Greetings from Southern Md

[Lester Quaestor]

Hello all.

A few of you might have noticed my posts, so I thought I would post an introduction. I'm probably very atypical compared to most people who post here.

I started playing Squad Leader circa 1980, and have all the modules through GI: Anvil of Victory. I didn't purchase ASL until about 3 years after it's release, in 1988. It was my first adult purchase when I went to graduate school and had a stipend.

To facts you might find unusual:

1) I've never played against an opponent (an don't really want to). I play both sides solitaire. I've only ever met two people who have even heard of it.

2) For me, ASL is a simulation only. I see that a lot of you guys play ASL as a game, and that's great. But for me it is a historical simulation. I'm ready to defend my position that it is an extraordinarily successful simulation of combat.

-LQ

 

[Actionjick]

Hello all.

A few of you might have noticed my posts, so I thought I would post an introduction. I'm probably very atypical compared to most people who post here.

I started playing Squad Leader circa 1980, and have all the modules through GI: Anvil of Victory. I didn't purchase ASL until about 3 years after it's release, in 1988. It was my first adult purchase when I went to graduate school and had a stipend.

To facts you might find unusual:

1) I've never played against an opponent (an don't really want to). I play both sides solitaire. I've only ever met two people who have even heard of it.

2) For me, ASL is a simulation only. I see that a lot of you guys play ASL as a game, and that's great. But for me it is a historical simulation. I'm ready to defend my position that it is an extraordinarily successful simulation of combat.

-LQ

However you approach and enjoy the game is not a matter of concern to me or I can safety say most members of the forum. Roll low and good gunnin to you!

 

[trailrunner]

If you ever want to play face-to-face, the DC Conscripts holds meetings every month. There is also a group in Fredericksburg VA, and I know at least one person from southern MD that attends those meetups. There are also some players in the Baltimore area. Send me a PM if you want more information.

 

[von Marwitz]

Hello all.

To facts you might find unusual:

1) I've never played against an opponent (an don't really want to). I play both sides solitaire. I've only ever met two people who have even heard of it.

2) For me, ASL is a simulation only. I see that a lot of you guys play ASL as a game, and that's great. But for me it is a historical simulation. I'm ready to defend my position that it is an extraordinarily successful simulation of combat.

-LQ

Welcome, mate!
You'll find plenty of stuff to read about ASL in this forum. It is a great resource!
The search function of the forum sucks, though. So if you want to search it my advice is to use google search with the following query:
"site:gamesquad.com <search words>"

ad 1)
I played almost exclusively that way from 1995 until 2010, the exception being one tournament per year I was attending. That way, I may have played around 100 scenarios solitaire doing both sides not using SASL rules - and part of a RB campaign game.

So by my own experience I can say that it is entirely possible to play that way having fun.
But I would add, also by my own experience, that you will never spot many mistakes you make and that you learn a lot more and become a better player much more easily, if you play real opponents. I discovered this in 2010 when picking up VASL and finding this forum. Personally, besides the named advantages, I also enjoyed playing real opponents much more than my solitaire ventures and never looked back.

Each to his own, of course. But maybe trying out VASL and playing real opponents is at least worth a try.


ad 2)
Countless threads have debated this issue over the years time and again. Most conclude that ASL is not a simulation. I subscribe to this point of view. For me, the case is closed by merely looking at the terrain and the geoboards: So much abstraction, plateau hills, indestructible walls, 40m wide streets between buildings in any village or town...

Maybe worth to remember that it is not necessary to agree on what one believes ASL is or is not as long as everyone is happy with playing it. One might think he's playing a simulation, while the other believes he's playing a game, while they are actually doing the same thing.



von Marwitz

 

[Lester Quaestor]

Thanks to everyone for the welcome messages.

 

[Robin Reeve]

Welcome here.
I hope you will find the resources and interactions you are looking for.

I also enjoy playing solo.

I don't think any playable wargame is a simulation.
ASL's sequential turn structure throws the real time-space relationship out of the window - the 2 minutes turn is a joke.

John Hill chose the squads' FP in a very vague way, not speaking of the probabilities forced into a 2d6 Gaussian bell curve.

ASL was designed for effect, and besides its innumerable abstractions, it leaves out quite a lot of real life factors.
But ASL is of course narrowly related to reality, with broad brush strokes, however.

I have seen so many people want ASL to simulate reality and be disappointed... as we all have our ideas about what real combat is about and how it should be transcribed into a game system.

What is the most important is to have fun playing the game, whatever we believe about its relation to reality.