Just in time for the week-long gaming bacchanal known variously as AvalonCon, DonCon, or the more quotidian World Boardgaming Championships, Multi-Man Publishing has released the latest in their long-running series of map-and-scenario compilations for Advanced Squad Leader, Action Pack #19: Roads to Rangoon. With three double-sided maps and ten scenarios on cardstock designed by Gary Fortenberry, and featuring a cover sheet illustrated by Nicolas Eskubi, this bagged expansion centers on actions between March and April 1942 in Burma, pitting British, Commonwealth, and Chinese forces against Japanese troops and their allies in the Burmese Independence movement.
Something of a sequel to Action Pack #9: To the Bridge!, also by Fortenberry, which mostly concentrated on combats in Burma in February 1942, this new Action Pack provides a number of small-scale encounters; only two cards have more than fifteen squads per side and just four run longer than six turns, making these strong candidates for tournament or single-session club play.
The three double-sided geomorphic maps (20a/b, 21a/b, 22a/b) in the style known colloquially as “Fortenberry” maps come in the familiar “Starter Kit”-type thick cardstock finish. The two sides of each map look mostly the same, having different map-edge woods hexes to enable them to mesh seamlessly with other boards. With crisp art by the inestimable Charlie Kibler, they make a solid addition to the jam-packed ASL map inventory, most notably bringing a pair of new river boards (20a/b, 22a/b) to the game system as well as a hill-festooned forest/grain explosion (21a/b) with a small stream, chapel, and graveyard tucked in for good measure. 22a/b is the pick of the crop, featuring a two-hex river running against a built-up village; walls guard one side of the water feature and imposing stone buildings run along an orchard-lined road, making for a very difficult riparian crossing under fire…
At ten, the scenario count (AP205-214) is on the low side for an Action Pack, most recent collections having fourteen or so cards, but with the addition of an extra map rather than the two found in the typical AP, the value proposition remains the same. As noted, these actions all tend to the compact, with only one using more than a single map. Two of the scenarios are infantry-only, with the rest having at least one AFV in the mix, and one scenario invokes the night rules. As might be expected, these are all Pacific Theater of Operations scenarios, so brush up on Chapter G before digging in.
My picks from the scenarios on offer in AP #19 are AP210 The Driven Draw Blood, with Burmese Independence Army troops (represented by Partisan squads) and Japanese reinforcements squaring off against Commonwealth Indian forces with Carriers; AP211 The Doomed and the Damned, pitting elite Chinese forces armed with T-26s holding off a determined Japanese assault backed up by air support; and AP214 Gun & Run, with Gurkhas holding back an armored Japanese thrust led by a horse-mounted 10-0 leader.
As ever, to play it all you probably need to own it all when it comes to ASL, but broadly speaking, ownership of Beyond Valor (for system and Partisan counters), For King and Country (for British/Commonwealth counters), and Rising Sun (for Japanese and Chinese counters and the PTO rules) are mandatory to play all the scenarios here. Boards 3a/b, 5a/b, 7a/b, 9a/b, 12a/b, 14a/b, and 15a/b also are required, with the maps included in the Action Pack only appearing in four of the scenarios on offer, a fairly low percentage, sadly, given their quality. A scattering of overlays also come into play.
The struggle between Britain and its Commonwealth allies and China against the Japanese in Burma often gets overlooked, given the epic events elsewhere in World War II during 1942, so it’s good to see focus on this oft-forgotten front. Action Pack #19 showcases bitter fighting in unfriendly terrain, giving color and insight into the conflict in Burma. For me personally, any scenario pack including Chinese armor is a must buy, and the preponderance of armor in these scenarios highlights the difficulties of trying to enact combined arms assaults in jungle terrain.
The Advanced Squad Leader aficionado has probably already purchased this, as it’s a fine addition to the collection. More casual players looking for interesting yet still approachable PTO scenarios will also find something to like here, as the relatively small force count on each side makes these grab-and-go scenarios rather than deep rules dives, though the component requirements, particularly the maps, might be an impediment. The special scenario rules included with most of the cards do add a bit of complexity, but the chrome value is worth the added rules lift. Action Pack #19 continues MMP’s string of solid scenario-and-map releases, keeping this venerable game system fresh after almost forty years of existence.