Yanks and Forgotten War are the Only Modules in Print or Pappy Van Winkle is Easier to Get than ASL

Evan Sherry

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I don't mean to make with the negative waves, but for crying out loud, the only core modules in print for this hobby are Yanks and Forgotten War. Even if you bought them, you would have no information counters to start playing with.

I'm glad I'm not trying to get into the hobby because I'd just go play something else, rather than try to chase down the Pappy Van Winkle of war games.
 

JoeArthur

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There is always eBay..........that's how I caught up. Takes a lot of patience though - mainly because I look at the prices and think "I'm not paying that for that!"

Magnus caught up by purchasing the entire collection of a US doctor who had died. He flew from Sweden to the US to collect it in person (and took the opportunity to play in a tourny there) as it was cheaper than shipping all the stuff to Sweden :)

The current situation is not good..........but understandable. MMP do not want a load of stock sitting on their shelves gathering dust - dead money.
 

GeorgeBates

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Hey, even Disney cycles through their collection every seven or eight years, so as to be able to re-introduce Bambi and Snow White to new generations. Maybe Evan is just steamed because he can't find The Little Mermaid in Blu-Ray on Amazon or store shelves right now...? :rolleyes:
 

Paul M. Weir

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While I fully understand MMP's problems with keeping ASL items in stock, the lack of same is a very real problem for new or returning ASLers. So I tend to look askance at biting retorts.
 

Honza

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Buying ASL has always been a waiting game. There has never been a time when all the modules are in print at the same time. In the beginning players were waiting for the new modules to be released. Nowadays players wait for modules to be reprinted. There is not much difference.
 

Robin Reeve

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Sure. In 1986, the delay for AoO was about 14 years and for FW 32.
 

Tuomo

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There is always eBay..........that's how I caught up. Takes a lot of patience though - mainly because I look at the prices and think "I'm not paying that for that!"
When ASL first came out, I was shocked that the rulebook was $45 and Beyond Valor was $40. I even wrote Avalon Hill and said nobody would pay that. And the rest is history.
 

Cult.44

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It does seem weird to let BV go out of print. I assume it's their flagship product. Are MMP's margins must so slim they have to let it go out of stock from time to time? Is it problems with printing capacity?
 

dur

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I'm just glad that people are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to the constant bellyaching about the availability of AoO! It has exceeded it's "preorder number" (even though it was going to be printed anyway), so it's encouraging that we as a community are still willing to spend money on reprints.
 

Honza

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Sure. In 1986, the delay for AoO was about 14 years and for FW 32.
The core modules were being released every year or so. The HASLs every few years. These days the reprints are released every year or so and the HASLs every few years.
 

hongkongwargamer

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I don't mean to make with the negative waves, but for crying out loud, the only core modules in print for this hobby are Yanks and Forgotten War. Even if you bought them, you would have no information counters to start playing with.

I'm glad I'm not trying to get into the hobby because I'd just go play something else, rather than try to chase down the Pappy Van Winkle of war games.
Well, I hope if you are starting out, you ain’t playing solo.

Chances are the ASL chap who’s taking you thru the game have those info counters.

I don’t expect to see a bunch of noobs, all without BV, trying to figure out how to play each other.
 

Paul M. Weir

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The core modules were being released every year or so. The HASLs every few years. These days the reprints are released every year or so and the HASLs every few years.
I'm afraid I will respectfully disagree. In the AH era you might get something ASL every year. In most years it was just a pair of General scenarios, though I remember a year or two without even that.

The best you could expect was a core, a HASL or an Annual in any one year. Maybe there there was a 12 month period or two where you might get an Annual along with either a core or HASL.

MMP's early years were little better, but the last decade or so have seen a very great improvement. I would guess MMP's recent output at at least twice the 1980s-2000 rate, if not three or more times.

I know that memory can deceive, but true tales of the AH era would sound like Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch.

 

Honza

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So its actually better now than it was? Even less reason to complain.
 

Brad M-V

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New players should be starting out on the Starter Kits first, IMO anyways. The lack of core modules generally effects those graduating from there to the big binder, so I'm 50% in agreement with what Evan posted! ;-) Personally, I'm still awaiting the next FKaC reprint.

P.S. Thanks for stepping up to the plate while Mr. Pittman is AFK. It was beginning to get a little too boring around here... <dives for cover>
 

witchbottles

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I'm firmly in the BV and ASLRB should never be out of print- no faster way to kill a hobby than to have it's core tenets be unavailable to new blood. To those, like Honza who claim something was always waiting to be printed in this hobby, when exactly did TAHGC ever run out of ASLRB or BV as not available? I'll tell you when - 1998 when they locked their doors. Never before was it unavailable or out of print.

Yes MMP has limited storage capacity. They also have at least 20 years, if not more, first-hand knowledge and datasets on how many copies of each are purchased annually - so running out is just not a viable option if the desire is to keep the hobby taking in new players. It takes me about 30 minutes to forecast a Hi and Lo supply schedule for any product in an inventory based on historical sales/demand figures. you order when the product base hits Lo, and you don't run out - its called just in time inventory- and has been a standard business model for well over 40 years now. MMP has limited storage capacity for inventory - no problem, most businesses do, my own included.

I'm not going to run out of stock on 12 ga shotgun shells or on dog food or on game bred pheasants - they represent the core of the business. The ASLRB and BV are the core of the business. Establish a Hi/Lo and keep them in stock - Adjust to meet sales forecasts as annual data is updated every April 15th. This is not rocket science, its business model management, something damn near everyone I have ever met in ASLdom is quite familiar with.

The rest, sure, print/re-print based on supply and demand historical data, updated regularly. Run out after prints are sold - do not maintain excess stock of modules / components that are not part of the core for the system - I run out of mosquito repellent, hunting license protective holders, e-collar models for dogs, training dummies, t-shirts with the business logo on them - etc, from time to time as well. None of them are requisite for clients to enjoy the hobby. They still have Hi/Lo inventory - but if space is required, they will get out of stock on one or more occasions, as supply and demand of the core requirement items increases/decreases.

As always, YMMV
 
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