The quality of the physical components has rarely been equalled by other games; counters are functional, evocative, well designed (free of clutter), and attractive. Especially popular are the red "berserk" counters which add much flavor to the game; Cross of Iron adds striking white-on-black counters to represent the Waffen SS. The mounted mapboards (both in Squad Leader and its offspring) are a hallmark of Avalon Hill, and continued right through to the introduction of the ASL Starter Kits by Multi-Man Publishing in 2004 (which featured mapboards printed on inexpensive cardboard stock). The mapboards are also photo-realistic, with an attractive top down view that is also functional, with line of sight (LOS) drawn from hex center to hex center and blocked only by terrain depictions (often with accompanying shadows) on the artwork itself, not the entire hex as in other games. Weaknesses Some of the weaknesses that keep Squad Leader from being a true simulation of the decisions that a World War II commander would make are well known and attempts have been made to address them; others were simply ignored for the sake of "playability". Some of these include the following: Despite some rules for "concealment" and "hidden initial placement", most of the game is played where each player can always see what forces the enemy has and precisely where they are placed, even if out of LOS of their own units. There is little "fog of war." Attempts to address this - some have suggested using multiple copies of the game and a third party to act as "umpire" - are cumbersome and in some cases book-keeping intensive. Play is not simultaneous but done in predictable turn sequence, one player getting a turn, and then the other. An attempt to address this was the use of "track" counters introduced in the first section of the rulebook, and the optional rule of "semi-simultaneous movement and defensive fire" which later became standardized in Advanced Squad Leader. There are no partial casualties to either men or vehicles. Squads are considered to be at full strength until destroyed, and vehicles suffer no damage aside from weapons malfunctions or immobilizations; partial penetrations, panicked crews, and other battlefield phenomena are not directly depicted in Squad Leader. (However, the concept of the "half squad" was introduced in Crescendo of Doom, though not as a battlefield result, and further developed with the introduction of special half squad