Click here to skip the Genesis II write-up and go straight to the Genesis III write-up. Genesis II is a sort of mutant new edition of the 2001 release Genesis ’48, a historical module that looked at the 1948 Arab-Israeli Wars and the Battle for Jerusalem. However, Genesis II, despite its name, is so different […]
Search Results for: gen 48
Genesis ’48 / Jerusalem ’48 / Jerusalem: Siege: 1948 and 1967 Action
Along with Guerra Civil and Dien Bien Phu, Genesis ’48 (G48) was one of three historical modules released by Critical Hit early in the 21st century which were designed to have much more depth and better quality components than its earlier historical modules. Certainly G48, whose own genesis was very long in the making (far […]
Action Pack #15: Swedish Volunteers
Action Pack #15: Swedish Volunteers (hereinafter SV2) is a scenario pack from MMP that is also the second edition of a 2009 third party product, Swedish Volunteers, now a collector’s item. Because in most respects, SV2 and Swedish Volunteers are similar or identical, readers should first read the Desperation Morale write-up for Swedish Volunteers before […]
Leningrad 2: Thunder on the Luga
Note: Critical Hit publishes products at a high volume and its products have a general history of quality control issues. Critical Hit provides no review/evaluation copies and typically prices its products very high. For all these reasons, Desperation Morale no longer acquires all, or even most, Critical Hit products for analysis and write-up on this […]
Leningrad 1: Brandenburger Bridgehead
Note: Critical Hit publishes products at a high volume and its products have a general history of quality control issues. Critical Hit provides no review/evaluation copies and typically prices its products very high. For all these reasons, Desperation Morale no longer acquires all, or even most, Critical Hit products for analysis and write-up on this […]
Le Franc Tireur No. 14
If you’re anything like Desperation Morale, you like your ASL products like you like your sandwiches: meaty. If so, Le Franc Tireur No. 14 certainly delivers the goods, as it is an ASL magazine with more than 100 pages of content, 32 scenarios, plus counters to boot. There’s a lot of there, there. Le Franc […]
Rally Point Volume 15: Special Study I of the Korean War
The fifteenth Rally Point scenario pack focuses on the early months of the Korean War and is intended as a supplement to Forgotten War, MMP’s ASL module providing rules and components for using ASL to simulate Korean War tactical actions. At its name suggests, this pack is the first of two such products, the second […]
The Fight for Hue: Apex of the Vietnam War
The Fight for Hue: Apex of the Vietnam War is a largish historical module published by Critical Hit in 2018 that transports ASL to the Vietnam War–specifically, to the city of Hue during the Tet Offensive in early 1968. It is Critical Hit’s second venture into the Vietnam War, following 2015’s CH Annual Issue 1, […]
Invasion Palestine! Sinai-Negev-Galilee
Note: Critical Hit publishes products at a high volume and its products have a general history of quality control issues. Critical Hit provides no review/evaluation copies and typically prices its products very high. For all these reasons, Desperation Morale no longer acquires all, or even most, Critical Hit products for analysis and write-up on this […]
Forgotten War: Korea: 1950-1953
Forgotten War Commentary Table of Contents Introduction History Counters Geoboards Rules Scenarios Bottom Line Introduction Welcome to Korea. Americans fought both a war and a sitcom there. You may not remember the war; according to MMP, Korea was “the forgotten war.” MMP is very sure of this; it even gave the name “Forgotten […]
From the Cellar Pack 8
In late 2017, Le Franc Tireur released its latest From the Cellar offering, From the Cellar Pack 8. However, it was quite a different product from previous iterations under the same name, as LFT had transformed From the Cellar from a pure scenario pack series into a periodical (despite still calling it “Pack 8”). Apparently […]
Anzio – 1944: On Patrol with the First Special Service Force
Anzio – 1944 (hereinafter A44) is a small scenario pack featuring a half-sheet of counters that depicts actions involving the Allied First Special Service Force at the Anzio beachhead in Italy in early 1944. The product claims that it was “designed for the 2017 West Coast Rumble,” which occurred in November 2017. Every attendee reportedly […]
Sturmgruppe Eisen
Sturmgruppe Eisen (hereinafter just Eisen) is a historical module from Critical Hit depicting part of the attempt by the Germans to use glider-borne forces to capture bridges over the Albert Canal in Belgium in May 1940 to facilitate their invasion of France and the Low Countries. Each different force received a sort of code name; […]
“Nationality” Counter Set Series
Although Critical Hit had already been selling its countersheets individually for several years, in 2017, Critical Hit started releasing a series of counterset-only products, largely centered on various nationalities or armed forces in World War II, occasionally with variant colors. The reasons for Critical Hit to do this were largely three-fold: 1) they are products […]
CH Annual Issue 2
This product gets a Desperation Morale CONSUMER ALERT. However, first an admission. In its write-up of CH Annual Number 1, Critical Hit’s attempt to resurrect its old Critical Hit Magazine, Desperation Morale wrote: The first thing you can be sure of is that it is unlikely to actually be released annually–if there indeed is ever […]
Gates of Hell: The Battle of Kursk at Ponyri / Ponyri Monster / Kursk: Hell on Earth II
Gates of Hell: The Battle of Kursk at Ponyri (GoH) is the “second half” of Kursk: Devil’s Domain, a large historical module released by Critical Hit in 2010 focusing on fighting involving the 18th Panzer Division at Ponyri during the Battle of Kursk in 1943, fighting that ended up destroying the division. GoH provides two […]
About the Desperation Morale Site
The Desperation Morale site is the ASL website of Mark Pitcavage, who created a bare-bones site in 2002 as a place to share ASL-related play aids and resources that he had originally designed for his own use. Over time, Pitcavage added a few other downloads and in 2003 he added a whole new section, the […]
Rising Sun
Rising Sun (RS) is the long-awaited reprint/new edition of ASL’s PTO rules, combining the contents of Code of Bushido and Gung Ho! as well as incorporating additional material from elsewhere, notably the Gavatu-Tanambogo mini-HASL that originally appeared in ASL Annual ’93b. For many years, these rules have been out of print, depriving newer ASLers of […]
Winter Offensive 2013 Pictures (Part III)
See Part I for the usual explanations and disclaimers. Nice map holder! Mumble mumble playing Wayne Hadady Camera shy. Can’t tell who either one is. Maybe Jeff Evich on the right. Jim Mehl on the left. Not 100% sure who is on the right. I don’t know these gentlemen. I don’t know these people, either, […]
Winter Offensive 2013 Pictures (Part II)
See Part I for the usual explanations and disclaimers. The new stuff available at Winter Offensive. You probably have all this by now. For those who have never tried a Friendly Fire pack, Best of Friends is something you should definitely get. Some big East Front action. I hope they realized that this scenario is […]
Rivers to the Reich
Rivers to the Reich (RttR) is a scenario pack that finishes the conversion to ASL of all of the official scenarios originally designed for the Squad Leader series of modules, a process that has taken over 20 years (see chart below). It is the third and last in a trilogy of packs, following A GI’s […]
ASL Journal Issue Ten
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away and so too, apparently, does MMP. The 10th iteration of its ASL magazine departs from tradition in two significant ways–one very good and one very bad. So how did MMP giveth and taketh? Let’s starteth with the positive. After well over a decade (longer, if one includes […]
ASLOK 2012 Photos Part 6
Will these ever end? Hollywood actor Peter Stormare ASL luminary Gary Fortenberry hanging on to a Stanhagen for dear life Looks like Russ Hall on left playing someone whose name I don’t know. Cardboard carnage Steve Pleva (on left) playing Joe Markham The hairless versus the hirsute: Derek Cox playing Dave Ginnard Anthony Flanagan on […]
ASLOK 2012 Photos Part 3
A little HASL action. I can’t tell if that’s Red Barricades or Valor of the Guards. Setting up a very rubbly scenario. New York ASLer Randy Rossi, drawing the attention of Jeff DeYoung to his neon yellow shirt. Al Kirkpatrick, on left, wearing the same damn hat he wore last ASLOK. One ASLer’s counter (and […]
ASLOK 2012 Photos Part 2
Colorado ASLer Martin Snow getting ready for our game. It was the first time I played Martin and he turned out to be a really fun opponent. Canadian Michael Rodgers is on the right, playing a scenario from Purple Heart Draw with someone who I can’t quite make out (Pete Shelling?). Pennsylvania ASLer Roger Whelan […]
ASLOK 2011 (ASL Oktoberfest) Pictures, Part I
ASLOK 2011 1st Sat Morning, Mostly empty 1st Saturday, “Wild Bill” vs. “Mild Hennie” JR Tracy vs. Steve Pleva, all the way from NY and they play each other. JR’s cap hides a conjoined twin. Some guys had the Wingen-Sur-Moden map from Nordic Twilight in play This looks like my Italians dying in Messervy’s Men […]
Kampfgruppe Scherer: The Shield of Cholm
LFT’s second historical module, Kampfgruppe Scherer: The Shield of Cholm (KGS), comes courtesy of the person who designed their first, Andrew Hershey. This time, the action is an East Front action, detailing fighting for and around the Soviet village of Cholm (spelled Cholm by Germans, Kholm in Russian transliteration; both spellings are used in the […]
Bataan: Battle for the Mabatang Line, 1941 / Mabatang Line
Bataan: Battle for the Mabatang Line (hereinafter simply BML) is a somewhat smallish HASL that depicts fighting on the Bataan peninsula between Fil-American and Japanese forces in the Philippines in early 1942, when the Japanese assaulted the Fil-American so-called Main Battle Position (i.e., defense line, sometimes referred to as the Mabatang-Mauban line or the Abucay-Mauban […]
Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit Expansion Pack #1
The Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit Expansion Pack #1 (whew, let’s just call it EP1) is an odd duck. It is called an Expansion Pack, but it is not actually an expansion pack at all. Rather, it is a complete de facto ASL Starter Kit #4. Not a single counter or map or chart from […]
Kursk: Devil’s Domain / Devil’s Domain II: The Battle of Kursk at Ponyri / Ponyri Monster / Kursk: Hell on Earth I
Kursk: Devil’s Domain (KDD) is a largish HASL set on the East Front during the titanic armored battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. In particular, the section of the battle portrayed here involves the attacks of the German 18th Panzer Division in the vicinity of the railroad station at the village of Ponyri. […]
Rally Point Volume 5: Thunderbird Pack
The fifth volume of Rally Point, Schwerpunkt’s series of themed scenario packs, is the Thunderbird Pack (RP5), a collection of scenarios dedicated to the U.S. 45th Infantry Division, a National Guard division (originally composed of units from Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico) with one of the longest WW2 resumes. Oddly enough, this is only […]
Friendly Fire Pack 6
The sixth iteration of Friendly Fire’s annual scenario pack shows its continuing evolution as well as its continuity. The evolution is most marked by its growing international nature. Though Swedish ASLer Mattias Rönnblom maintains its Scandinavians roots with four scenario designs, the remaining four scenarios are designed by the international designing duo of Peter Stuijf […]
Afrika Korps-Second Time Around / The Fox Strikes Back Pack B
Afrika Korps-Second Time Around (AK-STA) is a supplemental scenario pack for Afrika Korps-El Alamein, a “core” module of CH’s multi-part Afrika Korps series; see that product for project history and details. AK-STA cannot be played without AK-EL, though this is not clearly stated on the product’s packaging. All 8 scenarios, for example, use the “Tobruk” […]
Afrika Korps-Benghazi Handicap / The Fox Strikes Back Pack A
Afrika Korps-Benghazi Handicap (AK-BH) is a supplemental scenario pack for Afrika Korps-El Alamein, the “core” module of CH’s 6-part Afrika Korps series; see that product for project history and details. AK-BH cannot be played without AK-EL, though this is not clearly stated on the product’s packaging. All 8 scenarios, for example, use the “Tobruk” map […]
Out of the Attic Issue Two
Out of the Attic (OotA) was originally conceived of as a way to bring long out of print third-party scenarios to a newer ASL audience through publishing an occasional magazine with reprinted scenarios and articles. Its first issue appeared in 2003, but apparently the reaction wasn’t what it was hoped to be–in any case, for […]
One Wild Ride! The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam, 1966-1970
CONSUMER ALERT: These products, which are typically available only for high prices on E-bay, are of extremely poor quality and most ASLers would find them more or less unusable. There appears to have been little to no proofreading, rules development or playtesting. THESE ARE VERY POOR PRODUCTS; BUYER BEWARE. One Wild Ride! (OWR) is one […]
Battles Magazine
Battles Magazine is a general wargaming magazine edited and published by Olivier Revenu of France (the magazine, however, is in English, in an attempt to capitalize on an international audience). According to Revenu, he wanted to create the “ultimate wargaming magazine, the counter-pusher’s Bible, a Nirvana-in-print for the amateur strategist.” That’s an ambitious goal–so too […]
St. Nazaire: Operation Chariot
St. Nazaire: Operation Chariot (SNOC) represents a new departure for Le Franc Tireur, as it is that company’s first full historical module. Indeed, not only is it a complete historical module, but it is also the only third party ASL module ever published with a box (the other being Critical Hit’s Dien Bien Phu). SNOC […]
From the Cellar Pack 3
The third From the Cellar scenario pack (FtC3) from Le Franc Tireur is a departure from its predecessors. Whereas previous From the Cellar packs contained “left over” scenarios related to the various issues of the Le Franc Tireur magazine, From the Cellar Pack 3 is a themed scenario pack with original scenarios. Moreover, the bulk […]
Hell on the Eastern Front: Spanish Fury: Axis Legions at War / Spanish Blue Division
Spanish Fury (to use the one of its three titles that has the largest type) is a historical module. Like most latter-day Critical Hit ASL compatible products, it was designed originally for the ATS rules system (by Devin Heinle), then converted to ASL rules by Dave Lamb. Its 8 scenarios depict actions along the Volkhov […]
Dezign Pak 3
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 […]
Recon by Fire #4
Recon by Fire #4 (RbF4), labeled Fall 2006 but released in February 2007, was the final issue of the magazine, though this was not realized at the time. RBF4 was eagerly anticipated by ASLers (and no doubt HOB anticipated that it would be popular), but when it finally came out, it was a big disappointment, […]
Berlin: Fall of the Third Reich / Berlin Final Days / Berlin: Final Victory / Berlin I
Commentary (for 1st Edition; see below for commentary on later editions): Critical Hit’s largest (and what would become its most popular) historical module to date, Berlin: Fall of the Third Reich (BFTR) is actually just the first of a two-part massive set of Berlin modules (the second module, Tyrant’s Lair, adds two more linked Berlin […]
Armies of Oblivion
For years one of the most infamous examples of wargaming vaporware, Armies of Oblivion finally came out in 2006, nearly 15 years after it was first mentioned by name by Avalon Hill in 1992. Its non-appearance, year after year, meant increasing criticism for MMP and a set of expectations that no company could realistically hope […]
Le Franc Tireur No. 8
Le Franc Tireur No. 8 (LFT8) is the first issue in which much of the article content, as well as the scenarios, are in English, to appeal more to ASL’s international audience, especially Americans who had recently discovered LFT. Much of the content, such as product reviews and announcements are still in French, but the […]
Combat History of Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653
The Combat History of Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653 (SPA), no doubt based on the book of the same name, is a small scenario pack created by George Kelln, but never offered for sale. Instead, he has only made it available to tournament directors who wish to use it as a prize (one of several small […]
Wacht Am Rhein: Hitler’s Last Gamble in the West
Wacht Am Rhein: Hitler’s Last Gamble in the West (WaR), is a double-sized scenario pack from Lone Canuck featuring scenarios set during the Battle of the Bulge. This pack was originally planned as “Winpack #2,” but was retitled, apparently to make it clear that it was a themed scenario pack. It was the first Lone […]
Critical Hit Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 4
General information on Critical Hit Magazine can be found here. With this issue, full of interesting stuff, the quality level of Critical Hit Magazine began to improve after a considerable period in the doldrums (probably not coincidentally, the totally failed attempt to publish the magazine quarterly was abandoned). The articles focus strongly on scenario and […]
Dien Bien Phu
Along with Genesis ’48 and Guerra Civil, Dien Bien Phu (DBP) was one of three historical modules released by Critical Hit early in the 21st century which were designed to have much more depth and better quality components than its earlier historical modules. The historical map is attractive if a bit drab, depicted in the […]
Critical Hit Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 3.
General information on Critical Hit Magazine can be found here. All the article content of this short issue deals with Critical Hit’s then-recent release, Genesis ’48, on the first Arab-Israeli War. As many of this issue’s pages are actually Critical Hit ads, order forms, and the like, there is actually extremely little magazine content in […]