The OBA play aid that came with Action Pack 1 was later included in the 2nd Edition ASL Rulebook.

Long out of print--and never to be reprinted--Action Pack 1 goes for astronomical prices on E-bay as the maps are highly sought after (the scenarios can now be downloaded for free from MMP's Web site at http://www.multimanpublishing.com/downloads/ap1.zip).  However, the maps will soon be available again (in cardstock format) in an upcoming themed action pack, Few Returned.

Action Pack 2 has a good mix of scenarios, including the classics AP11 (Swamp Cats) and AP12 (Cream of the Crop); AP14 (Ace in the Hole) and AP15 (Broken Bamboo) are also quite good.

ASLers thought that they would see new Action Packs frequently from MMP, but they were mistaken--from 1999 to 2006 no new Action Packs were printed.  However, three Action Packs are in various stages of production, all of them themed to some degree.  Action Pack 3 will feature boards suited to and scenarios set in Normandy, while Action Pack 4 will feature boards and scenarios for the East Front.  Another ASL product close to completion, Few Returned (designed by Mark Pitcavage), is also essentially an Action Pack (with 12 scenarios and reprints of boards 42, 43, and 24), although it may not be called such.  It features 9 scenarios with Italian-Russian combat on the Eastern Front during the destruction of the Italian 8th Army from December 1942-January 1943 and 3 scenarios featuring Italian-German combat in September 1943.

This was not one of MMP's best products.  Not only did it contain only scenarios, but most of the scenarios weren't stellar and don't receive very much play.  Among the better scenarios in A GI's Dozen are U3 (The Factory) and U7 (Han-Sur-Neid).

A GI's Dozen is rumored not to have sold particularly well--there are suggestions, ultimately unprovable, that this was because many people copied the scenarios from friends instead of buying their own copy of the scenario pack.  In any case, MMP never attempted this experiment again.

The scenarios, designed by Mark Pitcavage, all depict Italian troops.   Nine of the twelve scenarios feature Eastern Front action as soldiers from the Italian 8th Army try to break out from Soviet encirclement in December 1942-January 1943.  Three of the scenarios feature German vs. Italian firefights as the Germans attempt to capture Rome on September 8-9, 1943, after the Italians signed an armistice with the Allies.  The combination of standard meat and potatoes ASL fare (the Eastern Front) and novelty (Italian troops) may be attractive to a wide variety of ASLers.

The Italian troops depicted in many of the scenarios are not the "typical" Italians of ASL scenarios, primarily because many of the scenarios feature troops from the elite Alpini (mountain) divisions, the best troops in the Italian Army.  In fact, in one scenario, a scenario featuring troops from two of the most elite battalions in the army, all Italian units are Fanatic!  However, other Italian troops are tired, hungry, cold, and demoralized.

Many of the scenarios assume a certain amount of experience on the part of players.  One scenario uses Night Rules (for only two turns, however); two scenarios have OBA; one scenario has Air Support; one scenario features Extreme Winter and Deep Snow.  The three Rome 1943 scenarios each feature one or more SSRs that depict the confused and uncoordinated nature of the Italian response to the sudden German attempt to take their capital.  In one scenario, Italian troops must take a 1PTC in order to fire on approaching German troops, until the Germans make an aggressive move.  In another scenario, the Germans can arrange a cease-fire during the scenario, causing most actions to stop  for several turns!  And in the third scenario, the Germans can get on the Italian radio network and issue a hoax order to retreat, causing Italian troops to temporarily abandon their defensive positions.  In this scenario, too, the Italians get reinforced randomly from among the many military units in Rome who were fighting the Germans without benefit of higher command or coordination.

In terms of size, most of the scenarios sit on the high side of medium or the low side of large.  About half of the scenarios fit this bill; the rest are a mix of small and medium sized scenarios.  Several seem well suited for tournament play, including AP22 (Ghost Riders) and AP23 (Agony at Arnautovo).  The shortest scenario, AP18 (Village of the Damned) is just 4 1/2 turns long and has a very Schwerpunktian feel to it.

Many of the scenarios feature interesting or intriguing tactical situations.  In AP17 (The Valley of Death), masses of Italian troops must charge up hills against Soviet defenders.  AP21 (Red Don) turns the tables, as Soviet troops must rush across a frozen river, braving enemy fire, to assault an Italian position.  In AP19 (Winter of their Discontent), the Soviets are on the attack, but prior to the game, the Italian/German player must purchase forces for a counterattack, paying for the forces with VP.  AP20 (Victory is Life) may see both sides attacking and defending at the same time, as an Italian force tries to break through Soviet lines to rescue a headquarters staff before the Soviets can destroy it.  AP23 (Agony at Arnautovo) features a Soviet attack, followed by an initiative shift and an Italian counterattack, giving both players the opportunity to attack and defend in the same scenario.  AP24 (Tridentina Avanti!) allows the Italian player to detach part of his order of battle and send it around the Soviet flank - but at varying costs in time depending on how large a flanking move is made.

Since its release, AP19 (Winter of their Discontent) and AP23 (Agony at Arnautovo) seem to be among the more popular and balanced scenarios in the pack, although the small and quick-playing AP18 (Village of the Damned) remains the single most often played scenario.  

Note that this product was designed by the owner of this Web site, so this commentary should be taken as descriptive only rather than as a review.

The theme for the Action Pack is, as its title suggests, the Summer 1944 Battle for Normandy following the D-Day invasions.  Because of this, the new mapboards were designed with such scenarios in mind.  Two of them, 54 and 55, are obviously designed to represent hedgerow country, as the are dominated by orchards and fields enclosed by hedges.  It is still not quite what actual bocage country looked like, but it comes closer than any previous official ASL map.  

Board 54 is flat, with only a single two-story house to add any elevation.  It features very rural terrain, with only a few buildings, but large numbers of hedges and orchards.   Board 55 is a bit more varied; the usual orchards and hedges are accompanied by three small, low-lying hills, a gully, and a major sunken road (bordered by hedges to add some rules-searching).  The third board, Board 53, is the only board of the three that is likely to see widespread use outside of a Normandy situation.  It features a decent sized stone village, complete with a few narrow roads, a church and cemetery, and a few rowhouses.  It is likely to be greeted with happiness by scenario designers tired of the using the existing village boards over and over again.

Boards 54 and 55 are unusual in that they are the first ASL geomorphic mapboards designed to be geomorphic alongside the middle of Row Q (i.e., either board's half-boards can seamlessly meet alongside Row Q with either of the other board's half-boards).  This adds a bit of additional flexibility to the boards.

All of the boards, as is now standard for official ASL products, are printed in the unmounted-on-cardstock, computer-graphics-based style that debuted in the ASL Starter Kits.

A dozen scenarios (AP29-AP40, arranged chronologically) accompany the maps.  All are set in Normandy within the date range June 6, 1944, through August 20, 1944.  Most were designed by British ASLer Ian Daglish, with the remaining ones designed by MMP regulars.  Aside from the Germans, nationalities making an appearance include the United States (8 scenarios), the British (3 scenarios) and Polish (1 scenario).  Every scenario uses at least one of the new maps.

The scenarios have a decent mix of small, medium, and large actions, though few of the scenarios are particularly large or meaty.  Many of them feature a relatively small number of infantry units and a large number of AFVs.   Pretty much all the scenarios are light on SSRs and few of them use complicated rules--no scenarios have Air Support, only one scenario is a Night action, and only one scenario has OBA (and even there it is not mandatory).  As a result, Normandy 1944 might possibly have been a well suited product for novice ASL players.  What makes it somewhat less so is the emphasis on AFVs, which appear in every single scenario, often in large numbers.  And, of course, Bocage is in play in every single scenario as well.

Among the scenarios, several stand out.  AP29 (Raff's Dilemma), assuming it proves to be balanced, could be a tournament staple, as it is just the right size.   AP30 (Not Apt to Drag Feet), one of many awkwardly named scenarios in the pack, is probably the meatiest scenario of the bunch, pitting 24 American squads and 9 AFVs in an attack against 18 German squads supported by 1 Gun and 6 AFVs.  AP32 (Second Crack at Caumont) looks like a good knock down, drag out village fight.  Fans of tank actions may well gravitate to AP35 (A Lesson for Lehr), featuring a US-German armor battle with a variety of different types of vehicles.

The only immediately dubious scenario is AP38 (Infiltrators), which looks too small and too gamey to be very much fun.

In addition to its "normal" content, Normandy 1944 includes some "special" content in the form of 4 replacement pages for the ASL Rulebook.  The inclusion of these pages pretty much makes purchase of this product mandatory for all ASLers who wish to have current rules.  The pages provide clarifications and examples to the Chapter B rules on Wall Advantage.  The inside cover of Normandy 1944 also includes 7 pieces of official ASL errata (which presumably will also be printed in the next ASL Journal issue printed).  The most important piece of errata is a retraction of the Bridge TEM errata issued in ASL Journal 7, which proved to be very controversial.  As a result, that rules change no longer exists and units on bridges once more suffer normal FFNAM/FFMO only, with no additional -1 TEM merely for being on a bridge.

As with its predecessor, Few Returns, Normandy 1944's thematic focus means that it will offer less to people who are not interested in the theme.  People who do not like playing with Bocage Rules won't get much out of these scenarios.  On the other hand, even for such picky people, the 3 additional maps are attractive and useful additions to the system.  For those for whom Normandy is more attractive, the Action Pack offers a variety of interesting actions and scenarios.

Overall, it seems like a well done product.

Because is a very interactive game with healthy real-world and virtual communities, SASL has remained a niche product in the ASL world.  However, those ASLers who play it enjoy SASL considerably and have developed a variety of missions, campaign games, expansions and variants for it.  Some SASL missions have also appeared in third party products (such as Onslaught to Orsha from Heat of Battle).

The 2nd edition of SASL, in addition to some rules changes, was expanded to include rules and charts for all nationalities in ASL except for the Axis Minors (which are included in Armies of Oblivion) and the Finns (which will appear in Hakkaa Päälle). 

Over the years, many players created their own homegrown software programs designed to help them with ASL.  However, other than VASL (Virtual ASL), which became a worldwide phenomenon, none of them were popular or widely distributed.

MMP liked the Provence Pack, but for some reason decided not to print and sell it but instead just offer it as a download from the MMP Web site (the official reason is that MMP "had no way to fit it in the schedule").  While the price certainly cannot be beat--free is always appreciated--this decision had the strange effect of making the Provence Pack a "forgotten" ASL product. 

The Provence Pack also holds the honor of having the only full-color scenario cards in any official ASL products.  It can be downloaded at http://www.multimanpublishing.com/downloads/pp.zip.

The first such product to be released was a Japanese-language 1st Edition ASL Rulebook.  Other ASL products have been sold in Japan with translated rules, but these appear to have been done by the retailer or distributor rather than authorized by Avalon Hill or MMP.  MMP has made French (http://www.cote1664.net/article.php3?id_article=74), Spanish (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/9823  and  http://http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/15126), and Japanese (http://www.multimanpublishing.com/downloads/ASLSK1_jpn.pdf) language rules for the ASL Starter Kit available, but as downloads rather than as printed products, marketed and sold in those countries. 

Some players have created their own homegrown translations of the rules as well.

Additional information about non-English ASL products (and images of such products) is requested.