Well, the package arrived the other day and I finally had the chance to give it more than just a cursory glance.

As usual from LFT, the presentation is fantastic. Fully loaded with 210 counters, rule book, historical background data, 15 scenarios, two CG’s, and two copies of the HASL map (slightly smaller in size than RB)…one set in spring, one in winter (ground snow, frozen rivers). Very attractive indeed!

One question I had while taking a detailed look at the HASL maps…there seems to be the potential for confusion along the road N14 – P15 – V23…at least, I am confused.  The road runs through some hexes and along the hexsides of others…no big deal except players will need to declare which hex they are moving their vehicles through since the road depiction is along the hexside.  The issue I see is that several of the hexes that this road runs through have walls along their hexsides, and the road just runs “through” those walls. There is no “gap” in the wall (as there is on board 43 in hexes M6/N6 and O9/P9). This road just runs through the walls…no gaps. I realize the reality should be that the road runs through an “assumed” gap in the walls, but since the wall depictions show no gaps, do vehicles have to pay the penalty for crossing a stone wall when traversing these hexsides? I did not see anything in the rules, and was wondering how this was handled during playtesting.

Has anyone else seen this “perceived” issue? 

Hope to dig into those scenarios soon…several appear to be real slug-fests.

David Roth

Just a brief update on the Corregidor HASL project. 17 scenarios, 7 on the HASL map, 10 geo board. 3 geos for the 1942 conflict, the balance of the scenarios including HASL map ones are for the 1945 conflict. HASL map covers about 1/3 of the Topside area, where most of the key fighting occured.
There are two CG’s. One is a “linked scenario” CG that ties all seven HASL map scenz together. Each has a specific “point value”. The side with the most points at the end of the CG wins.
The second CG is a standard CG. The fighting will mainly revolve around the rubbled buildings and gun batteries and securing what high ground is available. Initially the Japanese control everything. US begins CG with a para-drop onto Topside. Japanese are limited in their movement in scenario 1 to reflect their slow reaction to the landing. US needs to establish and expand their drop zones so they can set up strong points to launch attacks from. Regular Army infantry with limited armor available starting scenario #3.
US gets OBA, NOBA (up to 350mm), Air Support. Japanese have automatic AA guns and light artillery, OBA, forts up the wazzoo, and the boost from having about 70% of their force being “8″ morale. Plenty of room and opportunity for maneuver for both sides. Japanese need to perform a slow fighting withdrawal using local counterattacks to keep the Americans off balance. Preservation of force is vital for both sides. The final CG Date tends to have tons of action as the Americans try to capture those last CVP and exit VP, while the Japanese are trying to kill Americans to rack up their own CVP totals.
Initial run-through on this CG is was completed in February 2011. Next round is planned for this summer.
Bruce should have the digitized HASL map ready by then. Anyone interested in PTing individual scenarios or the CG’s, please contact me at Boundingfire Productions. Thanks. This is going to be one exciting HASL!

Become a fan of Bounding Fire Productions on Board Game Geek http://j.mp/fNQjF8

Sarge and I just completed work on another awesome Chas Smith design that we believe you will see published by us sometime in the future.

Played on two BFP boards, one of our DW’s and one standard GEO, a mixture of Polish Infantry, Guns, and Tankettes have to hold off the German invasion.

The Germans have a mixed bag of Infantry, Tanks, Armored Cars, Mortars and OBA which they need to use to score 80 VP based on location control.

The first three complete turns resulted in nearly 80% of the German armored forces on fire, approx 30% of the infantry broken, and two red cards on the OBA.  The Poles had lost 75% of their Guns and Crews. I was sitting thinking that with only two sections of hills actually taken, I could prevent the German victory (3 points for every level 3 hex total possible 87VP) I had held Sarge to 50VP and still had 4 turns to finish the job, with my armored force arriving on turn 4. Well, my tankettes completed a series of overruns in platoon movement. Managed to break a couple of German squads in return for 2 destroyed tankettes..At this point it’s all about killing German infantry…I could not get the job done. Sarge was able to rally the bulk  of his folks, and broke nearly all of my squads. We both elimintated some squads for failure to rout. He took a bunch of Polish prisoners. At the end of his turn 7, we determined that he had managed to capture 109VP worth of locations. I was done to 1 leader, 6 squads, and 1 weapon crew. None of which were in position to retake any of the lost locations, much less prevent him from taking additional on his final half turn.

It’s a fun scenario on some very interesting terrain with a nice mix of forces. I believe when you finally get to play this one you’ll find it as much fun and challenging as we did!

Chris chose the Japanese, who are hamstrung by having to cover a large area and keep me from grabbing 13 buildings; they have a low  ELR: 3 and all of the squads are 347s. The IJA do have 2x MMGs and a HMG, and the usual IJA attributes of not breaking always makes  them tough. Initially when I looked at this and set up, I forgot (again!) about bamboo, thinking it was brush (as it is SSR’d in so  many PTO scenarios). This would hamper my initial attack, forcing me to shift the forces on the fly.

Chris set up a small force to defend the board 32 buildings, and on board 42 he conceded the buildings near the board edge. He had  the HMG and 2x MMGs clustered around the rear-most buildings on board 42. The 9-1 was directing the HMG. I decided to throw my main  attack straight across board 42, led by my 9-2 and MMGs and 10-0 with 2x Dare Death DC toting 447s. I sent 2x smaller forces to the  left, one aiming for the board 32 buildings and the other along the seam between the 2x boards with the intent of hooking behind the  main defense on board 42. As I mentioned before, my main attack ended up out of position initially because it was blocked by bamboo.

As a result I was unable to bring my kill stack into position as planned. I was able to drop smoke on the 9-1/HMG and kept it smoked  for most of the game, which was huge. Chris was rolling horrible DRs early in the game, and his defense was crumbling. Then I made a  silly needless attack in advancing fire that triggered his sniper (which was the most effective weapon in the game for him – I was  rolling lots of 3s). The sniper killed the 10-0, broke the entire stack including a Dare Death squad, 2x MMGs and a 337/LMG. I was  unable to rally these guys for quite awhile. This really hurt my main attack, and it bogged down against an ever stiffening defense.

I was able to grab the buildings on board 32, and sent part of this force along with the middle group, to reinforce the floundering  main attack. This was my big mistake, not leaving enough to garrison the board 32 buildings. To Chris’s credit, this was necessary  due to how he stymied my main attack.

Chris chose to enter his IJA reinforcements on the south edge of board 32, and soon my forces there were fighting off a banzai  attack. I was able to get a 3KIA on one of the banzai stacks, but the others overwhelmed my defense, killing my main platoon there.  This now left us staring at each other on board 32 with forces decimated following the banzai attack, and though Chris had managed  to grab some buildings, I had slight numerical edge.

My main force on board 42 was bogged down and weakened, and I was unable to send much to help my force on board 32. The end game saw  the building total swing back and forth, at one point I was up to 14, after the banzai I was down to 11. I had to counterattack on  board 32 to retake buildings lost to the banzai attack, and Chris counterattacked my main group, taking back a building there. The  game came down to the last CC DR (for the second scenario in a row!) and I came up one building short of a win.

Man, this was a really hard fought and ultra grueling contest, but it was fun nonetheless even though I came up short. Chris did a  wonderful job clawing back from the brink of defeat to take this one from me, and this after almost conceding on a couple of  occasions when things were really grim looking for him – he passed his PMCs though, and his perseverance paid off. Chris took his 3-1  record off to face elite competition in the next round, while I was left with a smarting defeat.

Excerpt from Gamesquad Albany Recap post by Tom Morin:

3rd Round Saturday AM and as I feared I was matched with one of the ASL elite, J.R. Tracy. J.R. is one of the classiest guys and certainly one of the best ASL players; J.R. would end up in the title match with Bob Bendis. We chose ‘Melee Near The Coast’ from the Blood and Jungle Pack. This was IMO the best scenario in the tournament. I set up my Chinese defense in the buildings along the stream/pond, with the 9-1 led MMG stack guarding the road, and the light mortars on the hill. I had a platoon including a Dare Death squad on the right flank in the woods where the advance is channeled by the pond and bamboo. I had 3x squads guarding the cluster of buildings on the back. My plan was to delay long enough to get my reinforcements safely into the rear cluster of buildings. It was a good plan, and was actually working for awhile. J.R.’s IJA troops were stymied along my defense line, unable to break through. Both of my light MTRs did nothing- I rolled a DR12 on the first shot with one, the other broke under fire. My line was holding, and the 9-1 went Heroic, and the MMG position was just a rock, blocking the IJA advance along the road. The IJA did manage to get around the extreme right around the hill after overrunning my Dare Death platoon.

J.R. used banzai attacks to great effect throughout the game, what a nasty tool this is for the Japanese. Along the stream I was holding well until I made a dumb mistake by skulking with my main platoon (2x 337s, LMG) to a spot I *thought* was safe, but the LOS was quite clear, and J.R. blasted them, which left my left flank open. The line quickly crumbled after this. The fight now shifted to the rear building cluster, where a real nifty fight developed. My
reinforcements were too late and instead of occupying the buildings they would have to counterattack. It all came down to the last CC DR, and I came up one building short. What an *AWESOME* game this was. I lost yet I so thoroughly enjoyed this game, it was really the type of ASL nirvana you always hope to achieve. J.R. is tons of fun to play, which just added to the experience.

catch the Black Friday Promotion, going on now thru midnight Friday. BFP @ BFP! 20% off (exc. HG2) @ boundingfire.com #blackfriday

As we move ever closer to seeing Corregidor being ready for print, Sarge and I continue to work on the scenarios to make sure that they are balanced, tight, and fun to play.

We’ve played two scenarios recently; one an 8 turn Japanese quest to dig out dug in American first line squads and the other a 6.5 turn, American Elites trying to dig out some Japanese defenders from a building.

First let me say that both scenarios in all three playings (Bryan Hoernke and I have played the 8 turn scenario, we’ll be playing the 6.5er soon) have come down to the very last turn!  These are not going to be ho hum to play at all.

The 8 turn scenario(Desperate Hours) I first played the Americans (ended up with 5 HOB results in this game) , you set up your troops( 13 squads) in entrenchments on or adjacent to level three hexes on board 2. You have a single M4 Sherman and four additional squads that start within two hexes of 2F1. Standard leadership and dummies, a few SW (including WP spewing Mortars) face a Japanese force of 16squads, 5 leaders, SW, DCs, and Mtr that enter from offboard (split between turns 1 and 2).  In order to win the Japanese player must ensure that there are no Good Order MMC on any level 3 hill hexes.

There is an LV hindrance of +1 in effect for the first four turns that helps keep the Japanes Squads alive as they cross the open ground and climb up the hill side.

Sarge admirably faced my dice as I reached out with my American 6 range troops. I managed to stripe nearly every squad before the game ended. We fought several CC rounds after which time Sarge’s force was whittled to nothing winning this as the American.

Playing the same scenario as the Americans against Hoernke’s Japanese, I managed to win this as the Japanese, although nearly every one of my units had striped. We fought 5 hand-to-hand close combats, and he managed to KIA a banzai charge, but I was still able to manage to break the Americans and meet the mission objectives.
(It’s Going to be a Blast!) pits 9.5 Elite American squads against  8.5 Japanes squads (as we played it). The Americans enter from offboard on turn 1 (board 46 hexrows A-P) and must ensure there are no good order Japanese MMC in hexes D8,E8, and E9.  My dice were incredibly hot through 4 turns and kept American troops broken and in the woods (there are a couple overlays involved). Turn 5 Sarge was up on the hill, managed to kill of two of my squads and stripe two more.  We both lost squads in CC in turns 5 and 6. End of turn 6.5 Sarge was adjacent to, two of the three VC hexes but his dice would not allow him to get the job done. We’re upping the squad count by one for the Americans for the next playing, but expect that this will still come down to the very last turn.

Stay tuned for more action as the BFP team continues to work on new projects for your ASL enjopyment!

All orders of HG2 have been shipped. We have plenty of copies left – don’t miss out on getting your very own. boundingfire.com

ASLOK is rocking on through the weekend. 3 days left, and I think I have enough HG2 to sell to those who want it til Sunday.