Decision at Elst DaE1 Ambush at Hopp AAR

Played my first game of ASLSK in a long time. This was also my second tank game. This is great solo and practice game. 3 Squads, each with a PIAT, and leader are hidden as 3 Tigers approach the town of Hopp. Germans win if they have >=1 Tiger remaining after 3 turns with at least their Main Armament still functioning.

Spoiler alert, they just did it. Last moves, two Brit squads rushed the tank and were then dispatched with the anti-personnel mines show out from the Tiger. Nasty business.

It was a fun game and reminded me why it's so much fun.

For example, the pic above shows my first ever shot with a PIAT is a critical hit, Tiger taken out!

The above picture was taken so I could post a question on FB about the rules. This definitely brought up tons of rules questions. I wish these rules were electronic. I could then search them and find the answers.

This picture does remind me: This squad's PIAT broke on it's first shot and then was fixed in the next turn. The Tiger's Main Armament also malfunctioned in the same turn, but was soon fixed. That Squad's PIAT then broke and was never fixed again. It took them 3 times to pass their PAATC to get into the hex with the Tiger. They then broke and casualty reduced when the Tiger's anti-personnel mines went off.

Picture at game end. See that MG on the right. The Immobilized Tiger shot their main armament at them and the leader died. The squad then failed their first morale check and then seeing their leader die, checked morale again and they suffered a reduction in quality. They then tried rallying and casualty reduced to nothing. I'm missing a step in their sad story, but suffice to say it was a bad series of rolls.

So what started out so promising for the Brits, turned very sour, very quick.

Next up, the second scenario in the Decision at Elst game.

ASLSK S8 Ad Hoc at Chef-Du-Pont - US Turn 1

Trying some ASLSK S8 to get back into the system after a hiatus...basically trying to determine if I want to go all in.

Anyway, US T-1: 10-2 wounds as he moves in open ground Z1 from MMG in Q6. German squad in W6 building reduces and routs to V6

ASLSK S21 Sorta AAR

How's that for a bunch of initials, acronyms, etc? Ridiculous, but fitting considering the game I'm playing. Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit. The 28 page rulebook has 2.5 pages of abbreviations and definitions ranging from:

A#: APCR (Armor Piercing Composite Rigid) depletion number.
to
X#: Breakdown number of a FT, DC, BAZ, or PSK (weapon is not reapirable) (4.0).

Even one of the definitions has 4 abbreviations in it. Love it. By the way, there are also 6 pages of examples and a one page content/introduction, so 19 pages of rules. Triple column pages, but still "only" 19.

I've finally taken the plunge to learn armor in ASLSK. It's kind of crazy, the biggest part that holds me up - keeping track of how many MP (Movement Points) a vehicle's been seen by an opposing vehicle. This number of MP expended affects the shot. In addition, you really need a way to keep track of the MP used because there are so many different things that can happen during movement.

I'm beginning to think it's the complexity that is drawing me a bit. I've tinkered with OCS, TCS, and read rules to GMT's East Front Series, but I come back to this. But we shall see. Thing is, if you go full ASL, there's even more.

Another potential issue is the "motion", "non-stopped", and "moving" discussion with vehicles...though I think I may have an understanding of this, sort of.

Anyway, Eddy, created a wonderful document, found on Board Game Geek, that is a walk through of an armor game. He's also made them for some of the other ASLSK games. I'm currently going through it step by step to understand the rules. He does an amazing job of stopping and explaining things. This is why I say it's sort of an AAR, I'm not really playing it, but will continue to discuss it as I go. It's tedious, but I feel I'm learning the game so that's a good thing.

ASLSK Module Hits Preorder Number

I've been paying attention to this, because I would like to get it when it's released.  It's a historical module for the ASLSK system.  It will be fun to see how the campaign system works and it also introduces off-board arty.

I want to keep into the ASLSK (Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit) system because it's comprehensive, leads into the bigger world of ASL (which i don't see myself joining in the near future), and has a pretty good following around the world.  I was rereading the rules a bit and am convinced now the armor rules aren't too difficult.

My last post was about being in a gaming funk and coming soon you'll see a post about how I'm in a wishy washy place in gaming too.

I apologize in advance to Gary Amos, newest member of the blog, and all the rest of you as you watch me bounce from  thing to thing trying to get my bearing on how I want to spend my little shards of gaming time.

Go to www.multimanpublishing.com to get your preorder in, or look for it in the next few months at your FLGS.