lurrp Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Ok, so I am a wargamer. For a while now I've been looking for a good tactical board wargame covering WWII. Everywhere I look, the answer is overwhelming: Advanced Squad Leader. With that said, getting into ASL seems pretty damn pricey. $80 for a "core rule book", not even counting the modules? I don't play miniatures games, mostly for this reason. Having to buy a rule book, source book, terrain, and minis just costs way too much, which is why board wargames appeal to me so much. Anyway, if this game is REALLY good, don't hesitate and tell me. Also, if anyone knows of other good tactical-scale WWII board games, just let me know. I'll play just about any wargame, although I've never dived in to "monster" games. Thanks! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 it was great, but you have CM now. You can think about what you want to do and not worry about what chapter H rule 15.2 says your die roll modifier should be. In CM we still wish we hade more FOW on some stuff, in ASL you will look back longingly on the FOW CM has and nothing beats some of the visuals you get in CM. While ASL might actually recreate the following scene to some degree, there is nothing like watching it play out for 60 seconds while your jaw drops to the floor. Then watching it over and over again from every angle. http://www.combatmission.com/community/showpost.php?p=1307356&postcount=505 Last but not least. My cat would eat ASL pieces. While it has chewed on my keyboard keys, I can replace that easily. Overall from my perspective no, I sold off all my ASL stuff a long time ago. That isn't to say others wouldn't enjoy it, it still has a huge audience. It just isn't for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurrp Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Well, with the measly processor on my MacBook Air, the only CM game I can play is BfN. So until I upgrade to something more powerful, good old board games will have to make up much of my gaming collection. But I see your point. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I liked the original Squad Leader. I bought all the modules, extra mapboards, extra sets of scenario cards, probably just about everything that ever went on sale. But truth to tell, I spent far more time studying it than I ever spent actually playing it. And when I had an opponent to play against, we spent more time trying to find obscure rules in the manuals (note the plural) than we did making our moves. So when ASL came out, I took a look at the price tag and decided then and there it was time for a parting of the ways. It had been a fun ride, but it had now become too much of a muchness. I think I would advise you to save your money until you can get a more powerful computer. But that's just me. Some people apparently believe ASL is better than sex. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pak_43 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Combat Commander Europe? http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/21050/combat-commander-europe And Conflict of Heroes http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24800/conflict-of-heroes-awakening-the-bear-russia-1941 Are a couple of alternatives 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurrp Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 First of all, I am saving up. I think one of those Mac Minis should do nicely, and isn't terribly expensive (I'm a Mac guy, though. No changing that). In terms of board games, I've been considering picking up either Conflict of Heroes or Fighting Formations by GMT, but that money might be diverted to a better computer plus CMRT when it comes out... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASL Veteran Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 ASL is not for the casual gamer or the faint of heart. You also need to know someone else who wants to play it or might be interested in playing it. If you don't already know someone who plays it then convincing someone else might be a tall order. Assuming you can find an opponent though, even when I was playing regularly with a reasonably large group of friends the games would devolve into 'rules fests'. We didn't have any 'rules lawyers' per se because none of us really enjoyed diving into the rule book (a very intimidatingly large white binder with all the new and updated pages in it). However, we frequently ran into situations where the players had a different understanding about how something was done in the game and when something would come up it would be 'hey, you can't do that.' and we would then have to consult the rule book. Usually we would have a designated person, a rules umpire if you will, who would look up and read the appropriate rule and then we would have in depth discussions on what it all meant. The rules umpire would then make the final interpretation. Sometimes it was simple and straightforward and sometimes not so simple and an interpretation would have to be agreed upon. So I guess I would say that yes ASL is probably as good as you can get with a board game, but you need to understand that it isn't really 'just a game' in any sense of the word. You could probably create a college level class just on learning and understanding the ASL rule book. You should not look to getting ASL as just a financial decision because if you do it would be money wasted. You have to go in thinking that this is absolutely the game you must have because nothing else comes close because playing ASL requires a very big time commitment both while playing and studying the rules in between games. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 First of all, I am saving up. I think one of those Mac Minis should do nicely, and isn't terribly expensive You reckon? I haven't checked their specs lately, but the last time I did they seemed pretty puny for a game player. (I'm a Mac guy, though. No changing that) Ditto here. If the day ever comes when I can't get a Mac, I will probably just give up computing altogether. ...that money might be diverted to a better computer plus CMRT when it comes out... Unless you have some compelling reason to start collecting board games, that's what I'd do. Put every nickel into buying the best Mac you can afford and go with that. There are actually a fair number of games available for the Mac, and those that aren't can probably be played via Bootcamp. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurrp Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Mini didn't seem that weak to me. 3.1GHz, which is way more than the 2.1 I have now. Enough to play most if not all CM games, albeit maybe not to do large battles in urban terrain or something, which I imagine is pretty taxing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurrp Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Also, the idea of picking up a Mini for ~$500, a monitor for under $300, and a mouse for $60 (I already have a keyboard, use it for my iPad) is very appealing budget-wise. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a Mac under $1000 with that kind of power. Might not be a Mac under $1000, period. So that's a big plus for the Mini. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurrp Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 @Emrys: Any other good wargames for Mac? I'm a fan of Slitherine's line, and I have Battle Academy, PanzerCorps, etc. Other than that and CM, anything good out there? Edit: Also, I'm not so sure if emulators are my cup of tea (never actually used one, though). However, would you mind listing some PC wargames you play on Mac as well? I'm sure this list will be larger. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 As for wargames written or ported to the Mac, it can be pretty slim pickings, but there are a fair number of strategy games, such as Civilization that offer some interest. However, last August I came across a game that I have had a lot of fun with called Unity of Command. It is on an operational/strategic level with a base game and two expansions that cover more or less the entire Great Patriotic War, or at least the more important operations thereof. Not comparable to CM in any sense, but great fun to play and dirt cheap. The designers are talking about bringing out a new series set on the Western Front and North Africa that I am looking forward to. Forum rules forbid a link, but googling should take you right there if you are interested. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 One more thing, BootCamp is not an emulator. It is a way to set aside a portion of your hard drive for the installation of a copy of Windows (which must be purchased separately). You then have the option of booting up your Mac in Windows and running Windows apps. I thought about doing this myself and plunging into the world of PC-only games and got as far as actually purchasing a copy of Windows. But the thought of struggling with that rather alien OS, on top of whatever problems I run into with Mac from time to time, was just too steep a hill to climb. Cest la vie. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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