ASLOK 2009

For those who are interested, I want to pass along an ASLOK AAR. I’m pleased to say that the Club was well represented 6 SoCalASL members; Rob Feinstein, Hank W., Kevin Ryan, Rich Domovic, Dave Perham and myself. Attendance was up from last year, to 144. Given the state of the economy I think that is remarkable.

I got in on Tuesday around 2:30 PM, and the ballroom was already pretty full. I managed to snag one of the last available tables by a window.

There was the usual swag for sale; scenario packs from Schwerepunkt 15, Rally Point 4, Dezign Pak 5 and Friendly Fire 5. Playtests were going on for the upcoming HASL module “Slaughter and Ponyri” and a new Action Pack featuring scenarios by Gary Fortenberry. The new Action Pack will feature a new version of geo boards that butt to the ends of the current type; very clever. The new boards will offer some very interesting terrain combinations and increase flexibility. I had the opportunity to get in a playtest with both projects.

The highpoint of my week in Cleveland involved the only mini-tournament in which I managed to get into a championship round. It was not the highpoint because it was my plausible crack at a plaque, far from it really. I was matched up with Anthony Flanagan for the final round of the Schwerepunkt 15 Mini. Anthony is one of the players from North Carolina that I hang out with every year, and though we were well acquainted, we had not previously played. We chose the Chinese/Japanese scenario “Chang’s Finest” from the pack, and started what we both hoped would be a fairly short scenario at 11:00 PM. Our game wrapped up at 5:30 AM, when my 9-2 leader failed an exit hex morale check on the final movement phase, giving Anthony a hard-fought win and the plaque. It was a great game against a great opponent (Anthony won the previous Bitter Ender tournament in Raleigh.)

Thanks to the management skills of tournament director Brett Hildebrand and his assistants, the event ran exceptionally smoothly. The new venue is definitely a winner. The lounge area and bar adjacent to the ballroom gave the players plenty of room for hanging out and socializing. There are restaurants within walking distance, and even the hotel restaurant isn’t bad. The rooms are reasonably priced (especially if you’re used to paying California prices.) Brett ordered free pizza for Saturday night and free keg beer on Friday night.

I played a total of 13 games and won 6. I came within a morale check of winning another mini-tournament plaque. I think it’s the first year I didn’t win a majority of my games. But considering the level of competition, I’m not disappointed. Besides, every game was enjoyable, and several were with guys I’ve known for years.

If you have the opportunity to go, don’t hesitate, just do it. You’ll have the opportunity to meet (and play) some of the ‘legends’ of the hobby, and find out that they are, for the most part, quite enjoyable to spend time with. And I guarantee you’ll meet a lot of interesting people.