ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER STARTER KIT RULES

1 1 2020 Multi-Man Publishing, Game Mapboard ..2 Terrain Types Counters ..4 Single-Man Counters (SMC) Multi-Man Counters (MMC) Broken Side support Weapons (SW) Rate of Fire (ROF) Smoke Guns Vehicles Scenario Dice ..5 Definitions ..5 Sequence of Play ..7 Rally Phase (RPh) ..7 Prep Fire Phase (PFPh) and Fire Attacks ..8 Line of Sight (LOS) Fire Attacks Triple Point Blank Fire (TPBF) Effects To Hit Process Prep Fire Phase (PFPh) Movement Phase (MPh)..12 Infantry Movement Vehicle Movement Motion Status Attempt Bounding First Fire Defensive First Reaction Fire Residual Fire Order of PresentationADVANCED SQUAD LEADER STARTER KIT RULES through ASLSK #4 Pacific Theatre of Operations with subsequent errata, updated through 01/31/2020 Introduction: Welcome to the 4th Core Module in the ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER STARTER Kit (ASLSK).

2 This module features the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) and will introduce you not only to the primary material necessary for the ASLSK experience but also to the Japanese and Marine Corps forces as well. ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER (ASL) is a detailed wargaming system that can simulate any company level ground action from any theater of World War II. Playing pieces represent squads, half-squads, leaders, crews, Guns, and vehicles from every major and minor combatant of World War II. The battlefields are represented by geomorphic mapboards upon which the counters are maneuvered. STARTER Kits provide the new player with an easy method of becoming familiar with the basics of the ASL sys-tem using entry-level scenarios, counters, boards, and RULES . Abbreviations have been used for many of the terms presented in the RULES .

3 While you will become familiar with them through use, the Definitions section provided in the RULES can be a helpful reference to this special terminology. Defensive Fire Phase (DFPh)..14 Advancing Fire Phase (AFPh) ..14 Rout Phase (RtPh) ..14 Advance Phase (APh)..16 Close combat Phase (CCPh)..16 Turn Record Weapons and support Weapons (SW)..19 Machine Guns (MG)..19 Flamethrowers (FT) ..19 Demolition Charges (DC)..19 Light Anti-Tank Weapons (LATW)..19 Bazooka (BAZ) & Panzerschreck (PSK) Panzerfaust (PF) Backblast Anti-Tank Rifles (ATR) PIAT Light ELR and Unit Experience Level Rating (ELR)..20 Nationality Field Promotions ..21 Inexperienced Captured Ordnance ..21 Critical Hits (CH)..21 Special Ammo and Depletion Hidden Initial Placement (HIP)..21 Gun Gunshield ..22 Guns as Infantry Firepower Equivalent (IFE).

4 22 Mortars ..22 Target Area Ordnance Armor Factors (AF)..23 Main Armament (MA) and Turret Low Ammo Vehicle Target AFVs as Cover and AFV/Wreck LOS Hindrance Vehicular Smoke Bog and Ground Crew Exposed (CE)/Buttoned Up (BU)..26 Vehicular Machine Guns/IFE To Kill AFV Area Target Type Collateral Open-Topped (OT)..28 Pacific The PTO Terrain ..30 Marine Corps & Early (Although all of section 8 is new, it has not been highlighted in the RULES .)2is an obstacle to both units if they are on the same level as the building. The building depiction is also a LOS obstacle between two units at different levels. A building costs Infantry 2 MF to enter. A Mortar may not fire from a building. An Armored Car may not set up in or enter a building. A Fully Tracked Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV) that is Buttoned Up (BU; ) may enter a building at half its total MP allotment while taking a Bog Check ( ).

5 The TEM for a stone (gray) building is +3 and for a wooden (brown) building is +2. Roads: Roads represent either paved or dirt sur-faces. A road represented by a brown stripe, such as nF4, is a dirt road while one represented by a gray stripe, such as sP6, is a paved surface. A road is considered Open Ground for all purposes. Additionally, Infantry that crosses only road hex-sides throughout its entire MPh is entitled to one extra MF (the road bonus) unless it claims the protective benefits of a Woods-Road hex or the non open ground of an Orchard-Road hex, or has to pay the extra movement costs for entering Smoke ( ). Crossing a road hexside costs both Armored Cars and Fully Tracked vehicles MP if Crew Exposed (CE; ) or 1 MP if Buttoned Up (BU). Woods: Woods represent a forested area with dense undergrowth, such as oN9.

6 If the LOS between two units crosses the woods depiction then the woods hex is an obstacle to both units if they are on the same level as the Woods depiction. Woods are also a LOS obstacle to the LOS between two units at different levels. Woods cost Infantry 2 MF to enter. Woods cost an Armored Car all its MP while taking a Bog Check ( ). A Fully Tracked vehicle may choose to spend either half or all its total MP to enter a woods hex while tak-ing a Bog Check ( ). A vehicle spending all its MP to enter a woods hex may still spend 1 MP to start and 1 MP to stop. The severity of the Bog Check DRMs depends on how many MP the vehicle expended to enter the woods hex. The TEM for woods is +1. Mortar fire vs Infantry or CE vehicles in a woods hex instead receives a -1 TEM due to Air Bursts. Woods-Road: A moving unit in a Woods-Road hex, such as nX7, is not eligi-ble for the +1 Woods TEM during Defensive First Fire (and is subject to FFMO or Interdiction) if the LOS does not cross a green woods symbol and the moving unit entered the hex at the road movement rate.

7 Otherwise normal Woods TEM is in effect; an Infantry unit may always choose to utilize the however, and exceptional circumstances in a given playing may result in a shortage of a partic-ular counter. Game Components Mapboard: This ASLSK module contains three geomor-phic mapboards (m, n, and o). These represent the battlefield and can be butted end-to-end or side-to-side together with others to form different playing areas. Superimposed over each map is a hex grid used to measure distance. Each hex con-tains a specific type of terrain. Different types of terrain have different effects on movement and combat . Each hex also contains its own grid coor-dinate that indicates its location on the map ( , hex K2). Listing the mapboard in front of the coordinate ( , mK2) provides a unique identi-fier for any hex in the system. Each hex contains a white dot that marks the center of the hex.

8 This is used in determining Line of Sight (LOS). Half hexes along the board edge are the equivalent of hexes, although the grid coordinate and white center dot may be missing. Terrain Types: For aesthetic purposes, terrain symbology may extend marginally out of a hex into an adjacent hex of another terrain type, but most hexes are dominated by one specific terrain type and are governed by the RULES for that specific terrain type. Usually the dominant terrain type includes the hex center dot, but occasionally non-Open Ground hexes have a hex center dot in Open Ground. Some terrain is harder to move through than other terrain; movement costs are expressed in Movement Factors (MF) for Infantry and in Movement Points (MP) for vehicles. Terrain can also block or hinder Line of Sight (LOS) and can provide some cover by modifying fire attacks with its Terrain Effects Modifier (TEM).

9 Open Ground: Open Ground is any hex devoid of other printed terrain features, generally cov-ered uniformly in light green such as hex mB1. Open Ground presents no obstruction or Hindrance to LOS, and the only TEM for Open Ground is the -1 First Fire Movement in Open Ground (FFMO) Dice Roll Modifier (DRM) vs moving Infantry. Open Ground costs Infantry 1 MF to enter. Open Ground costs a Fully Tracked vehicle 1 MP and an Armored Car 3 MP. Buildings: Buildings repre-sent man-made dwellings of various sizes. Any hex that contains a gray or brown rectangular overhead building depiction is a building, such as mCC7. If the LOS between two units crosses the building depiction then the building hex SQUAD counters represent approximately 9-15 men, depending on nationality and type. Individual LEADER counters represent combat lead-ers historically present at the battle and also help represent the overall combat independence of the unit to which they are attached.

10 Each SQUAD and each LEADER is given a morale level on its counter; the higher the morale level, the better it can stand up in combat and the quicker it can recover from setbacks. support weapon, Gun, and vehicle counters represent individual weapons beyond the organic small arms that are already included in the firepower values given each SQUAD and half- SQUAD counter. Firegroups for attacking enemy units are put together from the combined firepower of indi-vidual units and weapons. After totaling the fire-power of the attack, two six-sided dice are rolled and that result (modified by various factors) is cross-referenced with the applicable firepower column of the Infantry Fire Table to determine the result of the attack. Ordnance, including vehicular Main Armaments, must first secure a hit before checking for results. Results range from no effect, to causing the enemy to check his morale level to see if it breaks, to outright elimination of one or more enemy units.