@groowanderer
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The second recommendation is oldie but goodie A 112, ” The Gift of Time ” . Gift is classic desert ASL [DTO] with armor , OBA HIP AT weaponry with Stuka's and the high possibility of rain thrown in. I played this with Chip Wertenberger and what a roller coaster ride it was!
This was by far one of the most tension filled games I have played in quite a while.Gift is played on 4 desert boards ,two in length and 2 in breadth
with wadi and hillock overlays. The Germans are on the attack here with 8 or so squads and plenty of AFVs including several Italian assault gunsto press home the attack. The defending Brits lay await in the wadis and on and behind the hillocks with 3 AFVs and 2 US HT TDs plus a 57mmAT gun and reinforcing Lee's.Its balls to the wall all the way. The attacking Axis force has no time to waste and has to take whatever lumps he needs to take and press forward
full speed ahead. They cannot consider letting the infantry walk it out because if they do they will never exit, or possibly even engage the enemy.
The Brit defender has to tough it out as long as possible and wait until he has a target rich environment for the 57mm which can shred any Axis AFV in play.In our game my DRs didn't do so well and Chip took the win. However it was still close and I think that neither one of us felt confident of a win til
the last move. The Axis player has to watch the clock in this very closely as timing is everything in this scenario.Gift of Time is very tense and with the fun of making 40 and 50 hex shots and the pure terror of being exposed to them offers a truly different
ASL experience. Put away any fears or concerns of playing DTO and just enjoy yourself. It will be a liberating experience too.I give this one a ten out of ten for excitement .ROAR shows a good balance on this gem and I cant wait to plahy DTO again!
Enjoy! ,EV
I recently played two scenarios I am going to recommended. Both have been around quite a while and differ dramatically.
The first is HS 21 Hervorst Hell, from the Operation Veritable HS. HS 21 involves 15 British first line squads with armor support,including two Crocodiles assaulting a mixed force of German defenders ,first and second line, holing up on board 49.The Germans also have one rocket oba module and 81 mm oba mortar plus a pair of 150mm artillery pieces. Add in wire, AT ditches and you have quite a fortress in the making.The Brits have a formidable force but are saddled with the task of crossing relatively open board 4.The Brits have to make a dispersed attack
as the potential of the OBA can wreak havoc on their formations. On arrival of their start line, hopefully intact, they then must fight their way through stone buildings to the victory locations [ yet more stone buildings] The German cannot defend everything and must decide where to
make his stand.Hervorst Hell is analogous to a chess game and demands meticulous planning and a modicum of luck on both sides. Neither player can be lax
in this unforgiving scenario. If you enjoy a real challenge I give very good marks to this one. The ROAR data show this to be fairly balanced.I will add the other scenario in a separate post. Please give this classic scenario a try and tell us if you agree with the recommendation
EV
I just played Cradle to Grave [ Journal 10 ] with Mike Soffa, with Mike's American / French partisan force winning the scenario in a very close game.
Cradle to Grave is a somewhat complex scenario that requires planning on both sides but with an eye towards flexibility. The German attacker has to play
aggressively but not recklessly,chasing down partisan units while trying to get his force to the victory locations intact.The Allied force has to play a
game of retreat until reinforcements arrive behind the Germans lines.This is when things get interesting as the Germans find themselves between two
groups of Allied forces.There are choices that will have to be made.I have heard some grumbling about Cradle to Grave on some of the online forums ,but our game was well balanced [ I lost by one building hex ] and quite
interesting and fun.If you are looking for a meaty combined arms scenario give Cradle to grave a try.Just make sure you have the time as there is a lot going
on here and it will take time to execute your plans.EV
Hi Brian,
I am in Los Angeles.I met you and your wife at Emerald Knights [ briefly ]
and look forward to seeing you there at the next meeting. I hope you are finding
Los Angeles to be somewhat navigable,haha..Eric Visnowski
I recently played Slam Dance, from the old Rout Report with Jim Aikens,it is a deluxe ASL meeting engagement consisting of Brit paratroops and a mixed a German force mixing it upon two deluxe city boards.The action starts right away as the two forces vie for CVP and VP based on capturing buildings on their opponents half of the map
.
Slam dance is a very dynamic scenario with a chess-like feel combined with good old fashioned hack and slash ASL . I have to say this was the most exciting and tension filled scenario I have played this year. Slam Dance leans towards the Brits according to ROAR stats , but the balance provisions probably fix any concerns .If you are lookig for an uncluttered ,fast playing scenario I suggest you dig up a copy of Slam Dance and fasten your seatbelt!
I plan to write up an AAR in this forum before too long. ENJOY!EV
P.S. Please , if you have played a scenario , campaign game or whatever ASL gem , don't hesitate to add it to this subforum listing.we would all enjoy
reading your recommendations!Gents,
Another great day at Gameology! Had a fun game with Dan Plachta and enjoyed meeting John and Chip . I have a couple AARs coming
re- the last two games I played Slam Dance w Jim A and Bosc BBQ with Dan,both were huge fun!See Ya!,EV
Mike,
Thanks for making this happen,great job! I especially wanted to thank you for getting to the range well ahead of everyone else and staking out our territory.
The range was filled to capacity upon the arrival of the balance of our group and without your effort would have been problematic to say the least.
I had a great time and am now intending to resume my old hobby of plinking away at the range [ and elsewhere ] after a long hiatus. I am WAY out of
practice and discipline.I can't wait for a return trip ! BTW if anyone else can't wait , perhaps we can get in some range time on a Sunday or non game day.
Regards, EV
I always exchange for a commisar; given both options I'll take the 9-0.
There was a scenario where the russian squads were 90% 426s and I passed, but tough to pass up.
Once won Lenin's Sons when my 10-0 decided enough was enough, took the DC and ran over to three german broken squads and turned them (and a leader) into wienerschnitzel.
Rich
A couple of weeks back I played Brave Little Emchas with Bill Yuen. This was my fourth or fifth playing and it reminded me
how much fun Emchas is.First off, it is deluxe ASL, this is already a huge bonus in my eyes,.The forces, SS and Russian Guards are evenly matched at 8 squads each with 2 Panthers an ISU 152 ,3 lend-lease Shermans and 75mm German Pak added to the mix. The game is played on three deluxe city boards, with two victory conditions to choose from. The VC, combined with the fact that the Russian player moves first mean that the game flow is decided by the Russian. To win, the Russian must have a superior force [ measured in squad equivalent ratio in building a j 2 and / or control all more board B stone buildings than do the SS.All this combines to give a game that offers interesting tactical choices and a surprising fluidity for what is a small city action with low unit density.Also, at just 6 turns Brave Litttle Emchas offers up an almost perfect tournament scenario with good replay potential. In my last playing [ With Bill Yuen] it came down to a single CC DR, it doesnt get much better than that.
So if you're looking for a nailbiter with plenty of action, but fast playing I suggest J 65, Brave Little Emchas” I look forward to playing this again and will gladly take either side.
Gents,
What a great weekend, ASL on Saturday, and a superb field trip on Sunday. I was glad to see so many make the trip to Chino airport to visit Yanks Air Museum and The Planes of Fame facility. These are both well worth the visit and have a great selection of historical aircraft. Because of the focus on the model expo at Yanks, one of the hangars, one jammed with aircraft, was closed Sunday .However , it was still great fun seeing everything there . I was lucky enough to spend a few minutes with Pearl Harbor attack survivor
James J Lee who, at age 90 had a sharp recollection of the events that day so long ago.Planes of Fame is just incredible, from the B 17 on the front lawn, to the hangar mock -up of a carrier deck- this hangar was dedicated to American naval aircraft- to the mechanics area and beyond. Planes of Fame is almost overwhelming, it has a huge assortment of aircraft, many hundreds of airplane models, weapons and other equipment , maps etc in attractive displays. They also have a lifesized diorama of a crashed Japanese Betty bomber. This diorama is like a movie set : the Betty sits battered and bent in a jungle setting and you walk up on it like the first discoverer. Their collection is housed in 4 hangars with a bone yard outside Near the end of the day
as we all sat for a much needed rest, Jim mentioned that we must have walked 2 miles in those hangars.For my chili dog gorged body it felt like 10! For dinner we ate at the famed Flo's diner, and let me tell you it was the perfect ending to the day with that small town feel and heaping plates of great food,its almost worth the trip by itself.In closing, I want to say that these field trips add a great dimension to being a member of SoCALASL and I hope more of you will join in. Jim already has the next field trip lined up,returning to the Littlefield Collection in the San Jose area in March 2012.This is the trip of a lifetime for tank lovers so stay tuned for further info.
I can't think of another ASL club that offers so much to its members!
Regards, Eric Visnowski
Just a note: Costco seems to exhausted its supply of “The Battle of the Tanks” . However I found that Amazon .com has the book available for just $18.00 and change!
Get em while they're hot!In spite of losing this one [ this makes 5 in a row, or so, I must not be living right] I enjoyed Cry of the Valkyries . It's a combination puzzle and chess game as described by Jim. CotV offers choices for both sides which adds a little bit of a psyops factor to the game. This scenario can definitely go either way and can seem as if its on the edge of disaster for both players at any given time. This is a GOOD thing. Even with some hot dice on Jim's part, and his brilliant defensive set up, I still felt we were in the game and highly recoomend this to the DASL fans out there. Dust off those deluxe boards and give this one a try.
ev
Howdy Listers,
A somewhat late AAR, but I've been busy.
A total of 5 members , as detailed by Jim Cotugno, made it to Gameology for some ftf ASL. Our group consisted of Blair Bellamy, Jim Cotugno,Dave Nicholas, Glenn Sellar
and myself. Glenn and Jim paired up for what proved to be a bloodbath with high casualties on both sides in J 104, Flanking Flamethrowers.Initially, Glenn was in the drivers seat as he overran Jim's defendiong Russians.However Jim was able to reposition and recover and kept Glenn's German force from getting enough units across the road for a win.I have played Flanking Flamethrowers a couple times and it
is a fun scenario.The German player has to be on the ball and stay away from their left flank to avoid being roasted.Meanwhile, back in Bobruisk,USSR in DASL A6, Breakout,
I took on Dave and Blair. Between their fine play and a couple of turns of terrible
DRs I got my ass handed to me. There was much whining!.I managed to miss every MC save one and missed every attack .$#@@^& dice. But those are the breaks. ROAR has Breakout at 35-19 or so. Not a dog but definitely a scenario where the German needs the balance.In this case, having the Russian player set up first, as opposed to simultaneous set up.Regardless of the outcome it was fun and works out well for a 3 person scenario. We broke for lunch at The Hat , naturally ,gorged on meat and returned to finish our games. As Dave mentioned in his AAR we had a guest happen by and hope to see him[Josh] in the future. Saturday was another great day for SOCALASL.Hope to see you soon.Eric V
