ASL Bell Tolls

[davegin]

Colman Quill from North Dakota. A regular attendee of mid-western tourneys he was always great fun to play. Very nice to all, he was the kind of person you go to tourneys to see again and play some ASL with. He is greatly missed.

Coleman used to bring pounds and pounds of jerky for all. Great human being and my pleasure to have counted among my friends.

 

[davegin]

Our thoughts when originally planning Oktoberfest was that it wasn't to be an event with strict rules, timetables and the need to determine a " champion ". We wanted to get people together to play and revel in the game that meant so much to us. We gave the attendees what we wanted from an event and it seems to have worked pretty well. Fish came up with the idea to call it Oktoberfest and that name exemplifies what it became and thanks to Mark, Bret and Wild Bill what it remains. Well at least until everyone gets too old to party on.

I WILL NEVER GET TOO OLD TO PARTY ON....

 

[davegin]

The bell should toll for Bill Copeland, resident of the burning wreck lounge.

Bill was a complete pleasure to hand with. If you think the cigars were wild, you should have visited his room, I surely miss him.

 

[davegin]

And now, as I posted on other threads, we sadly add my great friend and ASL titan, Bill Sisler to this list. Bill
succumbed to cancer on May 31st this year. Bill first introduced me to Bill Connor, Mark Nixon, Darry Burke, Ray Wolozsin, Pete Mudge, Tom Cvetinovich, and countless others. A scenario designer beyond compare and a great contributor to the game. Bill was the artist who designed every ASLOK T shirt for 35 years. An intensive playtester. Bill became reclusive in his final time with us and it is my great regret that I didn't pay more attention. I will miss him more than most can know. Here's to you Bill. Always in my thoughts.

 

[von Marwitz]

I never met Bill Sisler, but when I took up ASL long time ago, his name was one of the first that stuck. When everything ASL was new and shiny to me, his name was found on a number of scenarios, as artwork signatures, and also one of the early German leader counters IIRC. For sure, Bill was one of the "Old Breed" of ASL.

It is sad to hear of his passing.

My condolences to his family and friends.

von Marwitz

 

[Actionjick]

I never met Bill Sisler, but when I took up ASL long time ago, his name was one of the first that stuck. When everything ASL was new and shiny to me, his name was found on a number of scenarios, as artwork signatures, and also one of the early German leader counters IIRC. For sure, Bill was one of the "Old Breed" of ASL.

It is sad to hear of his passing.

My condolences to his family and friends.

von Marwitz

Bill did have at least one AH counter named after him wbitd. I can't recall the nationality but AH misspelled his name. It was Sisker instead of Sisler!

Fish related a story about someone whose name had also been misspelled asking Don Greenwood if it could be corrected. Don told them that it would be easier just to change their name.

The misspelled name on his counter is something that I will always remember about Bill.

Much like Darrell Wright he always seemed to be enthusiastic about the game and the comradeship it fostered. Like Darrell he always seemed to have a smile on his face.

RIP Bill. Your seat at the Great Gaming Table in the Sky is assured.

 

[Perry]

Bill did have at least one AH counter named after him wbitd. I can't recall the nationality but AH misspelled his name. It was Sisker instead of Sisler!

Fish related a story about someone whose named had also been misspelled asking Don Greenwood if it could be corrected. Don told them that it would be easier just to change their name.

The misspelled name on his counter is something that I will always remember about Bill.

Much like Darrell Wright he always seemed to be enthusiastic about the game and the comradeship it fostered. Like Darrell he always seemed to have a smile on his face.

RIP Bill. Your seat at the Great Gaming Table in the Sky is assured.

A great loss to the ASL community, his family, and friends—the latter of which I am proud to call myself one of long-standing, albeit not a close one.

 

[wrongway149]

And now, as I posted on other threads, we sadly add my great friend and ASL titan, Bill Sisler to this list. Bill
succumbed to cancer on May 31st this year. Bill first introduced me to Bill Connor, Mark Nixon, Darry Burke, Ray Wolozsin, Pete Mudge, Tom Cvetinovich, and countless others. A scenario designer beyond compare and a great contributor to the game. Bill was the artist who designed every ASLOK T shirt for 35 years. An intensive playtester. Bill became reclusive in his final time with us and it is my great regret that I didn't pay more attention. I will miss him more than most can know. Here's to you Bill. Always in my thoughts.

As one of the locals involved with scenario design, Bill was sort of an early 'mentor' for me. One of the most important things he shared was to always 'know who they were- because you are telling thier story" . He had a 'Keep it Simple ' design philosophy - ASL is already a great game after all- and this was important to keep in mind when some others were taking SSRs and Victory Conditions to grand new places (also showing what COULD be done to keep the flavors fresh, but sometimes going a bit too far to actually be much fun to play).

A simple man, he always struck me as a guy who just liked his battle books and war movies (he seemed to know all the lines of the classics and quipped them out at appropriate times during a game) and appreciated the way ASL could make those stories more real and interactive.

As Dave mentions, he did not play much in his last few years, but was always helpful with ASLOk between the T-shirts and designing some new scenarios (some of which we still have in draft form, unpublished as of yet.)

RIP Lt Siscer 9-2

 

[Tooz]

And now, as I posted on other threads, we sadly add my great friend and ASL titan, Bill Sisler to this list. Bill
succumbed to cancer on May 31st this year. Bill first introduced me to Bill Connor, Mark Nixon, Darry Burke, Ray Wolozsin, Pete Mudge, Tom Cvetinovich, and countless others. A scenario designer beyond compare and a great contributor to the game. Bill was the artist who designed every ASLOK T shirt for 35 years. An intensive playtester. Bill became reclusive in his final time with us and it is my great regret that I didn't pay more attention. I will miss him more than most can know. Here's to you Bill. Always in my thoughts.

This is truly sad news. A great guy and a major contributor to the ASL system. Bill was another of those players in a room you sought out to arrange a playing. RIP Bill, you will always be remembered as a good friend.

 

[Evan Sherry]

I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Sisler many years ago at ASLOK. I played a few scenarios with him during my visits to Cleveland. He was a fine gentleman and always gave me a great game when we played ASL. I was especially honored to discuss scenario design theory with him at ASLOK in the 1990's after we had released a new issue of Schwerpunkt. I remember being proud to receive the greatest compliment one scenario designer can receive from another designer. That was when Bill first told me that he had really enjoyed playing a scenario I had designed. I also had the pleasure of working closely with Bill during 2009-2010 when we published 10 of his 45th Infantry Division scenarios in Rally Point Volume #5: The Thunderbird Pack. I may live in Florida now, but I'm originally from Ohio. I liked to brag on us Ohioans and remind our friend Bill that the world's three greatest ASL scenario designers are from Ohio. Bill was a great influence on many ASL scenario designers and will remain so. I'm sure Pete Shelling will join with me in saying that we will do our best to continue making scenarios that Bill Sisler would enjoy playing.

 

[Actionjick]

I had the pleasure of meeting Bill Sisler many years ago at ASLOK. I played a few scenarios with him during my visits to Cleveland. He was a fine gentleman and always gave me a great game when we played ASL. I was especially honored to discuss scenario design theory with him at ASLOK in the 1990's after we had released a new issue of Schwerpunkt. I remember being proud to receive the greatest compliment one scenario designer can receive from another designer. That was when Bill first told me that he had really enjoyed playing a scenario I had designed. I also had the pleasure of working closely with Bill during 2009-2010 when we published 12 of his 45th Infantry Division scenarios in Rally Point Volume #5: The Thunderbird Pack. I may live in Florida now, but I'm originally from Ohio. I liked to brag on us Ohioans and remind our friend Bill that the world's three greatest ASL scenario designers are from Ohio. Bill was a great influence on many ASL scenario designers and will remain so. I'm sure Pete Shelling will join with me in saying that we will do our best to continue making scenarios that Bill Sisler would enjoy playing.

Very nice Sir!

 

[Pitman]

I learned today from speaking to Evan on the phone that Bill Sisler had passed away. I'm very sorry to hear this. Bill Sisler--like Mark Nixon and Jim Stahler--was one of those mythical ASLers I knew about from reading game credits and The General and the like, which made me a little excited to actually meet him and talk to him, one of the "originals," for the first time. I always appreciate it when he could make it to ASLOK or to some local ASLer's game day.

 

[Actionjick]

I learned today from speaking to Evan on the phone that Bill Sisler had passed away. I'm very sorry to hear this. Bill Sisler--like Mark Nixon and Jim Stahler--was one of those mythical ASLers I knew about from reading game credits and The General and the like, which made me a little excited to actually meet him and talk to him, one of the "originals," for the first time. I always appreciate it when he could make it to ASLOK or to some local ASLer's game day.

He surely was a fixture of Cleveland ASL and ASLOk in particular.

 

[rdw5150]

Darrell died in 2019. It was tragic and unexpected. I think enough time has passed to tell the story and perhaps people can learn some lessons from it. As many of you know, Darrell traveled all over the world for work. He was staying in a hotel in downtown Baltimore. He did not show up for work and the site he was working at called the hotel. They did a wellness check and found Darrell's body. The police were called and they checked his wallet. The only contact information they found was for Anthony F. Anthony called me because I have a contact list for the Bitter Ender. We did not know Darrell's family. We had no way to contact them.

I called various people on the B.E. contact list who knew Darrell better and might know how to contact his family. Let's just say that some people on the list surprised and disappointment me, while others really stepped up to the plate--John Dober in particular. John did yeoman's work going through Darrell's Facebook feed and via tagged photos found Darrell's family. John took it upon himself to convey this awful, unexpected news to Darrell's brother.

At Darrell's funeral, I was astounded by the effect he had on other's lives. I knew his affect on mine but I guess I did not realize how beloved he was to a WIDE circle of people.

I urge anyone who reads this and travels to always have contact information on their person. I utilize Road ID service. For 10 bucks a year they maintain all of my insurance information, all of my emergency contacts, and provide a bracelet you can wear so first responders can contact Road ID. There is a code on the bracelet that the 1st responder gives to Road ID so all information they need is provided to them.

Darrel and Fish's passing both made my cry.........

 

[rdw5150]

And now, as I posted on other threads, we sadly add my great friend and ASL titan, Bill Sisler to this list. Bill
succumbed to cancer on May 31st this year. Bill first introduced me to Bill Connor, Mark Nixon, Darry Burke, Ray Wolozsin, Pete Mudge, Tom Cvetinovich, and countless others. A scenario designer beyond compare and a great contributor to the game. Bill was the artist who designed every ASLOK T shirt for 35 years. An intensive playtester. Bill became reclusive in his final time with us and it is my great regret that I didn't pay more attention. I will miss him more than most can know. Here's to you Bill. Always in my thoughts.

Ah man I was hoping the rumor was false........

Rest in Peace Bill and my thoughts are with his friends and family.

Roger

 

[ScottRomanowski]

I'm sorry for his loss. I never had the pleasure of playing Bill, but I'm sure I met him at ≥ ASLOKs. He was one of the Names of ASL.

 

[Hutch]

Bill did have at least one AH counter named after him wbitd. I can't recall the nationality but AH misspelled his name. It was Sisker instead of Sisler!

Fish related a story about someone whose name had also been misspelled asking Don Greenwood if it could be corrected. Don told them that it would be easier just to change their name.

The misspelled name on his counter is something that I will always remember about Bill.

Much like Darrell Wright he always seemed to be enthusiastic about the game and the comradeship it fostered. Like Darrell he always seemed to have a smile on his face.

RIP Bill. Your seat at the Great Gaming Table in the Sky is assured.

So sorry to hear this news...
Glancing through the Armory, I found a 9-2 German Lt Siscer in BV1-3, but corrected in Partisan and AoO as a 9-2 Axis Minor. There are probably more, but this was just a quick look.

 

[Actionjick]

So sorry to hear this news...
Glancing through the Armory, I found a 9-2 German Lt Siscer in BV1-3, but corrected in Partisan and AoO as a 9-2 Axis Minor. There are probably more, but this was just a quick look.

And I even misspelled his misspelled name. What a great guy, I hope he would have laughed at my faux paux. I'm pretty sure that he would have.

 

[aiabx]

And I even misspelled his misspelled name. What a great guy, I hope he would have laughed at my faux paux. I'm pretty sure that he would have.

I think we all need a sense of humour to play this game. Otherwise, you'd burst the 20th time you boxed that perfect HIP ambush.

 

[Gunner Scott]

Super sad news, I remember helping Bill playtest 15 or so years ago at ASLOK. Super nice guy, we talked alot about our jobs (i think he was a fork lift driver) and military history and so on. Great scenario designer who will be sadly missed.

And now, as I posted on other threads, we sadly add my great friend and ASL titan, Bill Sisler to this list. Bill
succumbed to cancer on May 31st this year. Bill first introduced me to Bill Connor, Mark Nixon, Darry Burke, Ray Wolozsin, Pete Mudge, Tom Cvetinovich, and countless others. A scenario designer beyond compare and a great contributor to the game. Bill was the artist who designed every ASLOK T shirt for 35 years. An intensive playtester. Bill became reclusive in his final time with us and it is my great regret that I didn't pay more attention. I will miss him more than most can know. Here's to you Bill. Always in my thoughts.