Category Archives: Events

You Should Fly to Manila This July to Play ASL

DD2

Dare-Death is the world’s first Chinese ASL magazine created by Richard “Ferguson” Wang and Grandiose Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf G Driver (or “G Driver”. The term “Driver” in Chinese is the equivalence of “Grognard”.) 

You should fly to Manila this July to play Advanced Squad Leader. 

It’s a crazy idea, I know!  You are busy.  You already have a few things planned for the summer.  Your friends and family will think you are nuts to fly to Manila ‘just to play boardgames’. 

You can play ASL where you are.  You can play players around the world on VASL right now.  Why do you have to go to Manila to play ASL? 

This is crazy. 

Crazier still – the more you say it, the less crazy this idea sounds. 

There : I made the first step for you – You should fly to Manila this July to play Advanced Squad Leader. 

I faced the same decision 2 years ago.  I had only started playing ASL for about 6 months at that time.  The Malaysia Madness 2014 tournament (the first Asia Pacific tournament) was coming up.  I didn’t plan to go. 

I thought :

  • I didn’t know anyone there but the other ASL’rs must knew each other already!
  • Why would I want to fly over just to lose 5 straight games?  I could lose all those games just as fast from home.
  • I was a newbie.  The games would be so lopsided that it would just be embarrassing! 

As we drew closer to the Malaya Madness 2014 tournament, both of my ASL mentors, Don Lazov & Jon Halfin said I should go to a tourney at least once.  So I took a leap of faith and it turned out to be one of those decisions that changed my life.  We are not talking about inventing the cure for cancer or anything but my world is not the same after that trip. 

My initial reservations?  NONE OF THEM TRUE. 

  • I didn’t know anyone there but the other ASL’rs must knew each other already!

I thought they were just going to talk and to play with each other.  NEVER HAPPENED. 

I thought that’s because it’s a small tournament.  I went to the NYS ASL Championship (aka “Albany”), one of the highest level ASL tourney in the world at the end of 2014.  DIDN’T HAPPEN THERE either.  ASL’rs are open and friendly everywhere I go. 

  • Why would I want to fly over just to lose 5 straight games?  I could lose all those games just as fast from home, thankyou. 

Face to Face games brings a chemistry that doesn’t exist via other platforms.  The chatter, the shrieks, the comments, the groans and yelps of delight make FtF experiences second to none.  Besides, I got even more opponents to play with and the games got even more fun on VASL after the tourney after we know each other. 

  • I was a newbie.  The games would be so lopsided that it would just be embarrassing! 

The Tourney Director matched players based on their skill levels.  Besides, everyone I met are a total pleasure to play, with or without the context of competition. 

Mayhem in Manila 2016 (Friday July 29 to Sunday July 31) is the second Asia wide tournament.  A lot of people worked very hard to set it up this year.

Players will arrive in Manila on the afternoon of Thursday July 28.  Some will want to play a round of ASL, others will want to do some shopping (perhaps some counter containers for me).  The tournament will start early Friday July 29th. 

There will be 2 games per day on Friday and Saturday, and one last round on Sunday morning.  Players will be matched by the Tournament Director before their first games.  There are 3 scenarios you and your opponent can pick from for each game.  You do that by ranking the 3 scenarios by order of preference.  The scenario ranked #3 by each player is automatically eliminated.  If 2 scenarios remain, the 2 players rank them again, if the 2 players both ranked a scenario #1, they play that scenario.  If they ranked different scenarios #1, then it’s decided by random selection. 

Once the scenario is decided, the two players then bid for sides by the Australian Balancing System described in the Tourney Booklet.  The idea is to accept certain handicaps to gain the right to play the side that you want. 

Each game you win gives you 3 points.  Each game you draw gives you 1 point.  Awards will be given to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd player in points.  There will be a “HtH” award for the player who inflicted the most CVP (Casualty Victory Point) doing Close Combat.  There will also be a “Pacific Sniper” award for the player who got the highest total CVP from kills. 

And do we have prizes!  The Mayhem in Manila 2016 tournament is sponsored by 8 major ASL companies/associations, one of which Multi-Man Publishing. 

For more information, please visit https://mayheminmanila.wordpress.com/tourney-booklet/

If you register before May 1st, the registration fee is USD45.  After May 1st the registration fee will be USD65.  Please register at http://www.meetup.com/Asia-Pacific-ASL/events/227777002/

I have been to a total of 3 tournaments in 3 different countries.  The games were always fun and my opponents were always fair, friendly and helpful.  I learned new tactics.  I saw new approaches to tactical problems.  I gained a group of new friends with which I continue to play more ASL with and even start ASL projects (tourney / design / play testing) with. 

On my way back after the tourney, I messaged Don Lazov from the airport.  Don said :

“I sincerely hope you not only had a lot of fun, learned a bunch of new things, ideas and concepts, but most important (beside/or next to having fun) made some new friends, and many memories. To me that is what ASL is really all about. Playing a great game but playing that game with great friends and making memories.”

Register for Mayhem in Manila today.

(Translated into Chinese in Dare-Death magazine Issue 02)

March Madness 2015 Videos

March Madness is a hugely popular Advanced Squad Leader tournament, held annually in Kansas City.

This one’s done by Tom Meier, the preview.

http://www.kansascityasl.com

This one’s a tribute, done by K Scott Mullins, aka GrumbleJones

http://boxcarsagainaslblog.blogspot.com/

Farewell Fearless Leader John Hill

Art by Rodger MacGowan, Photo by Jackson Kwan

Mr. Patrick LeBeau sent a beautiful message to the “Squad Leader PreASL” YahooGroup to remember John Hill.  I asked and he kindly gave his permission to republish it here, for all of us whose memories Lt. Hill will forever be a part of.  

Farewell fearless leader

The original John Hill Squad Leader counter: Lt. Hill, a modest 9-1 leader.

When I purchased the famous purple edition of John Hill’s 1977 Avalon Hill game, Squad Leader, at the Origins held in Ann Arbor, Michigan that same year, I and many others were immediately hooked on the game system and ease-of-play. We attended all of John’s lectures and in a day or so mastered the game. By the end of the convention many of us were combining our game boards and units to play monster self-designed scenarios after having played all 12 scenarios in one long weekend.

Squad Leader would also win the title of Best Tactical/Operational Game of 1977

This was not my first encounter with John or his many excellent board and miniature games. Most notably in the mid 1970s was Johnny Reb, now known as Johnny Reb One. I still have the original mimeographed legal size cheat sheet printed on both sides, which was all you needed to play the first iteration of the Johnny Reb system. In that playtest addition, resolution used a single 12-sided die.

I mention these two games and I call them systems because they have an incredible longevity through continuous reprints, revisions and new editions, including new games derivative of earlier manifestations. Although the 1977 edition of Squad Leader is my all time favorite, the game would generate many supplements, which would lead to the development of Advanced Squad Leader. The whole Squad Leader family of games has sparked a gamer following that keeps the game alive (SL or ASL) to this day after almost all of the SL and ASL games are long out of print. ASL is directly responsible, I believe, to the development of the online VASSAL game engine for playing board/miniature games virtually.

Johnny Reb would lead to JRII and JRIII. From my perspective, I see Across the Deadly Field as John’s Opus Majus and final version of the Johnny Reb system. From my point of view, I believe ADF is his finest version and I hope it will emerge as his most popular American Civil War gaming system. I spent the entirety of 2014, from Fall In 2013 to Historicon 2014, and all those conventions in between, promoting ADF.

This brings me back to Lt. Hill, the U.S. 9-1 leader counter of the original Squad Leader. Many of us literally wore out our original counters due to continuous game play and finger handling. We of course replaced them by purchasing new games. This is not true with 99% of the board games I own. Further, in 1977, we understood the game as cardboard version of a miniatures game. Today I play the game using 15mm figures and terrain. My point is that as long as gamers continue to play John’s games he lives on.

In untold thousands of games, his old Lt. Hill counter has often suffered a KIA result or has broken under fire. At times it has conducted heroic acts, or has rallied squads at critical times. Whatever the outcome, Lt. Hill reemerges game after game to fight on and on to the enjoyment of the table top gamer whose only purpose is to have fun, learn history, study tactics, engage in competitive play and build friendships.

John was a good friend and his games build many life-long friendships.

I will miss him. We will miss him. However, as Lt. Hill, he will always be in our games, not only as a counter, a figure, a GM, a moderator, a game designer, a human, a man, and as one of the greatest game designers of all time.

Patrick LeBeau

January 13, 2015

Gin Drinkers’ Revenge 2014 – Hong Kong Advanced Squad Leader Tournament

Gin Drinkers Revenge 2014Saturday, Sept 20 2014.  I found the corner table just like George Bates did when he was the tourney director for the Malaya Madness tourney in Singapore and I set my bag down.  The Hong Kong Society of Wargamers has 2 rooms booked at the KITEC (Kowloon International Trade & Exhibition Center) regularly for their meetings.  Today, however is unlike any other day.

Today is the day for the Gin Drinkers’ Revenge 2014.

Twelve arrived.  We had them divide up into three categories :

  • Former HK ASL Tourney winners
  • 5 years experience and above
  • Newbies

We had 8 hours, 2 rounds, single elimination, 4 hours per game.  We wasted no time in deciding on scenarios and bidding for sides.

Round 1 : J59 Friday The 13th

Aris Avi

My first round was played against Aris Avi from Greece.  He lived in Hong Kong for a little while and will be going back to Greece shortly after the tournament.  He said however, that whilst he used to play Squad Leader, he’s more into miniatures back home.

I was hoping for J12 Jungle Fighters as some folks here are less versed with (or are even adverse to) PTO.  We decided on J59 Friday the 13th instead.  I have never played this but Aris said since he played the defenders last time, he would like to be the attackers.

Friday 13 01

If you would ignore the blue arrows for a moment, this was my defensive setup.  The Germans had 3 JgdPzIVs that came in with 10 5-4-8 paras and 3 leaders from the left.  The objective was for the Germans to capture all buildings around where you see the Russians concentrated.  The Germans had 6 turns.  I had my antitank gun (57LL with ROF3) pointed at where it could most likely take a side shot on the Jagdpanzers.

Aris opened up with an armour assault on the top part of the board.  He had a small contingent heading towards where my AT gun was emplaced together with some wire.  My AT gun fired during the Defensive Final phase, got a hit even though I lost ROF.  YES!   I will take one out of three.  Side shot, TK looked great, I rolled.

BOXCARS – BOOOOOIINNKKKKKKKKKKK!!!

The round glanced off the Jagdpanzer closest to me and then of course the entire German force was then aware of our gun’s presence.  Too late now, the paras closest to the AT Gun started to move towards it.  On the top side of the board the Germans started getting shot up by the Russian HMG on the first level of the big house.  The Russian HMG team held out moderately well and when it broke the half squad on the ground level advanced up to help, except that it couldn’t find the HMG of course (“What do you mean you can’t find the gun??  We left it standing by the WINDOW!!!”)

The Germans para were unable to reach the hedge.  At one point most of them even low crawled back to the tree line.  On Turn 3 or 4 two Jagdpanzers decided to jump the hedge.  Believe it or not, I planned for it.  That’s why I had a squad in a fox hole with an ATR looking for an underbelly shot when Jagdpanzers jump the hedge.  However as the Jagdpanzer rolled over, I forgot.  The first Jagdpanzer overran the foxhole.  The good news was that Jagdpanzers with FP1 bow machine guns don’t offer much fireworks.  The better news was the squad survived and killed the tank hunter in close combat.  At this point, I started to move my Russian infantry up for a counter attack.

Gin Drinkers Revenge 2014

I was in a bit of danger on my left flank (bottom) though as the Germans killed the gun crew.  One German squad was however caught in the wire and my opponent wasn’t sure whether my other wire was some where in the woods as well.  The Germans stopped coming through the Russian left flank.  Katya (the Russian sniper) once again came by and broke the remaining German squad for me.

The second JagdPanzer that jumped the hedge stopped with its gun pointed at the HMG farmhouse.  I got it caught between two ATR squads as shown and blew it away from behind as my opponent was perhaps too focused on taking out the big farmhouse to let the German paras in.  There were no survivors.

My opponent conceded.

Round 2 : T4 Shklov’s Labors Lost

My next opponent was Ted Kwong.  Ted said he bought his Advanced Squad Leader modules a long time ago.  It’s only recently that he started learning the system.  He told me how terrific a teacher Erwin Lau is.  Erwin is a local grognard who plays a variety of games and has been winning (multiple?) championships in past Advanced Squad Leader tournaments held by the Hong Kong Society of Wargamers.  As a testament to how much Erwin has done in pushing ASL locally, Ted is the third person who told me recently as to how immensely patient Erwin is as a teacher.

Ted Kwong Christopher Chu (1)

Here you can see Ted Kwong on the left after rolling a pair of snake eyes on his opponent in ASL126 Commando Schenke.

We decided on T4 Shklov’s Labors Lost (Ted didn’t want to do PTO, so no AP84 Double Trouble).  I would be the attacking Germans.  JR Tracy told he they used to call this scenario “Gandalf vs the Balrog” because each side gets a 10-3.

Shklov's Labors Lost-proc copy

This was the setup from memory.  I got the Germans who had 9 4-6-8s with a star-studded leadership team : 10-3, 9-2, 8-1 with 2 armor leaders 9-1, 8-1.  There were also 2 STuGIIIB to help them with taking 5 designated Russian buildings in 6 turns.  The Russians had 7 and a half 4-5-8s led by a 10-0 and a 10-3.

The placement of the Russian 10-0 made me wonder if they had their MMG up front.  The HMG was probably with the 10-3.

Ted just won his last game against Christopher Chu and he was in a pretty good mood.  We shook hands and the game got underway.

Shklov's Labors Lost-proc copy 2
First matter of the day : the Germans prep’d their deathstar – FP16 flat versus the commissar stack.

Snake eyes.

We opened the game with a 2KIA!  Great omen I’d say, I gripped a little tighter my pair of lucky dice that saw me through Malaya Madness as well.  The commissar stack vaporised before the commissar had a chance to rub his eyes.  The STuGs led the way with armoured assault, chucking smoke out of their smoke dischargers at key points down the left and the right.  The Germans had no intention of doing frontal attacks.  The Germans entered the commissar building from the Russian right flank and went slightly behind the first building on the Russian left flank.  The STuG from the Russian right came across, discharged smoke immediately before reaching the MMG building and did a bypass freeze on the MMG hex (froze the ground level only).  The Germans then piled in through the front and from the side under the cover of a timely smoke grenade.

Shklov's Labors Lost-proc copy 3

The German deathstar later moved into commissar building and joined the 9-2 and his team.  At around Turn 3 the Russian 10-3 was pinned and the Russian HMG squad went berserk!!  They dropped the HMG, ran into the street and the berserkers were UNSTOPPABLE.  All the heavy German firepower had assembled in the commissar building at that point but apart from bring critically reduced, the Russian berserkers made its way across.   It was only when the deathstar final fired at it from an adjacent hex.

The Germans then looked up and met the eyes of the lonely Russian 10-3.  The Russian quickly grabbed the HMG, admirable but futile.  The STuG rode by and put down smoke from its dischargers.  The Germans 9-2 led 2 squads across the street into the Russian 10-3 hex.  The STuGIIIB continued its way and got behind the VC buildings.  Four buildings down and I would take the Russian HMG as well after we shoot the 10-3.

Ted gracefully conceded.

Aftermath

 

20140922_54b305d9a0cd84ec01284qW9l8oE0wLa-1

So here we go.  We have a front runner from each of the 3 groups :

  • Tourney winners – Erwin Lau
  • 5 years Experience and above – Anthony Leung
  • Newbies – Jackson Kwan

There will be games arranged at a later date to determine the final rankings amongst these three, subject to Hong Kong Society of Wargamers’ scheduled events and venue availability.

Watch the video!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnqXRFauZFA

IMG_8125IMG_8126

 

Journey to a Tourney, Part 3 : The Aftermath

M36 JacksonI never expected this, but there IS an “aftermath” to having done a tourney for the first time :

  • Having prepared for all 25 tourney scenarios, I read a lot more of the rulebook and the scope of scenarios I can play expanded.
  • I met some great folks around the region as well.  I have a few more regular “Live” games now on VASL apart from my usual stable of PBeM (“Play By eMail”).
  • I play a little faster.
  • I play differently too, having seen different styles of play.  For example :
    • I know I should be more aggressive with my movements.  Moving and encircling is way more effective (and time efficient “turn wise”) than sitting and shooting.
    • I know what establishing a tempo as an attacker feels like.
    • I don’t care about the die rolls anymore.  “Reversion to Mean” dictates that it will all even out at the end.  Good decisions win the game not die rolls.
    • I overheard Ian Percy and George Bates said (and this is far from an exact quote) : “it’s not so much about what you do, it’s more about presenting your opponent with a serious of tough decisions and one way or the other, he’s going to mess a few up.  Make him do all the work.”
    • It’s important to plan out where you should be on the map and also when you should be where on the map especially as the attacker so you don’t run out of time.
    • There was an earlier poll on GameSquad asking whether folks are more comfortable attacking or defending in a scenario.  I can’t find it now but someone said “Is there a defence?”.  This thought rang in my head during my last round as the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) defender in J116 Brigade Hill.  The IJA were infiltrating and cutting the attacker’s rout paths.  My understanding of Book VI (“Defence”) in Clausewitz’s “On War” echoes the thought : defence is just a different form of offensive action – counterattack!
  • Now I am getting ready to support the Hong Kong Society of Wargamers‘ Advanced Squad Leader Tournament this year!!

Lastly I want to share something from the tourney with everyone.  John Charles Knowles, who’s teaching me jungle warfare through Operation Watchtower at the moment, wrote a cheat sheet for the PTO for our benefit.  Here we are :

Malaya Madness Chapter G Cheat Sheet

Cpl Kwan 7-0