01.2023 ASL Journal Issue Thirteen

Publisher/Date:
Multi-Man Publishing (2023)

Product Type:
Periodical

Country of Origin:
United States

Contents:
52-page magazine on thick semi-gloss stock, 1 8" x 22" unmounted geoboard (77), 33 scenarios on cardstock, 1 overlay (X20).

Commentary:

After a long absence, MMP’s ASL Journal reappeared in 2023, providing ASLers with new articles to read, a new geoboard (77), and a whopping 34 new scenarios–more than in any previous issue of the ASL Journal. It’s not clear if the long delay in publishing allowed the inclusion of more scenarios or if a decision to include a lot of scenarios resulted in a long delay due to playtesting needs.

It’s a sad fact in society as well as in ASL that reading and writing is increasingly becoming something of a lost art.  In ASL, there are few substantive newsletters left anymore, while one has to look to Europe to find another ASL magazine (with Le Franc Tireur), although Bounding Fire Productions occasionally include a magazine-like component in some of their products.  Instead of people taking the time to write thoughtful pieces, and editors taking the time to edit them, what we tend to have instead are more and more people posting unscripted “unboxing” videos or unscripted “reviews” to YouTube.  Talking–or rambling–on a video is sadly simply not a substitute for good writing. I miss written content.

That is why I was happy to see the ASL Journal reappear; however, having said that, I have to admit that both the article content and the editing of Journal Thirteen are somewhat lacking. I’ll leave aside any discussion of the editing, as most ASLers will not be interested, but I’ll just give one example: the magazine contains a large number of exclamation points, when the correct number of such punctuation marks is usually zero. Outside of quotations, exclamation points rarely appear in good composition.

The article content, though, is of interest to many ASLers.  Here the main flaw is an almost complete absence of gameplay/tactics/strategy articles.  The closest the issue comes to having such an article is its first (and best) piece, an article by Gary Bartlett and Mike McGrath providing their analysis of Campaign Game I of Hatten in Flames, one of the best recent ASL historical modules to appear.  Its authors are skilled and experienced players and, as the campaign game is a very playable one, their opinions are certainly of interest.

Most of the magazine, though, is devoted to statistical analysis, with articles evaluating the advantages of hull-down positions vs. building TEM for AFVs, OBA radio contact and draw piles, and alternative OBA systems. If you like lots of charts with percentages, these pieces are for you.  It is not that any of them are bad, it is simply that they have the inherent flaws that all articles based on statistical analysis of game system rules do:  the ratio of “showing your work” to “practical takeaways” is almost always unbalanced in favor of the former. Readers will have to wade through a lot of text and charts in order to find the nuggets of information that can actually influence their decisions.  Such articles definitely have their place, but perhaps it is not a good idea to concentrate too many of them in any one single publication. Spacing them out might be better.

The magazine also devotes a very large amount of space to a historical article on a minor unit of the Korean War. Historical articles seem rather out of place for the ASL Journal to begin with, and to have such a long article on such a small unit was disappointing.

The journal also includes designer’s notes for Forgotten War, another tour of “rules I had wrong,” a comparison of the two versions of the scenario A Mad Minute, the usual errata updates, and other miscellaneous tidbits.

Journal Thirteen also comes with an overlay and a geoboard. The overlay is a reprint of overlay X20, which originally appeared in Doomed Battalions.  The reprint appears primarily for MMP customers who purchased their “Overlay Bundle,” a product not described on Desperation Morale that reprinted all of the ASL overlays from all of the many official ASL products in one fell swoop (similar to the two “Map Bundles” MMP did with geoboards).  In the Bundle, X20 is printed on a fold/crease, which can make the long building overlay a little more difficult to get to lie flat on a geoboard (people who laminate their overlays would not have a problem).  Purchasers should be on the lookout for this overlay, as it is very easy for the overlay to just slip away and hide itself once the shrinkwrap is removed.

The geoboard (Board 77) may be of more interest. Technically, this board was previously available by purchasing the second Map Bundle, but it never appeared in any other ASL module or product. Unlike some other recent geoboards, which have been MOTS (more of the same), this one is a more useful addition to the milieu of geoboards. It features a long three-level hill with a saddle and a road in the middle. Most of the hill is covered in grain. The geoboard world hasn’t quite seen a board like this before.  Unfortunately, the board was made somewhat less useful by the inclusion of 6 buildings, five of which are on the hill itself (and thus not easily covered by overlays).  If the board had included no buildings, or had them only on level 0, this would have been a perfect board for kunai-swept hills in the south Pacific.  As is, though, the only way to eliminate the buildings is by an SSR decreeing to players that they do not exist. This point also drives home the need for overlays that can modify hill terrain, a need that has existed in ASL for decades. Still, the board is a nice addition.

For many ASLers, the article content of an ASL Journal is always going to come a distant second in interest to the scenario content, and here–at least in raw numbers–Journal Thirteen shows its strength, as the issue comes with 34 scenarios, more than any of the other Journals have had over the past quarter-century.  There’s an awful lot of play value in 33 scenarios.

As is usual for ASL Journal scenarios, the actions depicted are a mixed bag, taking place at many different times in many different places, including:

• China 1937 (Chinese vs. Japanese, 1 scenario)
• Albania 1939 (Albanians vs. Italians, 1 scenario)
• Finland 1940 (Soviets vs. Finns, 1 scenario)
• France 1940 (French vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Soviet Union 1941 (Soviets vs. Germans, 2 scenarios; Soviets vs. Finns, 1 scenario)
• Malaya 1942 (Australians and Indians vs. Japanese, 1 scenario)
• Soviet Union 1942 (Soviets vs. Germans, 2 scenarios)
• Tunisia 1943 (Americans vs. Italians, 1 scenario; Free French vs. Germans/Italians, 1 scenario)
• Admiralty Islands 1944 (Americans vs. Japanese, 1 scenario)
• Yugoslavia 1944 (Yugoslav Partisans vs. Germans [SS], 1 scenario)
• France 1944 (Americans vs. Germans, 2 scenarios; Americans/Poles vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Romania 1944 (Romanians vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Czechoslovakia 1944 (Slovaks vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Netherlands 1944 (British/Americans vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Norway 1944 (Soviets vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Luxembourg 1944 (Americans vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Germany 1945 (Soviets vs. Germans, 1 scenario; Americans vs. Germans, 1 scenario; Poles vs. Germans, 1 scenario)
• Lithuania 1945 (Anti-Communist Partisans vs. Soviets, 1 scenario)
• Korea 1949-1951 (South Koreans vs. Communist Guerrillas, 1 scenario; Americans/South Koreans vs. North Koreans, 1 scenario; South Koreans vs. North Koreans, 1 scenario; Americans vs. North Koreans, 2 scenarios; British vs. Chinese, 1 scenario; Dutch vs. Chinese, 1 scenario)

 

There are two sets of scenarios within this collection that are worth particular mention.  First, Journal Thirteen includes 7 Korean War scenarios, meaning that essentially a small scenario pack’s worth of actions from that conflict come with the Journal. Because MMP’s Korean War module is a bit polarizing, this will be happy news to those who enjoy playing Korean War actions but less joyous to those who don’t. It’s worth noting, though, that only two of these Korean War scenarios are Night scenarios.

The second set of scenarios consists of four scenarios without identifying numbers (probably a bad idea) that feature all the scenario information AND the playing area itself (in the form of a mini-map) on the same piece of cardstock. This means the scenarios have playing areas that range from 7-10 hexes in breadth and 10-11 hexes in length.  The turn lengths and OBs are correspondingly small as well, so they should play rather quickly. This idea has novelty value, but also some practical difficulties, because once units are on the map, the card is more or less locked down, but the two orders of battle and the SSRs face three different directions, which may require some awkward neck craning or having your opponent read you something that is on the card (in contrast to a normal scenario, where either player may pick up and inspect the scenario card at their leisure, as long as there are no units on it). These four mini-map scenarios include:

• Reckless Raid. Romania 1944. Romanians vs. Germans. Map area dominated by a plane-strewn runway. Four elite German squad-equivalents (plus 2 leaders, 2 LMG, and 4 DCs) melee with 4.5 Romanian squad equivalents and 3 AA Guns (plus 1 leader and 2 LMGs, as well as a total of 6 squads of varying quality entering as reinforcements). It is actually possible for some units to start in Melee with enemy units. The Germans have to eliminate aircraft (represented by Glider counters).
• Down Number Two Road. Admiralty Islands 1944.  Americans vs. Japanese. Jungle-dominated map area. The attacking Americans have 10.5 squad-equivalents (plus two leaders, 5 SW, and an AT gun towed by a jeep), while the defending Japanese have 5 squads, 2 crews with MGs, 1 leader, an LMG, and 2 pillboxes, plus 2 squads and a leader arriving as reinforcements. The Americans have to clear a road through the jungle.
• Hot Toddy. Netherlands 1944. British/Americans vs. Germans. Map area features a tiny village and an elevated RR. The Germans, on the attack, have 14 2nd-line squads, 4 leaders, 1 HMG and 4 LMG, and 2 StuGs, while the Allies have a British force of 5 squads, 2 leaders, 2 SW, and an AT gun, and an American force of 6 paratrooper squads, two leaders, and two SW. To win, the Germans have to control a specific two-hex building. The Americans can basically only enter the playing area if they remove British units, which is an interesting twist.
• Forest Brothers. Lithuania 1945. Anti-Communist Partisans vs. Soviets. Map area features a woods-covered hill.  Though the Lithuanians are partisans, they use Finish counters (!); the Soviets are NKVD troops. The attacking Soviets–who have to control all Level 4 hill hexes to win–have 11.5 squad-equivalents, 2 leaders (commissars), 6 SW, an 1 AFV. The oddly Finnish-seeming partisans have 9 squads (2 x 5-3-8 and 7 x 4-4-7) and 2 leaders and are very well armed with 4 SW, including an HMG.

 

Taking the Journal Thirteen scenarios in total (including the Korean War and mini-map scenarios), there is a reasonably good mix of small, medium, and large-sized scenarios, with 9 small actions, 11 medium-sized ones, and 13 larger ones. Even many of the medium-sized scenarios are still likely tournament-playable, while few of the large scenarios are very large.  Five scenarios feature OBA or OBA effects, three scenarios are Night scenarios, and one scenario features Air Support. One scenario, J195 (Such Faith), is a seaborne assault scenario, featuring that rarest of actions, an Italian amphibious landing. Two scenarios use Desert rules, while one scenario, J206 (Collect Call), is a DASL scenario.

Obviously, with so many scenarios, there are many interesting actions–too many to list individually. However, a few bear mention.  J194 (A Real War) is a large Sino-Japanese War scenario set in Shanghai in 1937, featuring a large Chinese attack supported by AFVs against a smaller but high-quality Japanese force. The Japanese get NOBA and Air Support, while the Chinese (!) get their own Air Support (the tiny Chinese air force was quite active at Shanghai). Interestingly, the Chinese player may also, under certain circumstances, use his sniper to target the Japanese NOBA.  Early ROAR results suggest a Japanese advantage, though. J198 (The Valley of Glory) is an early East Front action featuring a medium-sized combined-arms Soviet force against a much smaller elite German force; it’s a scenario that is at that perfect size for tournament play–though it may not be balanced. Scenario J203 (Death at the Cement Plant) is another East Front scenario that hits that sweet spot in size. J205 (Goats to Lure the Tiger) is interesting in that it is a relatively rare Free French scenario set in Tunisia, using Desert rules (but for boards 25 and 15). It pits an Italian Bersaglieri attack supported by considerable Italian and German armor against a poor-quality but pretty well-armed Free French force, who get some FT-17 tanks to ride to the rescue. Any scenario with FT-17 tanks is worth playing.

J207 (Unhorsed) is a tourney-sized scenario featuring 13 U.S. squads and three light AFVs against a small SS force with a big honking AT gun; it has virtually no SSRs. For those who want armor on both sides, J208 (Panzerpioniere!) features an elite German combined-arms attack against an American combined-arms defense. Both sides get tanks and halftracks to play with–but the Germans probably need some help. Fans of late war AFVs with huge guns can look to J215 (Expandable Allies), which features a German attack with 18 squads and 9 tanks/StuGs, including Panthers, against 16 squads of the Communist Polish 1st Tank Corps, supported by a bevy of late-war AFVs. However, early ROAR results suggest that the Germans have a real edge.

These are just a few of the many actions that the scenarios of Journal Thirteen depict.  Based on ROAR results as of this writing, the Journal Thirteen scenarios that have a combination of both considerable play and apparent balance include J200 (One Story Town), J202 (Down by the River), J207 (Unhorsed), J211 (Breakthrough in the Arctic), and J212 (Shoulder to Shoulder).

 

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