MH Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 Just curious - How many former/current ASL players are playing Combat Mission these days? My wife bought me my first copy of SL when I was in Grad school in 1982 (does this make me an old man?) and have been a fanatic ever since. I will admit, that CM is the closest the computer has come to creating the tactical feel of SL. I remember playing and always trying to visualize the 3D terrain as I was maneuvering my men, and here I am today effectively doing the same thing, but with the technology pointing the way. I can't help feeling CM could be the first step in a long line of developments not unlike the perfecting that occurred with the maturing of AL to ASL. I do miss the smell of the cardboard though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 I started playing SL about 20 years ago now. Own it and most of the earlier (first 4) add on modules like Cross of Iron, etc. Havn't played any of them in eons though. Mikester out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalem Posted July 27, 2000 Share Posted July 27, 2000 Been playing SL/ASL since 1980, 1981, something like that. Still playing away, maybe not often, but with enjoyment. A buddy and I are gearing up to do the Red Barricades full campaign this fall, oh yeah. -dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I started playing SL in the early 80's. Bought all the original modules. Played some ASL through early 90's, but haven't played in about 8 years or so. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffertape Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Played the original Squad Leader. Never moved up to ASL. Probably started playing in 1982 and stopped in 1986 when my friend (and only viable opponent) moved. May have been for the best as I don't think I won a single engagement against him. As soon as he can get past his PC issues we'll be playing war again. This time using Combat Mission! GAFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonm Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Hi, I first got SL in the early 80's, bought all the modules, ASL and the Historic modules for that but I guess I got fed up with rolling dice all the time and consulting binders of rules. The whole thing is now gathering dust but I'm going to dig it out and see how well the scenarios translate into CM. ------------------ Regards, Mark:-{) Anxiously awaiting the G4 PowerBook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhorse Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I bought SL in what...1979? The rest is history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesreidau Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 First played SL in early `82, at the ripe old age of 15 with National Health thick framed glasses and a dubious schoolboy haircut, **** I was a wargame geek! Oh hang on, maybe I still am ------------------ "If your flank march is going well, the enemy expects you to outflank him" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzlehead Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I have the coveted Purple Box and played ASL last Week. That should show my time frame of playing SL/ASL . Still the Greatest Board Game of all. Lift a Glass to John Hill. And fate is Strange I cut my CM "Member" Status on this thread..... [This message has been edited by muzzlehead (edited 07-27-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniperscope Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I drove to the Orgins convention (I think it was no.2) in Baltimore where I saw SL displayed for the first time. No. 1 was in Staten Island many many years ago. I happend to be walking by the booth of A.H. when my brother (SS Peiper, a friend and myself saw the SL box. It was a very long drive back to NYC after that, we could not wait to start reading the rules and play. We played for years. I never did find the time to move on to ASL. sniperscope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Hmmm...I've had SL and the various add-ons somewhere in my dusty stack of boardgames......I wonder if my daughter is up for a game! Mace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shep Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I played both SL and ASL... from the beginning of both systems. I can remember going to down to Nan's game store in Houston and shelling out the big bucks for both the ASL rulebook and Beyond Valor... and digesting the new rules in all their complicated glory. I lasted through all the modules until the Hasbro buyout, although my ASL time waned quite a bit when my gaming partner moved to San Diego, and family and work demands increased. I just knew that CM would be the fulfillment of the promise of ASL, and boy was I ever right. It's nice to live in the time that we do. Mark ------------------ Scouts Out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren J Pierson Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I picked up Squad Leader as a kid back in the 1970s. Loved the game and bought all of the expansions for it. None of them, however, to me matched the original. I moved on to ASL and I loved the ASL manual. Couldn't understand all of it, but I loved the format and the wealth of information. I haven't played in years, but I still pick up expansions now and then. Damn, but I feel old now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPeng Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Elvis and I played SL then ASL for days at a time with the help of drugs and alcohol in massive quantities. We had the rules in a binder on a table with candles on either side and would frequently "consult the book of armaments!" to hash out rules disputes. We were and are sick and twisted bastards who should be flogged, taxed and denied basic human rights for extended periods of time. Peng ------------------ A Journey of a thousand miles starts with a single gunshot wound to the foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFCElvis Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Peng and I started playing SL in the very early 80s and continued to play at least once a week until a couple of years ago when the bastard moved 2 1/2 hours away. The binder for ASL?....we sometimes set it up on the divider between my living room and dining room at had the book open at all times with lit candles on each side and empty bottles of Wild Turkey and Carling Black Label all over the place. Would get in fights about the interpretation of rules..."CONSULT THE BOOK!!!" That is why we are so juiced up about CM. It is the game we have always wanted and we don't have to argue about the rules. After last Saturday nights hotseat game (our 1st) the whiskey and beer are still factors in stratagy. ------------------ "To conquer death you only have to die" JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFCElvis Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 DAMN PENG!!!! you must have been typing your post while I was typing mine....wierd. ------------------ "To conquer death you only have to die" JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalem Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I should add here that if anyone's interested in how ASL has been doing since Curt Schilling bought the rights from Hasbroken you should check out http://www.advancedsquadleader.com. I will try not to gush, but they have breathed new life into ASL - more product in the last year than AH put out in the last five. And it's beautiful. And they've redone the entire German OB just for SS in white on black. I couldn't care less about that but I think it shows that they really, really, really are into this game. And they are re-editing and re-issuing the rulebook with all errata and a new index - for real this time. They are re-doing Up Front! as well, if anyone's into that fine game. Anyway, gushing off. Back to CM. -dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howardb Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Always wanted to play that game but couldn't find any friends with the same interest. That's what happends when you come from a small place... One thing I'm wondering about though, is the board game worth playing now that we got CM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patboivin Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 I played SL, Cross of Iron, Crescendo of Doom, GI Anvil of Victory. ASL a little, but not as much. Hundreds of hours of enjoyment, mostly against high school friends and for a few years later against Stefan and another guy who has three or four kids now so he can't play anything. Then maybe he's not playing anymore because he can't roll the dice in that "special" way that tended to give him more snake eyes than anyone else on the planet... Stefan and I had a blast, we expanded the game to do strategic plotting as well as tactical, because we were getting tired of "just" doing scenarios. Of course after the strategic was added we HAD to add air combat rules of our own. I still have all those rules we made up, they're in file cabinet behind me here as I type this e-mail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Merchant Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Another purple box vet here..mainly play the HASL modules these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Norton Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 First war game I owed was PanzerBlitz. Hours upon hours fighting on the Eastern Front, with all the guys on the block. Sometimes, the fighting got hand to hand over the game. You cant move there! Yes, I can! Then came SL. Had to have them all. Then AH pulled ASL out of the hat. Had to have them all. Then the fights were over the rules. The rule states you cannot move there! No it doesnt! Then came CM. We will look back on these days years from now. I had ver. 1.01. The days, weeks, months I spent fighting on the Western Front.... ------------------ "The Legitimate object of war is a more perfect peace." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Molyneaux2 Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Purple box here as well, I remember the ride home from the store and wondering how in the world it was going to play, didnt look anything like PanzerBlitz lol. I also remember going to Origins the year AH "PROMISED" ASL would be out , rushing through the vendor area to the AH booth, and seeing a large sign sayong " So?,We lied" lol. Never really got the same kick out of ASL that I did out of Guards Counterattack and all the rest from SL. Can't wait for CM2 so I can play Guards again. Has anyone else played with VASL? A buddy of mine that moved to Germany and I were playing a little ASL on the net courtesy of VASL, very nicely done translation of the board game to the puter. Cant remember the link offhand, I know it has moved in the past year. Molyneaux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBlaque Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 Am I the old guy here? Bought SL sometime in High School-- think a sophomore in '76-- I guess I should check the box copyright. Anyway, though I haven't played it in years I went to the garage a few nights ago to see if I could convert any of the scenarios to CM. Haven't opened that box in a loooong while! Maybe you all will see a conversion of a scenario here in the near future . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MH Posted July 28, 2000 Author Share Posted July 28, 2000 No LeBlaque I don't think you're the oldest perchance....I graduated HS in 76. And as far as a shrine for the rules (candles or otherwise) - it isn't necessary when you are geeky enough to have all the damn things memorized! I don't think I'm unique in this however. If I have one sincere hope, it's that CM will help breath new life into more serious wargaming so a new generation can be bought to the hobby. I think since so many of us grew up with SL (quite literally) and learned the rules over several years as we watched them mature into ASL we forgot how intimidating the end result was. Younger (yea...shall we say less patient?) were just not willing to invest the time into digesting the rules. Maybe CM with its interface will bring in a new generation who over time will learn historical tactics and the hobby better. That's why I actually enjoy seeing posts by people asking things like "What's hull-down?" or "What do I do with a Piat?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SS Peiper Posted July 28, 2000 Share Posted July 28, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sniperscope: I drove to the Orgins convention (I think it was no.2) in Baltimore where I saw SL displayed for the first time. No. 1 was in Staten Island many many years ago. I happend to be walking by the booth of A.H. when my brother (SS Peiper, a friend and myself saw the SL box. It was a very long drive back to NYC after that, we could not wait to start reading the rules and play. We played for years. I never did find the time to move on to ASL. sniperscope<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Sniperscope did we have some great battles in SL. We use to spend the whole weekend playing. Man the good old days. But now we have CM and ICQ. The good old days are back. I owe you one for the a$$ kciking you gave me in the last battle SS Peiper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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