Publisher/Date:
Sherry Enterprises/Schwerpunkt (2024)
Product Type:
Periodical
Country of Origin:
United States
Contents:
24-page magazine; 12 scenarios on cardstock inserts.
Attendees at the 2024 ASLOK tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, were pleasantly surprised to see two products offered for sale from third party publisher Evan Sherry, including a Rally Point scenario pack and this item, the 24th issue of Schwerpunkt magazine. Of the two, the re-appearance of Schwerpunkt was the surprising product, as Sherry had not published an issue of Schwerpunkt since 2017. Indeed, he had largely explicitly given up on the magazine–which debuted nearly 30 years ago in 1996–in favor of the themed Rally Point scenario packs. Schwerpunkt debuted in the Dark Ages of ASL (roughly 1993-1996), a period in which ASL products were few and far between, and the future didn’t look particularly bright. A bevy of third party publishers emerged to fill the void, including MMP, Kinetic Energy, Heat of Battle, Critical Hit (well, they can’t all be winners), and Schwerpunkt, among others. Issues of Schwerpunkt, typically released at ASLOK, became a welcome occurrence for ASLers–until they stopped appearing. Now, at least for the nonce, Schwerpunkt is back.
In reality, Schwerpunkt and Rally Point actually complement each other, because Rally Points are themed, while the scenarios that come with an issue of Schwerpunkt are mixed-bag. For a group of scenario designers, this is actually quite useful, because someone who has a great idea for a scenario that doesn’t meet the theme of the current Rally Point can have an outlet for that idea with Schwerpunkt. Producing both allows a great deal of flexibility, from a design and playtest perspective. What is not so great is the burn-out that can come with trying to playtest two groups of scenarios at once, something that these Tampa-area ASLers did for a number of years. Perhaps alternating between a Schwerpunkt and a Rally Point provides the best of both worlds.
This issue of Schwerpunkt is 24 pages long, a few pages longer than the previous issue (printed on papyrus). The feature article is a long piece by Mike Augustine on Volksgrenadier divisions, the late-war infantry formations created by Nazi Germany to stave off total defeat (spoiler alert: they didn’t). Special counters for volksgrenadier squads were introduced in MMP’s recent Twilight of the Reich, an opportunity that the Tampa boys rushed to exploit. The theme of Rally Point 21 was basically “All the volksgrenadiers you can eat,” and this issue of Schwerpunkt complements that pack with the Augustine article and four more scenarios featuring volksgrenadiers. The issue also includes a short article by Brook White on the French counters in Croix de Guerre and the usual designer notes and player commentary for each of the included scenarios.
The twelve scenarios included (as cardstock inserts) with the magazine feature actions from a variety of theaters and campaigns, including Slovakia 1938 (Slovaks vs. Hungarians), France 1940 (French vs. Germans), Soviet Union 1943 (Soviets vs. Germans), France 1944 (British vs. Germans), Germany 1944 (Americans vs. Germans [2 scenarios]) & 1945 (British vs. Germans), Hungary 1944 (Soviets vs. Germans) & 1945 (Soviets vs. Hungarians), and Austria 1945 (Soviets vs. Germans [2 scenarios]). As is often typical with issues of Schwerpunkt, the scenarios skew heavily towards 1944-1945. All of the scenarios East or West Front. There are no scenarios set in Italy or the MTO, nor are there any at all set in the PTO.
The scenarios include five large actions, five medium-sized actions, and only two small ones. No scenarios have OBA or use the Night rules; one scenario has Air Support. As is common with scenarios from this publisher, AFVs are everywhere.
To play all the scenarios, one needs the following geoboards: 33, 47, 48, 52, 54, 62, 64, 65, 67, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 84, 85, 89, 90, 10a, 11b, 12a, 12b, and 14a. Note that possession of many of the most recently-issued geoboards is necessary to play the scenarios here.
Several of the scenarios depict interesting situations. One of the more exotic–and also perhaps the most tournament-friendly scenario in the product–is SP277 (Ragged Guard), set in Slovakia in 1938, which features an aggressive Hungarian paramilitary force getting a comeuppance from the Slovaks. SP278 (Tirailleurs Counterattack), also a small, quick-playing scenario, features a platoon’s worth of the best tank in ASL: the FT-17. It’s the best ASL tank, because if you ever accomplish anything with one, you’ll feel good for the rest of the day. Both these scenarios look like nice little actions. SP282 (Then Came the Inferno) is an American-German clash that pits a bunch of German turretless AFVs against two Shermans and two M26 tank destroyers with 90mm guns: it’s the battle of the agile and vulnerable vs. the big-gunned and inflexible. SP287 (The Vienna Bypass) [which is the type of surgery you have if you eat too many Vienna Beef hot dogs and have a heart attack] features a small group of late-war SS with 2 Tigers (each with an armor leader) and an 88mm gun trying to fend off an elite attacking Soviet force. The Soviets have to kick the Germans out of three of four buildings, but also have to exit at least two (of their 9) AFVs. There will likely be a lot of tank-hunting in this scenario.
All in all, this issue of Schwerpunkt seems like a solid effort, although the lack of any PTO scenarios is definitely disappointing.
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