It is going into the final (Russian) Player Turn of the Tournament Championship. In a cunning move, the German player just used his Advance Phase to block all paths to the victory hex from all directions. In his moment of genius inspired triumph, he expects the Russian player to concede from an obviously impossible situation. Just before their hands meet at center table, the Russian player recoils his arm as he realizes he still has a chance, albeit a small one. Sure enough, the Russian player goes on to win the game, the title, and the respect from his awe stuck opponent. What has transpired to give the Russian the win?
Bonus question: Assuming you figured out how the Russian won, what simple move could the German have done during the Russian turn to deny the win?
Victory Conditions: The Russians win if they control of building 5R1 at Game End (which begins the turn German controlled).
SSR:
1.Kindling in NA.
2. Russians have PF capability as if 1944 Germans.
3. Night Rules are in Effect with scattered cloudsand a half moon.
4.Bothplayers must ask Perry to include a German 8-1 Leader counter with the name Ritter in the next product.
Solution to Contest #118
I kind of botched this contest and dropped the ball on what I was trying to convey so I am currently remaking this contest. Stay tuned.
Now only weeks away.Thank you so much for the overwhelming support in your pre-orders. We expect to sell out the North American supply earlier than expected as orders are much higher than we anticipated. Please order now to lock in a copy. Remember that you are under no obligation to complete the order when it becomes available at the end of November but at least you have the option to get it before it’s gone.
We are still expecting the Newest Hazmo product to arrive at the end of November. Thanks for your patience.
Contest #118
It is the Final British MPh and in order to win he must exit at least one AFV off the East (Right) Edge. What should he do to have the most chance of success? Note that the BB1/Bb2 hexside is not wide enough to Bypass.
Solution to Contest #117
Definitely one of the easier contests. I was hoping to stump the listeners on the Wall Advantage Bocage Rules but not a lot of luck as everyone got the right answer.
So because this is Bocage, the Tiger cannot see non- adjacent targets because it is not marked with a Wall Advantage counter as there is other positive TEM in it’s hex (Mandatory WA N/A).
So the best chance for victory for the US player is Start (1MP), change CA to X2-Y2 (2MP), Move to Y2 (3MP), this will be the Tiger’s only opportunity to stop the Sherman and win the game. It will need a 5 with a Turret Hit (11%) and then anything but a 12 for the win. If the Tiger misses, then the Sherman declares bypass of X1/Y1 (5), pivot (6), Bypass X0/Y1 (8), Exit off board for the win (9MP).
Please click on the photo to pre-order with no up-front cost or risk…
*See the bottom of this post to read our really great Pre-order policy
The monster Italian Campaign module from Advancing Fire is ready to go to the printers. Sebi informed me that we should have the final product in November which is now just a few short weeks away. We plan on having an exclusive interview with the designer in our next post that you surely won’t want to miss. The game will include 4 huge historical maps of the Italian battleground, 4 campaign games, 14 standalone scenarios and over 500 counters. The quality of the components are truly second to none as you already know if you were lucky enough to get a copy of Prokhorovka! before it went out of print. Extra thick maps, beautiful counter artwork in a seldom addressed theatre of war where the Green Devils and Panzer grenadiers face off against Canadians, Kiwis, and Indians.
As a special promo, we are receiving one dozen Orsogna themed dice towers specially made by Maria Aceto. These will be shipped at the same time as the game. Please click on the image to order.
The new Action Pack from MMP has arrived on the express overnight from Cleveland’s ASLOK tournament. Featuring 2 new mapboards and 14 new scenarios.
This Action Pack marks Multi-Man Publishing’s fifth collaboration with ASL Oktoberfest tournament director Bret Hildebran and his gang of Ohioans to produce a new map-and-scenario pack for release in conjunction with the game’s most revered tournament—ASLOK.
The 14 scenarios of ASL Action Pack #18 were all designed by Ohioans Pete Shelling and the late Bill Sisler. Two new maps (91 & 92) round out the package. World War II actions range from an extreme winter Russian counterattack in front of Moscow in December 1941 to Partisan action in Slovakia to the “final battle” in 1945 Berlin. Pete has also designed four new Korean War scenarios (two on Deluxe boards) featuring actions fought by the American 1st Cavalry Division, its troopers having been “rudely interrupted” from their cushy garrison life in Japan by the outbreak of war in Korea with the Communist invasion of July 1950 and rushed unceremoniously into combat. Action Pack #18: ASL Oktoberfest XXXVII has the action covered!
Action Pack #18: ASL Oktoberfest XXXVII contains:
Two 8˝ × 22˝ geomorphic mapboards (91, 92)
14 ASL scenarios:
AP191 East Wind – 6½ turns, 2 December 1941, Yushkovo-Buretsovo, Vologda Oblast, Russia (German vs Russian)
AP192 Brush Off – 4½ turns, 19 August 1942, Koli Point, Guadalcanal (Allied vs Japanese)
AP193 Hit It & Quit It – 4½ turns, 26 September 1944, Horné Hámre, Slovakia (German vs Partisan)
AP194 Not Fade Away – 6½ turns, 9 December 1944, Lemberg, France (German vs American)
AP195 Break In On Rollbahn A – 5½ turns, 17 December 1944, Hollerath, Germany (American vs German)
AP196 Silver & Bronze – 6 turns, 19 December 1944, Wiltz, Luxembourg (American vs German)
AP197 KIller Cats & Easy Eights – 6 turns, 30 December 1944, Flohimont, Belgium (German vs American)
AP198 Hassel At Hasselt – 7 turns, 12 February 1945, Hasselt, Germany (German vs British)
AP199 Nord’s End – 6½ turns, 2 April 1945, Waldenburg, Germany (German vs American)
AP200 Chuikov’s Revenge – 7½ turns, 29 April 1945, Berlin, Germany (German vs Russian)
AP201 Goodbye, Geishas – 6½ turns, 23 July 1950, Yongdong, South Korea (American vs North Korean)
AP202 Little Rat – 4½ turns, 29 July 1950, Kumchon, South Korea (American vs North Korean)
AP203 The Walled City – 5½ turns, 5 September 1950, Ka-San, South Korea (American vs North Korean)
AP204 Southside Seesaw – 5½ turns, 13 September 1950, Chilgok, South Korea (North Korean vs American)
Also on sale for almost 20% off is the entire Hazardous Movement lineup. So if you have never tried HAZMO, now is the chance to get in at a huge discount.
On the subject of Hazmo, I recently found this interview with Chuck Hammond on Illuminating Rounds. It’s a fun and informative listen.
Almost Gone Forever:
We are down to our very last copies (less than 10) of Green Hell of Inor, LFT15, Rat Pocket Charts, Fight for Seoul, Heat of Battle stuff. If you want it now instead of later for 6 x the price on Extorsion-Bay, this is your last chance.
Contest #117
Normandy, 1944. All hedges are Bocage. It is the final Player Turn of the game (US MPh). The American player is 4 VP short for the win. VC states either Exit VP within 1 hex of the Y1 Road Board Edge -or- Casualty VP. The US player has already tried (and failed) use of their sM. What course of action would ensure the best chance for victory. Please send responses to email account dr******@tr***.com. Answer will be in post #118
Contest #116 Solution.
Several people figured this one out on the first try. The key to this puzzle is knowing and remembering the Multiple Hit rules. I recently found out that the first TK roll also serves as the hit location for the second roll. So it you remembered this, you were well on your way to figuring this one out. So… the first shot hit in the hull (4,4) with Multiple Hits, Although the TK DR was (5,6) for No Effect, it did place the second Hit in the turret. With an inferior turret armor of 4, the subsequent TK roll of (1,2) was enough for the kill (whereas if you forgot this rule, you would have been going down the wrong road believing the effect was a Possible Shock). The next roll was Crew Survival (5,4) which was a fail resulting in enough CVP for the French player to win. Thanks for playing.
There are three ways I know of that companies take pre-orders.
You pay for it now and wait months/years for the product to be manufactured and shipped. This ties up your money and is a little risky if the store goes out of business (not mentioning anyone by name).
You order and provide your CC information. Then long after you have forgotten all about it, your wife opens the nasty little surprise on you CC statement that of course is sandwiched between the roof repair and the transmission on your Ford Focus.
Ourpre-order method: You pre-order the product now and when we are within a few weeks of shipping it to you, we send you an invoice. At that time you decide:
a. Pay for it now and as soon as it arrives at our store it will be on it’s way to you with Free-Shipping*.
b. Pay for it later (your pre-order is reserved and guaranteed at the pre-order price for a full year after release**) and at that time it will be on it’s way to you with Free-Shipping*
c. Don’t pay for it at all and simply ignore the invoice. In this case, no further action is required. Your CC has never been billed and you don’t owe any money or explanation.
Although the third method can tend to leave us with some overstock at times, I really feel that it is the most flexible and secure for the customer so it is the system we use.
*minimum $30 inside the USA.
**As long as the product is still available to retailers.
MMP presents the third Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit Expansion Pack. ASLSK Expansion Pack #3 includes two new 8″ x 22″ geomorphic mapboards (h and g) and eight new scenarios set in locales such as Poland, Sicily, Italy, Russia, the Gilbert Islands, and the Marianas.
ASLSK Expansion Pack #3 continues the introduction of Concealment, first employed by the Japanese in Starter Kit #4 and now extended to several other nationalities. Expansion Pack #3 also includes Ordnance and Vehicle Notes for the weapons used in the scenarios.
As with Expansion Packs #1 and #2, Expansion Pack #3 does not come with everything you need to play!!!
Expansion Pack #3 assumes ownership of the core ASLSK modules Starter Kit #1 through #4. While Expansion Pack #3 includes counters for German SS, U.S. Marine Raiders, Italians, and Allied Minor units as well as Concealment, it relies upon these core Starter Kit modules to provide additional unit and information counters, in addition to mapboards, providing players with a low-cost method for expanding the scope of Starter Kit scenarios.
ASL Starter Kit Expansion Pack #3 contains:
two 8″ x 22″ geomorphic mapboards (map h, map g)
one countersheet (252 counters)
one four-page Quick Reference Data Card
one four-page ASLSK Chapter H Vehicles & Ordnance notes
eight new scenarios
Scenario List:
S92 Armageddon Begins, Mokra, Poland, 1 September 1939 S93 Stalin’s Socks, Melechi, Russia, 20 September 1941 S94 March of Destiny, Kiev, Russia, 30 September 1941 S95 Makin Mayhem, Makin Atoll, Gilbert Islands, 17 August 1942 S96 Good, Lucky, or Both, Syracuse, Sicily, 10 July 1943 S97 All I’ve Got Is Prayer, Persano, Italy, 13 September 1943 S98 The Hatefulness of War, Baron-sur-Odon, France, 28 June 1944 S99 Destination, Tinian, The Marianas, 25 July 1944
NOTE: ASL Starter Kit Expansion Pack #3 is not a boxed game; it comes bagged in the same manner as ASL Starter Kit Expansion Packs #1 and #2.
Special Ops #11 has six articles, two ASL scenarios and two ASLSK scenarios, The magazine also features the game Gettysburg.
Featured in-depth articles cover The Third Winter and Strike – Counter Strike. There are also an article on the upcoming Valley of Tears, a new scenario for The Third Winter, Curt Schilling’s advice for being a better ASL player, and more
Gettysburg is a quick playing game based on the Napoleonic 20 series of games. It includes a 22″ x34″ map, 40 1″ counters, and 72 5/8″ counters.
In the off chance you missed out on Special Ops 10, here is your chance to acquire both at a 20% discount.
Advancing Fire: Orsogna
We are expecting a shipping time of October/November for this monster. This will be the same incredible quality as Prokhorovhka! bringing the fight to the Italian mountains and countryside in December of ’43.
This is a pilot to gauge the interest in a reprint of this fantastic module. Assume a straight up reprint. There is no release date yet and reprint is solely dependant on Sebi at Advancing Fire reaching a minimum demand. Remember, there is no up-front or surprise charge to you now or ever with our pre-order system (you don’t even enter your CC info). Simply pre-order it now and when and if it gets reprinted, we will send you an invoice at that time which you can complete if you still want the product. Absolutely risk free pre-ordering.
Contest #126
It is the final half turn (French) of the Game. The French player needs 5 CVP to secure the win. In it’s Prep Fire Phase, the French player surprises the German with a hidden AT Gun in hex I11. The following are the DR’s in order including some extras. Use as many as you need to narrate the events starting with the first shot being the (4,4).
8 new scenarios including very large and weeeee little scenarios linking a Campaign Game representing the 10th Mountain Division for a low, low price of $16.
Where The Iron Crosses Grow Team Tournament 2023:
This year we had 21 attendees on 6 teams of three brackets. After 2 aborted attempts, Xavier Vitry finally made it to the show arriving for a 9 day holiday. Some photos of the event in the video below.
Fight For Seoul is back in Stock
and yes… we are still offering the $40 discount on the Korean Combopack.
It has been a super busy month. First with the release of Ste. Mere Eglise (AKA the Cow Module), then the early arrival of Le Franc Tireur 15, and now Journal 14 on pre-order.
After several years of research and development, here is LFT’s latest magazine, with 23 scenarios and 8 new maps, accompanying a small set of rules for Arid & Desert Terrains, easy to learn and even easier to play.
8 new geo mapboards
23 Scenarios
15 articles
Here are two different unboxing videos and yes, I do know that the Scouting Report is better than mine 😉 As a special thank you, not only is LFT 15 $10 off, but I am also including a $10/10% coupon in the box for any future LFT order from us (NA Rat Charts).
ASL Journal 14: ANZAC Special Edition is a 56-page magazine for Advanced Squad Leader that features articles, scenarios, and a Historical ASL Campaign Game completely authored and designed by our friends Down Under. At the heart of J14 is the “Sparrow Force” HASL, featuring a map, mini-Campaign Game, and scenarios designed by Simon Spinetti and Andy Rogers (Hatten in Flames) covering the action between Australian and Japanese forces in and around the village of Babau on the island of Timor in 1942.
ASL Journal 14 articles include:
-24 Scenarios
-16 Articles
-One campaign Game
-1 Sheet of bubble wrap for the kids to annoy you (compliments of me)
Armies of Oblivion in stock at Ritterkrieg
After discovering that AoO was out of stock at MMP and entering indefinite pre-order, I wanted to let you know that I still have a couple of copies tucked away. I am offering these at regular retail, not Out-Of-Print extortion-Bay pricing but I want them to go to actual players, not re-sellers so there is a maximum of one per buyer.
Picking up that last counter on the bottom has always been challenge for some of us. To make matters worse, in a game like ASL where the contents of a stack are often concealed, leaving a counter behind offers valuable recon to your opponent. So if you aren’t going to use (insert shameless plug here…) Stack Guards, then we naturally need a set of tweezers designed for the 21st Century.
I really liked the grip, size, tension and overall performance of these new tweezers. The only drawback I find is their inability to pick up a counter which is laying on it’s side (eg. sideways in a Plano divider). In my humble opinion these are a must have for counter dense scenarios and games (OCS comes immediately to mind).
International Shipping Rates Explained:
I would like to take a moment to explain our process for International shipping calculations. On every order outside of the USA, we charge a nominal $80 shipping as a starting point. The actual shipping costs will vary depending on weight, destination, prefered declaration with insurance value, and carrier. If the actual shipping costs are less than $80, we refund the difference. If the actual shipping costs are more than $80, we contact the buyer with the option of paying the balance or getting a full refund. If there is another way of doing this where the costs are transparent up front, I have not found it yet. Although Ship Station (Paypals sub for shipping) does offer this option, not only is it a completely different total when it comes time to purchase the label, but it does not have an override for value/insurance. Please note that I will always work with you within my means to bring you these products safely landed at your doorstep for the lowest possible price.
Pre-Orders Explained
There are three ways I know of that companies take pre-orders.
You pay for it now and wait months/years for the product to be manufactured and shipped. This ties up your money and is a little risky if the store goes out of business (not mentioning anyone by name).
You order and provide your CC information. Then long after you have forgotten all about it, your wife opens the nasty little surprise on you CC statement that of course is sandwiched between the roof repair and the transmission on your Ford Focus.
Ourpre-order method: You pre-order the product now and when we are within a few weeks of shipping it to you, we send you an invoice. At that time you decide:
a. Pay for it now and as soon as it arrives at our store it will be on it’s way to you with Free-Shipping*.
b. Pay for it later (your pre-order is reserved and guaranteed at the pre-order price for a full year after release**) and at that time it will be on it’s way to you with Free-Shipping*
c. Don’t pay for it at all and simply ignore the invoice. In this case, no further action is required. Your CC has never been billed and you don’t owe any money or explanation.
Although the third method can tend to leave us with some overstock at times, I really feel that it is the most flexible and secure for the customer so it is the system we use.
*minimum $30 inside the USA.
**As long as the product is still available to retailers.
Drop Zone: Ste-Mere Eglise will be shipping towards the end of March as soon as MMP completes it’s pre-orders. I picked up a copy at Winter Offensive and had the opportunity to test drive one of the scenarios with some cows riding shotgun. Lots of fun so far. Will be starting the first of three Campaign Games soon.
One of the three historical maps included in DZ: SME
Specifically designed for the wargamers, made to lift tall stacks of counters thanks to the wide profile angle. As an added bonus, the claws are wide which distributes the pressure on the contact point of the counter to avoid damaging the sides through repeated grabbing.
MMP 2023 Production Forecast
Here is the MMP Anticipated 2023 Production List as of January 29, 2023:
Advanced Squad Leader
– The Winter Offensive Bonus Pack #14 (2023) has been released; – The Sainte-Mère-Église HASL is shipping to preorders; – The Marco Polo Bridge HASL will go on preorder; – ASL Journal 14 will be released 1st quarter; – Ponyri HASL will go on preorder; – Contested Lands module (1948 Arab-Israeli conflict) will go on preorder; – A reprint of Armies of Oblivion will go on preorder; – We are working on a reprint of Solitaire ASL; – Doomed Battalions will go on reprint; – Twilight of the Reich, a boxed ASL module, will go on preorder.
ASL Starter Kit
– ASLSK Marco Polo Bridge HASL will go on preorder. Ownership of ASLSK4 will be required to play; – An ASLSK magazine should be released;
Hatten In Flames: CG I Impressions wherein Gary Bartlett & Mike McGrath discuss approaches both German and American players might take in tackling this Campaign Game.
In (Not So) Free Parking, Phil Palmer uncovers some facts about Hull Down positions and how valuable they may actually be to your AFV.
Advanced Nuggets 2 finds Paul Sidhu & Rich Spilky illuminating even more obscure and easily overlooked rules.
Radio Contact Essentials offers a primer by Rich Spilky on the basics of this critical element of ASL OBA.
Second Impressions finds Rich Spilky musing on OBA draw pile probabilities in this extension of Robert Medrow’s essential article in THE GENERAL (and ASL CLASSIC) on OBA in ASL and providing a basis for the “Pleva variant” for OBA chit draws.
Alternative OBA Systems by Jim Bishop explores additional chit replacement methods in this follow-up to Rich’s draw pile article.
Ken Dunn gives us a Preview of the Drop Zone: Sainte-Mére-Èglise Historical ASL module.
Forgotten War Designer’s Notes author Kenneth P. Katz was a key contributor to the creation and evolution of transitioning ASL to the Korean War, and herein offers insight into that process.
A Tale of Two Scenarios is John Slotwinski’s analysis of the original and updated versions of the YANKS scenario The Mad Minute, revered for its fun factor but notoriously unbalanced.
Per Mare Per Terram is Andrew H. Hershey’s follow-up to Ghost Killers from ASL Journal 12 and covers the history of 41 (Independent) Commando of the Royal Marines in the Korean War.
The Debriefing offers this issue’s errata updates.
ASL Journal 13 has 33 ASL scenarios:
Bounding Fire Productions Reprint of 3 great Modules
I’m really not sure what took me so long to post a link to Jim’s fantastic page. You will find plenty of articles, rules explanations, advice, and tricks from a master. I will also be putting a permanent link in the menu so you can easily find his page again on this site without having to scroll through posts to find this one.
What did I miss this year?
2022 has been an incredible year for both new and reprinted ASL material. So much so that it has been hard to keep track of all the goodies thanks to MMP and TPP’s stepping up to never before seen design and production. Here is a checklist of everything I can think of that came out in the last year.
MMP:
Pocket Rulebook, Pocket Chapter H, Pocket Charts, Journal 13, Overlay Bundle, Hakkaa Paalle*, Action Pack 15 Swedish Volunteers*, Sword and Fire Manila, & Hollow Legions.
Le Franc Tireur:
From the Cellar 11 & From the Cellar 12.
Bounding Fire Productions:
Operation Neptune, High Ground 2*, Beyond the Beachhead*, Operation Cobra*.
Lone Canuck Publishing:
Operation Martlet Campaign Game, Battle for France, Wacht Am Rhein Volume 2, Quick 6 V, Grossdeutschland 3.
Advancing Fire:
Prokhorovka! & ECZ Tournament Director’s Pack
Hazardous Movement:
Hazmo 2 (Partisans), Hazmo 3 (Stalingrad).
Ritterkrieg(That’s me):
Stack Guards with all Nationalities represented with unique colors and artwork.
Raaco Subdividers
My ASL Woodworking Shop Finally Up and Running
I honestly wasn’t sure I would ever see this day. As recently as this summer I still hadn’t decided on a location for the shop. Amy and I had discussed putting up a dedicated barn but of course contractors are all but impossible to find these days. So I had to consider using the dungeon at the Honda garage. The basement wasn’t fit for man nor beast and hadn’t been used in over 30 years. The door had rotted off, the windows were broken, there was only one circuit for an overhead fluorescent lamp, and the top stairs had disintegrated. Today, about five months after starting renovations, I cut my first piece of wood. Next up, dice towers, Mapboard Ammo Cases, and ASL table tops. I will be taking orders in the first quarter of the new year.
Examples of previous pieces made from the old shop.
Hi everyone, it looks like there is a whole lot of new stuff that just arrived. It is rare that a producer releases two titles at just about the same time but that is what seems to have happened both with MMP (Hakkaa Paalle and Overlay Bundle) and LCP (GD3 and Quick6V). To round things off, Sebi from AF has their new scenario pack on the shelves (WITB video to come).
Technical issues here at the Ritterkrieg Chicken’s Coup – WordPress released a new version of their software and while it looks excellent, it disabled my ability to send e-mail notifications so in fixing that problem through a gmail proxy, it proceeded to send out notifications for every unclaimed preorder dating back 5 years. So I want to: a. offer my apologies if you are being reminded that you have an outstanding order for a product that was released in 2017 and b. as silly as it sounds, I will still honor those pre-order prices if you still want to complete the order.
On a final note, please subscribe to this page and to my Youtube channel if you haven’t done so already.
Advancing Fire normally works only on deeply historical games, but this time we are proud to produce a game from an important external developer, that is a unique and very interesting release.
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR’S PACK (TD’S PACK) is the collection of ASL scenarios designed by Enrico Catanzaro (known in ASL community as ecz) with an experience of about thirty years as ASL player and Tournament Director of ASL tournaments, as well as wargamer and chess player. His main attention turned in particular to the balance and replayability, while trying to develop interesting and innovative dynamics. The Tournament Director’s Pack features 16 scenarios all using dedicated new rules which are used to decide sides and Victory Conditions at once. We made sure the scenarios were playtested by many different level players, from the best who won many tournaments to the inexperienced ones, and they have shown, with their rules for determining the VCs, to be suitable for all levels, and to have a very high replayability. These scenarios are ideal for use in tournaments or to practice competitive ASL, maintaining a high adherence to the war events they represent.
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR’S PACK contains the following:
16 action packed scenarios
Quick 6 V from Lone Canuck:
Click on photo for more information or to order
The fifth instalment of the acclaimed series with6 More small scenarios that can be played in 2-3 hours.
Just discovering this series? Pick up all 5 Quick 6 scenario packs at a discounted price:
Click on photo for more information or to order
Hakkaa Paalle Back in Stock:
Click on photo for more information or to order
MMP has reprinted the Finnish Module which should be arriving at our store at any moment and then off to you.
One 8˝×22˝ Map (52)
four Countersheets
17 ASL Scenarios
one Chapter H for Finnish Vehicles/Guns and Russian Lend-Lease Vehicle/Guns
Rules Supplement, with updates pertinent to Hakkaa Päälle!
four chapter Dividers, including a revised National Capabilities Chart with new Finnish squad types, and the OBA Flowchart
Advanced Squad Leader Live on Facebook:
Click on photo for link to this Facebook Group
Volunteers needed to moderate, add ideas and content.
My original plan was to have a group meeting place on Facebook where players interact with live games, discussions, and interviews with people in the hobby. Please let me know if this might be up your alley.
Now available are D4 sub-dividers for your RAACO A75 dividers economizing space for your kit.
ASL Oktoberfest 2022
At the beginning of each October, Brett Hildebran with some help from Wild Bill, hosts the largest ASL gathering in the World. Over a hundred players converge in Cleveland, Ohio for a nine day marathon with representation from as far away as Australia. During the first 4 days, Brett pits the American players against the players from the rest of the World for the much coveted World Cup team tournament. On Wednesday, the mini’s begin with themes ranging from the Pacific to the Desert and every theatre in between. Each mini tournament has a maximum of eight players, so win three games and you are bringing home a trophy to impress everyone on your block. And if you don’t win, no biggie as the next round of minis starts the next day, and the next, and the next after that. If you keep winning, you will be entered into the Grofaz for the single most coveted piece of tin in the ASL world. But to win this, you will have to make it past the likes of ASL legends like Steve Pleva, Bill Cirillo, Bob Bendis, JR Tracy, Mike McGrath, and the list goes on.
My ASLOK, 2022. I arrived as usual on Saturday afternoon after an eight hour dive from NC. I set up camp in the foyer to the main convention room after saying hi to Bill and the early arrivals. The Hotel was under new management and unfortunately none of the familiar faces of the old staff were still employed. Pretty soon the usual gang began arriving with the notable exception of many of the international players that used to haunt the venue. I spent the rest of the day on Saturday setting up for for my first game.
Game 1 – As has become a custom with my dear friend Jack Daniels, we had pre-arranged our yearly monster scenario to be ‘DN3 Rommel at the Meuse’ from Croix de Guerre. This is a 13 turn full map crossing of the Meuse in rubber dinghies, assault boats and rafts. Jack chose the French and I was very happy to play the Germans as I really enjoyed the many cool toys and Special Rules regarding river crossings. Even though I read the Dinnant rules a couple of weeks before our match, I managed to forget most of them by the time we began.
My set-up was poor and extremely inefficient but the smoke from the fires along with withering fire from my Death Stars on the east bank managed to silence most French targets on the cliffs and provide a safe enough crossing for the bulk of the 7th Panzer. We decided to call it on Turn 6 as most of the German infantry had miraculously crossed the Meuse after losing only 3 loaded boats. Too many Germans and too much time left for the French to hold on.
Game 2 – John Garlic and I finally found a chance to play each other in SP159 The Lisjanka Epitaph. I played as the German player player against his Russians. Regretfully, I forgot to take photos of the game but the game was decided by a ton of 2’s and 12’s being rolled at critical times. Unfortunately for John, the extremes were not evenly distributed between us and he had 3 malfunctioned MA’s by turn two while I had that same number of CH’s.
Game 3 – FrF22 Wunderwaffe vs. Mike McGrath. I had a fantastic time playing Mike. He is incredibly fun to play and he stopped me many times to give me pointers that kept me in the the game. Fast and istictual, Mike is consistently the top echelon of the game. There were a few times where I thought I had an even chance of pulling it off and then his 75LL anti-tank guns made their appearance and shut down half the board while taking three of my KV’s with them. Just when I was ready to make my final suicide rush to the victory building’s, the alarm on Mike’s his phone began to chime, summoning him to the bar to watch a football game. So at the moment of truth, Mike handed me the field. Talk about being saved by the bell. Lot’s of fun and learning from a master.
Game 4 – ABTF1 The Prize vs. Brian Martuszis. Brian, altruistic to a fault, spends each ASLOK exclusively playtesting scenarios for different publishers. We chose an old scenario that was being re-worked for the new ‘Bridges’ CG pack that is in development from MMP. I was the defending SS against some truly bad-ass Paras with mortars, PIATS, FT’s and a 9-2. Luckily I had a few AC’s and HT’s which could scoot around making his movements difficult. It wasn’t long before he KIA’d my entire garrison in the Pillbox on the bridge with a Flamethrower attack, reminiscent of the scene in the movie less the StormTrooper inaccuracy. Now with the Strongpoint gone, all that was left was to climb onto the bridge and exit toward Nijmegen for the win. Unfortunately for Brian he was unable to generate enough SMOKE to block LOS from my PSW222’s sMG HT Fire Lanes on the bridge. As time was waning, the Red Devil’s disappeared back into their fortified position for the terrible battle to come.
Brian Martuszis
Game 5 – MC34 Machine Gun Alley vs. Gary Bartlett. Another Playtest, this time for BFP’s Finnish module and again against another very close friend. This is a scenario where 1st line Finns (me) are attacking from three directions on one board against Russians (Gary) in concrete Pillboxs and Fortified Buildings sporting 3 HMG’s. Taking my lumps trying to get to cover with the help of Gary’s lack of ROF and some timely 11’s and 12’s allowed me to close for a chance at victory by Turn 5. It was now close to 2 AM and Gary had a game in the mini’s at eight so we called it here. Very fun scenario featuring an unstoppable Force colliding with an immovable object. I can’t wait for the new Finnish pack to come out.
Gary Bartlett deep in thought or falling asleep at 2 am.
Wednesday Morning – I was planning on leaving ASLOK early this year as I wanted to visit my father in Montreal so I said my goodbyes, went downstairs to pull the car around and found that my catalytic converter had been donated, without my permission, to someone’s meth addiction. I spent the rest of the morning finding a garage that could get me fixed up and back on the road. On the brightside, I could get another game or two in.
Game 6 – SP259 Corridor to Extinction vs. Jim. This was a friendly laid back game that went back and forth until the JgPzVI took it in the side on turn 4. Then we spent over an hour chatting about careers, sociology, strategy and neat little ASL tricks and made quick work of becoming good friends. This is why I come to ASLOK.
James deciding how to best use his 128L main armament.
Game 7 – NTX02 They Came Like the Rain vs. Ray Woloszyn. By the time the car was ready it was already too late to make the drive to Montreal so my close friend and Kernersville neighbor I picked a tiny scenario where my Japanese Attackers are trying to exit 3 Squads off the far edge past Commonwealth Defending along a hill. By the end of Turn 2 60%+ of both OB’s were eliminated through suicidal Banzai charges and HtH CC. With the help of unending Smoke from my lone knee mortar, I was just able to get my last squad off in the knick of time.
Thursday Morning I said my goodbyes for the second time and hopped on the road. Until next year.
ASL Woodworking Shop Update:
The crew has been working for 3 weeks now and the basement at Ritterkrieg is coming along nicely. The steps have been poured, the lighting is done, the electrical outlets are in, the awning is installed, the land cleared, the walls are painted. Still coming…the windows, door, polished floor, dust collection, HVAC pending and finally tool installation. We are close. Before/after photos soon.
