The Wargamer

The large wargame was about to be pronounced dead. At the least, few doubted that it was dying. Dinosaurs such as War in the East/War in the West, Europa (attempting to replicate the entire war one division at a time), to the insanely detailed Campaign for North Africa (which attempted to replicate the entire war one company at a time) have long since faded and Euro games' ascension is in full swing. The timing was no coincidence. Generation X-ers influenced board games with the same desire for action sequences that were fueled by their computer games. German companies sparked the new revolution. Being prohibited from developing overt war games, their settlers, star farers, bike races, and global explorers paved the way for a new breed of artistically dazzling games, with fun, innovative mechanics but which ultimately were simple and short, and often had game mechanics that bore no resemblance to reality. Some large wargames hung on, although these didn't escape unchanged. World in Flame produced Planes in Flames, and soon Africa, Asia, Ships, Carrier Planes, Leaders, Cruisers, America, and even Patton went aflaming.

Well, the death announcements can be put off. The venerable Squad Leader system (since redone as Advanced Squad Leader [ASL]) is seeing newfound popularity with Multiman’s ASL Starter Kits. ASL Starter Kit #1, debuted in 2003 and hit a chord the market, both critically and popularly. It was an International Gamers Awards finalist, won the Charles Roberts award, and quickly became the line’s best seller for the year. ASL Starter Kit #2, released in Summer 2005, is on a similar path (although the licensed producer, Multi Man Publications [MMP], is tight-lipped about sales figures).

However, an ASL revival seems almost an anachronism, like Pong in an X-Box world. Its 30th anniversary makes it older than some of its players. But the game has changed very little in that time. Sure, it switched from Squad Leader to Advanced Squad Leader in 1984 but in retrospect, and certainly contrasting it against other games, that seemed almost like an administrative change. The rapid development of the system from covering only infantry to all aspects of war required consolidating a series of rules. The graphics changed the least. The original boards (maps 1-4) are still used. Only experienced players will notice a difference in counters (for example, they now have three figures in a half-inch area instead of two). In all other regards the artwork today is virtually identical to its 1977 version. What changed the most is the sheer number of available modules and expansion kits. Unlike World in Flames, however, each kit complements the system rather than redesigns game mechanics.

The popularity of the ASL system is not hard to understand. Far from being outdated, the designers found their mark early and mercifully stayed with it. Its mechanisms are great, from the elegance of the two-dice combat to the constant interaction of both players for the duration of each turn. It is an endearing system. Although the ASL Starter Kits may have caused the revival, the interest smoldered for some time. ASL’s longevity indicates that.

Realizing there might be a market there after all, mainstream producers such as Hasbro are starting to cater to these gamers. And why shouldn’t Hasbro? In their case, they also own ASL and know something about tactical-level action. The twist is that Axis & Allies, itself at the center of a hugely successful franchise, is trying cash in on this market too. Axis & Allies is best known for its Risk-like simplicity and grand strategic scale. That makes their most recent product, Axis & Allies Miniatures, puzzling, in two ways. First, it abandons their previous global scale that proved to be so successful to become tactical. Maybe they just succumbed to something that every Axis & Allies player did at one point: push the little tanks around with their fingers while making machine gun noises. Whatever the reason, the miniatures game is now down to the squad and individual tank level. Second, if that doesn’t sound familiar enough, the look of the game is indistinguishable from ASL even to the point of having their own starter kits. But it’s not the differences that are worth noting, it’s the similarities. Although Axis & Allies Miniatures keeps the large number of dice (don’t worry, the attacker can still roll up to 20 dice per attack), the telling characteristic is that it keeps the simplicity.