ASL Lovers...why ASL?

[bob48]

Very sensible, Mike.

[Barthheart]

I remember playing the sewer move rules from the original Squad Leader. Hated when my units got lost!  I think yer units just got lost and never came back! 

[bob48]

But sergeant Kelso always saved the day, at least he did in our SL games, but I don't know if he survived into ASL.

[Barthheart]

 

[Zovs]

ASL is still the best tactical board wargame out there. Not only is the system great but the community is also great. I started playing ASL in 1985 after years of frustration with the SL/COI/COD/GIA system with the multiple versions of rule books, inconsistencies with errata and rules, and counters and was so pleased when Don Greenwood took over and standardized the rule book and gave us what we lovingly have today!

RIP Don and thanks for all the fun times with ASL.

[Sir Slash]

Kelso never got lost, he sometimes got, 'Directionally Challenged', but never lost. It seems to me I remember Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin had Sewer moves in big cities, the only computer game I know of to include it. It also was a crap-shoot ( no pun intended) with your units eventually showing-up somewhere. 

[JudgeDredd]

I wish - truly wish - I had the desire to play this. I don't have a rock solid reason for not playing it. Quite bizarre.

I think I recall reading the rules and thinking "other games" did things better. I'm not at all sure what those "things" were now.

The size of the counters put me off too, though I do admit I have some other games that use 1/2" counters.

No idea. Maybe I just need to kick my own arse and get it on the table.

TPA isn't - overly keen on it. Or at least that's what I took from his video. Didn't hate it - just not likely to go back to it.

[Zovs]

The biggest tips I can suggest for getting into ASL (or ASLSK) is the following:

• Play using VASAL and VASL.
• Find someone that is experienced to learn the rules from as he beats you several dozen games.
• ASLSK is a good easy starting point but I jumped into straight up ASL back in the day, but you can read chapter A and B and start playing infantry scenarios, especially if you line a good # 2.
• You don't have to read chapters A-D to start, you an read about 1/2 of A and the parts of B you need to as you play, this is really true if you use option # 1.
• Your Personal Morale Level (PML) will be a 5 at start, and the more you get bad rolls and losses your PML will drop, but you need to stick it out and try to grow your PML to a 6 or 7, mine is around 10, lol, but I played it for 30 plus years and seen just about everything in ASL plus I spent 1 year and nine months in Stalingrad playing Red Barricades back inn 1992-1994.

Have fun and enjoy, the best part of ASL is the community, friends and stories you'll remember and share...see # 5 above, and "Did I ever mention that one time I drove a T-34 right into a wooden building, rubbled it and fell into cellar?" or "that one time I had a buttoned up Hetzer that just moved on to board 4 and up that big honking hill and had a 9-2 AL in it and fired at a T-34/85 at 19 hexes and needed a CH to even thing about it? Well you guessed it I rolled a 1,1, and then a 1 for the IP hit and then a 1,2 for a burning wreck, the other fellow just went and laid down on the couch after that..." or "that one time in Stalingrad I moved 9 MMC (5-4-8) with MMG and DC and LMG via AM and my buddy fired off a 300mm Rocket OBA and it drifted right smack into the middle of that blob of infantry and God only knows how many DR later when I had 3 FS and 1 HS and two CR leaders left in thoses hexes." or ...

[JudgeDredd]

Lol.

So I assume there's a "ladder" thing? I mean I'm not sure what I think of playing boardgames on vassal.

Actually that's not true...I do...I don't like it. Boardgames for me are the whole feel. The dice rolls. The card draws. All the physical touch elements.

You don't get that obviously with vassal or computer games and that's what I don't like. Shit...I bought loads of LnL stuff on Steam and I just don't play it...even though there's a decent AI and the rules are all kind of sorted for you

[trailrunner]

I’m headed to Winter Offensive tomorrow for four days of gaming. Should be great fun!

[Yskonyn]

Wow, have fun! Say hi to Hennie van der Salm for me. It's my face 2 face buddy, although we haven't played in quite a while (that's on me).

[JudgeDredd]

I wish - truly wish - I had the desire to play this. I don't have a rock solid reason for not playing it. Quite bizarre.

I think I recall reading the rules and thinking "other games" did things better. I'm not at all sure what those "things" were now.

The size of the counters put me off too, though I do admit I have some other games that use 1/2" counters.

No idea. Maybe I just need to kick my own arse and get it on the table.

TPA isn't - overly keen on it. Or at least that's what I took from his video. Didn't hate it - just not likely to go back to it.

Well bugger me if I didn't go and buy ASL Starter Kit #2 and #4 from an Italian and getting #3 from a German. I haven't even played #1 yet...but as I mentioned in the post above - there's just a real draw to it that I don't really understand. The modularity of it? I do like the simplicity of the maps. Counters are small, but I've got other games with small counetsr. Rules were a tad convoluted if I recall - but there are plenty of videos out there.

So - I'm in deeper than than when I first mentioned this - 4 years ago!

[bob48]

<shakes head sadly>

[JudgeDredd]

You're not the only one shaking your head - I promise you 

[JudgeDredd]

Weren't Matrix Games creating a Cross of Iron game years and years and years ago? Which eventually got scrapped? Was that meant to be a digital representation of Squad Leader Cross of Iron?