in this instance is actually more rather than less convenient.

The four dozen overlays represent a wide variety of desert terrain, though the features are all limited in size (though the map is 22" x 34", no overlay is larger than around 7" x 10" and most are considerably smaller.  As a result, there are no options for a ridge or gully that can span the map, for example.  Overlays include hillocks, railroads, wadis, villages, sand, deirs, scrub, crag, palm trees, buildings and forts, sand dunes, tracks, camps and dumps, anti-tank ditches, hills, and wire/minefields.  Purchasers should carefully check their overlays to make sure they are all correctly cut, as on some copies, some overlay cards are mis-cut.

An eight-page booklet is included with the product, of which four pages are rules, primarily to describe the overlays and their placement.  About a page of rules is dedicated to handling the old forts that appear in some scenarios. 

A small number of die-cut counters appear in the module as well.  In and of themselves, they are not very interesting.  A new Italian squad type is introduced, a 4-4-8/2-4-8 elite squad/half-squad designed to represent the Folgore parachutists who fought at El Alamein.  A small number of German squads (4-6-8, 4-6-7, and 4-4-7) are included that are intended to represent Afrika Korps troops; they are identical to regular German troops except that the 4-4-7 squads have underlined morale to indicate that they do not ELR further.  The other counters are 5/8" counters representing a variety of standard German vehicles and guns, and British vehicles and guns (though they are more yellow in color than ASL-standard British khaki). 

It is worth nothing that, while recent ASL-compatible modules with counters released by Critical Hit included enough counters (aside from info markers) to play any of the scenarios included, this is NOT the case here, and official counters will still be required to provide units needed for the scenarios.

The most noteworthy aspect of the counters is not in what is included but rather in how they are depicted.  At long last, Critical Hit abandoned its dysfunctional, difficult-to-understand system of gun/vehicular counter layout.  Years of customer complaints, along with sideways glances towards the far more attractive counters produced by rivals Heat of Battle and Bounding Fire Productions, apparently gave Critical Hit enough of a nudge to finally introduce readable counters.  "The choice to go with [these] counters," suggests the El Alamein rules booklet, "follows the long-standing precedent now extant with HoB and BFP counters, and communicated as a preference by gamers."  This goes a long way towards making Critical Hit counters actually usable, as many ASLers did not even bother using CH's 5/8" counters in their old layout and presentation style.

Critical Hit, however, has a way to go to be able to match a company like MMP or even a third party publisher like BFP in terms of counter quality.  Critical Hit still seems to use some poor counter dies (or employs a sloppy die-cutter; in any case, the nibs are strangely placed), and the registration of its die-cutting in El Alamein is visibly off from its guide marks, with the result that many of the counters have art that is not squarely centered and may even have values cut off. 

There are 10 scenarios in AK-EL; not surprisingly, Desert Rules are in effect for all of them.  Every scenario uses the included "Tobruk" map.   Perhaps not surprisingly, given that these are conversions of ATS scenarios, the scenarios in AK-EL tend towards the small.  Half of the AK-EL scenaros fall in the small scenario range, with the other half being medium or large.  One scenario uses OBA, two scenarios use Air Support, and three scenarios use Night Rules.  A number of the scenarios have extensive overlay placement.

Half of the scenarios feature straight British/Commonwealth vs. German action.  The other half feature British/Commonwealth vs. Italians, or vs. Germans and Italians together.   A couple of the scenarios don't look like any fun at all.  AK#1 (Charge to Aqqaqir Ridge), while featuring an admirable number of Q's in the title, depicts a "charge of the light brigade" situation with 17 British Grant and Sherman tanks being picked off by a shooting gallery of 9 AT guns and 88mm AA guns, as well as 2 AFVs.  To win, the British have to exit only a single vehicle.  Even less enchanting is AK#10 (Todt), which features 6 British fighter-bombers (only) vs. a small convoy of light-skinned German vehicles.  There has never been a fun scenario featuring an airplane only OB for a side, and this is unlikely to break the mold.

AK#2 (The Mark of the Lion) and AK#4 (January Breached) look only slightly more fun.  Both are tiny scenarios featuring six squads or less per side, victory conditions that involve getting into or getting enemy units out of a wadi, and use Night Rules.  They hardly seem worth brushing up on the Night Rules and Desert Rules for.

On a more positive note, AK#6 (Fraser's Black Line Dash) depicts a small British vs. German infantry action with an interesting SSRs (British units must past a TC to enter the map).  It could be a nice, quick scenario, if the German 81mm mortars (two of them) don't get too lucky.   AK#7 (Kidney Punch) features an interesting combined arms action with British, Italians, and Germans all represented, including everything from a British Hurricane buzzing around the battlefield, Italian flame-throwing tanks, and a variety of AFVs and support weapons.  With a variety of ways to amass VP, players are unlikely to know who is winning through most of the scenario.  AK#9 (Hunters of Afrika) pits elite British troops against elite Italian parachutists in a 3 1/2 turn scenario that will start with fast and furious action due to an unusual sequential scenario set-up mechanism that will end up with both sides almost on top of each other.

It should be noted that, as of a month or two after the release of the 6 AK products, there has been a fair amount of errata for them.  As of mid-August 2010, as far as AK-EL is concerned, AK#2, AK#6, and AK#8 have all had their original scenario cards replaced with a 1.1 version.  Presumably the earliest released copies had the original version; players whose copy of AK-EL do not have version 1.1 cards for these scenarios should contact Critical Hit.  Currently, combined errata for the series (though it is not clear if this is up-to-date) can be found here.

The Afrika Korps project is, overall, a welcome return to the desert for ASL.  It is not the most popular theater for players, and so has seriously been neglected by designers (the fact that ASL desert rules, boards and counters have been out of print for many years has definitely not helped).  AK may convince some ASL veterans to break out their Chapter F and give it another go.  Certainly the addition of a large map is convenient, as are the addition of many new overlays.  The new CH AFV counter art is also welcome (though CH still has a way to go to improve on its counter quality).  Less welcome is the division of the AK project into so many different separate products, which is not particularly consumer friendly.  As far as AK-EL is concerned, the scenarios included are not as nice a mix as they could be (there was just no reason to include AK#10, for example), and one hopes that they have been adequately playtested (the early errata does make one a bit nervous).

One additional point is perhaps worth making.  The release of so many scenarios at once, followed almost immediately by a second, equally large batch of scenarios (Critical Hit announced in late August 2010 the imminent release of another 6 packs of ATS-to-ASL desert conversions) raises questions as to whether all (or even most) of the converted scenarios received adequate playtesting and development, especially because CH's main team of playtesters and developers were not involved in the project.

Title:  Afrika Korps-Benghazi Handicap (AK002)

The scenarios in AK-BH all take place in March-April 1941, during the early stages of Rommel's first offensive, essentially between El Agheila and Tobruk.  They all use a large, non-geomorphic desert mapboard, usually populated with a number of overlays.

Most of the scenarios have a relatively small number of SSRs (though they all use Chapter F, of course).  There are no Night scenarios or scenarios with OBA.  One scenario uses Air Support.

Scenarios ported over to ASL from the ATS system, as all of these were, tend to be small in size, and that is definitely true for AK-BH.  In fact, all eight scenarios are small.  Most of them are so small, in fact, that it is debatable whether or not it is worth putting together a bunch of overlays and brushing up on Chapter F rules simply in order to play them.

For most ASLers, scenarios this size are so small as to not be very satisfying, although perhaps players could play several of them in a row in order to get a more rewarding total experience.  Moreover, the appeal for many of the players who do play desert scenarios (only a minority of the total ASL audience) is combined arms or armor heavy action, and these scenarios are pretty much lacking in those swirling tank battles. 

Overall, it has to be said that AK-EL is disappointing.

It should be noted that, as of a month or two after the release of the 6 AK products, there has been a fair amount of errata for them.  As of mid-August 2010, as far as AK-BH is concerned, AK#13, AK#14, and AK#17 have all had their original scenario cards replaced with a 1.1 version.  Presumably the earliest released copies had the original version; players whose copy of AK-BH do not have version 1.1 cards for these scenarios should contact Critical Hit.  Currently, combined errata for the series (though it is not clear if this is up-to-date) can be found here.

The scenarios in AK-BE all take place in Tunisia between December 1942 and May 1943, during the final months of the German and Italian presence in North Afrika.  In contrast to the two earlier products in the AK series, all the scenarios in AK-BE feature Americans.   The scenarios all use a large, non-geomorphic desert mapboard, usually populated with a number of overlays.

All of the AK-BE scenarios are converted versions of scenarios originally designed for the ATS system; as such, they tend to be smaller than the typical ASL scenario.  However, there is a good mix of scenarios in AK-BE, with an essentially equal division of small, medium, and large scenarios (though no very large ones).

The scenarios have few SSRs and few complex rules (other than Chapter F rules).  One scenario uses Air Support; two scenarios feature OBA.

Several of the scenarios look fairly interesting.  One is the somewhat awkwardly titled AK#20 (Deaf Forever to the Battle's Din), which features a struggle between American and German forces for a hill.  The Americans are well armed, with a .50 cal HMG and 3 MMGs (among other items), and get some decent armor support as reinforcements.  However, the Germans have an elite force, as well as more and better AFVs.  In addition, they are pals with a Stuka who will spend three turns over the battlefield.  There is errata in this scenario, as it says that the Germans may HIP one squad, but the Germans all enter from offboard (Critical Hit later confirmed that the Americans were meant instead).

AK#21 (Saving French Bacon) depicts an action in which an American infantry force (buttressed by two Grant tanks) must take a desert village and hold it despite some German reinforcements that include a Tiger tank.  AK#22 (Fruehlingswind) looks like a wild combined arms action featuring a German attack on an American-held village position.  Both sides have OBA.  The Americans also have a hero, some guns, and a variety of vehicles.  The Germans have a 10-2 leader, a 9-2 armor leader, and a nice armor force that includes a Tiger.  Victory conditions include CVP, building control, and hexes on an overlay.

Overall, the third AK product looks like a more enjoyable set of scenarios than the second one.

It should be noted that, as of a month or two after the release of the 6 AK products, there has been a fair amount of errata for them.  As of mid-August 2010, as far as AK-BE is concerned, AK#19 has had its original scenario cards replaced with a 1.1 version.  Presumably the earliest released copies had the original version; players whose copy of AK-BE do not have version 1.1 cards for this scenario should contact Critical Hit.  Currently, combined errata for the series (though it is not clear if this is up-to-date) can be found here.

The scenarios in AK-STA all take place between November 1942 and May 1943 in Tunisia; all of them feature the British/Commonwealth (making AK-STA essentially the counterpart to the third scenario pack, AK-Bitter Enders, the scenarios of which also take place in Tunisia but feature American troops).  The scenarios all use a large, non-geomorphic desert mapboard (included with AK-El Alamein), usually populated with a number of overlays.

All of the AK-STA scenarios are converted versions of scenarios originally designed for the ATS system; as such, they tend to be smaller than the typical ASL scenario.   Almost all of the ASK-STA scenarios are small in size by ASL standards, but thankfully they are not all too small (as was the case in AK-Benghazi Handicap).  However, a better mix of scenario sizes would give the scenario pack more play value; as it is, the pack has nothing to offer people who like medium-sized or large scenarios.

SSRs are typically few in number.  One scenario uses OBA; there are no scenarios that feature Night rules or Air Support. 

A couple of the scenarios seem interesting.  AK#32 (Blunted Blade) features a British force of 8 squads and 8 AFVs trying to take on a blocking force of 4 Italian squads with an HMG, two guns, 2 assault guns and a very nice platoon of German reinforcements (complete with a 9-2 leader and a hero).  Both sides get to use some less-used vehicles (including Semoventes, Crusaders, and AEC Is).  AK#33 (Jebel Achkel) is an all-infantry action featuring an Indian attack with 10 elite squads against a hill occupied by 8 German squads with some nasty MGs, an 88mm gun, and an 81mm mortar.  The British are not expected to take the whole hill, just control more Level 2 hill hexes than the Germans.

Overall, though, it is not the most exciting of the AK packs.

It should be noted that, as of a month or two after the release of the 6 AK products, there has been a fair amount of errata for them.  As of mid-August 2010, as far as AK-STA is concerned, AK#29 has had its original scenario cards replaced with a 1.1 version.  Presumably the earliest released copies had the original version; players whose copy of AK-BE do not have version 1.1 cards for this scenario should contact Critical Hit.  Currently, combined errata for the series (though it is not clear if this is up-to-date) can be found here.

The scenarios in AK-OT all take place between November 1942 and February 1943 in Morocco and Tunisia, the early months of Operation Torch.  The scenarios feature, in addition to the Germans and Italians, the Americans and the French.  Indeed, the French appear in all 8 of the scenarios, either in their Vichy variety (i.e., defending against the Americans) or in their new-found Free French status (i.e., fighting against the Axis).   The scenarios all use a large, non-geomorphic desert mapboard (included with AK-El Alamein), usually populated with a number of overlays.

All of the AK-OT scenarios are converted versions of scenarios originally designed for the ATS system; as such, they tend to be smaller than the typical ASL scenario.   However, in contrast to some of the other packs of the 6-part AK series, AK-OT does include some meatier scenarios.  Five of the scenarios are small in size, while three are large (none are really medium-sized).  Generally, the scenarios have few SSRs.  Three of the scenarios feature OBA; one scenario uses Air Support.  There are no Night scenarios.

Several scenarios are worth mentioning.  AK#35 (Toasted in Tunis) features a German attack on several hills (attacks on hills are a common feature in AK scenarios) occupied by American and French defenders.  The Americans and French are loaded for bear (the American OB includes a .50 cal HMG, 4 MMGs, 3 60mm MRs, 2 Bazookas and 2 37mm AT guns, while the French OB includes an HMG, 3 LMG, and 2 60mm MTRs.  The German attackers are actually considerably outnumbered in squads and leaders (in fact they only have two leaders, but what leaders!  A 10-2 and a 9-2, with a hero tagging along for good luck), but they are well armed, often elite, and have a bit of armored support, in the form of 11 AFVs.  Those AFVs include 2 OP tanks, each of which can bring down a module of OBA.  This looks like a very interesting meaty scenario.

Another one of the meaty scenarios features an American attack on a French-held airfield (represented by track overlays); the Americans have to prevent the French from being able to apply 24FP onto any airfield hex.  This scenario is only for artillery lovers; the Americans have two OBA modules (81mm and 120mm), while the French have a module of their on (105mm).  The American attackers include 23 squads (1st and 2nd line), with 2 heroes, 2 9-2 leaders, a .50 cal HMG and several other toys, as well as 4 AFVs.  The French defenders have 16 squads (Elite and 1st Line) well armed with support weapons (including 2 HMG) and with 4 Guns.

An interesting smaller scenario is the awfully titled AK#39 (Faid Fadeaway), which features a small German elite (in almost every possible way) combined armed force attacking a motley French-held set of buildings.  The French must make every one of their units count.

It should be noted that, as of a month or two after the release of the 6 AK products, there has been a fair amount of errata for them.  As of mid-August 2010, as far as AK-OT is concerned, AK#35, AK#36, AK#37, AK#39, AK#41 and AK#42 have all had their original scenario cards replaced with a 1.1 version.  Presumably the earliest released copies had the original version; players whose copy of AK-OT do not have version 1.1 cards for these scenarios should contact Critical Hit.  Currently, combined errata for the series (though it is not clear if this is up-to-date) can be found here.

The scenarios in AK-CA range in place and time from 1941-1943 and from Egypt to Tunisia.  Where the other five packs in the AK series all have a fairly concrete common theme to their scenarios, this is not the case for AK-CA, which seems to be more of a grab bag of scenarios than anything else.  The scenarios are not always even "combined arms," in the sense that most ASLers think of the term, i.e., as a mixture of infantry and armor, perhaps with artillery support or air power.  One scenario, for example, AK#49 (Codeword: Laxative), is an all-armor scenario--the exact opposite of combined arms.  Essentially, these scenarios seem "left over" from the other packs.

The scenarios feature Germans, Italians, French, British/Commonwealth, and Americans.  The scenarios all use a large, non-geomorphic desert mapboard (included with AK-El Alamein), usually populated with a number of overlays. 

All of the AK-CA scenarios are converted versions of scenarios originally designed for the ATS system; as such, they tend to be smaller than the typical ASL scenario.  Most of the scenarios are thus small, with a couple that are barely medium-sized and one that is large.  A couple of the scenarios are of the "why even bother" variety, including AK#49 (Codeword: Laxative), which pits 5 Italian AFVs against 5 British AFVs and AK#50 (Gunlayer Halm), which features 6 British AFVs ranged against 2 German AVs and 2 76mm AT guns. 

Typically, the scenarios have few SSRs.  Aside from the Desert rules themselves, they don't often use advanced ASL rules sections.  However, three scenarios do use OBA (though none use Night rules or Air Support).

The large scenario in AK-CA, AK#43 (Head On at Alam Halfa), features the famous German attack on Alam Halfa ridge during the battle of El Alamein.  The Germans, supported by 4 on-board guns and a module of 150mm OBA (!), attack with 14 elite squads (extremely well led, and with a hero, too) and 18 AFVs.  The British have 8 squads (also pretty well led), 8 SW, 8 Guns, and 6 AFVs.   The scenario is a full 10 turns long.

AK#44 ("Armor for Tunis!") features a combined Franco-American attack (10 elite French/American squads, accompanied by 4 AFVs) on an Italian held position (8 squads, a 9-2 leader, 7 SW, 2 Guns, and 2 AFV).  It looks very playable.

Overall, however, the scenario selection is not great and this pack is one of the more disappointing ones (along with AK-Benghazi Handicap) in the series.

It should be noted that, as of a month or two after the release of the 6 AK products, there has been a fair amount of errata for them.  Currently, combined errata for the series (though it is not clear if this is up-to-date) can be found here.