The ESG members' sense of humor and their talent for designing and playtsting scenarios ought to be the source of many interesting ASL products in the years to come.

Commentary:  Oktobermessed! is quite possibly the most unusual ASL product ever produced.  Introducing zombies to ASL, the module simulated the rising of the dead in the environs of the hotel where ASL Oktoberfest (ASLOK), the world's largest ASL tournament, is held every year.  A mixed collection of ASL players, hotel staff, local police, and others must fend off the ravenous brain-eating zombie hordes. 

Zombies are represented by Japanese counters (the step reduction nature of which works well with the living dead), while the still-living are depicted (rather optimistically) by U.S. Army counters.  There are rules for zombie movement, infection, Alpha zombies, and much else.  Scenarios have titles like "Brunch of the Dead" and "Hell is Full." 

The map is a surprisingly well done large-hex full-color map of the Quality Inn (it has since changed ownership) at Middleburg Heights (part of Cleveland, Ohio) and vicinity.  ASLers who have attended the tournament will be able to pick out such features as the Dunkin' Donuts, Damon's Ribs, Denny's, and other area establishments.  It was created with the help of satellite photographs, a use for which I am sure the U.S. government never predicted.

This may be an ASL product that more people buy just to own than to play, but regardless, it is amazingly inventive.

Commentary:  Debuting at ASLOK 2005 was Dezign Pak 1, the orthographically challenged title of the first scenario pack released by the Eastside Gamers.  It features 10 scenarios on light cardstock that depict a lot of East Front action and a scattering of actions from other fronts. 

With titles such as "The Fast, the Slow & the Doomed" and "Soumassalmi Sandwich," the ESG sense of humor shines through, but the scenarios themselves are quite serious.    Overall, the scenarios tend towards the large; the pack features 6 large scenarios, 2 medium-sized scenarios and 2 small scenarios.  One of the scenarios, ESG10 (Gut Check), may feature the smallest map area ever in an ASL scenario, as it uses only a portion of a single DASL board.  One other scenario, ESG7 (Backstab), is also a DASL scenario.  Both feature Italian troops.  Two scenarios have OBA; one scenario has Air Support. 

The scenario pack has had limited distribution, and thus limited play, so far, but it has several good scenarios.  One of them, ESG6 (Clean Up Crew), is a scenario particularly well suited for tournament play.  The pack is a good first effort and hopefully there will be more ESG products in the future.

Commentary:  The irrepressible Eastside Gamers team of Houseman, Houseman, and Safran debuted their sequel to Dezign Pak 1 at ASLOK 2006.  Dezign Pak 2 featured a dozen scenarios, most of them tournament-sized, printed on light cardstock.  The unthemed pack features actions from a variety of different theaters, including Germany 1945, France 1944, Poland 1939, Russia 1941, 1942 & 1944, Holland 1940, Bougainville 1944, Poland 1944, and China 1937.  That last scenario, ESG22 (Ears for Souvenirs), may have the smallest playing area of any ASL scenario, as it consists of just nine hexrows on a single DASL map. 

One of the scenarios, ESG11 (Symphony of Violence), is a massive 6-board, 11-turn British vs. German river crossing scenario, featuring tons of AFVs, OBA, air support and more.  Another scenario, ESG14 (Tracks Back to Cambrai), is a large shooting gallery scenario featuring 33 mostly thin-skinned American AFVs trying to survive the fire from 4 88mm AT guns, as well as 150mm OBA and a liberal dosage of Panzerschrecks. A third scenario, ESG20 (Feast of Horror) is a large all-armor action.  The other scenarios are much smaller, most of them suitable for tournament play. 

Among the scenarios, one of the most fun to play is ESG15 (Survival of the Vicious), a well balanced tourney-sized East Front infantry action. 

The Eastside Gamers do deserve style points of some kind for the titles of ESG13 (Hands across the Slaughter) and ESG17 (Money's on the Dresser).

Commentary:  October, as every ASLer knows, is the month of ASL Oktoberfest (ASLOK), the largest ASL tournament in the world, held each year in Cleveland, Ohio.  However, it is also the month of Halloween, and who better than the Eastside Gamers to combine the two?  In 2004, they debuted Oktobermessed!, using the ASL rules to depict combat between the risen dead and ASLers at ASLOK.  Zombie Pak 1 is a follow-up to that first module, although, since it includes the complete set of Zombie rules for ASL (Chapter Z), ownership of Oktobermessed! is not necessary to play the scenarios in Zombie Pak 1.

The Zombie rules for ASL are surprisingly well thought out (and the design decisions are thoroughly explained in footnotes) and can provide a very pleasant diversion from "typical" ASL.  Rules are provided for Zombie movement and combat, Alpha Zombies, Zombie infection and conversion (your own casualties may rise up to try to eat your brains), suicide, and more. 

The six scenarios include actions with such titles as "The Orkin Men," "Dinner's Waiting," and "Women & Children Last."  As always, tongue is firmly in cheek, which is a wise decision when facing flesh eating zombies anyway.

Commentary:  The Eastside Gamers trio of Glenn and Scott Houseman and Eric Safran expand their designer repertoire to also include fellow Detroit ASLers David Lamb and PJ Norton in this, their third scenario pack (all of which have been released annually at ASLOK).  The result is a collection of 15 varied scenarios that include a genuine monster scenario--it says so in the title!

Over the past several years, ESG has exhibited various quirks or tendencies, all of which are exhibited here.  For example, the ESG are firmly committed to supporting DASL; as a result ESG23 (Gak Gak the Ack Ack) uses DASL boards.  No ASL Starter Kit boards appear in any of the scenarios, but the old Heat of Battle High Ground! maps (HOB-I and HOB-II) make their appearance in ESG32 (Steel, Steel, Steel!).  Overlays are pretty scarce, but terrain substitutions are liberal (examples in the pack include "treat all marshes as woods," "treat all grain as Mud," "treat swamp as open ground," "treat Orchard hexes as shellholes," "treat Grain as Marsh," "all woods are brush," "treat all grain and woods as brush," and "all grain hexes are treated as Deep Snow."  This sort of substitution is a pet peeve with a number of ASLers, who may not like the frequency with which they appear in this pack.

Also typical of ESG scenarios is a tendency to establish a number of different set up areas for an order of battle (instead of saying that a side may set up in a certain area, it may say that certain units can set up in area X, while other units must set up in area Y, and still other units must set up in area Z).  And, of course, perhaps the most noticeable ESG tendency of all is the tradition of over-the-top scenario titles, examples of which include ESG37 (Tsunami of Maniacs), ESG26 (Diabolical Shrapnel), and ESG33 (Mutilation Station).

The scenarios include a varied mix of actions, including a commendable commitment to supporting PTO.  Actions include China 1937 (2 scenarios), Poland 1939 (featuring Poles vs. Russians), Russia 1941 (3 scenarios), Burma 1942, Philippines 1942, Sicily 1943, Russia 1943, Finland 1944, France 1944 (Normandy), France 1945 (Operation Nordwind), Germany 1945, and even Korea 1950 (ESG34, Ripped to Shreds, featuring the ill-fated Task Force Smith).  It's a very good mix. 

Interesting scenarios include ESG25 (Road out of Rangoon), which features a British attempt to get past Japanese roadblocks and exit the map.  The British (including Gurkhas) secretly records one of two possible victory conditions, so the Japanese have to defend against both possibilities.  Another interesting SSR is that the Japanese SAN is equal to the player turn, increasing as the scenario wears on. 

Also interesting is ESG26 (Diabolical Shrapnel), which features an Italian attack against American positions on Sicily.  The Italians have 22 squads of varying quality, plus a hero, to take on 8 1/2 airborne squads.  If the 22 squads weren't enough for the Americans to have to worry about, they must deal with an Italian 150mm artillery piece, led by a 10-2 "Ordnance Leader."  And both sides must worry about random naval artillery (as an SAN option instead of activating a sniper).

However, the centerpiece of the pack is the aptly named ESG35 (Destroy All Monsters), a huge German vs. American scenario set during Operation Nordwind that includes everything but the kitchen sink in it spread out over six full geomorphic mapboards.  The defending Americans have 57 squads, 20 leaders, 2 heroes, 6 armor leaders, 3 .50 cal HMGs, 3 FTs, 3 DCs, 7 guns, and 46 AFVs.  The attacking Germans have 48 squads, 17 leaders, 7 armor leaders, 8 MMGs and HMGs, 2 FTs, 3 DCs, 2 guns, and 44 AFVs, including some very nasty ones (seemingly every German assault gun or tank destroyer available).  Unfortunately, many of the AFVs are identified on the scenario cards by their nicknames (Jumbo, Easy 8, Hellcat, etc.) rather than by their real names.  The AFV mix may be a bit dubious historically, but that will hardly matter to the people to whom this type of scenario appeals.  Its size practically screams out for team play.

Overall, about 8 of the scenarios can be considered small, with the remaining 7 about equally divided between small and medium. 

Commentary:  In 2008, the EastSide Gamers (Glenn Houseman, Scott Houseman, and Eric Safran) released their fourth annual scenario pack a ASLOK.  Dezign Pak 4 (DP4) contains 15 scenarios, the majority of which were designed by Glenn Houseman. 

Situations are quite varied chronologically and geographically and include:  Norwegians/British vs. Germans (Norway 1940), British vs. Germans (Germany 1945), Americans vs. Italians (Sicily 1943), Poles vs. Germans (Poland 1939), Soviets vs. Germans (USSR 1941 [2], USSR 1943, Poland 1944),  Hungarians vs. Soviets (USSR 1942), Greeks vs. Italians (Greece 1940), Belgians vs. Germans (Belgium 1940), British/Chinese vs. Japanese (Burma 1944), French vs. Germans (France 1940), Americans vs. Japanese (Saipan 1944),  and Americans vs. Germans (France 1944).

The scenarios tend towards the large; there are 3 small and 3 medium-sized scenarios, and 9 large scenarios.   Five of the scenario require OBA rules (much of the artillery is heavy-grade), while 3 employ Air Support (some have both).  With these exceptions, most of the scenarios are SSR light.  None use overlays (Glenn Houseman disliking them), although many of the scenarios use shellhole counters to cover unwanted buildings.  All of the scenarios use geomorphic mapboards from #s 1-52, with the exception of ESG44 (Testis Megalos), which is the one DASL scenario they usually put in each pack.

Some of the scenarios are interesting.  ESG38 (Choke Point) is a small fast-playing all-infantry scenario using Norwegians, British and Germans, which might also be a good entry level scenario.  Another, similar scenario is ESG41 (Commence Hostilities), which is a tight little forest-y action that is fairly replayable.  ESG46 ("Mad Mike's" Finest Hour) is a meaty PTO scenario that uses 4 full geomorphic mapboards.  It pits Chindits and elite Chinese (a total of 33 squads) against 16 Japanese squads (plus assorted crews, Guns, etc.); prior to play, the British/Chinese player must choose one of two different sets of victory conditions.  ESG48 (Pak Nest) is interesting in that it features a large French attack in May 1940 against a surrounded German force.

The big scenario in the pack is ESG49 (Atrocity is Mandatory), a 14-turn monster set in the mop-up phases on Saipan.  In this scenario, the Americans have 80 squads, plus assorted AFVs and Guns, not to mention 150mm OBA.  The Japanese defenders have 33 squads and a number of crews, plus assorted light Guns and a whole host of mines and fortifications.  Unfortunately, the entire Japanese OB begins the game HIP, which can possibly make for a slow and frustrating playing, given the scale of the scenario.

Coming in second, size-wize, is an East Front monster that might prove popular among aficionados of massive East Front actions.  It uses 6 half-boards to represent a Soviet attack (with 30 squads and 18 AFVs, plus OBA and Air Support) against German defenders with 31 squads, 5 guns, and 7 AFVs. 

Overall, it looks like an interesting pack.

Commentary:  With Dezign Pak 5, the Detroit, Michigan-based EastSide Gamers (Glenn Houseman, Scott Houseman, and Eric Safran) make it 5 years in a row that they have released an ASL scenario pack at the ASLOK convention. 

ASL scenario packs tend to fall into one of two very different categories:  either they focus on a very narrow theme (following a particular unit or covering a particular battle, for example) or they present a broad panoply of actions from across World War II.  The Dezign Paks have always chosen the latter route.  Actions featured in the pack include combatants such as Poles vs. Germans (Poland 1939), French vs. Germans (France 1940), New Zealanders vs. Germans (Greece, 1941), Yugoslavs vs. Italians (Albania 1941), Americans vs. Japanese (Philippines 1941),  Soviets vs. Germans (Lithuania 1941, Soviet Union 1941, Soviet Union 1942, Poland 1944), Soviets vs. Hungarians/Germans (Soviet Union 1942), Rhodesians/South Africans vs. Vichy French (Madagascar 1942), British vs. Italian (Sicily 1943), British/Chinese vs. Japanese (Burma 1944), Americans vs. Germans (Italy 1944, Germany 1944),  and Soviets/Rumanians vs. Hungarians/Germans (Austria 1945).

The pack also includes two "bonus" scenarios, two 1940 Norwegian vs. Germans actions (more or less, both are different attempts to depict the same action).  These scenarios come from a somewhat controversial on-line "contest" organized by a few members of an on-line forum.  The premise for the contest was that participants would all design a scenario based on the same historical material, then judges would vote on which scenarios they liked the best.  The participants later released the entries in downloadable form, though many of the scenarios were never fully playtested or developed.  As there is no explanation accompanying these "bonus" scenarios, which were contest entries by two of the ESG members, it is not clear if these scenarios were fully playtested and developed.   One hopes they were.

The scenarios are printed, as before, in black and white on heavy paper/light cardstock.  Proofreading is sometimes haphazard (as in "11th Philippino Div.").

Leaving aside the "bonus" scenarios, the other 16 scenarios are overwhelmingly large to very large in size.  The pack only has 4 small or medium-sized scenarios; the rest range from large to huge in size.  Only a few of the scenarios in the pack are playable in a tournament setting, or on a weekday evening.  One of the largest scenarios, ESG67 (Keep 'Em Separated) uses 4 full maps and 4 half maps.  One scenario, ESG56 (Cost of Allegiance), uses DASL maps. 

Overall, SSRs are few in number.  One scenario has Air Support (another provides it as a balance); one scenario has OBA (so does one of the "bonus" scenarios).   Many of the scenarios are vehicle heavy; here are the total vehicle counts for each scenario:  6, 16, 1, 21, 11, 0, 20, 14, 11, 20, 14, 0, 26, 22, 0, 23 (as is not uncommon with ESG scenarios, many of the vehicular OBs are of the "everything but the kitchen sink" variety, with a wide array of different AFVs thrown into a side's OB).  Along with the kitchen sink OBs, sometimes other historical details are lacking in accuracy in some of the scenarios.  For example, in ESG55 (Philippine Firemen), the Americans are given 2 60mm mortars in their OB.  Well, the Americans technically did have 60mm mortars in the Philippines, but no ammo for them, so they were not used. 

One interesting tournament-sized scenario is ESG58 (The Vindicators), which features two groups of British attackers trying to clear some average Italians with above average leaders and machineguns from some buildings and hills.    An interesting larger scenario is ESG60 (Groupement Molinié's Honor), which is a relatively rare meaty France 1940 scenario, featuring a large German combined arms attack against a group of resolute French defenders, well armed with support weapons, guns, and vehicles.

The mix of situations in the pack is nice, but a better mix of scenario sizes would probably allow more of the scenarios to be played more often.