On Tuesday, my wife called me at work saying that my long awaited package finally came. After waiting almost 2 years for my 2009 birthday present, For King and Country (the British OB to the ASL System) had arrived. I wanted to rush home right then.
Today, I have finally finished taking care of all the pieces. They have all been plano-ized, the boards are in sleeves and put away, the scenarios and pages are all in page protectors (I needed another scenario binder, because these put my old one over the limit. My Second rules binder is at the limit too. Not sure what I'm going to do when Rising Sun comes out with Chapter G and a whole bunch of Chapter H pages...
I can't wait to mix it up as the British here soon...
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Ian Daglish
A sad day for the ASL community...
WWII historian, published author, and eminent scenario designer Ian Daglish was killed in a plane crash. Chas Argent reported it on the GameSquad Forums (here is the thread). My prayers go out to his family and friends in this time of grieving. He will be sorely missed by our little community.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
At Last...
Got the opportunity to play Rob again while I was in Spokane on vacation. We played an infantry scenario from Bounding Fire's Blood and Jungle. I really need to find a way to play more regularly, because playing with Rob was like coming home. I'm not sure why I allowed myself to stop playing, but I will be working out a way with the missus to play at least once a month starting as soon as possible. Part of this will be figuring out how to deal with the kids during that time (who, while I love them, make concentrating difficult at best).
I will not post an AAR for the scenario (for those who have read my past blogs here - Rob slaughtered me...again), however, I will say this: For those of you thinking about making the leap to ASL from ASLSK. Don't think. Do it. For those of you who have stopped playing for whatever reason, find a way to come back. I have made some of the best friends imaginable through gaming and ASL is no exception. I can't wait until I have the opportunity to make a new one. Perhaps I'll even find a way to make it to the Texas Team Tournament in the near future. Whatever the venue, I'll be ready with my rules and dice for my next adventure.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Rant: Cramping my style
For those of you that have left the simplicity of bachelorhood behind, have you ever noticed how having young kids/pets cramps your ASL-style?
Before you get the wrong idea, let me first say that I LOVE my kids. As much as I don't want him to know, I even like my cat, Rambo. However, working 60 hours a week every week does not leave much time for ASL. When I get the energy I want to get out the counters and play, but a couple of hours of ASL does not allow me to play a full game (I'm not speed racer when it comes to this game).
My 9 year old daughter has learned to leave my stuff alone. My 6 year old son, however, still looks with his hands. As for the cat, do a search on the Gamesquad forum for "FOBA" (or Feline OBA) - enough said.
The next response is usually "go with VASL". This is a hard one for me. VASL is a wonderful program (I say that as both an end user and as a programmer - though not in Java). The community should be forever grateful to Herr Kinney for his creation and CountermanCX for his ongoing contributions, not to mention all the map trolls and extension elves quietly and diligently adding their two cents. The fact of the matter is, I use a netbook for most of my computing. Screen size is an issue. I have, however, also done VASL with both one and two monitor setups. 2 monitors is tolerable. I don't happen to have two monitors at home.
Another problem with VASL is that I spend much of my day on a computer anyway. Often, I have a hard time generating the desire to get back on even to play this awesome game. This doesn't seem fair to my opponents to me so I am extremely hesitant to even begin a game. Case in point: my last attempt ended as a miserable failure. I had a very patient and understanding opponent. I am almost certain he bears no ill will that life was stepping in the way, but I feel guilty all the same. We did not even finish a single game.
Perhaps the more important and less concrete reason is that there is some aesthetic attraction for me to pushing cardboard stacks around a hard board (and occasionally tipping them over). There is also something about actually looking your opponent in the eye. I suppose I have been spoiled by living in Spokane and having a friend like Mr. Wolkey living so close. Here in Lubbock, I have not found nor been able to make a regular opponent.
It makes me wonder if any of my other "readers" suffer in silence. Speak up! Tell your stories. I'd love to hear them as well.
And so this doesn't end on a negative...Play often and roll low!!! Happy ASL-ing.
Josh
Before you get the wrong idea, let me first say that I LOVE my kids. As much as I don't want him to know, I even like my cat, Rambo. However, working 60 hours a week every week does not leave much time for ASL. When I get the energy I want to get out the counters and play, but a couple of hours of ASL does not allow me to play a full game (I'm not speed racer when it comes to this game).
My 9 year old daughter has learned to leave my stuff alone. My 6 year old son, however, still looks with his hands. As for the cat, do a search on the Gamesquad forum for "FOBA" (or Feline OBA) - enough said.
The next response is usually "go with VASL". This is a hard one for me. VASL is a wonderful program (I say that as both an end user and as a programmer - though not in Java). The community should be forever grateful to Herr Kinney for his creation and CountermanCX for his ongoing contributions, not to mention all the map trolls and extension elves quietly and diligently adding their two cents. The fact of the matter is, I use a netbook for most of my computing. Screen size is an issue. I have, however, also done VASL with both one and two monitor setups. 2 monitors is tolerable. I don't happen to have two monitors at home.
Another problem with VASL is that I spend much of my day on a computer anyway. Often, I have a hard time generating the desire to get back on even to play this awesome game. This doesn't seem fair to my opponents to me so I am extremely hesitant to even begin a game. Case in point: my last attempt ended as a miserable failure. I had a very patient and understanding opponent. I am almost certain he bears no ill will that life was stepping in the way, but I feel guilty all the same. We did not even finish a single game.
Perhaps the more important and less concrete reason is that there is some aesthetic attraction for me to pushing cardboard stacks around a hard board (and occasionally tipping them over). There is also something about actually looking your opponent in the eye. I suppose I have been spoiled by living in Spokane and having a friend like Mr. Wolkey living so close. Here in Lubbock, I have not found nor been able to make a regular opponent.
It makes me wonder if any of my other "readers" suffer in silence. Speak up! Tell your stories. I'd love to hear them as well.
And so this doesn't end on a negative...Play often and roll low!!! Happy ASL-ing.
Josh
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Out of the Closet...I mean, the Attic...Again...
Once again, the boys at MMP have done a superb job putting out a superior product. I am continuously amazed at the stuff to get excited about. Tons of "tournament scenarios" which, even though they are re-releases, are new to me and many of the faces out there. Loads of meaty articles dealing with those pesky tactical issues that make ASL our favorite addiction. Beautiful artwork, good presentation. It goes on and on. I can't wait to see what they do next.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Oh HELL yes....
From the team that brought you Band of Brothers, the greatest miniseries ever made, comes round two and it looks to be at least as good. Check it out HERE at your earliest convenience. Go get you some PTO lovin', baby. You know you want to...
Thursday, February 18, 2010
ASL 21 - Among the Ruins AAR (Part 1)
After a semi-forced hiatus (I couldn't find a F2F player in Lubbock), I finally bit the bullet and began to seriously look at VASL+Skype again. My job unfortunately, does not allow the amount of time that I would like in the evenings, so my ability to play is quite restricted. I advertised on GameSquad and found several people who were OK with my conditions. Either they are as hard up as me for an ASL fix, or we have some VERY patient people in this hobby. My guess is that it's a little of both. I LOVE our community.
I selected Roy Connelly as an opponent from Wichita, KS. After the usual trepidation of "meeting" a new person (yes, I'm somewhat shy - sue me), we connected tonight to begin our game. Roy is an ideal opponent. Knowledgeable, fun to talk to, and plays a good game. If anyone out there that reads this (and there are more of you than I imagined) has the chance in the future to play him on VASL or can get down to the Texas Team Tournament, I highly recommend doing so. You won't regret it and will walk away having had a great time.
That being said, Roy selected the Americans as in several other games, he is defending and wanted one on the attack. I didn't care and the ROAR is dead even in the 70's per side, so I let him have it. That being said, this is a VERY interesting scenario for both sides. The Americans have a vast superiority in number of squads. They are all 6-6-6's, though. Known for their brittleness. Even though they rally extremely well, broken units do not move toward the victory locations. Roy also gets 3 tanks, another plus. VBM anyone?
To fight the Americans, my Germans are greatly outnumbered but are 8 morale. They have a plethora of support weapons (including 2 'Shreks), and a Quad 20 AA gun. They get dummies, and the Gun and 2 squads + SW can HIP. Because my Germans are outnumbered, I made a hard decision. I decided to play the time card. My setup was mainly in the middle of the board, a little back from the front lines. I decided that I needed to concentrate my forces where he attached so I had to be able to shift to one side or the other. Doing so, however, would very likely concede turn 1 and probably 2 as well with little or no action. I put a token resistance up front and kept the main force back and sent him my setup.
Sure enough, he decided to come in force down the cemetery side. I had put a set of dummies up in the 3rd story building on that side and rubbled buildings in front of it to look like the HMG. He decided to take his chances. I hoped for some luck with the dice to soak up some prep fire on turn 1. That took 2 stacks. He had plenty more to move. Oh well. You can't pick 'em all. By the end of turn 1, he had advanced to the second line of streets and my paltry defense was ready to meet him with backup double timing it behind to adjust. Turn 2, one of the two elements shifted out of the front line defense leaving a lone 5-4-8 with an LMG to slow the American hordes. Run through the checklist: Fire lane - tried with no effect, DFPh with inherent into the stack that avoided the fire lane - no effect. Now the squad is boxed in a row house with a tank closing in. He preps at the one value target he sees, a devil squad with a BAZ. He shoots....he scores. DM, rout to a woods hex with no leader. It's not much, but what can you really expect from a squad that's been left to die by his buddies? I mean, seriously...
Turn 3 looks to be when the game is going to start in earnest. I have a whole bunch of MG's to bring to bear and he still has no idea where the 2 HIPpies with whatever they're packing or the Quad 20 are. One thing I've learned over the time that I've been playing and can pass along: HIP units are more useful as a threat than an actual force. Anything that makes the attacker think twice about charging toward his/her (hopefully...) objective is a useful weapon for the defender. That includes dummies and HIPpies. You may put a HIP squad in a bad location, or even a location that is out of the path of the attack, but the Attacker still has to wonder where that squad is. It's not so easy to run a tank down a road with buildings on the side if you suspect a HIP unit with a BAZ/PSK waiting for a rear shot or a Quad 20 to cut up your infantry. Maybe that HIP MMG has a crossroad hex bore sighted. Which of all of those question marks on the side of the board I need to attack is real and which is a dummy? All of these push an attacker toward cautiousness and for a defender that needs to last a specific number of turns while keeping his opponent from the objective, caution is something you NEED the attacker to have.
I'd almost forgotten how much I love this game and the people in it. Everyone should play ASL. All the time.
I selected Roy Connelly as an opponent from Wichita, KS. After the usual trepidation of "meeting" a new person (yes, I'm somewhat shy - sue me), we connected tonight to begin our game. Roy is an ideal opponent. Knowledgeable, fun to talk to, and plays a good game. If anyone out there that reads this (and there are more of you than I imagined) has the chance in the future to play him on VASL or can get down to the Texas Team Tournament, I highly recommend doing so. You won't regret it and will walk away having had a great time.
That being said, Roy selected the Americans as in several other games, he is defending and wanted one on the attack. I didn't care and the ROAR is dead even in the 70's per side, so I let him have it. That being said, this is a VERY interesting scenario for both sides. The Americans have a vast superiority in number of squads. They are all 6-6-6's, though. Known for their brittleness. Even though they rally extremely well, broken units do not move toward the victory locations. Roy also gets 3 tanks, another plus. VBM anyone?
To fight the Americans, my Germans are greatly outnumbered but are 8 morale. They have a plethora of support weapons (including 2 'Shreks), and a Quad 20 AA gun. They get dummies, and the Gun and 2 squads + SW can HIP. Because my Germans are outnumbered, I made a hard decision. I decided to play the time card. My setup was mainly in the middle of the board, a little back from the front lines. I decided that I needed to concentrate my forces where he attached so I had to be able to shift to one side or the other. Doing so, however, would very likely concede turn 1 and probably 2 as well with little or no action. I put a token resistance up front and kept the main force back and sent him my setup.
Sure enough, he decided to come in force down the cemetery side. I had put a set of dummies up in the 3rd story building on that side and rubbled buildings in front of it to look like the HMG. He decided to take his chances. I hoped for some luck with the dice to soak up some prep fire on turn 1. That took 2 stacks. He had plenty more to move. Oh well. You can't pick 'em all. By the end of turn 1, he had advanced to the second line of streets and my paltry defense was ready to meet him with backup double timing it behind to adjust. Turn 2, one of the two elements shifted out of the front line defense leaving a lone 5-4-8 with an LMG to slow the American hordes. Run through the checklist: Fire lane - tried with no effect, DFPh with inherent into the stack that avoided the fire lane - no effect. Now the squad is boxed in a row house with a tank closing in. He preps at the one value target he sees, a devil squad with a BAZ. He shoots....he scores. DM, rout to a woods hex with no leader. It's not much, but what can you really expect from a squad that's been left to die by his buddies? I mean, seriously...
Turn 3 looks to be when the game is going to start in earnest. I have a whole bunch of MG's to bring to bear and he still has no idea where the 2 HIPpies with whatever they're packing or the Quad 20 are. One thing I've learned over the time that I've been playing and can pass along: HIP units are more useful as a threat than an actual force. Anything that makes the attacker think twice about charging toward his/her (hopefully...) objective is a useful weapon for the defender. That includes dummies and HIPpies. You may put a HIP squad in a bad location, or even a location that is out of the path of the attack, but the Attacker still has to wonder where that squad is. It's not so easy to run a tank down a road with buildings on the side if you suspect a HIP unit with a BAZ/PSK waiting for a rear shot or a Quad 20 to cut up your infantry. Maybe that HIP MMG has a crossroad hex bore sighted. Which of all of those question marks on the side of the board I need to attack is real and which is a dummy? All of these push an attacker toward cautiousness and for a defender that needs to last a specific number of turns while keeping his opponent from the objective, caution is something you NEED the attacker to have.
I'd almost forgotten how much I love this game and the people in it. Everyone should play ASL. All the time.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Best wife ever
I am consistently reminded of how wonderful a wife I have to support this hobby the way she does. She told me last night that as her present to me for my birthday next month, to go ahead and order For King and Country while it was at the pre-order price.
With this purchase, I will have all the core modules required to play any action at all that interests me in Europe or North Africa (I may need a few desert boards, but I COULD use VASL). Now all that is left is to pick up the revised Code of Bushido at some point (read: when I get some more available cash - not likely to happen prior to next year).
Now I just need a F2F player....
With this purchase, I will have all the core modules required to play any action at all that interests me in Europe or North Africa (I may need a few desert boards, but I COULD use VASL). Now all that is left is to pick up the revised Code of Bushido at some point (read: when I get some more available cash - not likely to happen prior to next year).
Now I just need a F2F player....
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Panzer Commander
It's been a while since I've posted. Moving and the new job have absorbed the bulk of my time. I have not been able to make any F2F contacts for ASL here in Lubbock, so it is probably going to have to be VASL until I can convert someone to the One True Game. ASL posts, therefore, will probably be a little sparse until I can get a schedule working. In the WWII vein, however....
I had the pleasure of finishing a new book this afternoon. Based on recommendations from the GS forums, I picked up Panzer Commander, by Hans von Luck. Hans von Luck was the commander of the 7th and 21st panzer divisions under Rommel. As a strict study of tactical doctrine, the book is somewhat lacking. I had hoped for a little more in that arena. However, it was an extremely pleasant read. I am a big fan of the writing style of Stephen Ambrose and this book presented his history and doings in much the same vein. I was particularly struck with the sentiment (and I have seen it in other books) of camraderie between former enemies (soldiers from different armies): German and Russian, German and American, German and French, and German and British. Having never been in the military, the respect that seems to exist, even for enemies, between professional soldiers is very appealing. The distinction between the Weremacht and the SS also struck me as profound, and seemed to be readily accepted, even by von Luck's Russian captors.
If you are looking for a strict study of tactical/strategic doctrine, I'd suggest that you keep looking. If you want a decent feel of what being a soldier in the German Army during WWII was like, this is an excellent read.
I had the pleasure of finishing a new book this afternoon. Based on recommendations from the GS forums, I picked up Panzer Commander, by Hans von Luck. Hans von Luck was the commander of the 7th and 21st panzer divisions under Rommel. As a strict study of tactical doctrine, the book is somewhat lacking. I had hoped for a little more in that arena. However, it was an extremely pleasant read. I am a big fan of the writing style of Stephen Ambrose and this book presented his history and doings in much the same vein. I was particularly struck with the sentiment (and I have seen it in other books) of camraderie between former enemies (soldiers from different armies): German and Russian, German and American, German and French, and German and British. Having never been in the military, the respect that seems to exist, even for enemies, between professional soldiers is very appealing. The distinction between the Weremacht and the SS also struck me as profound, and seemed to be readily accepted, even by von Luck's Russian captors.
If you are looking for a strict study of tactical/strategic doctrine, I'd suggest that you keep looking. If you want a decent feel of what being a soldier in the German Army during WWII was like, this is an excellent read.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Enfilade AAR in brief
Well, ASL fans, Enfilade 2009 is over. And what a tournament it was. Bruce Billett eeked out a win over Rob Wolkey in a last turn last phase CC. A nailbiter if there ever was one. I am going to give a brief AAR of my experience (including my first EVER win - a team win - against Sam Belcher and Larry Spangler). I say brief because I don't have much free time right now. I'm packing for my move to Lubbock, TX. Over the holiday weekend, I received and accepted a job offer as a Project Engineer for Caprock Manufacturing. I start on June 10. Unfortunately for this blog, that means that it's time as the "unofficial" (or maybe by now it's the "official") home of the Spokane ASL club has come to an end. As I am able, I will continue to post to this blog my ASL AAR's, however, I will be working around 55 hours a week now, so my time for that even will be limited. I refuse to give up my hobby though and hopefully will be able to find some players in Lubbock.
And now, for your reading pleasure, our feature presentation......Enfilade 2009: A Rookie's Rerspective. (For the visually inclined, pictures can be found here courtesy of Brian Pickering. Thanks, Brian!)
Enfilade for me started on Friday at about 7pm. The convention started at 2pm and I actually got into the area around 3pm, but we stayed with some friends of ours and they wanted us to have dinner with them. It was BBQ chicken, BBQ corn, fresh fruit and vegetables. What was I supposed to say? It was BBQ!!!
I got there, registered and found the room. This year since we had more than 9 (there were around 20 there this year), we got our OWN ROOM. How cool is that!?! When I got there, there were already 4 or so games going on. Bruce Billett was not playing anyone and I had never played him (although I was gunning for friends that I'd made last year and wanted to play one more time before I wouldn't have the opportunity - in case I moved - a good thing I DID that). We decided on AP18 - Village of the Damned from AP3. I'm going to preface this whole thing by saying I never had any intention of playing to "win". I'm don't care that much about winning, though, I will certainly bring my "A" game when I play, I'm more interested in the playing. That being said, against Bruce, I chose the Italians. Why? I'd never (not even once), played the Italians, so I figured I'd try. I need to remember not to make that mistake again. They just flat out suck. Their infantry is brittle and they can't hit a darn thing. That being said, the scenario calls for a mixed bag of Italians and Germans and many are walking wounded. Even with those handicaps, I held out until the last half of the last turn. There was a berzerk squad that just wouldn't quit. Last Russian turn, he surrounds me after my charge. I'm going down anyway and he tries to add insult to injury. He surrounds me with squads and the vehicle I charged goes to leave, turn around and Overrun. I stop him. Since I'm just in it for the fun, I say, "Bruce...no, no, NO. If you're going to do it, do it RIGHT. Start for one, move for two. Stop for three. Start in reverse for four. REVERSE MOTION overrun for eight." We both start to laugh. When you are about to die a gruesome death in ASL it stops being about mechanics and statistics and it starts to become about Style Points. I suppose that is why when Pete Shelling designs a scenario, he so often adds into the VC stuff about caputing AFV's for double CVP's. I mean, how often, have you EVER seen anyone capture an AFV? But it's about the Style Points, Right??? Bruce was great, even if he is into 14 year old cheese (I'll never understand that fascination - sorry Bruce).
Saturday AM saw me facing off against my last-year nemesis Brent Morris. We selected another AP scenario, AP52 - Into Vienna Woods. This is a Russian/German scenario. I picked it for two reasons. It had 6 turns so it should have been playable quickly. It also has alpine hills and a pine forest, two terrain features that I never have used. I'm not sure I EVER want to play an alpine hills scenario EVER again. The whole LOS thing SUCKS!!! I tried for height advantage to negate the same-level LOS issues. I should have probably just started everyone except one MG squad forward. They were all going to die anyway and maybe they could have made the Germans pay more for the ground. As it was, the Germans had the hill all but locked by turn 3 and I couldn't dig them out with my blitz on turn 6. I ceeded at the end of my turn 6. Brent, as always was a gracious opponent, but don't be fooled by his calm, soft exterior. He's a tiger on the field of battle and an excellent opponent. If you ever have the opportunity to play him, bring your "A" game. You'll need it.
My game against Brent lasted quite a bit longer than I'd anticipated. It didn't look like I was going to get to play both Happy and Sam. Sam was looking for a game and so was Brian Pickering. Then Larry Spangler walked in and was looking as he had just gotten done running his afternoon 3D ASLSK game. I saw an opportunity. I suggested to the three of them that we set up and play a game as a 4 player. After some indecisiveness (we're all older married men - what do you want?), we settled on A68 - Acts of Defiance. Brian and I took the Germans (he was the Hitlerjugend, Armor, and Assault engineers, and I was the main infantry attack force) and Sam and Larry took the Russians (Sam was the main force and Larry took the Reinforcements - which enter on turn 1). We started around 9pm on Saturday and Finished Sunday at 10 or 11. The game ended on turn 3 after I blitzed the building holding the majority of the Russian troops in the victory area and clobbered them. This was the capstone of a long string of bad events for the Russians. The game started out well for the Russians, we blitzed the setup area. In an impulsive move, Brian ran to the road and tried to ESB to get an extra MP to stop. That immobilized the TD. It DID, however, have a VERY interesting facing and the Russians didn't really have anything to hit it with at the time. I was tying up their infantry and their tanks didn't want to get near it. Turn two, however, things started going our way. We took out a tank or two and the reinforcements couldn't get into place fast enough to bring their .50 cal HMG to bear. I think that sealed their doom. Sam got and kept Radio contact and even brought down some heat on top of my German supermen. It just wasn't enough. That TD kept firing and I was able to blitz the street. They couldn't take out the infantry, and that was it. I got into the building, Brian killed off all but one of the tanks, and Sam ceeded the game. The most interesting thing to happen is the mushroom cloud we saw rising from the board when 2, 36FP Goliaths 'splodied a bridge, limiting the Russian reinforcement entry to a one bridge front. I'm not sure what the Geneva Convention would say about it, but it looked cool.
I hung around for several more hours, even meeting my friend we were staying with and showing him around the room. He was interested enough that he wanted to leave soon....to go home and play. We set up Gavin Take and I ran him through 3.5 turns, showing him the basics of infantry combat. I have heard it said that to the like-minded, ASL is like a rich cut of crack cocaine. Those of us that play new players and introduce people (like the incredible Larry Spangler and his beautiful wife, Diane) are like the pushers. "C'mon, try it. The first hit is on me..." Sure enough, my friend is VERY interested. Even though Rob R. left for New Jersey, I'm leaving for Texas, Chris L is tied up in a new job and Jess is always gone flying, I'm not leaving my good buddy Rob Wolkey destitute. Josh Raymond is going to be moving to the Spokane area in or around August of this year and he has all the contact information and websites necessary to start down the road to ASL-crack addiction. My work here is DONE.
To those in the Spokane ASL scene....Thanks for the ride. Even if I don't know you well, or maybe I do, I am proud to call you all my friends. To those of you that fate may lead to Spokane or the Pacific Northwest, may I say: "Bring your A-Game. We'll leave the light on for you."
And now, for your reading pleasure, our feature presentation......Enfilade 2009: A Rookie's Rerspective. (For the visually inclined, pictures can be found here courtesy of Brian Pickering. Thanks, Brian!)
Enfilade for me started on Friday at about 7pm. The convention started at 2pm and I actually got into the area around 3pm, but we stayed with some friends of ours and they wanted us to have dinner with them. It was BBQ chicken, BBQ corn, fresh fruit and vegetables. What was I supposed to say? It was BBQ!!!
I got there, registered and found the room. This year since we had more than 9 (there were around 20 there this year), we got our OWN ROOM. How cool is that!?! When I got there, there were already 4 or so games going on. Bruce Billett was not playing anyone and I had never played him (although I was gunning for friends that I'd made last year and wanted to play one more time before I wouldn't have the opportunity - in case I moved - a good thing I DID that). We decided on AP18 - Village of the Damned from AP3. I'm going to preface this whole thing by saying I never had any intention of playing to "win". I'm don't care that much about winning, though, I will certainly bring my "A" game when I play, I'm more interested in the playing. That being said, against Bruce, I chose the Italians. Why? I'd never (not even once), played the Italians, so I figured I'd try. I need to remember not to make that mistake again. They just flat out suck. Their infantry is brittle and they can't hit a darn thing. That being said, the scenario calls for a mixed bag of Italians and Germans and many are walking wounded. Even with those handicaps, I held out until the last half of the last turn. There was a berzerk squad that just wouldn't quit. Last Russian turn, he surrounds me after my charge. I'm going down anyway and he tries to add insult to injury. He surrounds me with squads and the vehicle I charged goes to leave, turn around and Overrun. I stop him. Since I'm just in it for the fun, I say, "Bruce...no, no, NO. If you're going to do it, do it RIGHT. Start for one, move for two. Stop for three. Start in reverse for four. REVERSE MOTION overrun for eight." We both start to laugh. When you are about to die a gruesome death in ASL it stops being about mechanics and statistics and it starts to become about Style Points. I suppose that is why when Pete Shelling designs a scenario, he so often adds into the VC stuff about caputing AFV's for double CVP's. I mean, how often, have you EVER seen anyone capture an AFV? But it's about the Style Points, Right??? Bruce was great, even if he is into 14 year old cheese (I'll never understand that fascination - sorry Bruce).
Saturday AM saw me facing off against my last-year nemesis Brent Morris. We selected another AP scenario, AP52 - Into Vienna Woods. This is a Russian/German scenario. I picked it for two reasons. It had 6 turns so it should have been playable quickly. It also has alpine hills and a pine forest, two terrain features that I never have used. I'm not sure I EVER want to play an alpine hills scenario EVER again. The whole LOS thing SUCKS!!! I tried for height advantage to negate the same-level LOS issues. I should have probably just started everyone except one MG squad forward. They were all going to die anyway and maybe they could have made the Germans pay more for the ground. As it was, the Germans had the hill all but locked by turn 3 and I couldn't dig them out with my blitz on turn 6. I ceeded at the end of my turn 6. Brent, as always was a gracious opponent, but don't be fooled by his calm, soft exterior. He's a tiger on the field of battle and an excellent opponent. If you ever have the opportunity to play him, bring your "A" game. You'll need it.
My game against Brent lasted quite a bit longer than I'd anticipated. It didn't look like I was going to get to play both Happy and Sam. Sam was looking for a game and so was Brian Pickering. Then Larry Spangler walked in and was looking as he had just gotten done running his afternoon 3D ASLSK game. I saw an opportunity. I suggested to the three of them that we set up and play a game as a 4 player. After some indecisiveness (we're all older married men - what do you want?), we settled on A68 - Acts of Defiance. Brian and I took the Germans (he was the Hitlerjugend, Armor, and Assault engineers, and I was the main infantry attack force) and Sam and Larry took the Russians (Sam was the main force and Larry took the Reinforcements - which enter on turn 1). We started around 9pm on Saturday and Finished Sunday at 10 or 11. The game ended on turn 3 after I blitzed the building holding the majority of the Russian troops in the victory area and clobbered them. This was the capstone of a long string of bad events for the Russians. The game started out well for the Russians, we blitzed the setup area. In an impulsive move, Brian ran to the road and tried to ESB to get an extra MP to stop. That immobilized the TD. It DID, however, have a VERY interesting facing and the Russians didn't really have anything to hit it with at the time. I was tying up their infantry and their tanks didn't want to get near it. Turn two, however, things started going our way. We took out a tank or two and the reinforcements couldn't get into place fast enough to bring their .50 cal HMG to bear. I think that sealed their doom. Sam got and kept Radio contact and even brought down some heat on top of my German supermen. It just wasn't enough. That TD kept firing and I was able to blitz the street. They couldn't take out the infantry, and that was it. I got into the building, Brian killed off all but one of the tanks, and Sam ceeded the game. The most interesting thing to happen is the mushroom cloud we saw rising from the board when 2, 36FP Goliaths 'splodied a bridge, limiting the Russian reinforcement entry to a one bridge front. I'm not sure what the Geneva Convention would say about it, but it looked cool.
I hung around for several more hours, even meeting my friend we were staying with and showing him around the room. He was interested enough that he wanted to leave soon....to go home and play. We set up Gavin Take and I ran him through 3.5 turns, showing him the basics of infantry combat. I have heard it said that to the like-minded, ASL is like a rich cut of crack cocaine. Those of us that play new players and introduce people (like the incredible Larry Spangler and his beautiful wife, Diane) are like the pushers. "C'mon, try it. The first hit is on me..." Sure enough, my friend is VERY interested. Even though Rob R. left for New Jersey, I'm leaving for Texas, Chris L is tied up in a new job and Jess is always gone flying, I'm not leaving my good buddy Rob Wolkey destitute. Josh Raymond is going to be moving to the Spokane area in or around August of this year and he has all the contact information and websites necessary to start down the road to ASL-crack addiction. My work here is DONE.
To those in the Spokane ASL scene....Thanks for the ride. Even if I don't know you well, or maybe I do, I am proud to call you all my friends. To those of you that fate may lead to Spokane or the Pacific Northwest, may I say: "Bring your A-Game. We'll leave the light on for you."
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