Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is today's development of a game released over ten years ago. Little did Avalon Hill suspect that from such an inauspicious beginning, an entire 'branch' of the hobby would develop.

Squad Leader deals with World War Two tactics at a squad level, with counters representing squads, individual leaders, single vehicles and support weapons. The game's popularity grew with astonishing speed. Squad Leader proved to be very easy to learn and play, but very difficult to master successfully. The game systems punished tactical mistakes ruthlessly, but rewarded the use of correct tactics and original thinking.

Avalon Hill followed up their success with the release of 'Cross of Iron' (COI) - which dealt exclusively with the Eastern Front. At this stage the games original armour and ordnance rules were completely rewritten and expanded - an area of the original game which had come in for some criticism. Again, this module sold in huge quantities, demonstrating the popularity of the system. Now on a firm foundation, Avalon Hill released 'Crescendo of Doom' covering the British Army, the early war French forces together with those of minor allied nations. The final module in the series was entitled 'GI - Anvil of Victory' which reworked the American forces from the original game. All of these modules were 'snapped-up' by a gaming audience eager for the level of detail , research and realism that are a trade-mark of Avalon Hills games.

There was, however, one fundamental problem with this series of add-on modules. Avalon Hill had created a monster! Each of the modules layered on more rules and errata, parts of previous rules were rewritten or amended and the whole thing was an ungainly mess. Rules were scattered between four different booklets, sheets of errata and questions had to be consulted and made playing the game a bit of a nightmare! The basic design concepts were still clean and playable but the morass of special rules and exceptions often proved unworkable.

Advance Squad Leader was unveiled in 1987 as an answer to everyone's problems! All of the rules had been completely overhauled, streamlined and condensed into one large folder, together with a mass of designers notes and historical data. To match this new approach, a fresh series of modules was announced featuring improved counters and new boards.

The designers had done more than just condense the previous rulebooks into one however. The whole system had been examined in detail, extensively play tested, and presented to the gaming public with the accent on playability rather than complication. The basic system is now much easier to play and far more logical to follow - the complications are there - but only if you want to use them. There are rules to cover almost every eventuality you can think of (and some you can't!) but most are needed infrequently.

So what isASL like to play?

Firstly, to look at, the game is stunning. The boards and counters are well designed, colourful and easy to use. The geomorphic system of boards ensures endless variety - and all have been designed to slot together in hundreds of different and interesting configurations.

The rules are well written and laid out, with a multitude of examples, diagrams and illustrations all backed up by a comprehensive glossary and index. Each of the modules comes with a series of scenarios designed to ease you gently into the special rules for that module. These scenarios come in a whole variety of sizes and complexity allowing you to choose a game that can be played within the time you have available.

Playing the scenarios always requires a good deal of thought - even before you start moving counters around! The initial deployment of your forces is vital - a mistake here can often cost you the game almost before you start. Your forces must be deployed and handled in the same manner as their real life counterparts - you can definitely tell the difference between Russian factory militia and German storm-troopers for instance, not just with the quality of the troops but also with varying quality and quantity of leaders and support weapons. Every nationality has its own special rules, for example, British troops are steadier under fire (the stiff upper lip!), Russians can make suicidal human wave attacks, the Italians are very poorly led, and so on.

Some of these, it has to be said, are classic stereotypes, but it all adds to the atmosphere of the game! What you have to learn is how to use the troops under your command in the most effective manner, given their limitations. The game systems will still ruthlessly punish your mistakes, but the feeling of satisfaction when everything comes together and your plan works is tremendous.

One of the great attractions ofASL is it's variability. The system now covers all of the major and most of the minor nations that fought in WWII. You can select scenario ranging from the fall of France in 1940, through the Western Desert, the jungles of Burma, Normandy in 1944 and on to the Russian steppes. Each of the major conflicts has its own special rules for differing terrain, climate and specialist troop types. There are also optional rules for such things as Air-support, rolling barrages, field interrogations, battlefield integrity - the list is almost endless - but combines to gives a truly atmospheric feeling for the period.

For people who have never experienced this phenomena, however, the prospect of starting to play can be somewhat daunting. The best way to learn is from an experienced player - you will almost certainly lose - but will learn the basics far faster than by just reading the rule book. As you gain experience and sample the various scenarios you will find that each has been finely tuned to provide a challenge to both sides - most come down to a nail biting finish in the last couple of turns.

One of the most important pieces of advice is never to give up! In my experience, most games sway back and forth, with the advantage and initiative constantly changing hands - you can appear to looking into the face of defeat on one turn, and two turns later you will be on the upswing - until one side finally succeeds in their objective. With the release last year of 'Red Barricades',ASL finally became more than just a series of different, one-off, scenarios. Red barricades simulates the fighting for the Red Barricades Ordnance Factory Complex in Stalingrad during October and November 1942.

The map has been reproduced from surviving German aerial reconnaissance photographs, special rules and counters are provided to allow you to refight the titanic struggles and vicious closequarter street fighting that took place in this area. The campaign rules allow you to fight all or part of the entire six week battle that was fought back and forth amongst the ruined factories and houses. I have to say that this is probably the best representation of street fighting in WWII that you can get it is tense, nerve-racking and almost frightening at times!

Advanced Squad Leader is a game which just has to be experienced, all the components exude quality and just cry out to be used. The scenarios are well thought-out, challenging and difficult to master. Most of all, however, is the sense of gritty realism and excitement that comes through - you can actually imagine leading a human wave attack of factory militia - inspired by their commissar across the rubble strewn streets of Stalingrad, or cautiously probing your way through the Burmese jungle with a Ghurka patrol, or 'swanning about' in the desert in your under gunned and underarmoured British tank (and you don't know where the 88's are hidden!).

The random occurrences that happen are also part of the entertainment factor of this system - these are little touches of 'chrome' that, for me, really make the game come alive. It includes such things as; heroes suddenly appearing under fire, your machine gun jamming at a crucial juncture, snipers shooting your best leader, and critical hits that can defeat even the best armour (my crowning piece of luck must be knocking out a Patton with a 37mm HE shell! - mind you that's only happened once in about ten years of playing but I'm always optimistic!).

There are currently modules available for the system, with one more to come. To start playing all that is necessary is a copy of the rules and module 3 - Paratrooper, which is an introductory set giving sufficient counters to play some fairly basic scenarios set in Normandy in 1944, it will, however, give you a taste of what is available. The modules currently available are;

Module 1 - 'Beyond Valour' - The Eastern Front 1941 - 1945
Module 2 - 'Yanks' - The US forces in Europe 1944-45
Module 3 - 'Paratrooper' - Introductory module
Module 4 - 'Partisan' - Resistance fighters 1939-45
Module 5 - 'The Last Hurrah' - The early blitzkriegs
Module 6 - 'West of Alamein' - The British forces 1940-45, plus rules and boards for desert warfare.
Module 7 'Hollow Legions' - The Italian force 1939-45
Module 8 'Code of Bushido' - The Japanese forces in Burma, and Manchuria versus the Russians!

The next planned module in this series is to including the US Marines plus boards and rules for the island campaigns in the Pacific, and will also include the Chinese troops fighting in Manchuria!

Also available is Historical Module I - Red Barricades, described earlier, which is to be the star of a series of specific battles each covered in detail. A good source of ideas, reviews and articles on tactics and history is Avalon Hills magazine 'The General' - each issue generally has one or moreASL articles and usually one or more new scenarios. Avalon Hill seem committed to supporting this system and continuing to release further modules and add ons, so there is no danger of this game becoming out-dated.

All-in-all there is enough to keep even the most ardent fan occupied for many years, and the system can only grow and mature as time passes.