Drop Zone: Ste-Mere Eglise will be shipping towards the end of March as soon as MMP completes it’s pre-orders. I picked up a copy at Winter Offensive and had the opportunity to test drive one of the scenarios with some cows riding shotgun. Lots of fun so far. Will be starting the first of three Campaign Games soon.
One of the three historical maps included in DZ: SME
Specifically designed for the wargamers, made to lift tall stacks of counters thanks to the wide profile angle. As an added bonus, the claws are wide which distributes the pressure on the contact point of the counter to avoid damaging the sides through repeated grabbing.
MMP 2023 Production Forecast
Here is the MMP Anticipated 2023 Production List as of January 29, 2023:
Advanced Squad Leader
– The Winter Offensive Bonus Pack #14 (2023) has been released; – The Sainte-Mère-Église HASL is shipping to preorders; – The Marco Polo Bridge HASL will go on preorder; – ASL Journal 14 will be released 1st quarter; – Ponyri HASL will go on preorder; – Contested Lands module (1948 Arab-Israeli conflict) will go on preorder; – A reprint of Armies of Oblivion will go on preorder; – We are working on a reprint of Solitaire ASL; – Doomed Battalions will go on reprint; – Twilight of the Reich, a boxed ASL module, will go on preorder.
ASL Starter Kit
– ASLSK Marco Polo Bridge HASL will go on preorder. Ownership of ASLSK4 will be required to play; – An ASLSK magazine should be released;
Hatten In Flames: CG I Impressions wherein Gary Bartlett & Mike McGrath discuss approaches both German and American players might take in tackling this Campaign Game.
In (Not So) Free Parking, Phil Palmer uncovers some facts about Hull Down positions and how valuable they may actually be to your AFV.
Advanced Nuggets 2 finds Paul Sidhu & Rich Spilky illuminating even more obscure and easily overlooked rules.
Radio Contact Essentials offers a primer by Rich Spilky on the basics of this critical element of ASL OBA.
Second Impressions finds Rich Spilky musing on OBA draw pile probabilities in this extension of Robert Medrow’s essential article in THE GENERAL (and ASL CLASSIC) on OBA in ASL and providing a basis for the “Pleva variant” for OBA chit draws.
Alternative OBA Systems by Jim Bishop explores additional chit replacement methods in this follow-up to Rich’s draw pile article.
Ken Dunn gives us a Preview of the Drop Zone: Sainte-Mére-Èglise Historical ASL module.
Forgotten War Designer’s Notes author Kenneth P. Katz was a key contributor to the creation and evolution of transitioning ASL to the Korean War, and herein offers insight into that process.
A Tale of Two Scenarios is John Slotwinski’s analysis of the original and updated versions of the YANKS scenario The Mad Minute, revered for its fun factor but notoriously unbalanced.
Per Mare Per Terram is Andrew H. Hershey’s follow-up to Ghost Killers from ASL Journal 12 and covers the history of 41 (Independent) Commando of the Royal Marines in the Korean War.
The Debriefing offers this issue’s errata updates.
ASL Journal 13 has 33 ASL scenarios:
Bounding Fire Productions Reprint of 3 great Modules
I’m really not sure what took me so long to post a link to Jim’s fantastic page. You will find plenty of articles, rules explanations, advice, and tricks from a master. I will also be putting a permanent link in the menu so you can easily find his page again on this site without having to scroll through posts to find this one.
What did I miss this year?
2022 has been an incredible year for both new and reprinted ASL material. So much so that it has been hard to keep track of all the goodies thanks to MMP and TPP’s stepping up to never before seen design and production. Here is a checklist of everything I can think of that came out in the last year.
MMP:
Pocket Rulebook, Pocket Chapter H, Pocket Charts, Journal 13, Overlay Bundle, Hakkaa Paalle*, Action Pack 15 Swedish Volunteers*, Sword and Fire Manila, & Hollow Legions.
Le Franc Tireur:
From the Cellar 11 & From the Cellar 12.
Bounding Fire Productions:
Operation Neptune, High Ground 2*, Beyond the Beachhead*, Operation Cobra*.
Lone Canuck Publishing:
Operation Martlet Campaign Game, Battle for France, Wacht Am Rhein Volume 2, Quick 6 V, Grossdeutschland 3.
Advancing Fire:
Prokhorovka! & ECZ Tournament Director’s Pack
Hazardous Movement:
Hazmo 2 (Partisans), Hazmo 3 (Stalingrad).
Ritterkrieg(That’s me):
Stack Guards with all Nationalities represented with unique colors and artwork.
Raaco Subdividers
My ASL Woodworking Shop Finally Up and Running
I honestly wasn’t sure I would ever see this day. As recently as this summer I still hadn’t decided on a location for the shop. Amy and I had discussed putting up a dedicated barn but of course contractors are all but impossible to find these days. So I had to consider using the dungeon at the Honda garage. The basement wasn’t fit for man nor beast and hadn’t been used in over 30 years. The door had rotted off, the windows were broken, there was only one circuit for an overhead fluorescent lamp, and the top stairs had disintegrated. Today, about five months after starting renovations, I cut my first piece of wood. Next up, dice towers, Mapboard Ammo Cases, and ASL table tops. I will be taking orders in the first quarter of the new year.
Examples of previous pieces made from the old shop.
Hi everyone, it looks like there is a whole lot of new stuff that just arrived. It is rare that a producer releases two titles at just about the same time but that is what seems to have happened both with MMP (Hakkaa Paalle and Overlay Bundle) and LCP (GD3 and Quick6V). To round things off, Sebi from AF has their new scenario pack on the shelves (WITB video to come).
Technical issues here at the Ritterkrieg Chicken’s Coup – WordPress released a new version of their software and while it looks excellent, it disabled my ability to send e-mail notifications so in fixing that problem through a gmail proxy, it proceeded to send out notifications for every unclaimed preorder dating back 5 years. So I want to: a. offer my apologies if you are being reminded that you have an outstanding order for a product that was released in 2017 and b. as silly as it sounds, I will still honor those pre-order prices if you still want to complete the order.
On a final note, please subscribe to this page and to my Youtube channel if you haven’t done so already.
Advancing Fire normally works only on deeply historical games, but this time we are proud to produce a game from an important external developer, that is a unique and very interesting release.
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR’S PACK (TD’S PACK) is the collection of ASL scenarios designed by Enrico Catanzaro (known in ASL community as ecz) with an experience of about thirty years as ASL player and Tournament Director of ASL tournaments, as well as wargamer and chess player. His main attention turned in particular to the balance and replayability, while trying to develop interesting and innovative dynamics. The Tournament Director’s Pack features 16 scenarios all using dedicated new rules which are used to decide sides and Victory Conditions at once. We made sure the scenarios were playtested by many different level players, from the best who won many tournaments to the inexperienced ones, and they have shown, with their rules for determining the VCs, to be suitable for all levels, and to have a very high replayability. These scenarios are ideal for use in tournaments or to practice competitive ASL, maintaining a high adherence to the war events they represent.
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR’S PACK contains the following:
16 action packed scenarios
Quick 6 V from Lone Canuck:
Click on photo for more information or to order
The fifth instalment of the acclaimed series with6 More small scenarios that can be played in 2-3 hours.
Just discovering this series? Pick up all 5 Quick 6 scenario packs at a discounted price:
Click on photo for more information or to order
Hakkaa Paalle Back in Stock:
Click on photo for more information or to order
MMP has reprinted the Finnish Module which should be arriving at our store at any moment and then off to you.
One 8˝×22˝ Map (52)
four Countersheets
17 ASL Scenarios
one Chapter H for Finnish Vehicles/Guns and Russian Lend-Lease Vehicle/Guns
Rules Supplement, with updates pertinent to Hakkaa Päälle!
four chapter Dividers, including a revised National Capabilities Chart with new Finnish squad types, and the OBA Flowchart
Advanced Squad Leader Live on Facebook:
Click on photo for link to this Facebook Group
Volunteers needed to moderate, add ideas and content.
My original plan was to have a group meeting place on Facebook where players interact with live games, discussions, and interviews with people in the hobby. Please let me know if this might be up your alley.
Now available are D4 sub-dividers for your RAACO A75 dividers economizing space for your kit.
ASL Oktoberfest 2022
At the beginning of each October, Brett Hildebran with some help from Wild Bill, hosts the largest ASL gathering in the World. Over a hundred players converge in Cleveland, Ohio for a nine day marathon with representation from as far away as Australia. During the first 4 days, Brett pits the American players against the players from the rest of the World for the much coveted World Cup team tournament. On Wednesday, the mini’s begin with themes ranging from the Pacific to the Desert and every theatre in between. Each mini tournament has a maximum of eight players, so win three games and you are bringing home a trophy to impress everyone on your block. And if you don’t win, no biggie as the next round of minis starts the next day, and the next, and the next after that. If you keep winning, you will be entered into the Grofaz for the single most coveted piece of tin in the ASL world. But to win this, you will have to make it past the likes of ASL legends like Steve Pleva, Bill Cirillo, Bob Bendis, JR Tracy, Mike McGrath, and the list goes on.
My ASLOK, 2022. I arrived as usual on Saturday afternoon after an eight hour dive from NC. I set up camp in the foyer to the main convention room after saying hi to Bill and the early arrivals. The Hotel was under new management and unfortunately none of the familiar faces of the old staff were still employed. Pretty soon the usual gang began arriving with the notable exception of many of the international players that used to haunt the venue. I spent the rest of the day on Saturday setting up for for my first game.
Game 1 – As has become a custom with my dear friend Jack Daniels, we had pre-arranged our yearly monster scenario to be ‘DN3 Rommel at the Meuse’ from Croix de Guerre. This is a 13 turn full map crossing of the Meuse in rubber dinghies, assault boats and rafts. Jack chose the French and I was very happy to play the Germans as I really enjoyed the many cool toys and Special Rules regarding river crossings. Even though I read the Dinnant rules a couple of weeks before our match, I managed to forget most of them by the time we began.
My set-up was poor and extremely inefficient but the smoke from the fires along with withering fire from my Death Stars on the east bank managed to silence most French targets on the cliffs and provide a safe enough crossing for the bulk of the 7th Panzer. We decided to call it on Turn 6 as most of the German infantry had miraculously crossed the Meuse after losing only 3 loaded boats. Too many Germans and too much time left for the French to hold on.
Game 2 – John Garlic and I finally found a chance to play each other in SP159 The Lisjanka Epitaph. I played as the German player player against his Russians. Regretfully, I forgot to take photos of the game but the game was decided by a ton of 2’s and 12’s being rolled at critical times. Unfortunately for John, the extremes were not evenly distributed between us and he had 3 malfunctioned MA’s by turn two while I had that same number of CH’s.
Game 3 – FrF22 Wunderwaffe vs. Mike McGrath. I had a fantastic time playing Mike. He is incredibly fun to play and he stopped me many times to give me pointers that kept me in the the game. Fast and istictual, Mike is consistently the top echelon of the game. There were a few times where I thought I had an even chance of pulling it off and then his 75LL anti-tank guns made their appearance and shut down half the board while taking three of my KV’s with them. Just when I was ready to make my final suicide rush to the victory building’s, the alarm on Mike’s his phone began to chime, summoning him to the bar to watch a football game. So at the moment of truth, Mike handed me the field. Talk about being saved by the bell. Lot’s of fun and learning from a master.
Game 4 – ABTF1 The Prize vs. Brian Martuszis. Brian, altruistic to a fault, spends each ASLOK exclusively playtesting scenarios for different publishers. We chose an old scenario that was being re-worked for the new ‘Bridges’ CG pack that is in development from MMP. I was the defending SS against some truly bad-ass Paras with mortars, PIATS, FT’s and a 9-2. Luckily I had a few AC’s and HT’s which could scoot around making his movements difficult. It wasn’t long before he KIA’d my entire garrison in the Pillbox on the bridge with a Flamethrower attack, reminiscent of the scene in the movie less the StormTrooper inaccuracy. Now with the Strongpoint gone, all that was left was to climb onto the bridge and exit toward Nijmegen for the win. Unfortunately for Brian he was unable to generate enough SMOKE to block LOS from my PSW222’s sMG HT Fire Lanes on the bridge. As time was waning, the Red Devil’s disappeared back into their fortified position for the terrible battle to come.
Brian Martuszis
Game 5 – MC34 Machine Gun Alley vs. Gary Bartlett. Another Playtest, this time for BFP’s Finnish module and again against another very close friend. This is a scenario where 1st line Finns (me) are attacking from three directions on one board against Russians (Gary) in concrete Pillboxs and Fortified Buildings sporting 3 HMG’s. Taking my lumps trying to get to cover with the help of Gary’s lack of ROF and some timely 11’s and 12’s allowed me to close for a chance at victory by Turn 5. It was now close to 2 AM and Gary had a game in the mini’s at eight so we called it here. Very fun scenario featuring an unstoppable Force colliding with an immovable object. I can’t wait for the new Finnish pack to come out.
Gary Bartlett deep in thought or falling asleep at 2 am.
Wednesday Morning – I was planning on leaving ASLOK early this year as I wanted to visit my father in Montreal so I said my goodbyes, went downstairs to pull the car around and found that my catalytic converter had been donated, without my permission, to someone’s meth addiction. I spent the rest of the morning finding a garage that could get me fixed up and back on the road. On the brightside, I could get another game or two in.
Game 6 – SP259 Corridor to Extinction vs. Jim. This was a friendly laid back game that went back and forth until the JgPzVI took it in the side on turn 4. Then we spent over an hour chatting about careers, sociology, strategy and neat little ASL tricks and made quick work of becoming good friends. This is why I come to ASLOK.
James deciding how to best use his 128L main armament.
Game 7 – NTX02 They Came Like the Rain vs. Ray Woloszyn. By the time the car was ready it was already too late to make the drive to Montreal so my close friend and Kernersville neighbor I picked a tiny scenario where my Japanese Attackers are trying to exit 3 Squads off the far edge past Commonwealth Defending along a hill. By the end of Turn 2 60%+ of both OB’s were eliminated through suicidal Banzai charges and HtH CC. With the help of unending Smoke from my lone knee mortar, I was just able to get my last squad off in the knick of time.
Thursday Morning I said my goodbyes for the second time and hopped on the road. Until next year.
ASL Woodworking Shop Update:
The crew has been working for 3 weeks now and the basement at Ritterkrieg is coming along nicely. The steps have been poured, the lighting is done, the electrical outlets are in, the awning is installed, the land cleared, the walls are painted. Still coming…the windows, door, polished floor, dust collection, HVAC pending and finally tool installation. We are close. Before/after photos soon.
So to recap the story behind why we are only now receiving Action Pack 15 – Swedish Volunteers, the first print run back in December 2020 ($35 retail) had an issue with not enough countersheets being produced so they were not being offered to the retailers at that time. Now in August 2022 it is back on the shelf albeit for $40. I am still honoring the pre-order price of $31.50 and am offering it to non-preorders at $36 shipping included while current inventory lasts. If you remember pre-ordering this product through Ritterkrieg but did not receive the invoice in the past week, please use coupon code ‘AP15’ to bring the cost back down to $31.50
Swedish Volunteers is MMP’s production of the original Swedish Volunteers scenario pack by Martin Svärd and Erik Leander. Featuring 16 ASL scenarios and the 128 counters representing the Swedish Order of Battle. Also included is Chapter Z notes for the Swedes. In true Swedish fashion none of the pages have words but screwdrivers and allen wrenches are included.
Special Ops #10 has ten articles, two ASL scenarios and two ASLSK scenarios, The magazine also features the game Blitzkrieg to Moscow 2.
Featured articles cover Front Toward Enemy, Iron Curtain (with additional scenarios), Last Blitzkrieg, Panzers Last Stand, and more. There are also a ASL SK article and a couple ASL articles, including a preview of the upcoming HASL covering Marco Polo Bridge.
Blitzkrieg to Moscow 2 , origninally published by Bonsai Games, is a quick playing eastern front game. The game has one map, eight pages of rules, 12 cards, and 60 1″ counters.
Straight off the boat from Italy, this Kursk monster pack is Stateside again in very limited quantities.
Looks like Guns and Tanks are back on the menu boys!!! – Starter Kit 2 & 3 Back in Stock
Out of Stock often but never for too long, the coffers have been refilled. Now in stock for Starter Kit we have absolutely everything other than Decision at Elst for you SK needs, all on sale and all with free shipping (orders over $29).
Starter Kit 1
Starter Kit 2
Starter Kit 3
Starter Kit 4
SK Expansion Pack 1
SK Expansion Pack 2
SK Bonus Pack #2
What have we missed in 2022?
this year has been so prolific with new ASL products it may be hard to keep up with all the new releases. Here is a list of the goodies that have arrived within the last 12 months:
Prokhorovhka! – Seven Historical maps covering the fiery Wagnerian crescendo of Kursk. Hundreds of AFV locked in mortal combat as the bad guys try to steal back the strategic initiative from the other bad guys.
From the Cellar 11 and 12 – 21 new scenarios and 21 must-have articles dissect the art and nuances of how to defend (FTC11) and attack (FTC 12) in ASL, earning you a black belt in humiliating your opponents and winning over the lovely ladies in the audience with your now perfectly honed ASL skills.
Operation Neptune – BFP takes us to the Seine as the British attempt to cross the river against some very stiff German resistance. CG and scenarios.
Hollow Legions – The complete rework of the original HL. This edition not only includes everything the original had in with up to date graphics but also contains all of the desert components that used to be included in West of Alamein. But if this wasn’t enough, you also get ‘Soldiers of the Negus’ campaign game. A truly huge package. Do not forget to add LFT14to this for the total Italian/Desert experience.
Sword and Fire: Manila – 6 Maps, 25 scenarios and a whopping 5 Campaign Games to keep you busy into the next century.
Winter Offensive 13– 4 new scenarios and 3 new Deluxe Boards with MMP donating all proceeds to charity.
Pocket Combo – The much improved Pocket Rulebook along with the brand new Charts and Chapter H available individually or heavily discounted as a set.
Hazardous Movement 2 – Partisan warfare at it’s best. 10 sneaky no-quarter scenarios from behind the front lines.
Hazardous Movement 3– 10 scenarios linking into a CG set in and around Stalingrad.
Operation Martlet – the first in a three part series of CG’s depicting Operation Epsom (Martlett) in Normandy 1944.
Wacht Am Rhein 2 – Eight brand new Battle of the Bulge scenarios.
Battle for France– 10 early war scenarios depicting the fight for France.
Chad and Chuck have done it again with 10 more exciting scenarios, this time focusing on Stalingrad and the War in the East. Note that I am also selling all 3 packs together at a substantial discount.
Lone Canuck has released another scenario pack. This one dedicated to France 1940. You will notice that this pack is bigger than most Lone Canuck releases with 10 scenarios instead of the customary 6. Please click on the photo to see all the details on the scenarios.
Although there are many different ways to store your counters ranging from Bob’s coffee can to 3D printed solutions along with everything in between, I am personally a fan of the Raaco handyboxes. Professional and easy to transport, they are easily customizable by selecting inserts that fit your specific needs.
While sorting the counters for the new SCS title ‘North Africa’, I realized that I could sub divide the sub divisions with the addition of a small insert into the individual divider compartments. Hence a Divider that used to hold a maximum of 128 slots (using 16 A78 trays) could now comfortably hold 240 slots (using 16 A75 trays with subdividers). This not only makes it more compact to store and transport, but also cuts the cost by almost half.
I am posting these dividers for sale in packs of 5 pcs. for $2.50 ($0.50 each) but please contact me if you want me to send you the file to print yourself.
Hallowed Ground ASL Tournament 2022
John and Christina
Last year when I drove up to Gettysburg for John Dober’s annual tournament, I knew that he was quite ill but none of us believed that we wouldn’t get to see him again. John and Christina opened up their home, as they do every year for 4 days every July for their friends to laugh, chat, drink, smoke and of course play some ASL. Only beyond belief to those that don’t know the heart and love that is Christina, we returned again this year at her invitation to carry on the tradition and pay tribute to John. I drove up early Saturday morning to find a house full of over 40 friends celebrating John’s life expressed in tales from our wonderful memories shared. Seldom do you find someone in your life who becomes an instant close friend the first time you meet. John will always be that to all that knew him. I am grateful to Christina, Ken, Dave, Ed, and everyone else involved for making this happen. Through this, John’s legacy truly lives on. What kinder gift can one hope to leave behind.
Passing ofASL’ersGary Trezza and Pat Flory. I know they will both be missed dearly by all that knew them.
Gary Trezza – Co- TD of the Albany Tournament.
Pat Flory – Owner of The Citadel Game store.
ASL Woodworking Shop:
It has been a few years now since I shut the shop down due to sawdust induced severe Asthma attacks. I may have found a solution with a new dedicated workshop with proper dust collection so hopefully I will be churning out ASL tables, dice towers, and Map Ammo Boxes within the year. Stay tuned.
MMP has taken this off of pre-order. We are leaving the price artificially low for another week of so, so this may be the Last chance top pre-order at huge savings
Bob’s counter storage system featured on the cover artwork
Le Franc Tireur’s newest publication is just about t the printer. It is the sister ship to From The Cellar 11 which focused on defending in ASL. This newest publication does the same except with articles on attacking is ASL. Loaded with 36 pages and 11 scenarios. I am also offering this pack at a discount with FTC11 and some other LFT package deals. If you include this product in an order with other items that are in stock, we will ship what we have now and ship FTC12 separately when it arrives.
Note: This is a pre-sale item. We expect to start shipping in Late June.
Please click the link to see a full description of the product!
Heat of Battle, Long Out of Print Inventory Found:
Well guess who found some old inventory??? Me, that’s who. Included is Recon By Fire 2-4, Waffen SS Update Pack, and Firefights 2. They are all on sale and needless to say, when they are gone…
Captured vehicles used in the German armed forces. 44-page magazine, including 14 scenarios as pages in the magazine; countersheet with 176 diecut 5/8″ counters; 1 unmounted DASL Map (BF1); 1 sheet of DASL-size rubble overlays; 1 APC Player Aid (a fixed version of the one that originally appeared in RbF#2). NB. This comes with the original countersheet that was die cut upside down (ie. the front artwork is on the concave side and the back is on the convex side).
Our large order from Battleschool of precision dice has arrived. After speaking with Helen and Chris, they have warned me that prices are going up drastically at the manufacturer so this may be the last chance to get some of these dice at these prices. The 16mm themed dice are still hovering around $12.50/die but the 12.5mm dice have already seen an increase to almost double what they were.
Shipping Cost Update:
Free Shipping Update –
Yes, we are still offering Free Shipping in the United States but there are some changes. The post office has dramatically increased their fees over the last 2 years and we have been absorbing the difference but the small orders (one $8 die, or a $12 scenario pack) are no longer sustainable (we are losing around $4 per order even before paying Hailey to lovingly package and drive your order to the Post Office). As a solution, we are keeping the free shipping on orders over $29.95. For orders under that amount, we are charging a nominal fee of $4 shipping so we can break even. This $4 fee will not apply to most orders as ASL gear is seldom under $30 so make sure you click the FREE SHIPPING at checkout. Also note that I have added in other shipping options like Priority Mail in case you want the order expedited with insurance. I really appreciate your understanding as I try to find ways to bring you the stuff you love at the lowest possible cost. Derek.
Yes, we are still offering Free Shipping in the United States but there are some changes. The post office has dramatically increased their fees over the last 2 years and we have been absorbing the difference but the small orders (one die, or a $12 scenario pack) are no longer sustainable (we are losing around $4 per order even before paying Hailey). As a solution, we are keeping the free shipping on orders over $29.95. For orders under that amount, we are charging a nominal fee of $4 shipping so we can break even. This $4 fee will not apply to most orders as ASL gear is seldom under $30 so make sure you click the FREE SHIPPING at checkout. Also note that I have added in other shipping options like Priority Mail in case you want the order expedited with insurance. I really appreciate your understanding as I try to find ways to bring you the stuff you love at the lowest possible cost. Derek.
Lone Canuck Publishing has released volume 2 of their much acclaimed Wacht Am Rhein scenario pack. We should be shipping out within the week as our order is already in with George. Please consider picking up volume 1 at the same time and cash in on thediscounted price.
Volume 1 and 2 at a discounted price.
MMP – Pocket combo released.
Pocket Combo: The Pocket Combo includes three items: The Updated Pocket Rulebook, The brand new Pocket Chapter H, and MMP’s first attempt at Pocket Charts. We are selling these three items together for $101, shipping included (a $9 savings).
Pocket Rulebook v2: The PRB always contained Chapters A-G but the newest version of the pocket rulebook has three obvious improvements. First, it includes Chapter K, the ASL tutorial boot camp. Next it has Chapter W with all the Forgotten War, Korea rules. Finally it is printed on much thicker paper. Of course it also includes all errata and updates regarding the new Hollow Legions. The price is great compared to the more expensive binder which doesn’t come with Chapters E (Yanks), F (Hollow Legions), G (Rising Sun), K (Paratrooper), or W (FW,K). Full retail is $50.
Chapte H: I first saw the prototype of the new Chapter H at ASLOK in 2021 and wondered where have you been my whole life. I will be honest and say that since the Pocket Rulebook was released, I haven’t touched my Rules binder a single time. Between the PRB and the LFT Rat Charts, there is no reason to. Now MMP has done the same for Chapter H. All vehicle and ordinance notes in one compact bound travel book. It has the updates for all nationalities including the new Italian stuff release in HL. Full retail is $40.
Pocket Charts: I was very anxious to see what MMP’s first attempt at pocket charts would be. I was surprised to see that some of the lessons learned from the Rat Charts were not used on this product. LFT made 4 separate version of charts (1, 2, 2+, 3), improving and innovating each time so it may take a minute for MMP’s charts to learn these lessons. I have made a comparison of LFT Rat Pocket Charts with the MMP Pocket Charts. Keep in mind that these are my opinions based on what is important to me. Full retail including shipping $23
MMP’s Pocket Charts to LFT’s Rat Pocket Charts v3.
The good: The chapter F and G charts have slightly more material than the Rat Charts. The Pocket Charts are also about half the price of the RPC. The ASOP is included, and the font is bigger for our old eyes.
The not so Good: The paper is very thin and I am worried that it will wear out quickly. There are no tabs so you are constantly flipping through all the pages trying to find the right chart (this compounds the thin paper problem). There is a redundancy of charts where the IFT/IIFT and the TH/TK charts are included twice. The front page is a title page with no charts. Seems like they could have put a full size IFT on the front cover especially considering that the front and back are the only pages made with cardstock. I am not fond of the large footprint of the charts but this may be the price to pay for the larger font.
Conclusion: The MMP pocket charts would be a great starting point in the ASL world but it seems to have missed the opportunity to avoid the teething problems that LFT already corrected. Other than the substantial difference in price and the inclusion of the ASOP, I don’t think the Pocket Charts will replace my Rat Charts until an improved 2nd edition appears on the scene. Still a good, useful, and inexpensive addition to pair with the PRB.
After being out of stock for the better part of a year, Le Franc Tireur’s highly acclaimed Fight For Seoul is finally back in stock, albeit in very limited quantities. This past weekend I had the incredible opportunity to not only play my first game ever using the Communist Chinese but the privilege of playing against Andy Hershey, the prolific designer of both the Seoul module and one of the original designers of Forgotten War, Korea. It was an incredible experience as Andy walked me through the many nuances of the Chicoms. They stripe like the Japanese, use something similar to platoon movement for Infantry movement, possess true grenadiers (rifleless grenade throwers), along with a host of other unique features. Now I can’t wait to get Seoul on the table.
Where the Iron Crosses Grow Team Tournament 2022
After a two year pause (Covid 19) ,Tim Brieaddy and I are back with the resumption of the greatest team tournament in the history of Kernersville, NC. I starterd out by making a huge mistake and setting the date as March 31st-April 3rd without realizing that this falls on the same weekend as the High Point furniture market. This little error meant that hotel rooms, if you could find one, were hovering around $250/night. So Tim, Ray, and myself decided to put up everyone that needed a place to stay at our houses.
This year we had 21 on the roster but thanks to some faulty intel provided by me, Ken Smith (ASL Artist), Ken Knott (Fearless Italian Squad Leader on the box art of new Hollow Legions) and Danny Stanhagen were unable to attend. This left us with 18 players on 6 teams. As alway, I was only a spoiler for anyone who wasn’t matched up with an opponent.
Dog tags: I have gotten a few queries about the dog tags. When you lose a game you must forfeit a dog tag as a momento to your opponent as a keepsake.
After picking up Sam Tyson (BFP fame and fortune) at the airport and stopping for a Burger and a Beer at Hops, we headed to my house to settle in and play a warm up match. James lancaster and Ray Wolloszyn showed up a few minutes later and began their own carnage. Tim came by after work to check out the scene. By Thursday we included to the ranks Keith Spurlock, Mika Harviala, Tom Kearney, Bill Ryder, and Tim Deane. Friday and Saturday saw the arrival of Andy Hershey (Designer), Dave Johannsen, Jeff Jordan, Dave Stephens, Chas Smith (BFP), Jon Plot and Will Allred. Missing was Xavier Vitry (LFT) who’s flight got cancelled. My apologies for those who I did not get a photo of.
Amy Jo’s cups and Tim’s Dog Tags
Each team had a compliment of 3 players sub divided into expert, intermediate, and novice. Each team member plays round robin against like ranked players from other teams, propelling their team into death or glory. Events included playtesting for the new BFP module, Pizza, Brugers, Sam’s famous breakfast tacos, Dave’ incredible Brunswick Stew, a full keg of beer and some tennessee Bourbon (thanks to Keith). In total 40 + game were played with the following results.
1st place overall – Mika Harviala (5-1)
1st Place Team – Texas – Sam, Tim B., Will (+5)
Most tank Kills – Tim Brieaddy
Sniper Ace – Mika Harviala
Captain Stransky Award – Ray Woloszyn
Sponsors and supporters:
Mika brings home the gold
Key’s Games and Hobbies – a huge thank you to Alex Key for a ridiculous amount of loot including gift certificates, and US armed Forces patches with unit histories as giveaway. I am grateful to Alex for his generosity.
110 Pints of golden Lager on tap.
Ritterkrieg and Le Franc Tireur – scenario packs and Battledice for the raffle
Redheadedtshirts.com – Plaques and dog tags
AmyJo – Where the Iron Crosses Grow personalized cups that she made with her with her Cricket
Best damn tacos both sides of the Rio Grande
Sam Tyson – Breakfast Tacos
Ray Woloszyn – Lodging for overflow of guests
Left to Right – Chas Smith, Robert Duvall, Ray Woloszyn, Sam Tyson, Will Allred, Tim DeaneTwo US Marines fight it out on the beaches of Tarawa. I expected there would be a fist fight when it came to choosing sides.
Ray Wolloszyn and Will Allred in a candy store deciding where to deposit their raffle tickets.
Dave Johannsen and Keith Spurlock getting ready to go for a swim
Keith Spurlock in the relative tranquility of the upstairs den.Ray Woloszyn resorting to using the Force to change the bad luck of his dice
Dave and Tim Deane
Sam and Ray just before Ray ignites Sam’s truck bomb with snake eyes and blows himself to smithereensFinal score boardLeft to right – Jon Plott, Tim Brieaddy, Derek Ritter, Chas Smith’s ADIDAS, Jeff Jordan. Playing Space Base as the weekend unwinds.
One of my besties Jeff Jordan setting up for a win against my Italians
Tim Brieaddy (left) ponders how to steal the title from 2019 champ Tom Kearney (right).
Jon Plott and Bill Ryder, The Starter Kit Connection. Both took a dip in the full ASL pool this weekend.
James Lancaster going down to Tim B’s Russians
Mr. Nameless having of swig of Rickman’s best. Sam, Dave, Derek, and someone else 😉 playing U-Boot. I’m not going to point fingers but the Captain was a madman, haha. Sam and I playing Space Base at the local watering hole
I wanted to send out an update on the status of our inventory and your orders.
First I’d like to say thank you for your patience. Never before have I seen such a perfect storm of new product mixed with the Gods of the supply chain sabotaging our every effort ay efficiency and speed.
We had no fewer than 9 new ASL products (Prokhorovka, Operation Martlet, Operation Neptune, Hollow Legions, From the Cellar 11, MMP Pocket Charts, Pocket Rulebook, Pocket Chapter H, and Winter Offensive 13) hit the market within days of each other. To add to the confusion, Paypal just outsourced their shipping service to ShipStation which does not allow orders over 30 days to be printed so over 200 orders had to be entered manually. Uline is backordered on shipping boxes, the Prokhorovka replacement empty boxes (to replace the crushed units of the first shipment) were held at the UPS hub in Cologne for 27 days, Christina left (thank God Hailey came back), and we went 5 weeks at Ritterkrieg without full staff due to injury or sickness.
The great news is that the last 60 orders should be out the door by the weekend.
So much news and products coming in at unprecedented levels.
MMP has just released the version 2 Pocket Rulebook. At the same time and in the same format, they have also released for the first time a Pocket Chapter H and their very own Pocket Charts. Also, fresh from the printers is Winter Offensive 13 (2022) scenario and Geo board pack. Hollow Legions is finally shipping to retailers so we should have those out to you starting this week. The Version 2 Electronic Rulebook is ready for download too.
Le Franc Tireur’s From the Cellar 11 is shipping and Prokhorovka! is waiting on a few replacement boxes to complete those orders.
Printed on thicker paper, The Pocket Edition contains core Chapters A-G, J, K, & W and the full Index. All errata is now incorporated, including the new Chapter A pages and revised Chapter F from Hollow Legions. The Pocket Edition also sports a handy IFT chart on the back cover.
Pocket Chapter H that for the first time collects all the ASL vehicles and ordnance for all the nationalities in one place. Following in the footsteps of the innovative Pocket Edition Rulebook, Pocket Chapter H has all the Chapter H pages from all the modules: German, Russian, American, British, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Allied Minor, Axis Minor, Finnish, and all the participants in the Korean War, as well as the Design Your Own rules.
After about a 3 month wait, Vicky at MMP has finally confirmed that they are shipping to the retailers. We are pre-packaging the boxes with shipping labels in anticipation of the order coming in so there will be no delays on our end. Thank you for your unending patience.
Prokhorovka! update
The last shipments of Prokhorovka should be ready to ship next week. There was a 2 week delay in Cologne with the last shipment. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
As most of you know, our friend John Dober left us last month. Left behind is his lovely wife Christina who is still trying to navigate the turbulent financial waters that come with the unexpected loss of a spouse. Please consider a donation through the link below, set up by their loved ones (do not send me any money).
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