Heat of Battle Retraction

after many considerations, Steve and I have agreed to continue our great business relationship as it has been for these past years, only as a retailer of his fine products.  Ritterkrieg will not be reprinting any of the modules or countersheets.

 

 

Le Franc Tireur

Ritterkrieg is now distributing for Le Franc Tireur in North America.  This deal is going to bring you their products quicker, cheaper, and more reliably through our store, the other fine stores that already carry LFT, and new stores that are carrying the line for the first time. If your favorite retail store does not carry LFT, please let them know about the product and pass along my number.  We have received the bulk of the existing stock acoss the pond with the brand new KGS Player’s Guide.  In the works is LFT 14, concentrating on the Italians.  This will include a counter sheet with the entire Italian OOB so you can play the included scenarios along with all the other Italian scenarios.

New Product From Le Franc Tireur

 

The player’s guide from LFT has arrived and it is a great addition to one of the best campaign games ever made.

KGS players guide

If you do not own the Kampfgruppe Scherer Module, it can be purchased with the guide for one low price.  This is the last of them and we will not be getting any more.

Spreading Blaze Atlanta Tournament

For the first time ever, I attended Spreading Blaze ASL tournament in Atlanta Georgia.  I really wanted to see and support my friend Gary Bartlett.  I had a wonderful time seeing many old friends and making new friends.  I had a great game and even better conversation with Brian Abela, beat me rotten in WO27 Checking out.  Brian went on to take second to Mike McGrath in the final.  A new rule I learned from Brian (and I was surprised to see almost everyone else we asked got the rule wrong as well) was that you cannot change the CA of a Gun (in Building, Woods, Rubble) in the same phase if it has already taken a shot, even if it retained ROF or is eligible for IF.   What game have I been playing all these years?    My favorite scenarios I played were both from the new Hatten In Flames, which Gary was kind enough to let me test drive.  Great fun if you can get past having 3 ht’s and a PzIVJ destroyed in one phase by hidden Hellcats.   Note the great winter maps

 

Ritterkrieg Products

The dice towers are done and now I am working on the matching trays.  Soon I hope to post a video of the process.

Ritterkrieg Web Page

I am looking to redo the webpage…Completely.  If any of you are web page savvy and have real experience building commercial webpages, please contact me to discuss costs/arrangements. 336-462-4035.

 

About me

It has been a while since I have just chatted with you about where I am and where Ritterkrieg is and where it is going.  It has been a long and dynamic past two years.  My wife and I split in the spring of 2016.  Raising two children, one full time and one half time, along with taking care of the house and two businesses solo for the first time in my life meant that I had to adapt and I had to cut back on certain time consuming activities.  This is the reason the Ritterkrieg posts have gone from about one every week to one every couple of months.  I also get together with my best friend Tim Brieaddy to play about once every 6 weeks now, where we used to play every week.     But like the Soviets after the Battle of Kursk, I can say that the worst is over and I am stronger and more sure of the future than ever before.  I met a wonderful woman (that you may know from attending Where the Iron Crosses Grow Team Tournament or if you follow my personal posts on Facebook) and we plan to marry in the Springtime.  I have also hired another employee at the shop so I am much less overwhelmed than I have been in recent memory.  You may have noticed that packages are once again going out for delivery the same day as they are ordered.  The business is growing from the days where I just wanted to sell some OBA cards near cost, to acquiring the distribution rights to the great products of LFT and HOB and even doing some reprinting of modules that deserve table time once again.  I want to thank all of you, customers and followers for giving me the support to keep doing this.  I always welcome your ideas and love meeting you face to face either at my little tournament or the bigger ones.

 

Our good friend and fellow ASL player Darrell Wright has passed away.  One of the people that was in our lives for all the right reasons.  In his memory, I pledge to appreciate the time we have left with each other by looking up from the map a little more often than before, exchanging a few more stories, and accepting a few more invitations to dine with you or have a drink with you instead of rushing to get in one just one more scenario.  The tournaments will not be the same without you.

This post (cropped) is from Darrell’s father, Bob Wright:

This is to let all of Darrell’s many friends know that he died on Friday, May 18th, while on a trip for work in Baltimore, Maryland. He was 55. He was, without a doubt, the gentlest and sweetest individual one could know, and he will be sorely missed by his family and by everyone who had the good fortune to know him.

 

 

Le Franc Tireur and Ritterkrieg

In an effort to bring LFT to your door and table in a more timely and inexpensive method than ever before, Le Franc Tireur and Ritterkrieg have collaborated to distribute throughout North America from right here in North Carolina.  Not only will this reduce shipping costs from Europe, allowing lower prices to you and your favorite ASL store, but this will also reduce shipping time and inventory woes.   More products, lower prices, quicker turn around.

What is Le Franc Tireur?

Le Franc Tireur, often shortened to LFT because of the difficulty in pronouncing that last word, is a French company, headed by Xavier Vitry which is responsible for some of the absolute best ASL Modules, scenario packs, periodicals, and accessories. Their scarcity and outrageous pricing on ebay once OOP will attest to the quality and collectability.

Periodicals:

Named Le Franc Tireur #1-13, each periodical contains scenarios and articles, usually based on a specific campaign.  There have been 13 of these printed but only LFT 13, dealing with the battles for the Crimea, is still in print.  There is also Kampgruppe Scheer Player’s Guide which is days away from being relaeased.

 

Scenario Packs:

The Scenario packs from LFT are called ‘From The Cellar 1-8’.  The new FTC 8 is still readily available but FTC 5, FTC 6, and FTC 7 are all but gone with only a handful left in inventory worldwide.

Deluxe Pack #1:

With all new artwork that makes the terrain pop, this pack includes new deluxe maps and scenarios.

Modules:

(Thanks to Chris at Battleschool for the photo) LFT has produced 2 Historical modules, St.Nazaire: Operation Chariot and Kampfgruppe Sheer: The Shield of Cholm with maps, counters, historical notes, and designer’s notes.  I find it difficult to convey just how beautiful, well researched, and fun to play these modules are.  Both sold out quickly but we are expecting a tiny reprint of Kampfgruppe Scheer: The shield of Cholm.  Along with the player’s guide, this is our last chance to get our hands on this incredible module.

Accessories:

The ever popular and handy Rat Charts, now in their third version ( v. 2+).  There are less than 100 of these left in print.

 

New to Pre-Order from MMP

Hatten In Flames

we are taking orders now at pre-order price but please not that we will not be shipping before August, 2018

we are taking orders now but please note that we will not be shipping before August, 2018.

ASL Korea, The Forgotten War – What’s in the Box

Once again, I did the video sideways.  Sorry guys.

 

Reinforcements:

Product                                                         Manufacturer                        Expected

Dice Towers                                              Ritter Krieg                         <30 days

KG Scheer  Player’s Guide                LFT                                           <30 days

KG Scherer                                                LFT                                           <60 days

Hatten In Flames                                   MMP                                        <60 days

Red Factories                                          MMP                                         This Year

Starter Kits                                               MMP                                          This Year

Beyond Valor                                          MMP                                          Unknown

Armies of Oblivion                              MMP                                          Unknown

Rising Sun                                                 MMP                                          Unknown

 

 

 

ASL Woodworking:

A little project I have completed.  This is a variation of my ammo crate to store ASL maps.  This one contains a secret drawer for the Deluxe maps.

KG Sheer player’s Guide                    LFT                                           <30 days

Forgotten War Korea

Luanne from MMP informed me that Korea will start shipping to retailers (that’s me) this coming week of the 5th of February. That means all of you extremely patient ASL’ers should hopefully be receiving them by the end of the week/beginning of next week.

 

Armies of Oblivion pre-order

ARMIES OF OBLIVION adds the Axis Minors order of battle to the ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER game system. (Note that for this reprint, a preorder number has been assigned, but we expect to print the module as soon as all components are ready, regardless of whether or not that number has been reached.)

Counters note: We are not including in this reprint the German, Russian, British, and Italian counters that we printed in the original ARMIES OF OBLIVION. We printed the corrected counters for prior modules in BEYOND VALOR 3rd Edition and in FOR KING AND COUNTRY, or will include them in the reprint of HOLLOW LEGIONS. The counters for the German Sturmtiger and SdKfz 10/5 came with prior historical modules, and we printed them in HAKKAA PÄÄLLE!, along with all the new Russian (mostly lend-lease) counters. Instead, we are using that space to print new First Fire counters for optional use that indicate which specific weapon(s) have fired, e.g., First Fire-Inherent, First Fire-MG, First Fire-MA, etc. We hope players will find these useful.

Contents:
• one box and lid
• four 8″ x 22″ geomorphic map boards (48-51)
• overlays Hi8-Hi12, Rv1, Wd12, Wd34
• six countersheets
• Axis Minor Chapter H (pages H143-H172)
• errata pages A51-A62; D21-D26; S27-S34 (Note that pages A51-A62 and D23-D26 were updated in HAKKAA PÄÄLLE!; these updated pages are included here)
• two SASL Axis Minor (Generation and Random Event) cards
• 32 currently out-of-print ASL scenarios, updated and rebalanced as needed, and including:

from PARTISAN!:

27 The Liberation of Tulle
28 Ambush!
29 The Globus Raid
30 Sylvan Death
31 The Old Town
32 Subterranean Quarry
33 The Cossacks Are Coming
34 A New Kind of Foe

from the original printing of ARMIES OF OBLIVION:

111 Balkan Sideshow
112 Out of Cowardice
113 Liberating Bessarabia
114 Cautious Crusaders
115 Huns of Steel
116 The Sixth Blow
117 With Tigers on their Tail
118 Downsizing the Uprising
119 Ancient Feud
120 Return to Sender
121 End Station Budapest

from ASL ANNUALS, ASL JOURNALS, and ACTION PACKS:

A26 Beachhead at Ozereyka Bay
A62 Paole Zion
A81 They Fired on Odessa
J48 Blood Enemies
J83 Bloody Nose
122 Extracurricular Activity
J107 Operation Schwarz
J108 Danica Air
J109 Break for Hungary
J112 Prelude to Dying
J129 Mountain Hunters
AP45 Reaping Rewards
AP49 Retrained and Rearmed

Wacht Am Rhein, second edition – Volume 1

George at LCP has released an updated Wacht Am Rhein.  This version has counters too.

 

 

Winter Offensive 2018 #9

 

Did someone say Deluxe?  This year’s W.O. is all Deluxe, featuring 5 new scenarios and 4 new map boards designed in the exact style of the original modules Streets of Fire and Hedgerow Hell.  Pricing disclosure: This pack is sold with all profits going to charity so the pricing structure is exactly at my cost including shipping, Paypal fees and packaging (MMP does not offer a wholesale discount to retailers on the W.O. packs) .

 

Friends in the ASL community

Lest we forget that the best part of this great hobby is the wonderful friends we make who share our passions with us.  I am so sad to say that two among us have left this world in January and will be sorely missed.  Goodbye to Seth Owen and Bartow Riggs.  Our community is that much less without you.  Give our regards to all the war heroes that you meet in the next life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go Fund Me for the Argent family: Perry Cocke has starter a go-fund me to help with the medical bills for the Argent family.   Please follow the link to help out

https://www.gofundme.com/supporting-the-argent-family

 

 

On a happier note… My good friend Nader ElFarra, a pillar of the ASL community, surprised me with this awesome coaster in the mail today.  Thank you for your generosity and friendship.

 

 

Armies Of Oblivion – Pre-order

MMP has begun shipping ASL Korean War and by all accounts it is another fine gem in the ASL catalog.  If you missed the special pre-order price from MMP, you can still order it her for that price for  another few days.  As soon as MMP finishes shipping their pre-orders, we should be receiving and shipping your orders to you (Probably 2-3 weeks).

 

Objective: Schmidt

The first copies of Objective Schmidt from BFP are finally arriving and should be shipping out to you no later than Tuesday.  Thank you all so much for your patience.  You can still order a copy of Obj: Schmidt here for the pre-order price of $88 shipping included.

Dice Case

Exclusively from Ritterkrieg, we are offering this hard case, foam lined storage container for your Battledice.  What better way to protect, organize, and show off your collection of precision ASL dice.  The case can store up to 92 dice (50 x 16mm, 36 x 14mm, & 6 x12.5mm).

 

 

 

 

Actual film footage from our tournament last year.

‘Where the Iron Crosses Grow’ Team Tournament

The 4th Annual ‘Where the Iron Crosses Grow’ ASL Team Tournament will be held March 23th – 25th 1st, 2018.  World renowned as being the best and oldest ASL Team Tournament in the entire Kernersville, NC Area.

Spirit Of The Event:  This event is held for fun.  If you are the type of player that never looks up from the table to make eye contact with your opponent, doesn’t make small talk or tell stories, will only play scenarios that you have mastered, or get’s offended by jokes about Ken’s mom, then you might not have a good time being here and we probably won’t have a good time having you here.  Sorry to be so blunt but we take our lack of seriousness very seriously.

Format:  Team Tournament. Each team is made up of 1 Veteran, 1 intermediate, and 1 Novice player.  Each player plays round-robin games against the other players in their class gaining points for their team.

Location: 918 Maxine St. Kernersville, NC. 27284.

When: Friday March 23rd–Sunday March 25th, 2018 (open play begins Friday but the tournament begins Saturday)

Cost: Free (but bring money to pitch in for Pizza)

Accomodations: Ray Woloszyn and I may both have room for travelers to stay with us at our homes (Ray lives in the neighborhood next to mine) unless you are really creepy.

Scenario list: None.  Play something that you would like to play not what I would like you to play.  All scenarios choices are upon mutual agreement of the players.

Prizes: Too many to mention.  Plus some participation awards so everyone feels like a  winner.

Limited Space and Availability:  There are only 16 spots total for this event so register early.

Players confirmed

Contact information:

Derek Ritter 336-462-4035 or E-mail

BFP’s Objective: Schmidt

BFP just announced that they are 4-6 weeks from shipping this pack so we are taking orders now so we can get these out to you on the day they come in.

 

Black Friday Coupon:

10% off most items in stock, minimum purchase of $100 (no pre-orders). Expires 11/26/2017. Enter coupon code ‘turkey 2017’. Don’t forget to add your free product (see below) to your cart as well.

End of year special:

Spend $100 and chose one of the following items for free!

Anzio – New LCP Scenario Pack –

Estimated shipping date: November 16th

This 7 scenario pack comes with 140 counters representing the Herman Goering Panzer Division and the FSSF.  All this for only $16 shipping included!  Don’t forget to add the new St. Lo campaign game from LCP with this order if you don’t already have it.

Friendly Fire 11 – Eight Scenarios

Estimated shipping date: November 16th

we are waiting on shipment of the brand new Friendly Fire.  You can order it now to ensure that it ships out the day it arrives here (Hopefully next week).  We are also running a special on the entire Friendly Fire Collection of 11 scenario packs.

FrF85 Junkers Junkyard

Ypenburg Airfield, Netherlands, May 10, 1940: The Germans had an ambitious plan: to knock The Nether-lands out of the war in a single day. Airborne troops would first capture three airfields near The Hague, then the Dutch cabinet and the queen. Ypenburg airfield was defended by two grenadier companies, about two dussin AA guns and six Landsverk armored cars. An early-morning bombing attack and Fallschirmjäger both failed to neutralize the AA defenses, and the slow Junkers carrying the airlanded main force met a devastating fire as they came in for their approach.

Designer: Mattias Rönnblom

FrF86 Belgian Tigers

Kapelle op den Bos, Belgium, May 17, 1940: In 1935, the Belgian government agreed to purchase 25 French-built AMC 35 tanks, armed with a 47 mm gun and a Hotchkiss MG. Over the next years, for economic and political reasons, the order was reduced to only 10 vehicles. When Hitler’s army invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940, the AMC 35s were the best armored vehicles in the Belgian arsenal. By 16 May, German forces had broken through Belgian lines along the entire front and two of these tanks were about to charge into battle for the first time.

Designers:

• Peter Struijf
• Chris Mazzei

FrF87 Mormal Forest

Northwest of Locquignol, France, May 20, 1940: The battle of France raged on. The 4. Panzer-Division was tasked to seize Aulnoye-Maroilles line and continue to secure the northwest edge of the Mormal forest. The division’s reconnaissance battalion passed through the forest near Locquignol without enemy interference. Two hours later, the reinforced Schützen-Regiment 12 followed in its tracks. By then the road was closed by competent hands of French colonial troops supported by Renault R35 tanks of the 39e bataillon de chars de combat.

Designer: Mattias Rönnblom

FrF88 Panzer Shield

Ryschkowka, Belarus, July 13, 1941: On 12 July, Guderian’s Panzergruppe 2 had two bridgeheads across the Dnepr; one east of Kopys and Shklov and the Bykhov bridgehead south of Mogilev. Mogilev’s defenses had been under construction since late June, and were by now deep and extensive, with minefields, anti-tank ditches, trenches and log bunkers — all in an reminiscent of World War I. XXIV. Armeekorps was to attack out of the bridgehead to the north, and destroy the enemy southeast of Mogilev and open the Dnepr crossing, but its 4. Panzer-Division was quickly forced on the defensive.

Designer: Mattias Rönnblom

FrF89 Red Tears Shed on Gray

Karpova, Ukraine, August 18, 1941: Under German-backed dictator Antonescu, Rumania joined its Nazi ally in the fateful Operation Barba-rossa. After two months of defeats, the Soviet Army in the Ukraine was reeling. Second line units, factory militia and ageing equipment were thrown into the path of the Axis invaders. On 17 August, the Rumanian 11th Infantry Division approached the town of Karpova, a key railway junction 30 km northwest of Odessa. The factories and warehouses near the railway station were defended by a ragtag company of Soviet units.

Designers:

• Peter Struijf
• Chris Mazzei

FrF90 Speed is the Essence of War

Slim River, Malaya, January 7, 1942: The British were in full retreat from northern Malaya. Two battered Indian brigades were arranged in depth back through Trolak to the Slim River bridge. In the early morning hours of 7 January, a Japanese tank company accompanied by truck-borne infantry charged down the road. The Japanese tanks quickly overran the bulk of the 12th Brigade, and next up for lighting-fast defeat was the 28th Brigade. Because of very poor British communications, the brigade were unaware of the impending threat, and the Japanese caught them on the move.

Designer: Mattias Rönnblom

FrF91 Moonlight Drive

North of Yigo, Guam, August 8, 1944: Although the Japanese had been blasted out of Yigo, they had enough strength remaining to trouble the US 77th Infantry Division. Encouraged by a recent armored night raid, which had wreaked havoc in the lines of the 305th Infantry Regiment, the Japanese decided to put the 306th to the same test. Late in the evening, several enemy infantry patrols felt out the American positions. At 02:00 tanks were heard approaching from the north. The Americans readied bazookas and flame-throwers, the only anti-tank weapons available in the moonlit night.

Designers:

• Peter Struijf
• Chris Mazzei

FrF92 Arms Race

Lonnecker bridge, Twente Canal, Netherlands, April 1, 1945: The British Guards Armoured Division were ordered to break through the German lines and reach Hamburg via Bremen. In other sectors, the Germans were in full rout, but ahead of the British tankers was the experienced and battered, but still cohesive, 7. Fallschirmjäger-Division. A step on the way was the Lonneker bridge between the Dutch towns of Hengelo and Enschede, and the rocket-equipped Shermans of the 2. Squadron, 1st Battalion set to capture it in a surprise attack.

 

Hidden Gems:

I just realized that I have had these FTC packs (FTC 5,6, and 7) in stock for over a year and never posted them to the web site for sale. These scenario packs are on sale and in stock now:

Also, remember to order the brand new From The Cellar 8 which should be arriving this month.  Order all 4 and get a free T-shirt (click on t-shirt and select your size (scroll down to the free t-shirts, the photo will not match but do not worry, you will get this uber cool red Tiger shirt)).

 

Xavier and the gang from LFT have released the newest installment of From the Cellar.  It is on the way to us and will ship to you the moment it arrives (hopefully the second week of November).  Click on the image below to order your discounted copy with free shipping.

From the Cellar pack 8

Estimated shipping date: November 23rd

New Episode from the Two Half Squads

Action Pack XIII

ASL Action Pack #13: ASL Oktoberfest XXXII

The ASLOK XXXII pack builds on the success of the ASL Oktoberfest XXX pack, and highlights the design and playtesting talents of Ohio’s finest. Guided by veteran playtesters and tournament directors Bret Hildebran and Bill Hayward, the expert scenario designers Bill Sisler and Pete Shelling bring us eleven scenarios ranging from 1939 Poland to 1945 Hungary, with stops in Ukraine, Russia, New Guinea, Burma, Italy, France, and Belgium along the way. Place names like Vistula, Balta, Luga, Bougainville, Myitkyina, Elba, Caen, Falaise, and Bastogne will all ring a bell. These scenarios will stretch your tactical knowledge and skills, with many different situations (although no night actions—so sad). Some are infantry only, one is armor only (almost), but most feature combined arms. Assault engineers with all their toys are featured, and the King of Battle makes its appearance in the form of offboard artillery in several scenarios. Along with the “typical” Russian, German, and American battles, these scenarios also involve Poles (both 1939 and 1944 versions), British, Japanese, Chinese, the Free French, and the SS (of all different squad types).

The two new boards bring added flexibility to the system and are integral to most of the scenarios. Board 78 is a true wilderness board (no buildings) featuring a brush-covered ridge along its length. Board 79 provides a new river, three to five hexes wide, with a village strung out along both banks. Both highlight the steady skills of Charlie Kibler and are sure to see wide use in future scenario design. With great boards and great scenarios, Action Pack #13 is sure to be a big hit.

Action Pack #13: ASL Oktoberfest XXXII contains:
• two 8˝ × 22˝ geomorphic mapboards (78, 79)
• eleven ASL scenarios:
• AP121 Along the Vistula – 6½ turns, 15 September 1939, Warsaw, Poland
• AP122 Mechanized Sacrifice – 6½ turns, 24 June 1941, Lutsk, Ukraine
• AP123 Busting in Balta – 6 turns, 3 August 1941, Balta, Ukraine
• AP124 Lunch in Luga – 8 turns, 24 August 1941, Luga, Russia
• AP125 Ambush on South Knob – 6 turns, 10 March 1944, Bougainville, New Guinea
• AP126 Maryuma’s Stronghold – 7½ turns, 18 May 1944, Myitkyina, Burma
• AP127 The First Virtue – 6½ turns, 17 June 1944, Elba, Italy
• AP128 Flight of Fancy – 6½ turns, 8 July 1944, Herouville, France
• AP129 A Polish Battlefield – 7½ turns, 20 August 1944, Hill 262, France
• AP130 Mageret Morning – 7 turns, 8 January 1945, Mageret, Belgium
• AP131 Crickets in Spring – 7 turns, 7 March 1945, Aranyos-Puszta, Hungary

BattleSchool releases Fire For Effect OBA draw tokens:

I only have one of these sets in stock and Chris is sold out so no backorders will be taken.

 

 

Tank Hunter Hero Battledice In Stock

KWASL Box Art photo released by Chas:

Remember that we offer the same pre-order price as MMP and we throw in free shipping.  Click on the photo to pre-order.

 

My experience and photos from ASLOK XXXII

I always try to arrive a day or two before the actual tourney starts.  It allows me to get my usual table in the small room and get a few informal games in with the Europeans who make the most of their airfare by showing up early.

My first game was against Hennie from Holland.  We played ‘Ambush on South Knob’ from the new Action Pack.  I had the honor of trying to pry some GI’s out of a bunker on the top of a jungle hill.  As so many PTO scenarios end, one bad CC roll finished off my hopes for the V.  As fate would have it, I would get my chance for revenge in the Desert Mini.

 

My second game was as the Russian player against Chris Brackney.  We played AP131 Cricket in Spring.  My three Russian guns did enough damage to turn the tide against the German attackers.  Nice to finally meet and play Chris.

 

My third game was against Chris Mazzei from Germany.  I played as the German attackers against his defending French in FrF87 Mormal Forest.  Everything went to hell in the first two turns as I gambled with a mad rush with loaded halftracks trying to get behind his lines early and force him into a counterattack.  His tanks and hidden AT GUN made quick work of my AFV’s and their riders.  Almost conceding after turn 2,  I decided to hang in for one more turn to see how my infantry push fared in CC.  Well, one lucky CC after another finally overwhelmed the French and their personal moral and I pulled off an unlikely win without any ht’s. On a side note, neither one of my guns got off a single shot as my initial placement was quite horrible and the ART too heavy to move.

 

Game 4 was against my good friend and fellow Canadian Jeff Wasserman.  Every year I try to make a point of playing Jeff, Andy, and Wei who travel in together from the Toronto area.  We played yet another one from the new Action Pack; Mechanized Sacrifice.  In this almost all armor battle, billions of radioless AFV’s swarm over a raised road into German armored cars and halftracks trying desperately to get off the board.  The Germans get some PzIII’s as reinforcements (have I mentioned that PzIII’s are my favorite thing in the whole world?).  Although in this one too, I thought I had lost early, I was able to, with the help of some great ROF, stop the Russians from getting sufficient numbers off.

 

Game 5 was against Gary Batlett from Florida.  Although I have been friends with Gary for some years now, this was our first time ever playing each other,  Unfortunately, I don’t know what happened to the AAR or photos.  I can say that we had a great time and I look forward to seeing him again soon.

 

Intermission:  Tuesday night we partook in the second annual Game of Thrones the board game event.  I was able to win the game and lose a bunch of friends in the process as we backstabbed and lied to each other as is necessary to stand a chance at victory.  I look forward to betraying and being betrayed again next year.

The Mini’s

I didn’t sign up for any of the mini tournaments prior to attending so I was put in Desert Mini as Brett needed one more player to make it an even eight.  I had only played two or three desert games prior to this so I wasn’t expecting much of a showing on my part.  My first game was against Hennie in ‘First Clash In Tunisia’  for the chance at evening  the score.  He was gracious enough to allow me to play as the Germans which I dearly wanted as they had PzIII’s (once again, my favorite).  Soon we found that the German force of 8-3-8’s, flame throwers, and a 10-2 leader were the unstoppable force and the British were lacking the immovable object to balance this one out.  The ROAR has the British with the advantage but honestly I don’t see how.  Hennie played a great game and had a solid set-up but the withering fire from the Afrika Korps was too much for the Tommies to withstand. On to round 2.

 

 

 

 

Next up was against defending Desert champion Andy Beaton in ‘Two Pounds in Return’.  This scenario featured tiny British vehicles scooting past captured British trucks armed with 2 pounders.  The German ROF of 3 did just enough damage to carry me through to the finals.

 

The Finals were against the Desert Black Belt Doug Sheppard.  Doug was actually the first player who showed me the desert ropes at ASLOK a few years ago.  We played J186 ‘Castles on the Horizon’.  I once again got to play with Pz.III’s so I was as happy as can be.  Blessed by so crucial breakdowns of Doug’s mortar and machine guns, I was able to overwhelm the last Hillock summit in take for the upset.  A great game agains a fun and worthy opponent.  I know it will be a while before I repeat my good fortune against him.

Rumor Mill:

According to confidential sources inside the ASL White House, SK2 and SK3 are next on the list for reprint.

Miscellaneous:

Please forgetting to add your free t-shirts to your orders over $150.  They are free!!! Free shirt, free shipping, free non-re-usable yellow padded envelope, free visit from the mail man, free explanation to the wife of where your new threads came from.  It’s free and you earned it!

ASLOK is only 3 weeks away.  I can’t wait to see all my friends including Nadir who is coming in from California. Hopefully we will get a game in and maybe even take a break from ASL and try out Operation Mercury.  I will be bringing Game of Thrones Board Game again, mostly to ruin Andy Beaton’s Saturday night once more.   I will be bringing lots of goodies at discounted prices.  I hope to see all of you there!

Battle Dice:

New from Chris are the British God Save The King (16mm) and Belgium (16mm).  Don’t forget the recently released Hungarian and  Romanian dice sets as well.

Festung Budapest:

Luanne just informed me that MMP has officially sold out of Festung Budapest.  The last printing was a partial print to make use of all the extras that were left over from the first run.  We do have a few copies left in stock in case you still haven’t gotten yours.  This is probably your last chance to ever get your hands on this gem before it hits Extortion-Bay at $400  again.

 

ASL Starter Kit Expansion Pack #1:

The very popular expansion pack #1 is out of stock again both with us and at MMP.  Hopefully they will reprint it again soon.

 

Free T-Shirt

This is just a reminder that you get a free t-shirt with any order over $150 (pre-orders excluded).  The purpose of this giveaway is to encourage you to combine several smaller orders into one bigger order thus saving me shipping costs.  In return, you get a wonderful t-shirt that will drive the ladies mad with desire.  To get a free t-shirt, click on this link and scroll to the bottom of the page and chose your size.

Ammo box Map Cases

I hope to have a couple of ammo boxes with me for sale at ASLOK for $140.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rat Charts  v.2+ (new charts and errata)by Le Franc Tireur

The OOP Rat Charts are on their way to us and will be sent to you with free shipping the day they arrive.  The price is at the ever low $32 Shipping included.

 

The Drive For St. Lo:

one Canuck Publishing just announced the release of Battle for the Hedgerows: The Drive for St. Lo. This is a complete campaign game map, CG rules, and 5 scenarios for a low  price of just $27.00 There are few ASL comp products that offer as much value as LCP’s CG’s.

New Posts from Hong Kong Wargamer:

BFP14 Opening Phase

Angkorfest 2017 The Book of Five Kings

 

 

Tournament Info:

ASLOK October 1st-8th, 2017

Winter Offensive January 12th-15th, 2018

Where the Iron Crosses Grow (Late March, 2018)

 

Low Inventory Warning:

Kampfgruppe Scherer:

(1 copy left, as far as I know, these are OOP from LFT).  Box has some damage in shipment from Cambodia to us.

Movie Review:*

Dunkirk – 1 Star

First let me start by saying that I was expecting very little after seeing the trailer but then was expecting a lot after seeing the great reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.  Boy was I disappointed.

Although the footage of the Spits were quite beautiful, after watching the air to air combat scenes which felt more like a training video for a flight simulator game app for my iphone, I realized even I could have been a fighter ace if the German pilots were this stupid and without skill. The films character development was non-existent. I knew as much about the characters in the first five minutes as I did when I was (happily) exiting the theatre.  One good thing was there was no love story.  For that, they would have needed some dialogue.  At one point, one of the soldiers threatened to shoot one of his one men for not talking enough (no joke).    The beach scenes went from crowds of  10,000 soldiers to 5 soldiers and then back again.  And then there was the ‘hero’ of Dunkirk. Singlehandedly,  this young boy got on a boat, hit his head, died, and ,,, well that’s it.  Next he is in his local paper as the hero of Dunkirk.  WTF?  am I missing something?  I must have gone to get a refill on my $11 bag of popcorn when he beat back a great white shark attack with his Swiss Army knife.  I saw a total of one colonial French soldier which may not seem like a lot until you realize that he alone could have defended against the two German soldiers that made a 4 second appearance at the very end of the movie.   The director made it clear that 400,000 allied soldiers were running from 2 German soldiers with Mausers, 2 Heinkel 111’s, 5 Stukas, 4 Me-109’s, and a torpedo.

*I am not a student of the arts, I am a mechanic, so please consider that I don’t really know what I am talking about.