Desperation Morale

Contact

  • World of ASL
  • Play Aids
  • Scenarios
  • ASL Museum
  • Misc
  • Blog
Home > Products > Action Pack #4: Normandy 1944

07.2008 Action Pack #4: Normandy 1944

Publisher/Date:
Multi-Man Publishing (2008)

Product Type:
Scenario/Map Pack

Country of Origin:
U.S.A.

Contents:
12 scenarios on cardstock, 3 8" x 22" unmounted geoboards (53, 54, 55), 4 pages of replacement ASLRB rules

Commentary:

Normandy 1944 is the second, following 2007’s Few Returned, of MMP’s “new” Action Packs (the first two Action Packs were published back in the late 1990s).  Unlike Few Returned, which re-issued several long out of print geomorphic mapboards, Normandy 1944’s major selling point is its three new geoboards, the first to be created since Armies of Oblivion (and, since the AoO boards had been sold separately for many years prior to AoO’s release, in practical terms this means the first new official geomorphic mapboards seen in a large number of years).

Normandy 1944 had been in gestation for a very long period of time, but was indefinitely stalled as part of MMP’s mid-2000s ASL stagnation until Chas Argent volunteered to take over its development and see it through to completion.  As a result, ASLers owe Argent a debt of gratitude.

The theme for the Action Pack is, as its title suggests, the battle for Normandy in the summer of 1944 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.

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) is a good knock down, drag out village fight; as of July 2014 it was one of the most popular and most balanced scenarios in the pack.  AP34 (Bocage Blockage) and AP32 (Second Crack of Caumont) are both scenarios that have proved to be popular and balanced, as has AP40 (The Head of the Mace).

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

After a half-dozen years in the hands of players, most of the scenarios in the pack seemed to be balanced or likely balanced, with no clear dogs among them.

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, 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.

Back to Top

Tagged: Action Pack, Normandy, Official Geoboards, Official Rules Pages

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Search Site

All Categories

  • ASL Newsletters
    • Newsletters with Scenarios
    • Newsletters without Scenarios
  • Avalon Hill Products
  • MMP Products
    • Unofficial Periodicals
  • Official Publishers (Avalon Hill & MMP)
    • "Core" Modules
    • Accessories
    • Foreign Language ASL
    • Miniatures
    • Non-WWII Expansion Modules
    • Official ASL Starter Kit Products
    • Official DASL Modules
    • Official Historical Modules
    • Official Mini-Scenario/Map Pack
    • Official Periodicals
    • Official Rulebooks
    • Official Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Official Software & On-Line Products
    • Official Solitaire ASL (SASL)
  • Third Party Publishers
    • Abdicated Despot Company
      • Periodicals
    • Action Terrain
      • Accessories
    • Advancing Fire
      • Historical Modules
    • ASL Cards
      • Accessories
    • ASL News
      • Periodicals
    • ASL Sweden
      • Periodicals
    • Battleschool
      • Accessories
    • Bill Wilder/First to Fight Variants
      • Counter Supplement
      • Scenario Packs
      • Solitaire Rules
    • Bounding Fire Productions
      • Historical Modules
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Break Contact
      • Scenario Packs
    • Broken Ground Design
      • Counter Sets
      • Mini-Scenario/Map Packs
    • Countersmith Workshop
      • Accessories
    • Critical Hit
      • Accessories
      • Campaign Games
      • Counter Packs/Counter Sets
      • Historical Modules
      • Map Packs (no scenarios)
      • Periodicals
      • Rulebooks
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Dare-Death
      • Periodicals
    • Derek Ritter
      • Accessories
    • Desperation Morale
      • Manuals
    • EastSide Gamers
      • Scenario Packs
      • Zombie Stuff
    • ELR
      • Scenario Packs
    • Encircled Productions/Kansas City Irregular ASLers
      • Scenario Packs
    • Fanatic Enterprises
      • Accessories
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Flying Pig Games
      • Periodicals
    • Friendly Fire
      • Friendly Fire Scenario Packs
    • Front Line Productions
      • Historical Modules
    • Heat of Battle
      • Historical Modules
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • JagerSoft Games LLC
      • Historical Modules
    • Kinetic Energy
      • Counter Pack
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Le Franc Tireur
      • Accessories
      • Historical Modules
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario & Scenario/Map Packs
    • Lone Canuck Publishing
      • Historical Modules
      • Scenario Packs
    • Minden Games
      • Rulebooks
    • Mister T
      • Accessories
    • New England Volunteers
      • Scenario Packs
    • New England Volunteers & Yankee ASL
      • Scenario Packs
    • North Texas ASL
      • Scenario Packs
    • Panzer Press
      • Scenario Packs
    • Partisan Publishing
      • Scenario Packs
    • Sherry Enterprises (Schwerpunkt)
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Southern California ASL Club
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Southern Cross
      • Scenario Packs
    • Stavka Archives
      • Scenario Packs
    • Struijf-Mazzei (Death to Fascism)
      • Scenario Packs
    • Swedish Volunteers
      • Scenario Pack
    • Tactiques
      • Periodicals
    • Taktyka I Strategia
      • Periodicals
    • Texas ASL Club
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • The Tactical Wargamer
      • Periodicals
    • View from the Trenches
      • Campaign Games
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • War-Oboe Publications
      • Scenario Packs
    • Windy City Wargamers
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
    • Winnipeg ASL Club
      • Periodicals
      • Scenario Packs
  • Wargaming Magazines with ASL Scenarios

All Tags

  • A Bridge Too Far material
  • Action Pack
  • Advanced
  • Afrika Korps Series
  • AFV Cards
  • Airdrop/Glider
  • Alternative Counter Color Scheme
  • Alternative Map System
  • Alternative Rules System
  • Alternative Use of HASL Map
  • Amphibious
  • Arab-Israeli Wars
  • ASLSK
  • Battle of the Bulge
  • Blood Reef Tarawa materials
  • Bonus Pack
  • Burma
  • Campaign Game(s)
  • Chaco War
  • Chapter H Pages
  • Chinese Civil War
  • Chinese-language
  • City-Fighting
  • CONSUMER ALERT
  • Contains material for Hatten in Flames
  • Counterfactual/Fictional Scenario(s)
  • Critical Hit Normandy Series
  • CWASL
  • DASL
  • DASL Boards
  • Desert War: 1941 series
  • Desert-Oriented
  • Design-Your-Own
  • Dice
  • Digital
  • DM High Recommendation
  • Downloadable
  • Dutch-language
  • East Front-oriented
  • Exceedingly Rare Shit
  • Extra Stuff for 3rd Party HASL
  • Extra Stuff for Official HASL
  • Extra-Large Counters
  • Festung Budapest materials
  • Fog of War Scenarios
  • France 1940
  • French Language
  • Gary-style geoboards
  • Genesis III series
  • Geoboard Campaign Game(s)
  • God Save the King materials
  • GWASL
  • historical
  • Historical Map(s)
  • Indochina-Vietnam Wars
  • Introductory
  • Irish Wars
  • Italian-language
  • Italo-Ethiopian War
  • Japanese-language
  • Kakazu Ridge materials
  • Kampfgruppe Peiper materials
  • King of the Hill materials
  • Korean War
  • Kursk
  • Linked-Scenario Campaign Game
  • Magazine
  • Manuals
  • Market-Garden
  • mini-HASL
  • Miniatures
  • Misc Conflicts 1920-1929
  • Misc Conflicts 1930-1939
  • Misc Conflicts 1941-1955
  • Misc Conflicts 1956+
  • Misc Conflicts Pre-1920
  • Module-Specific Manual/Guide
  • Monster Historical Scenario
  • Monster Product
  • Newsletter
  • Nhpum Ga materials
  • Nomanhan
  • Non-DASL Large Hex Map/Board
  • Non-Geomorphic Generic Maps
  • Non-historical/contemporary map
  • Nonstandard Geoboards
  • Normandy
  • Official Geoboards
  • Official Overlays
  • Official Rules Pages
  • Operation Veritable materials
  • Operational Subsystem
  • Partially-geomorphic board(s)
  • PBDYO
  • Pegasus Bridge materials
  • Platoon Leader Campaign Game(s)
  • Polish-language
  • Postwar Anti-communist Partisans
  • PTO-Oriented
  • Rare Vehicles
  • Recon Leader
  • Red Barricades materials
  • Requires GWASL components
  • Russian Civil War
  • Russo-Polish War
  • SASL
  • Satire
  • Software
  • Spanish Civil War
  • Spanish-language
  • Squad Leader Scenario Conversions
  • Stalingrad
  • Strategy Manual
  • Third Party Counters (Not CH)
  • Third Party Geoboard(s)
  • Third Party Overlay(s)
  • Three Player Scenario
  • To the Volga series
  • Tournament Friendly
  • Tournament Prize Pack
  • Unit Study
  • Uses ASLN1 Geoboard from ASL News
  • uses aslsk
  • Uses ASLSK geoboard(s)
  • Uses Berlin Fall of the Third Reich Components
  • Uses Beyond the Beachhead 2 boards
  • Uses Beyond the Beachhead 2 rules
  • Uses Beyond the Beachhead components
  • Uses BFP A geoboard from Into the Rubble
  • Uses BFP H geoboard from High Ground 2
  • Uses BFP I geoboard from High Ground 2
  • Uses BFP J geoboard from High Ground 2
  • Uses BFP M geoboard from Crucible of Steel
  • Uses BFP N geoboard from Crucible of Steel
  • Uses BFP-B geoboard from Into the Rubble
  • Uses Blitzkrieg in the West: North Campaign components
  • Uses Blood and Jungle counters
  • Uses CH W# Boards from Fire and Ice
  • Uses CH1 geoboard from Gembloux II
  • Uses CH2 geoboard from A Few Rare Men
  • Uses Chosin/Chosin Few Components
  • Uses components from Forgotten War
  • Uses Components from Kampfgruppe Scherer
  • Uses components from Poland in Flames
  • Uses counters from Poland in Flames
  • Uses Critical Hit Afrika Korps Map(s)
  • Uses DASL geoboards from LFT's Deluxe Pack #1
  • Uses Desert War: 1941 components
  • Uses DW-1a/1b geoboard(s) from Blood and Jungle
  • Uses FE1 geoboard from Budapest Pack
  • Uses Festung Budapest map
  • Uses Festung Budapest rules
  • Uses Finland at War Counters
  • Uses Forgotten War components
  • Uses Friendly Fire Geoboard
  • Uses geoboards from Blood and Jungle
  • Uses geoboards from Crucible of Steel
  • Uses geoboards from Deluxe Pack #1
  • Uses geoboards from High Ground 2
  • Uses geoboards from Into the Rubble
  • Uses geoboards from Into the Rubble 2
  • Uses Guerra Civil Components
  • Uses High Ground geoboard(s)
  • Uses Into the Rubble overlays
  • Uses Into the Rubble rules
  • Uses Kampfgruppe Peiper I Map
  • Uses Kampfgruppe Peiper II Map
  • Uses Kampfgruppe Peiper rules
  • Uses Kursk: Devil's Domain maps
  • Uses LFT1 geoboard from LFT11
  • Uses LFT2 geoboard from LFT12
  • Uses Nhpum Ga map
  • Uses Operation Cobra counters
  • Uses Operation Merkur components
  • Uses Operation Veritable map
  • Uses Pegasus Bridge map
  • Uses Pegasus Bridge rules
  • Uses Recon by Fire #4 counters
  • Uses Red Barricades map
  • Uses Red Barricades rules
  • Uses Red October/Red Factories components
  • Uses SCW2 geoboard from Condor Legions
  • Uses Special Forces! counters
  • Uses St. Nazaire map from St. Nazaire
  • Uses Swedish Volunteers components
  • Uses Sweet 16 geoboards from CH
  • Uses Sweet 16 Winter geoboards from CH
  • Uses Total Axis Pack I Components
  • uses Valor of the Guards counters
  • Uses Valor of the Guards map
  • Uses Valor of the Guards rules
  • Valor of the Guards materials
  • winterized
  • Winterized Boards/Maps
  • Zombies

World of ASL

  • World of ASL Main Page
  • This Year's Releases
  • Avalon Hill Products
  • MMP Products
  • Third Party Publishers (all)
  • Recommended

Play Aids

  • Mini-IFT and Setup Sheets
  • Reminders/Checklists
  • Terrain Related
  • Subject Specific
  • HASL Aids
  • AFV Aids
  • SW Aids
  • OBA Decks
  • Sniper Reminders
  • Contributor Section

Scenarios

  • WCW Scenario Pack
  • Michicon Scenarios
  • Tactiques Scenarios
  • Southern Cross Scenarios
  • Gun Duel Scenarios
  • Sir Roger Mercenario

ASL Museum

  • Dice Towers/Cups
  • Rulebooks
  • Counter Storage
  • Play Aids
  • Clothing
  • Mapboards
  • Miniatures
  • Prizes/Trophies
  • Travel Kits
  • Misc.

Misc

  • About this Site
  • Scenario Designers Guide

Blog

  • Quality in ASL: A Reconnaissance in Force
  • ASL and the Pandemic: Social Responsibility and Board Wargaming
  • ASL Gear and the Systainer System: An Introduction
  • The Top 20 ASL Communities by Country
  • World of ASL major update

Contact

  • I welcome all comments & feedback.