Remember Rule #1? Don't be afraid to make mistakes?Well I think I faced Big Hurdle #2 in learning ASL(SK) today by facing down the beast known as VEHICLES!
In wanting to kill two birds with one stone I joined up with Talloaf who I met on the 'Geek when we started posting AARs. Mr. Talloaf was about the same level and we had both had to get our first exposure to vehicles and VASL out of the way for the upcoming VASLeague tourney (you did sign up right? You have 2 days left!).
Well, rather than pussyfooting around we went directly to S21 Clash At Borisovka, one of the vehicle-only scenarios in SK3. Rather than slowly learning we just went whole hog. Here's a pic of the board position at the end of our session today (3.5 hours!):
Talloaf rolled up the German side with two Tiger tanks and some Panzer IVF2s to try to eliminate or prevent my ten or so T-34 M41s and M43s from running off the map to the right (south).
I have to say a couple of things:
- Talloaf has been a fantastic opponent. I daresay we have been pretty gentlemanly and forgiving of mistakes as we hash out how to move and shoot tanks around. He's been awesome!
- Count Zero graced us with his presence and led us through an early part of the the first turn so THANKS!
- We played for almost four hours and only got through 1.5 turns. Insanity? I can recall being on the edge of my seat for the whole time. If nothing else, ASL is a TENSE game. i use to scoff at tourney reports of players taking six hours for a six-turn scenario. No more. It's not like we sat around chatting about things -- we were on and learning the whole time. Terrific! My wife, who saw me only as she came downstairs a couple of times, said I had a look of intense concentration on my face. I actually was not dressed for the cold basement and have a chill now.
- The Vehicle rules, so far, are like the Infantry rules, a great attempt at making a simultaneous movement system work in I-GO, U-GO. Again, a lot of intricate but very very logical details in the mechanics. More on this in an AAR or something.
That's it for now; now the Prawn can start learning the vehicle rules... where the inevitable smashing will commence!
p.s. GO SIGN UP FOR THE VASLEAGUE! VASLeague@gmail.com!
p.p.s. Thanks again to richfam for making this less of a heroic endeavour than it had to be!
2 comments:
I don't know much about Armor in the SK rules, however, in the full ASL rules, you really need to understand chapter C before going on to D. If you do, however, D is easier than A (the first time around) because a lot of the movement and terrain concepts are similar if not identical to those of infantry and you already know those concepts. The biggest thing for me is the counters themselves. Once you learn the ins and outs of the counter markings and how to find stuff in the historical notes, you've got about 80% of the battle won. Then you just have to work up a strategy that plays to your strengths and your opponents weaknesses.
All in all, from what I saw, you guys did fine for your first go around. It might be worth going through the Curt Schilling method of learning Tanks. Get two tanks and a board. Set the tanks up at 5 hexes and fire. Figure out the TK#'s, use special ammo if you have it, try a side or rear shot. Add different terrain (walls, etc...). Change the range. Change the tanks.
Keep up the great work. Roll low. Burning Wrecks Rock!
Thanks Josh,
That Curt Schilling thingy I read somewhere. I think I'll try it out with the Prawn before tackling a S21 or something like it.
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