ASL Starter Kit Expansion Pack #2 finally showed up, and I was one of the last to get it. I think MMP ships by last name, and mine starts with a U. It carries on the Pacific war from ASL Starter Kit #4, with the Japanese taking on new opponents in China, the Philippines, Java, Burma, New Guinea and India. You get two new boards, a runway overlay, a counter sheet, a rules supplement and eight scenarios. There’s no box, so call it an unpacking. Later, MMP followed it up with Expansion Pack #3.
Getting It
MMP lists it at $36, but it’s sold out there. Ritterkrieg had it in stock for $36 when I checked. As usual, the links are at the bottom of the article.
Contents:
- Two 8″ x 22″ geomorphic mapboards, k and l
- One overlay, the RW1 runway
- One counter sheet of 252 counters
- A 4-page illustrated color rules supplement
- A 4-page Quick Reference Data Card
- Eight scenarios, S74 to S81
Here’s the big thing to know. Unlike every Starter Kit product before it, this one isn’t self-contained. MMP did that to keep the cost down. You need ASL Starter Kits #1 through #4 to play it, so you basically need the whole Starter Kit line except Expansion Pack #1. If you’re a completist, you already have it all, so it won’t matter.
The Rules
The rules supplement doesn’t add a lot, but what it adds is good. Trucks show up for the first time. Until now, Starter Kit only had tanks and armored cars. The Chinese arrive too, with their own nationality rules, including Dare-Death Squads. There are also rules for overlays, since the pack includes the runway overlay.
The most interesting addition is berserk. In full ASL, it’s one of the things that can come out of Heat of Battle, along with surrender, heroes and battle hardening. A berserk unit can cause lots of chaos. Expansion Pack #2 pulls in just that one piece. There are also vehicle and ordnance notes for the British, Japanese, Chinese and Dutch equipment in the scenarios.
The Counters
Most of the sheet is Chinese. You also get Dutch Allied Minor counters, more Japanese and a handful of British. There are a few vehicles, too, plus berserk counters. Watch out for those. The printing and die-cutting are good.
There aren’t many British counters, just enough for the scenario that needs them, plus a lot of Commonwealth concealment. It’s almost enough to play it without another module.
The Scenarios
There are eight scenarios, and they’re mostly early war. Every one of them has the Japanese on one side. I blurred the scenario details in the video, so please support MMP and pick up a copy.
The first two are Shanghai in 1937. Iron Fist has the Chinese throwing everything at the Japanese naval landing force holed up in “Little Tokyo.” In They Always Returned, the two sides trade the same ground in the Hongkew district over and over.
A Less Peaceful Christmas moves to Luzon on Christmas Day 1941, with Filipino troops facing the Japanese landing. Then there are two on Java in March 1942. Dutch Trucks is the KNIL’s Mobile Unit hitting the Japanese at Soebang. In No Japanese Within 100 Miles, the Australians hold a river line at Leuwiliang, despite Dutch reports that there weren’t any Japanese on the island.
Politics, Logistics, and Pride is the Chinese 200th Division defending Toungoo, Burma, and it uses the runway overlay. Spring and Summer is the 39th Battalion at Isurava on the Kokoda Track in August 1942. Finally, Not a Man Afraid is the Assam Regiment at Jessami, India, in 1944, trying to slow the Japanese advance on Kohima.
| Scenario | Title | Scenario | Title |
| S74 | Iron Fist | S78 | No Japanese Within 100 Miles |
| S75 | They Always Returned | S79 | Politics, Logistics, and Pride |
| S76 | A Less Peaceful Christmas | S80 | Spring and Summer |
| S77 | Dutch Trucks | S81 | Not a Man Afraid |
Boards k and l
Board k is an urban board, with orchards and some very large buildings. In Starter Kit, they’re all single-level buildings. I’d bet multi-level buildings come to Starter Kit at some point, because these look like they should have stairs. Board l is lots of hindrances, with orchards and wheat everywhere. After playing Decision at Elst, all those hindrances give me cold sweats, but I like the look of it.
Where to Buy
MMP: ASL Starter Kit Expansion Pack #2 (sold out)
Debriefing
ASL Starter Kit Expansion Pack #2 is a small expansion, but it brings a lot of new stuff to Starter Kit. Trucks, the Chinese, the Dutch, berserk units and overlays all show up for the first time. The scenarios cover fronts most players never see, from Shanghai to the Kokoda Track.
Just remember that you need all four Starter Kits to play it. If you’ve already got them, this is an easy add.
Academy Out!
GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!! 
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