Who was your mentor(s)?

[chris_olden]

Tom Campbell
Dave Haasl
Roger Foss
Troy Turley

 

[RobZagnut]

I can't say I had an ASL mentor; Jean-Pierre Raymond and I met through my ad in the General that I had placed in 1989. He was an experienced SL player. I was a novice ASL player. He had only played against his wife and he rarely lost. I learned some tactics from him. He un-learned his SL rules from me. I will give a tip of the hat to Bill Connor and Russ Gifford ( and to every TD) for running the ASL Tournament at Avaloncon. It was there I learned the most about playing ASL in my first five years. I also met more players from Quebec, including Bruno L'Archeveque (still a regular opponent), as well as players from Winnipeg (including Jim McLeod).

I was at the first AvalonCons when they were at Harrisburg PA. I'm surprised we didn't run into each other, but there were 130 players at the ASL tourneys back then. Russ was an excellent TD. It's sad that there's no longer ASL at whatever they're calling AvalonCon these days. ASL was THE tournament in those first 3-4 years. But, it was really cool to look down a 100 foot table with the Turning Point: Stalingrad boards setup down the whole length. Wish I had taken a picture.

 

[M.Koch]

Great thread!

So here's my story:

Not exactly my tutor, yet the man who was the most important:

The late Christian Koppmeyer, who has passed away much too early.

When I started with ASL here in Germany, there simply was no player around that I knew of. Internet forums and such did not exist then, really. As far as I remember, I found out his name and telephone number in some obscure gaming fanzine. When I gave him a call, he was very nice and invited me to stay at his place for a week-end, where he planned to play ASL with three buddies (Rudi Großholdermann among them). Christian was the first "real person" I actually saw playing ASL. This was in 1997. I played my first face-to-face game with him and was beaten before I knew what had happened. That week-end inspired Christian to constitute the first German ASL tournament one year later. Since 1998 I have been there almost every year. The tournament experience was just awesome. I don't mean the competition itself - I always play friendly, even in tournaments. But the event in itself: So many ASL players. All their kit, all their stuff. All the talk and chit-chat going on during and in between games. And of course the long nights after the games, having some beers. Especially it is those long nights during which Christian was always among the last finally go to bed. He gave heart and soul to the event and we have laughed so much! Good times, really. I took leave of this good man at his funeral together with other ASL-friends. Rest in peace and roll low, my friend.

Almost the same for me. I met Christian the first time in a game shop to play a scenario. Altough i was playing ASL for some years it was....devastating. As von Marwitz i lost the scenario in no time. But it was the beginning of my "new" ASL life...

 

[Mister T]

Not really a mentor, but i discovered ASL in the late eighties with P-E Gillard and in a few games i learnt a ton of things because he was so good and committed a player. Too bad he abandoned ASL and wargamming in general (he was fond of the Europa series) a few years after.

 

[Jeffrey D Myers]

Randy Wilson, Seth Sparks, and Marc Hirschy for me. We played through FB CG III, and now are on to Onslaught to Orsha (damn Russian FBs....).

 

[fanatic+1]

David Deresinski. I was a total Noob. Had tried to teach myself the rules. I believe it was in the early 90s. He had been involved in playtesting the KGP module. He schooled me in the finer points of tactics and sleaze. Thanks, David.

 

[Mister T]

He schooled me in the finer points of tactics and sleaze.

I believe it all too well.

 

[dur]

I'm self-taught, but Martin Vicca and Michael Rodgers have answered many rules questions of mine in the ASL Slack channel. Also my first (and in some cases ongoing) VASL opponents deserve shout outs: David Garvin, Milton Soong, and Alan Lynott.

 

[Steven Pleva]

Mark Porterfield and Ray Tapio got me started. Good times...

 

[Philippe Briaux]

Georges Tournemire was my mentor, and he was a very efficient one. Thanks again Georges.

 

[Robin Reeve]

Self taught.
But each player l meet adds to my grasping of the game.
And GS, on many aspects, has given me insight about the rules application, tactics such as VBM freeze, skulking, etc.

 

[Jacksons]

I can't really say that I had a mentor but my play went up a significant notch when I was traveling to work to Wisconsin and playing Richard Simmons(no not that one, the one that won ASLOK) in the evenings. My play also improved from playing Russ Hall in RB CG's.
But I have learned a lot from many people and continue to learn/relearn rules and tactics.
Great Community of ASL players!
Stan

 

[JimWhite]

I never had a mentor originally since it was just me and my (at the time) brother in law who played up through Red Barricades. Fast forward through a 10-year hiatus and I found VASL and Randy Schurtz around the same time. He got me back up to speed through playing 25-30 scenarios or such over a year or so. Then I started playing CGs and have done nothing else since.

Now I'm playing a CG with Randy (first time we've played in probably 10+ years) and he is still schooling me...this time in VotG...

 

[volgaG68]

Self-taught, so no mentor. However, being off the grid and not logging on to the internet until 2012, I was one of those ASL isolationists who assumed it all ended when AH went out of business. ASL was the only game I was interested in, and when the local store told me about AH one day, I bought a couple of module duplicates and never went back there again. Why? It was over.....however I never quit playing "the coolest freaking game ever!".

About 15 years later I get my first internet connection, Google 'ASL', and am completely blown away by what passed me by. The purpose of this post is to mention a mentorship of sorts that I was very fortunate to experience. Shortly after joining GS, and still being overwhelmed by the ASL cornucopia, I began corresponding with Paul Weir. Through a volume of correspondence, he patiently walked me through the products, publishers, and history that had appeared since AH died. Absolutely indispensable advice! Knowing how many different 'tastes' there are in ASL-dom, I was doubly fortunate to have engaged with someone whose tastes closely paralleled my own. I acquired many things, and passed on many others. I have been very pleased with everything I have bought and do not feel shorted for passing on any of the rest.

Many newcomers here have gotten paragraphs, snippets and sound-bites of Paul's advice on "what to buy/ what will be OOP next/ what products are interconnected/ what is redundant, etc". I am both fortunate and thankful he took the time to personally relate all of this to me. It was my first inkling of the nature of the ASL Community that was still thriving.
:nod:

 

[Doug Kirk]

No mentor for me, largely self taught. Jim Burris and I learned the game together in college, basically taught each other. Although I will credit Jim with dragging me to my first tourney. I don't recall the exact date, mid to late 90s, perhaps 96? The orginal March Madness tourney with ToT/KE. I had blast and went 2-3, met Wes Vaughn and the rest is history as they say.

 

[Perry]

It was Michael Craighead who got me into ASL, convincing me into buying the ASLRB and Paratrooper by using his playtester discount, and taking me to Wednesday night playtest at TAHGC on Reed Street. There I was taught how to use the rules by Harry Southwell, Tom McKercher, Tom Murphy, Rex Martin, and most especially Charlie Kibler who always encouraged me. By watching Bob McNamara in action, I learned how to think about and write rules and integrate them into scenarios and campaigns. Then Brian Youse, Chuck Goetz, and Steve Petersen gave me an opportunity to sharpen and hone what I had learned.

I think you’ll find those names on page J2 of the ASLRB, along with some others important in my ASL life (such as Jim Stahler, Mark Nixon, and Fish Conner just to name three more).

 

[Tom Morin]

Vic Provost................

 

[AZslim]

Didn't need a mentor. I'm still the best player I know.

 

[Brad M-V]

Didn't need a mentor. I'm still the best player I know.

Right-on, I'm still the best player I've played too. ;-)

 

[Justiciar]

Didn't need a mentor. I'm still the best player I know.

You play the Omega Man? He is Legend.