How to get the darn rules to sink in...

[Zakopious]

To stay awake I suggest hot, strong, javeine in quantity. We would drink a couple pots a night. Works but frequent head breaks are a side effect.
Good gunnin to you.

A bright light also helps.
I keep a 300w LED equivalent bulb on in my ASL room while I am studying or playing solo.

 

[Tuomo]

Clearly your parents did too good a job of raising you. Your self-esteem is rock solid and undented by this failure.

You need to feel bad, very bad, about not remembering or knowing things. Let it sink in to your gut and take you back to some of your worst, most helpless and powerless moments in life. Let it eat you up.

Only then will you be properly motivated to learn.

 

[Alan Hume]

Youtube is what you put on the Android TV while you are doing the washing up. Or listen to on the bus.
If you really want to learn, either with somebody else or on your own, move the counters on the board, roll the dice and work through the charts - while the rule book is open.

Heh, that's a fair point too to be honest
I guess I like Youtube because it's the easy option

 

[Alan Hume]

To stay awake I suggest hot, strong, javeine in quantity. We would drink a couple pots a night. Works but frequent head breaks are a side effect.
Good gunnin to you.

Thanks, everyone is telling me to stop drinking tea and to start drinking coffee. I think there could be something in that right enough
Maaaan, I slept better last night but I was still awake at 3am and up out of bed at 4am (left the flat at 0530 ish aiming to get into work for 6am)

Yeah, tired again now, so probably just going to get something to eat, make a fuss of the cat (poor guys been on his own for nearly 14 hours I guess)
I must admit I will be very happy if I manage to retire early at 60 (in three years time)
shifts are well overated, a good job but they wear you down.

But yeah, coffee could well be the answer, I think you're right

 

[olli]

That’s why I like my current job 14 days on 14 off it’s like semi retirement

 

[Alan Hume]

That’s why I like my current job 14 days on 14 off it’s like semi retirement

that beats all I think Olli,
we're 4 on 6 off (but only thanks to the Scottish Government wanting to cut working hours - they couldn't cut our hours, still 48hrs per block, but they gave us extra days off to make up for it. But it sometimes takes you 2 days to recover from the nightshifts so there is that

 

[von Marwitz]

That’s why I like my current job 14 days on 14 off it’s like half-time counter-clipping.

Fixed that for you.

von Marwitz

 

[Yuri0352]

Alan,

It sure sounds like you have received a great deal of good advice in response to your initial post. I concur with essentially all of it, and I would add that I have given up many years ago on the goal of becoming an ASL 'rules expert'. The complexity and minutiae of ASL are a key attraction for me, and are probably the reasons why I have stayed with the game off and on over the years.

Note the phrase 'off and on'.

As has been oft mentioned, the best way to gain proficiency with the ASL rules and by extension, tactics is to play the game frequently, preferably with experienced players face to face if possible. In my experience, I have found that it can be both intellectually healthy and rewarding to take a break from ASL from time to time and partake in a sort of wargaming 'palate cleanser' by trying out some of the other military boardgames available. By this, I am referring to playing slightly less complex games once in a while.
Some examples would be the AH/MMP Great Campaigns of the American Civil War series or the (out of print, unfortunately) AH area-movement type games such as Thunder at Cassino or Turning Point: Stalingrad. Personally, I'm on a several months long ASL sabbatical and I'm enjoying a solo play of MMP's 'The Greatest Day', volume 1 which portrays the landings at Sword/Juno/Gold beaches and the subsequent breakout. Another great benefit of playing these games is that in nearly every instance, you will gain a more insightful historical knowledge of these battles by playing with a larger unit scale on maps which are far more historically representative than your typical ASL geo board.

How long should you take your ASL break? That's entirely your decision. I know that in my experience, the massive ASL rules set with its snap shots, street fighting, gun duels, concealment gaining and stripping, LOS, Chapter E, etc., etc., can become intellectually fatiguing with prolonged, continuous playing. Maybe you are at this point, especially with your work schedule as you described previously. This is in no way a suggestion to give up on improving your experience or proficiency with the ASL system. ASL is always there waiting for your enthusiastic return.

Anyways, these are just my humble suggestions, maybe they could work for you too. I wish you all the best, and by all means... have fun!

 

[Actionjick]

Alan,

It sure sounds like you have received a great deal of good advice in response to your initial post. I concur with essentially all of it, and I would add that I have given up many years ago on the goal of becoming an ASL 'rules expert'. The complexity and minutiae of ASL are a key attraction for me, and are probably the reasons why I have stayed with the game off and on over the years.

Note the phrase 'off and on'.

As has been oft mentioned, the best way to gain proficiency with the ASL rules and by extension, tactics is to play the game frequently, preferably with experienced players face to face if possible. In my experience, I have found that it can be both intellectually healthy and rewarding to take a break from ASL from time to time and partake in a sort of wargaming 'palate cleanser' by trying out some of the other military boardgames available. By this, I am referring to playing slightly less complex games once in a while.
Some examples would be the AH/MMP Great Campaigns of the American Civil War series or the (out of print, unfortunately) AH area-movement type games such as Thunder at Cassino or Turning Point: Stalingrad. Personally, I'm on a several months long ASL sabbatical and I'm enjoying a solo play of MMP's 'The Greatest Day', volume 1 which portrays the landings at Sword/Juno/Gold beaches and the subsequent breakout. Another great benefit of playing these games is that in nearly every instance, you will gain a more insightful historical knowledge of these battles by playing with a larger unit scale on maps which are far more historically representative than your typical ASL geo board.

How long should you take your ASL break? That's entirely your decision. I know that in my experience, the massive ASL rules set with its snap shots, street fighting, gun duals, concealment gaining and stripping, LOS, Chapter E, etc., etc., can become intellectually fatiguing with prolonged, continuous playing. Maybe you are at this point, especially with your work schedule as you described previously. This is in no way a suggestion to give up on improving your experience or proficiency with the ASL system. ASL is always there waiting for your enthusiastic return.

Anyways, these are just my humble suggestions, maybe they could work for you too. I wish you all the best, and by all means... have fun!

We would take ASL breaks though not for an extended time. Played a lot of Up Front, Strat-O-Matic Baseball, Axis and Allies or whatever " classic " game Fish would bring down. Not an ASL break but a break from serious ASL was DYO. We luvd us some DYO, the more ahistorical and ludicrous the better.

You need to step away occasionally or burn out is a distinct possibility.

 

[Alan Hume]

Fixed that for you.

von Marwitz

Oh that's brilliant Spot on

 

[Alan Hume]

Alan,

It sure sounds like you have received a great deal of good advice in response to your initial post. I concur with essentially all of it, and I would add that I have given up many years ago on the goal of becoming an ASL 'rules expert'. The complexity and minutiae of ASL are a key attraction for me, and are probably the reasons why I have stayed with the game off and on over the years.

Note the phrase 'off and on'.

As has been oft mentioned, the best way to gain proficiency with the ASL rules and by extension, tactics is to play the game frequently, preferably with experienced players face to face if possible. In my experience, I have found that it can be both intellectually healthy and rewarding to take a break from ASL from time to time and partake in a sort of wargaming 'palate cleanser' by trying out some of the other military boardgames available. By this, I am referring to playing slightly less complex games once in a while.
Some examples would be the AH/MMP Great Campaigns of the American Civil War series or the (out of print, unfortunately) AH area-movement type games such as Thunder at Cassino or Turning Point: Stalingrad. Personally, I'm on a several months long ASL sabbatical and I'm enjoying a solo play of MMP's 'The Greatest Day', volume 1 which portrays the landings at Sword/Juno/Gold beaches and the subsequent breakout. Another great benefit of playing these games is that in nearly every instance, you will gain a more insightful historical knowledge of these battles by playing with a larger unit scale on maps which are far more historically representative than your typical ASL geo board.

How long should you take your ASL break? That's entirely your decision. I know that in my experience, the massive ASL rules set with its snap shots, street fighting, gun duals, concealment gaining and stripping, LOS, Chapter E, etc., etc., can become intellectually fatiguing with prolonged, continuous playing. Maybe you are at this point, especially with your work schedule as you described previously. This is in no way a suggestion to give up on improving your experience or proficiency with the ASL system. ASL is always there waiting for your enthusiastic return.

Anyways, these are just my humble suggestions, maybe they could work for you too. I wish you all the best, and by all means... have fun!

Yes indeed, people have been very kind to share their thoughts and advice with me here, it is much appreciated.
Yes, I must admit I haven't been doing much gaming EXCEPT for ASL for a long time (but, even saying that, I have NOT played regularly or even very much when it comes to ASL, certainly not enough to become any more proficient with the rules).

I played a lot more different games when I was younger/went to the 'local' wargames club (it's the other side of town, an hour each way on two buses, so I stopped going quite a few years ago now).

As Darryl says, sports games where always fun, I grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons, Car Wars and the like but my friend Magnus was given a copy of Avalon Hill's Status Pro Football one Christmas (around 1984/85 or so, when we just discovered American Football on the tv here in the UK) and we played that a lot (Paydirt too at the local wargames club) and those games were a lot of fun.

I took down my copy of the resissued 'Battle for Germany' to the HEROES ASL tournament down in Blackpool the other year and we had a lot of fun playing through that (of course we had to quickly read the rules and figure it all out first but it was great), I grabbed Car Wars the other year and took it down hoping that we might get a game in (again I would have had to familiarise myself with the rules first) but it never happened

So, yes, I am open to playing other games, it's just that i don't really get around to it I guess

 

[Alan Hume]

Of course, I was introduced to the great Star Fleet Battles at SESWC (our local wargames club) too and TRIED to learn that, it was really cool and I had a lot of fun playing but I never could get a handle on the rules (though I did buy the BIG silver anniversary ruleset from our local FLGS Black Lion Games here in town)

 

[Vic Provost]

We would take ASL breaks though not for an extended time. Played a lot of Up Front, Strat-O-Matic Baseball, Axis and Allies or whatever " classic " game Fish would bring down. Not an ASL break but a break from serious ASL was DYO. We luvd us some DYO, the more ahistorical and ludicrous the better.

You need to step away occasionally or burn out is a distinct possibility.

I would love to Play either Up Front or Strat-O-Matic baseball with you! loved both of those games and have a ton of baseball teams from all eras I play with from time to time. Up Front is still a great man to man tactical card game which was total fun when I played it regularly back in the day. Game playing fools is what we are...

 

[John Garlic]

I find that PBEM is the way I internalize the rules. I don't concern much over win/loss, but playing regularly in small increments keeps things fresh. I can always find time to do a quick logfile before work or at lunch. Lotsa interesting situations with no pressure if need to research rules. I have several guys I have been doing PBEM with, some over ten years.

 

[Michael R]

I play regularly and I know all the basic rules very well. When the possibility of something rare comes up, like a gun duel, I need to go to the rulebook and I'm okay with that.

 

[olli]

Of course, I was introduced to the great Star Fleet Battles at SESWC (our local wargames club) too and TRIED to learn that, it was really cool and I had a lot of fun playing but I never could get a handle on the rules (though I did buy the BIG silver anniversary ruleset from our local FLGS Black Lion Games here in town)

do you still have it Alan?????

 

[Alan Hume]

do you still have it Alan?????

Sorry no, it went in the great purge of 2010
I should have kept it

 

[Alan Hume]

I find that PBEM is the way I internalize the rules. I don't concern much over win/loss, but playing regularly in small increments keeps things fresh. I can always find time to do a quick logfile before work or at lunch. Lotsa interesting situations with no pressure if need to research rules. I have several guys I have been doing PBEM with, some over ten years.

Yeah, I think Pete (of View from the Trenches fame) has played a fair bit of PBEM in the past. The closest I guess I have ever come to that is playing 'Hyborian War' by post back in the day.