It’s time to examine the latest addition to the Advanced Squad Leader ecosystem: Action Pack #22, A World at War. Developed by the design team of Jim Bishop and Gary Fortenberry (boards by Charlie Kibler), this pack provides a wealth of historical engagements from all fronts of World War 2 (except DTO) for players to enjoy. Spanning the globe, the pack delivers twelve scenarios that range from a 1941 engagement between Ethiopians and Italians to a late-war 1945 clash between Canadian and German forces.
 |
 |
Let me address the immediate drawback first. It’s disappointing to open a new product only to be greeted by an errata sheet. Sometimes things happen, things are discovered after the printing process begins, so adjustments must be made. But it’s always a bummer to see. This pack includes one right out of the shrinkwrap. Three immediate corrections are necessary for scenarios AP 244, 245, and 248. It’s an unfortunate start to have to delete a sentence in the victory conditions, but we’ll simply make the necessary adjustments and move forward.
So… onward!
Moving past the errata, we find the true strength of the pack in its cartography. Unfolding the three new double-sided, Fortenberry-style boards—labeled 27a/b, 28a/b, and 29a/b—brings a sense of relief. Multi-Man Publishing made the correct editorial decision to maintain the original artwork aesthetic. Charlie Kibler’s digital illustrations are fantastic, ensuring that the geomorphic ecosystem remains visually consistent moving forward.
Board 27 provides woods and a large clearing with brush, while Board 28 features expansive grain fields and a village anchored at the top edge. However, Board 29 is the most compelling for creative scenario design. It features a woods complex completely divided by an imposing stream or gully (depending on SSR), traversed by only two bridges. This terrain might generate some intense, chokepoint-heavy tactical challenges. It should be pointed out that there’s a significant lack of elevation in this board set, with only board 28a/b having some level one hills at the lower end.
At a glance, the turn limits on these twelve scenarios might suggest a light evening of gaming. Seeing a standard six-turn duration often implies a swift firefight, but that assumption goes out the window the moment you begin examining the Orders of Battle. These engagements are dense. I think “designed for a typical tournament round” might be a bit of a misnomer here. Every scenarios is company size (>9 squads per side) or larger, with a couple edging close to the battalion level (~27 squads per side). The most dense infantry scenario is AP242 Seton Block, which has 43 squad equivalents (SE) fighting in an area that’s slightly larger than half a geomorphic board! The largest overall scenario looks to be AP244 Heavy Metal Noise with 22 SE and 25 vehicles!
I can’t remember scenarios touted as “tournament”-sized having OBs this large. But my perception of what makes a quick-playing tournament scenario might be off in the weeds.
Here’s a summary of the scenarios in AP #22 with approximate OB sizes.
| Scenario | Defender | Attacker |
| AP237 Andiamo | 19 SE | 14 SE, 5 veh |
| AP238 Italian Crescendo | 22 SE, 6 veh | 23 SE, 11 veh, cavalry |
| AP239 Buna Mission | 17 SE | 24 SE, 4 veh |
| AP240 The Army It Had | 16 SE, 4 veh | 20 SE, 8 veh |
| AP241 Moreh Melee | 14 SE, 2 veh | 21 SE, 4 veh |
| AP242 Seton Block | 18 SE | 25 SE |
| AP243 Hell’s Comin’ | 10 SE, 4 veh | 14 SE, 13 veh |
| AP244 Heavy Metal Noise | 10-15 SE, 6-8 veh | 7-12 SE, 16-17 veh! |
| AP245 Villains at Ville-sur-Illon | 10 SE | 15 SE, 8 veh |
| AP246 Stumbling In Place | 12 SE, 5 veh | 15 SE, 9 veh |
| AP247 General’s Orders | 9 SE, 3 veh | 13 SE, 6 veh |
| AP248 Black Devils of Bure | 12 SE | 16 SE, 3 veh |
A World at War is a robust offering. The space required to play these scenarios is compact, but the density of the combat might be daunting to some. If you’re searching for brief, sparsely populated skirmishes, this release may not fit the bill (despite being marketed as tournament-friendly). However, if you want complex, heavy engagements packed tightly into a confined operational area, this action pack is an exceptional addition to the library.
Contents
-
three 11″ × 16″ double-sided geomorphic mapboards (27a/b, 28a/b, 29a/b)
-
12 ASL scenarios:
AP237 Andiamo – 6½ turns, 4 March 1941, Chakara River, near Dembecha, Ethiopia (Ethiopian vs Italian)
AP238 Italian Crescendo – 6 turns, 28 September 1941, Petrykivka, Ukraine (Russian vs Italian)
AP239 Buna Mission – 6½ turns, 31 December 1942, Buna Mission, Papua New Guinea (Allied vs Japanese)
AP240 The Army It Had – 6½ turns, 1 March 1943, Sevsk, Russia (Russian vs Hungarian/RONA)
AP241 Moreh Melee – 6½ turns, 22 March 1944, Moreh, India (Commonwealth vs Japanese)
AP242 Seton Block – 5½ turns, 2 June 1944, Kamaing, Mogaung Valley, Burma (Chinese vs Japanese)
AP243 Hell’s Comin’ – 6½ turns, 10 July 1944, Hauts Vents (American vs German)
AP244 Heavy Metal Noise – 5½ turns, 13 August 1944, Ogledów, Poland (Russian vs German)
AP245 Villains at Ville-sur-Illon – 6½ turns, 13 September 1944, Ville-sur-Illon, France (Free French vs German)
AP246 Stumbling In Place – 6½ turns, 19 November 1944, Apweiler, Germany (American vs German)
AP247 General’s Orders – 5½ turns, 22 December 1944, Stoumont, Belgium (American vs German)
AP248 Black Devils of Bure – 5½ turns, 6 January 1945, Bure, Belgium (Canadian vs German)
Where to Buy
Academy Out!
GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!! 
Article © 2026, Neal Ulen. All Rights Reserved. Copyright & Fair Use Notice.
ASL-Players.net is not affiliated with Hasbro, AH Games, Inc., or MMP, Inc.
Advanced Squad Leader is a trademark of AH Games, Inc.
