(Posting this in the correct topic thread.)
Being a Baby Boomer, I was immersed in post-WWII backwash. Besides playing “War” with my buddies in the hills outside the NJ town where I grew up in (and now realizing that I was disrupting rout paths by sneaking behind their positions), I also played Risk, Stratego, plus the plastic men & tanks that you bought from the back pages of Sgt. Rock comic books, and lastly those weird games from a company called Avalon Hill …. Tactics II, Stalingrad, and D Day (fondly recalled that intriguing pink counter named Lehr.) PS> I also remember my mother saying in Oct `62 to run home if the fire alarms started screaming.
Lost interest in games during HS & college, but distinctly remember rediscovering AH’s Jutland in a Toys R Us in East Brunswick, NJ (always fond of naval games.) From then, it was onto PB, PL, and a host of other AH games.
Discovered SL while attending Origins III in July `77 at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY. John Hill & Don G. were hawking it at the AH table there, and I picked up a copy for (I think) $15. I recall John telling me that if I didn’t like the game, I could always kill off the Sgt Hill SMC.
Was NOT impressed when AH decided to morph SL into ASL, but I stuck with it thanks to the emergence of the WWNet, CompuServe, and GEnie. (You young un’s will have to look that up.) Not surprisingly, I lost interest in ASL around the same time Jackie & I had the kiddos. Sold my collection off (ugh), but recently rediscovered the system … and my desire to play it.
Having the most fun time ever playing it via VASL …. thanks to Jeff Buser, who has taken me under his wing and guided me through it.
… and MMP is no doubt happy to hear the frequent “cha-ching” of my orders for ASL products.
Ahh, the Madness!