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Could someone write a small summary of ASL so that I can put that on the OP? Check the sub-categories section for ideas. I've already done COIN/OCS.
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Jun 23, 2016 10:26
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Jobbo_Fett posted:According to the latest newsletter it is "Guaranteed out by the end of this summer" The date I heard passed around was July 17th but you know how these things go... My Soviet and German armies are organized neatly, Rising Sun is ready to be punched and clipped.I got the LFT RAT POCKET CHARTS which is a terrific thing. Yanks is on pre-order (there are some really good prices out there right now from Ritter Krieg and NWS Wargaming Store) and I'm in negotiations for a copy of Red Barricades and West of Alamein (assuming I lose the ebay auction I'm in for For King and Country). Also I have a solo play of "The Tractor Works" on my dining room table in progress. I would have to say this idiotic obsession is coming along nicely...
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Jun 23, 2016 12:35
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he1ixx posted:Ritter Krieg Derek Ritter (the guy that runs Ritterkrieg) is my most common IRL ASL opponent, really great guy  Everybody support his store!
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Jun 23, 2016 13:00
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Tekopo posted:Could someone write a small summary of ASL so that I can put that on the OP? Check the sub-categories section for ideas. I've already done COIN/OCS. he1ixx posted:idiotic obsession
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Jun 23, 2016 13:01
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Tekopo posted:Yep, A&A is more than welcome in this thread. I was never a huge fan of the DDay A&A (it had really weird timescaling where you'd be taking over Caen around when Omaha fell) but the Battle of the Bulge one had a neat mechanic for supply as a physical unit that could be captured or destroyed, and a lot of German strategy revolved around stealing the Allied supply depots with as little damage as possible.
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Jun 23, 2016 13:10
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Tekopo posted:Could someone write a small summary of ASL so that I can put that on the OP? Check the sub-categories section for ideas. I've already done COIN/OCS. Real answer: Advanced Squad Leader If you ever wanted to model any given battle, in the entirety of World War 2, in excruciating detail at the tactical level, then ASL is for you! Each 1/2" counter either represents a single man (e.g. a leader), or a group of 3-5 men (a squad). There are also 5/8" counters for every single vehicle that existed in World War 2, as well as every single manned gun (e.g. German 8.8 cm "eighty-eight" guns, or British 40mm Bofors anti-air guns). And when I say that ANY battle is represented, there are well over 1000 ASL scenarios out there. But fear not! There is a stripped-down version of the ASL rule set called "ASL Starter Kit", that is a much easier entry-point to the system. Starter Kit doesn't have fun things like fires or buildings crumbling. Full ASL tells incredibly detailed stories - nothing can beat being upstairs from your opponent in the same building, and throwing a Molotov cocktail downstairs, only to have it catch the building on fire and then rubble it, killing you both. If you want to get into full ASL, you'll have to buy the 2nd edition Rulebook (ASLRB), as well as Beyond Valor, which includes all of the game system counters. After that, go hog wild and buy whatever you want! Beginner: ASL Starter Kit #1 Intermediate: Beyond Valor (ASL Module #1) Advanced: [...insert ASL dependency chart here...]
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Jun 23, 2016 13:47
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StashAugustine posted:I was never a huge fan of the DDay A&A (it had really weird timescaling where you'd be taking over Caen around when Omaha fell) but the Battle of the Bulge one had a neat mechanic for supply as a physical unit that could be captured or destroyed, and a lot of German strategy revolved around stealing the Allied supply depots with as little damage as possible. Well that *was* the original plan so  A&A Pacific is alright, still got my copy but never play it since I rarely crack out 2-player games. It's interesting in that the Japanese have multiple avenues to victory - they can attempt to directly invade India or Australia, or take a certain amount of the Pacific and then wait out the inevitable American counterstroke. It does have some weird things going on like the use of subs to slow enemies down, which while historical the actual mechanic is not really set up in the rule book. Also the Japanese turn one takes forrrrreeeeever. Deliciousham posted:Also i would be lying if i could even comment on US involvement in ww1, but they don't seem to make a difference in this game for us. The Americans were absolutely vital to allied victory in the war. The whole point of the German spring offensives (which ended up failing at huge cost to the Germans) was that there was a brief window between the fall of Russia and the arrival of the yanks where Germany had a manpower advantage, and they had to try to win the war there and then. Otherwise, the allied plan was to build up till 1919, load a ridiculous number of US divisions with French Renault tanks and roll all the way to Berlin. If the US had not joined the war the Germans would have been able to sit in Northern France with a numerical superiority till the political will ran out in France or Britian - or until the blockade caused the home front to collapse in Germany.
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Jun 23, 2016 13:53
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Really A&A would be a lot better if the combat wasn't an interminable dicefest, there doesn't seem to be a lot of games in its particular niche (casual WWII strategy)
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Jun 23, 2016 15:15
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StashAugustine posted:Really A&A would be a lot better if the combat wasn't an interminable dicefest, there doesn't seem to be a lot of games in its particular niche (casual WWII strategy) Unless you count Quartermaster General, which turns the dial way too far towards casual.
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Jun 23, 2016 15:26
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COOL CORN posted:I actually thought about doing some like... ASL 101 lessons. Like, a series of posts that would get you up to speed in playing the Starter Kit 1 scenarios. Yo, hook me up so I can help.
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Jun 23, 2016 15:38
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Yikes, I played a solitare game of CL as Government and got my rear end kicked again. In final scoring, Syndicate had a margin of +1, M26 had 0, Directorio had -3, and I ended up with -4. By game end I only had support in Havana and La Habana, and the rebels tied me up in knots around the island. This despite the fact I was trying to pick on the mob as much as possible; money's really tight after your USA relationship goes south.
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Jun 23, 2016 15:43
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Finally beat the bots as M26 last night! I focused on building up forces in La Habana, then Pinar del Rio, so I could use the Syndicate like an ATM (Raul helped). Meanwhile, DR kept the Government tied up in the middle of the country. The Government got Rolando Masferrer right after a Propaganda round, but my forces were all in forests and mountains at the time, which really cuts down on his effectiveness. The final Propaganda card was the last card in the deck! By that time I'd managed to terrorize Havana a few times and the Government didn't have enough resources to do much Civic Action. Note that the Syndicate still ended up with maximum resources. A very satisfying win. Every faction came close to an early victory.  EDIT: I see that DR should have 2 more VPs for control of Las Villas, but that wouldn't be enough to win. CaptainRightful fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Jun 23, 2016 |
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Jun 23, 2016 15:54
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The General posted:I seriously wish ASL wasn't so ridiculous to get into and that starter kit #1 was in Stock anywhere. Don't know your shipping situation but Noble Knight Games has them. http://www.nobleknight.com/ViewProducts.asp_Q_ProductLineID_E_2137430997_A_ManufacturerID_E_-1892478343_A_CategoryID_E_13_A_GenreID_E_
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Jun 23, 2016 17:16
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At one point in the distant past my dad was a big ASL player, moved, sold the stuff, moved, bought some again, moved, gave it to me. So I've had a 1st ed rulebook and unpunched 1st ed Beyond Valor, Yanks, Paratrooper, and Solitatire ASL in the basement. I've been resisting getting into it despite the fact that it sounds like something I would really enjoy because A) the rulebook is stupidly awkward to read, being a giant binder B) my completionist/collector streak combined with my large quantity of disposable income would interact very badly with the system RE the amount of poo poo I have lying around my house untouched. Long story short, I've ordered the paperback 2nd ed rulebook because I feel stupid having all that poo poo downstairs not getting played (along with like 30 other games including cool poo poo like VG's Vietnam and Hell's Highway). Coincidentally I've chosen to get into OCS at the same time. God save my wallet. Edit: Where can you buy those pocket charts?
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Jun 23, 2016 17:23
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Jobbo_Fett posted:Yo, hook me up so I can help. Is it me or is the Ordnance stuff in Chapter C the most confusing poo poo ever? Holy moly.
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Jun 23, 2016 17:28
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SavageMessiah posted:A) the rulebook is stupidly awkward to read, being a giant binder Bit think of the modularity! THE MODULARITY!!!!!! SavageMessiah posted:Edit: Where can you buy those pocket charts? Usually Le Franc Tireur website but looks like they're out of stock at the moment. Those bad boys are very popular. I probably should've picked one up when I had the chance 
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Jun 23, 2016 17:28
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SavageMessiah posted:
http://asl-battleschool.blogspot.ca/ Down on the left side of the page.
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Jun 23, 2016 17:36
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SavageMessiah posted:At one point in the distant past my dad was a big ASL player, moved, sold the stuff, moved, bought some again, moved, gave it to me. So I've had a 1st ed rulebook and unpunched 1st ed Beyond Valor, Yanks, Paratrooper, and Solitatire ASL in the basement. I've been resisting getting into it despite the fact that it sounds like something I would really enjoy because A) the rulebook is stupidly awkward to read, being a giant binder B) my completionist/collector streak combined with my large quantity of disposable income would interact very badly with the system RE the amount of poo poo I have lying around my house untouched. Good job on buying the paperback 2nd Ed rulebook. I bought that (of course I already owned the binder) because going to play at people's houses was much easier with a smaller book to carry. I understand your collector/completionist thing as I'm really hip deep in deals for the modules that I don't have and some are VERY hard to find (like that Solitaire module you have). Some notes to think about. Yanks is in pre-order now. Get it while you can. Red October is coming out next year or the year after. It is a re-release of Red Barricades and much more. For the other stuff, honestly it makes sense to get whatever is easily available now since it goes out of print and when it does, you're boned. I see out of print copies of things like For King and Country going for $300 on some sites. Patience (not my strong suit) is key for this stuff. I would also recommend everyone interested getting into the ASL Slack chat started by the guys who do the 2 Half Squads podcast. Email them at: the2halfsquads@gmail.com to join up. I'm in there as well as many of the more well-known ASL'ers mentioned in this thread before (like Olli who has that crazy collection of stuff) and scenario designers. I'm the guy with the DM Counter for an avatar if you end up in there. The Rat charts are found here: http://asl-battleschool.blogspot.com Down the left hand side there's a place to buy them. They have a few typos and mistakes but by and large they are fantastic play-aids. 
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Jun 23, 2016 17:40
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Erghh posted:Don't know your shipping situation but Noble Knight Games has them. Being canadian sucks, because the starter kit is only $21, but I'm betting after shipping I could make it around $60 of my monopoly dollars. Edit: Lets see here... $21.95 for the game, $15 for 14-60 (Or would I want 21-45) day shipping... Do some calculations and get... Just shy of $50 
The General fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Jun 23, 2016 |
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Jun 23, 2016 17:41
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Here is a taste of what you're headed for (via Olli)     
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Jun 23, 2016 17:45
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The General posted:Solitaire ASL (2nd Edition) Our Price: $449.95. Okay, there's also one there $395.00 Those prices are outrageous to me (right now) with so much other stuff to play. This is a game that plays quite well solo without the Solitaire add on too. Plus I have some PBEM games going via VASL (thanks to that Slack group). They're really helping me learn the game.
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Jun 23, 2016 17:50
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COOL CORN posted:Real answer: So if you get the ASLRB and Beyond Valor, you don't need SK1?
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Jun 23, 2016 17:55
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Finster Dexter posted:So if you get the ASLRB and Beyond Valor, you don't need SK1? Correct.
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Jun 23, 2016 17:56
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Finster Dexter posted:So if you get the ASLRB and Beyond Valor, you don't need SK1? Two different paths. ASLRB + BV = regular full-blown ASL. SK1 = starter kit, made-for-babies ASL.
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Jun 23, 2016 17:59
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If I were MMP, I would release a cross-referenced HTML version of the RB for free and sell counters, maps, and scenarios.
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Jun 23, 2016 18:09
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I hadn't planned on getting the new Yanks since I already have Yanks and Paras. The only thing I'd be missing out on is the new scenarios they added, right? Edit: Ordered the RAT charts  Let's do this 
SavageMessiah fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Jun 23, 2016 |
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Jun 23, 2016 18:15
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SavageMessiah posted:I hadn't planned on getting the new Yanks since I already have Yanks and Paras. The only thing I'd be missing out on is the new scenarios they added, right? And better quality counters, yeah. Finster Dexter posted:If I were MMP, I would release a cross-referenced HTML version of the RB for free and sell counters, maps, and scenarios. Some speak in hushed tones of an eASLRB that exists out in the wild...
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Jun 23, 2016 18:27
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COOL CORN posted:Some speak in hushed tones of an eASLRB that exists out in the wild... and a hyperlinked web version too...
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Jun 23, 2016 18:28
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he1ixx posted:and a hyperlinked web version too... You've said too much, you fool! The spirit of Curt Schilling will come to you in the night
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Jun 23, 2016 18:29
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Stay Safe, Board Game General!
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Jun 23, 2016 18:39
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he1ixx posted:and a hyperlinked web version too... I had this at one point in time (and feel no guilt whatsoever, given the amount of ASL-poo poo I've purchased over the years, including, obviously, the 2nd edition rulebook). I got about 50% of the way through updating it with the ridiculous amounts of errata (I'm not computer savvy, so I was sort of figuring out how to do the updating as I went along, by trial and error). Now I think it is lost somewhere on the hard drive of my prior computer, and I have no idea how to get it again. The fact that they have not gotten this done as a company, when individuals have made brilliant versions of it as a labor of love, is just pathetic. (And no, the whole, "We're not able to make electronic versions of rulebooks because our license with Hasbro expressly forbids it is, so far as I can tell, a bunch of bullshit made up by fanboys who want to defend MMP's ridiculous practices - it appears to have, from my actual research on the issue, no real basis in reality.)
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Jun 23, 2016 18:41
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SlyFrog posted:I had this at one point in time (and feel no guilt whatsoever, given the amount of ASL-poo poo I've purchased over the years, including, obviously, the 2nd edition rulebook). I think it's more because isn't the whole company like 5 people or something? And only one or two of those actually work on ASL. Might be misremembering but I think that might be the case. I mean, they should probably just contract it out but that would take 
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Jun 23, 2016 18:58
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SavageMessiah posted:including cool poo poo like VG's [...] Hell's Highway This is still a good game if you can stand VG graphic design! I also have a copy, played a part of the campaign few years ago and had great time.
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Jun 23, 2016 18:58
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Obfuscation posted:This is still a good game if you can stand VG graphic design! I also have a copy, played a part of the campaign few years ago and had great time. Yeah it's definitely on my list to dig out and learn but I keep buying new stuff 
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Jun 23, 2016 19:06
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COOL CORN posted:You've said too much, you fool!  I ended up scanning my rulebook into PDF format and using DevonThink to index it. I end up reading that version a lot on my Mac or iPad when I'm bored. On a related note, surprisingly (maybe only to me) I had to break a bunch of the rules into a second binder. The first one was too full... so. many. rules. he1ixx fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Jun 23, 2016 |
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Jun 23, 2016 19:27
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Re: A&A chat My game night group has played A&A 1914 quite a few times. We ended up house ruling it a little bit because the first few games played exactly the same and it seemed like there were some balancing issues with the starting unit placements (mostly we added a research tree like you would find in some of the WWII A&A games). Also Germany's u-boats barely do anything with the printed rules. Overall we've never seen the USA accomplish anything because by the time they can enter the war it's already decided for one side or the other, maybe they act as a speedbump for the central powers but we've never seen them turn the tide of war if the allies were already losing. Most of our games capped out at 6 or 7 players so it was dual Russia/USA control, and if they allies were losing USA entry was around the time the Russian player was getting taken out of the game anyway. My group much prefers A&A 1914 because of the unit variety and the contested territories and the fact that combined arms in that game can actually make a difference. Most of us have played various WWII A&A games on and off since we started having game nights in college a decade ago, I don't think we've even touched the anniversary edition since getting 1914 to the table.
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Jun 23, 2016 22:12
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Conquest7706 posted:Re: A&A chat One of the criticisms I've heard about 1914 is that players found themselves running out of pieces in the game. Infantry perhaps? Is this something you've experienced or have they gotten this sorted out since, because I'd like to get this game, but that kind of put me off. Or perhaps it was overblown to begin with.
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Jun 23, 2016 23:14
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If someone tries to over extend themselves in too many territories they can easily run out of infantry pieces. We ran into that the first couple games and the biggest impact of it was getting your infantry from the capital where they are produced to the front lines. Depending on which country it was and where the front was, some people had to send their infantry in bulked out reinforcement waves instead of a slow trickle every turn. We thought it was an intended balancing part of the game although I did look into purchasing more pieces at one point. One of the house ruled research things we adopted, which I think France, Germany, and Russia start the game with, was "rail networks" that gave 2-3 territory movement to units that were moving but not entering combat with their move. This seemed to take care of the problems with running out of pieces, and speed up the games a little bit.
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Jun 24, 2016 15:33
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I'd have to buy a new 1st starter kit for asl, my toddler got into it and peeled the squad counters apart thinking they were stickers. Truly war is hell
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Jun 24, 2016 17:37
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Banana Man posted:I'd have to buy a new 1st starter kit for asl, my toddler got into it and peeled the squad counters apart thinking they were stickers. That is rough business. I would have been in desperation morale mode for sure.
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Jun 24, 2016 21:33
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