Tokyo ASL Tournament - Saturday, 14 July 2018

GeorgeBates

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Greetings, Friends. We have overcome numerous fits and starts to get this event off the ground, albeit at a reduced scale.

  • Date is Saturday, 14 July, 09:00 - 21:00 (this is the first day of a three-day weekend in Japan; there will be friendly gaming on Sunday and Monday)
  • Location is Meeting Room 1 at the Eifuku Izumi Residents Center at 3-8-18 Izumi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-0063
  • Participation fee will be JPY 1500 (USD accepted) by 5 July, JPY 2000 afterward
  • Sign up on the Asia-Pacific ASL Meetup

    As time is pressing full details for the event ought to be released over this weekend. MMP has once again agreed to support our regional rabble-rousing and is contributing valuable prizes to the event. Other sponsors and prizes TBA once confirmed.

    Apologies for not being able to announce this much earlier. The late planning may prevent our friends overseas from joining the fun, but if you spot a discount ticket, hop a plane to join us for some intense competition and a dose of Japanese hospitality. Assistance with accommodations and transportation are available.

    This event is also a farewell party for our dear friend Captain John E. M. Brown, USNR (Ret). John will be relocating stateside at the end of July for his next assignment.

    Cheers!

    - G
 

GeorgeBates

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Well, plans are coming together nicely. This event has been named "TOKYO TYPHOON" as it will blow through town in a day.

We already have a full bracket of eight for three rounds of play on the day. As more registrants join we'll schedule some prelims to determine bracket qualifiers.

Here's the tournament artwork. Nothin' fancy, just the facts:

TokyoTyphoon2018(M).jpg

We've also got a lineup of fast-playing scenarios with proven track records, including some recent titles that have shown their quality. Here are the themes and choices for each round:

Round 1, “Bellum Gallicum” (09:00 – 12:30)
J183 A Real Barn Burner​
O1 Go Big Or Go Home​
OA31 With Friends Like These​
Gallia est omnis divisa in scenaria tres...
Round 2, “Heavy Hitters” (13:00 – 16:30)
J94 Kempf At Melikhovo​
J98 Lend-Lease Attack​
J106 Marders Not Martyrs​
Round 3, “Made In Japan” (17:00 – 20:30)
AP86 Milling About​
AP90 Smashing The Hook​
J166 Maximum Aggression​

Each player can veto one scenario, so it is only necessary for them to prepare for the two that they want to play most.

Final sponsorship commitments and prizes should be confirmed within the next 24 hours. The full tournament program should follow shortly after that.

Thanks to everyone who has supported our little soireé.

Cheers!

- G
 

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GeorgeBates

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Folks, we've got some valuable prizes lined up for participants. Check this out:

1530284583866.png

Big shout to John for his particularly generous contributions.
 

GeorgeBates

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Very pleased to announce that in spite of some communications issues Battleschool has also agreed to sponsor our event. Will add the prize they're contributing to our list shortly. Thanks, Chris & Helen!
 

GeorgeBates

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With Battleschool offering some truly "hot" dice for our tournament champion the prize table has been re-arranged. Just 11 days to go!

Tokyo2018_Prizes.jpg
 

GeorgeBates

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Friends,

Although there's still the odd detail to be filled in here and there, plans are complete enough for publication of the tournament guide. It's got everything you need to know about how to git yerself an ass whuppin' in Japan, or to kick some if you think you've got the right stuff. The fun starts a week from today.

Due to work and family constraints we've lost two friends who planned to attend, so there's still room for latecomers. If not, hope to see you in a couple of years when we try this again on a larger scale.

Cheers!

- G
 

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FourDeuceMF

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George - I've dropped a message on CSW, and here too. As it happens, I'm in Kobe this week on business, and will be traveling up to Tokyo on Friday afternoon. Will be staying in Shinagawa (Prince hotel) over the weekend and into next week.

I'd love to take the opportunity to join in the tournament if possible (been too long for me, this past year or so has taken me out of the loop even in my own backyard...). To sweeten the pot, I've brought along one of my designer comp copies of "Forgotten War" that you can add to the prize booty or do with as you see fit...

My cel/text/whatsapp is <removed> if you'd like to get in touch, and we can discuss. Love the opportunity to meet up to play ASL over here! ;-)

Thx
Mike Reed
 
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GeorgeBates

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Thanks for reaching out, Mike. We'll be very pleased to have you here! The prize offer is amazingly generous.

You will have an opponent, and a chance to meet a number of Japanese, Chinese, American and European players at the competition and during friendly play on Sunday. Shinagawa is a 25-minute train ride from the venue. We'll make certain you have help getting here.

SMS sent. Also a PM with my contact info to you here. Recommend you remove your number from Consim and this site now.

Cheers!

- G
 
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GeorgeBates

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Now that Mike has joined us, our prize list is updated, and the acknowledgments that should have been there in the first place are included.

Tokyo2018_Prizes.jpeg

Less than four days until the action starts. Seeding will be announced tomorrow. Time is running out to join the fun!

Cheers!

- G
 

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GeorgeBates

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Greetings from hot and sticky Tokyo, where it's only 30°C (87°F) this morning for a change... Here's a summary of the results of our day-long showdown in Tokyo on the 14th. Mike Reed is our champion with a 3-0 record. This is how it came to pass.

The fun began Friday night when Team Kansai (Inaba-san & Nakae-san) rolled in to the city. We warmed up our wrists lifting pints over a little supper in Kichijoji before hitting the racks early.
IMG_1710.JPG
Anyone seeing a trend here?

Everyone made it to the venue early, so setups were quick and Round 1 began on time. Since we were a person short of a full bracket it was agreed that one of the Round 1 losers would drop out, and a Round 2 loser in the winning bracket would play in the consolation final...
IMG_1714.JPG
IMG_1717.JPG

During Round 1, we had a visit from two friends we have not seen for a while. Richard WANG Zhen (right) was on a trip to Tokyo with his family from his hometown in Chengdu to collect his hard-earned doctorate. He made some time for us so he would have a chance to say goodbye to John. Arlen FAN Weixing is a Tokyo resident, but his work commitments have kept him away from ASL too much recently. He was clearly energized watching the competition, so hopefully he'll find a way to blow off his bosses and come back to the table.
IMG_1725.JPG

Round 1 ended on time, with Mike, John and Mise-san advancing. Nakae-san lost the dice contest, so Iwanaga-san and Inaba-san faced of in the Round 2 consolation match over "Lend-Lease Attack." This was the choice for Mike's & John's match also, while Mise-san and I bid for "Marders Not Martyrs."

"Marders" is about as typical a mid-war East Front firefight as there is. The Red Army must pass its PMC against the 9-1 directed HMG and ROF 2 TDs, move forward and never stop. Infantry was divided fairly evenly between the north and south woods masses, forgoing the opportunity for a Human Wave but still marching rapidly into close contact with the German troops. The KVs need to take advantage of terrain as they push ahead to minimize likelihood of German hits and trust that their thick armor results in a few 75mm AP rounds bouncing. In this match, Mise-san placed both of his SPGs on the rises at the east edge of the play area, at first not realizing that this left them vulnerable to the Ivans' SW MTR. Preoccupation with this weapon gave the KVs a bit more cover, so that only one was lost on the western plateau, and a second was immobilized as it cleared the south woods. The stopped tank's payback was lethal, however, and the other Marder succumbed to a stun on a 12FP+1 infantry FP attack and was not allowed to recover. With Soviet infantry busting into the buildings on the German right on Turn 3, Mise-san saw that the end had come.

Iwanaga-san's Red forces made similarly quick work of Inaba-san's Panzertruppe, simultaneously sealing (with Mise-san) Team Kanto's victory over Team Kansai. Mike started strong in his match, but suddenly John got interested in adding to his AFV collection, and the Soviet advantage narrowed. Mike still had the upper hand, but the contest deserved to be allowed to play out as the winner would be a finalist, and these would be John's last games in Japan for a while.
IMG_1731.JPG
View attachment 5179

This delay forced a reset in the consolation bracket. Iwanaga-san had been scheduled to play the loser of the Brown - Reed bout, but in the interest of time Nakae-san stepped forward to get Round 3 underway. He took the British - Commonwealth side in their game of "Milling About." Iwanaga-san was able to turn the flank of the British left; staking himself to a 2 -1 record, but none of his wins came against an opponent with a victory.
IMG_1735.JPG

This would allow Mise-san to sneak ahead in the points standings. When Mike finally pinned John to the mat, these two players with even scores decided to face off over "Kempf At Melikovo" instead of one of the Round 3 selections. The Tournament Director did not object, for the simple reason that he was standing in the way of Mike's undefeated streak. So away they went, Inaba-san riding shotgun with John. Judging from the shouts and peals of laughter it was a good match - we'll have to see about coaxing an AAR out of someone. Mise-san grabbed his second "W," and we had three more satisfied customers.

More on the final match and awards in the next message...
 

GeorgeBates

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Given the late start, the final match was going to be a race against time. Mike and I agreed on "Maximum Aggression," with the dice giving me the Japanese. Setup is pretty straightforward - I put enough infantry around the Malay position to be able to crush it in Turn 1, though I should have set up everything out of LOS. Mike's freebie Prep Fire shots got him a stripe that was completely unnecessary. The Highlander's reception committee was thin, but included the MMG and the MTR. Since the VC are building control, I wanted as many DFF shots as I could get to shave down the slim British advantage in infantry. Mike was willing/able to close much more quickly than I expected, however, so future setups on the 8th and 9th hexes of board 62 will require more thought.
IMG_1738.JPG

In the first Japanese player turn, the Malay position in/around the church was eliminated, but I erred in not leaving a squad out of a banzai charge to prevent routs out of the target hex, allowing a squad with a BREN and a 7-0 to escape. The welcoming committee's fall-back did not go according to plan, with the MMG crew anchoring the left taking a stripe and then a PIN (later it suffered a CR), and another nearby squad melted into a 2nd line half squad.
IMG_1739.JPG

By the end of Turn 2 we were out of time. In spite of some armored car overruns, the Japanese position had stabilized a bit, but with the Malay squad and leader still on the loose, the left under threat, and the 9-0 leader and a HS in melee with that Monkey Harry, I was getting the fuzzy side of the lollipop. Casualties numbered 2.5 squads for the British, while the Japanese were out a squad and the infantry crew. I had hope that if the British could be made to lose more troops that grabbing and holding 4 buildings would become problematic. Had I realized, we could have extended the room time another 45 minutes, which might have brought the likely outcome into clearer focus, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the advantage was with Mike at that point. All present agreed that we declare him the winner.

So, here’s a summary of results and our final standings, with tabulated scores for the other awards up for grabs that day.
Tokyo2018_BracketsFinal.jpgTokyo2018_MatrixFinal.jpg

Due to the time constraint, we had to forgo an awards ceremony on site. Mike and I tallied everything up the following day. He was not going to haul his copy of “Forgotten War” back with him, so initially we offered him the choice of another prize further down the list to go with his Battle Dice. Instead, since we had two Charlies, Mike decided to leave his other prize with us, and I rebuilt the prize table.
IMG_1727.JPG
Tokyo2108_PrizesFinal.jpg

Big, big thanks to sponsors Battleschool and MMP, as well as John and Mike for their very generous contributions. Please join me in congratulating all of our participants on their strong play and sportsmanship. Hopefully they'll have nice things to say about their experience and we can have more events like this. When we do, we hope you'll join us.

Cheers!

- G
 

Mister T

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Kudos for having spent time to organise that ASL premiere.

In a country/society where so little time is dedicated to leisure (at least for men) and so much to work to the point of karoshi, it is a bit of lost cause to try to rally people around the ASL banner. This may sound pessimistic but in no way an attempt to belittle your efforts. Anyway if this provides a rallying point for expat in the region (i would call them "the aero-san" :)), it is already valuable.
 

GeorgeBates

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A coda to July's little soireé.

Our good friend Iwanaga-san shared his tournament experience in a write-up published in Command Magazine's August issue. This kind of visibility is a big boost for our hobby. Hopefully we'll see evidence of his story sparking new interest.

CommandMagazine_n142_201808.jpgCommandMagazine_n142-34_201808.jpg
 
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dlazov

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Did not know XRT Command was still around, can you send a link?
 
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