This month's scenario was completed a couple months ago. One of the advantages of not working is having the time to devote to ASL projects. At this time, I'm currently working on September and October scenarios. September's will be a Stalingrad scenario involving the German 29th Motorized Division and Romanian Allies. October will of course be this year's Halloween Scenario...Night of the Bears is the anticipated title. It will be an extremely fast play scenario...but equally fun I hope. July and August are also already in the can and ready for our good friend Frank Leitz to put into PDF form. July's scenario is set in Tunisia and August's scenario is set in Lebanon. Only November and December are not in the imagination stage.
My creative process is always ongoing. Since a scenario each month must be completed, I'm always thinking about them. I read a lot as many of you know and this builds the library of ideas floating around in my head. I will also check the ASL Archive for all scenarios currently written for a particular action or a particular date. I didn't used to do that regularly and so ended up duplicating some engagements. This isn't really a big deal, because no two scenario designs are the same. And sometimes a reimagining of the event is good for the hobby.
The creative, imagining stage is the longest part of my design process. I'll think about a scenario for days or weeks. And then when I sit down with boards and counters, I'm usually able to put all together fairly quickly. I'm a very "meat and potatoes" kind of designer. I like combined arms actions and a lot of squads. I like taking objectives vs. exiting the board. I don't go for a ton of chrome but can be guilty of a few too many SSR's from time to time. I also dislike overlays. With so many boards to work with...it usually easy enough to construct the battlefield to resemble the desired action. The GJ scenarios are not play tested. They get a virtual walkthrough to ensure that the forces selected are appropriate for the battle. That is certainly not enough to guarantee that a scenario will be balanced...so always assume that GJ scenarios are not balanced.
Now most of my scenarios are based on actual historical events and yes...they are researched closely. While balance may not be my thing...historical accuracy (in as much as it is possible) is something I take very seriously. But there are times when I like to do hypothetical scenarios. I have done a great many of these over the years. Many players have no interest in hypothetical scenarios. Personally, I love them as it gives you an opportunity to imagine what an event might have looked like...Operation Sea Lion, an Italian paratroop drop on Malta, German commandos raiding Gibraltar, Soviet Paratroops landing near the Elbe River, and on and on.
This month's scenario will be of the hypothetical variety, although based on historical context related to the performance of the 9th SS Panzer Division's Recon Elements during Operation Blue Coat. Now this scenario has been shamelessly lifted from a recent miniatures game broadcast on the outstanding YouTube Channel - Little Wars TV. I highly recommend watching their playing of what is the basis for Scenario GJ108 Recon Delay. See the link below to watch their exciting game.
So here's a celebration of miniature gaming from some of my favorite miniature games over the years!
Now like most ASL players, my wargame journey began with miniatures. After trading in my 1/32nd scale Marx soldiers, I quickly amassed a huge army of Airfix, Atlantic, ESCI and Revell figures. Every theater and nearly every available age from Egyptians to Warsaw Pact troops. I have over 12,000 figures to date.
Warhammer 40K...
US Civil War - Battle of Belmont, MO.
US Civil War - Battle of Belmont, MO.
Konigsberg, 1945
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
One of the funny things about ASL players is that we often attempt to convert ASL into miniatures. It almost never works. I myself tried it numerous times. ASL is the king of WW2 Tactical. It's hilarious to me to see Flames of War setups that look like WWII Napoleonics with all the stands of infantry and armor thrown onto the table. I prefer one to one miniature games with as many men and tanks as you can stand. I hate stands to be honest...cause if you're going to use stands...you might as well just use counters and have a better time playing cardboard ASL!!!
So here now after a looooong wait and wading through my wargaming memories is this month's scenario....GJ108 Recon Delay based on a tabletop game played by the Little War TV guys! May it do justice to their game!
As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.
Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size.
All Grumble Jones scenarios are available from the ASL Archive website.
(just search on Grumble Jones)
The PDF versions (courtesy of Frank Leitz) can be downloaded from the User Files Tab.
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