Poll: Time spent on ASL versus other Wargames

[pensatl1962]

For me, the answer varies somewhat based on where I am in the ASL product design cycle and work/life balance.

When I was still working (and not accounting for research and scenario design time but just ASL playtest/playing time) I ran about 80/20 (ASL/Euro) when designing, to about 30/70 (ASL/Euro) when not actively working on a project.

Now that I'm retired, I'm about 50/50 (ASL/Euro) all the time. Retirement is sweet.

Retirement = every day is Saturday; every night is Friday night; it’s like being a teenager but with a much better allowance. Edit: credit to Dale W for these wisdoms.
Congrats and enjoy!

 

[Actionjick]

Nice poll. One of the most active in a while.

 

[Vic Provost]

When we were playing it was probably 90% ASL but definitely would play Up Front, Axis and Allies, and Strat- O- Matic baseball when we needed a break.

I love UP Front and Strat-O-Matic Baseball! Spent much time with the 2004 Red Sox - Yankees going at it. Great game. I also love Russia Beseiged by Compass Games, it is what the old Russian Campaign wished it was. Bismarck, Midway, Battle of the Bulge and D-Day, been there, done that. My time in this hobby was very well spent and I think I got more out of rolling dice than reacting to a screen...

 

[Actionjick]

I love UP Front and Strat-O-Matic Baseball! Spent much time with the 2004 Red Sox - Yankees going at it. Great game. I also love Russia Beseiged by Compass Games, it is what the old Russian Campaign wished it was. Bismarck, Midway, Battle of the Bulge and D-Day, been there, done that. My time in this hobby was very well spent and I think I got more out of rolling dice than reacting to a screen...

We mainly played Strat-O with pick up teams consisting of the old old time players. Great stuff!!

 

[Bill Cirillo]

When we were playing it was probably 90% ASL but definitely would play Up Front, Axis and Allies, and Strat- O- Matic baseball when we needed a break.

I love when this happens. This is the third reference to Strat-O-Matic baseball that I've heard in the last 48 hours! I was telling my wife the other day about playing Strato on my front porch with my brother and buddies growing up. We had a league commissioner and one of my buddies was an aspiring sports writer, so he would type up box scores, standing, and league "happenings" on his type writer using the old carbon paper process. Then I'm getting my hair cut by at a brand new place and we start chatting about what games we played growing up. Of course, Strato was high on the list. Now this. Sometimes life is just the best!

 

[fenyan]

I too loved strat-o-matic. Groundball A, double play!

 

[Actionjick]

I love when this happens. This is the third reference to Strat-O-Matic baseball that I've heard in the last 48 hours! I was telling my wife the other day about playing Strato on my front porch with my brother and buddies growing up. We had a league commissioner and one of my buddies was an aspiring sports writer, so he would type up box scores, standing, and league "happenings" on his type writer using the old carbon paper process. Then I'm getting my hair cut by at a brand new place and we start chatting about what games we played growing up. Of course, Strato was high on the list. Now this. Sometimes life is just the best!

View attachment 32538

Fish was heavily into it. He had a big box full of the cards. Some of his older ones looked like hour glasses they had been used so much. He would go to Strat-O's Opening Day for their new baseball season. He was a big collector and had a copy of of the first game that the company didn't even have.

We usually played pickup teams. His team was the the Connerski City Chiefs and was a " doubles " team. Mine was the Java Junction Jicks, a home run team. We liked alliteration. Guess whose team won most of the games?

Lol I had one player, Paul Waner, who performed so far above his stats that Fish called him Mister Wonderful. Lmao. Good times and a great game.

 

[pensatl1962]

Fish was heavily into it. He had a big box full of the cards. Some of his older ones looked like hour glasses they had been used so much. He would go to Strat-O's Opening Day for their new baseball season. He was a big collector and had a copy of of the first game that the company didn't even have.

We usually played pickup teams. His team was the the Connerski City Chiefs and was a " doubles " team. Mine was the Java Junction Jicks, a home run team. We liked alliteration. Guess whose team won most of the games?

Lol I had one player, Paul Waner, who performed so far above his stats that Fish called him Mister Wonderful. Lmao. Good times and a great game.

Paul Waner! “Big Poison” from one of the Bucco’s most recent winning seasons (~1940).

 

[Vic Provost]

We mainly played Strat-O with pick up teams consisting of the old old time players. Great stuff!!

I have all the Hall of Famer cards, my favorite 3/4/5 lineup included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams. I used Willie Mays as a lead-off hitter, you could do insane line-ups with all those old-timers. Incredibly fun game.

Obligatory ASL - Finishing up Playtesting for Dispatch #60 in the next month, currently playing Mussolini's Laughter, the Italian invasion of Albania, which was more difficult than they planned for. Good looking scenario, look for it and 3 others in late September...

 

[Actionjick]

I have all the Hall of Famer cards, my favorite 3/4/5 lineup included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams. I used Willie Mays as a lead-off hitter, you could do insane line-ups with all those old-timers. Incredibly fun game.

Obligatory ASL - Finishing up Playtesting for Dispatch #60 in the next month, currently playing Mussolini's Laughter, the Italian invasion of Albania, which was more difficult than they planned for. Good looking scenario, look for it and 3 others in late September...

Yes our lineups were quite unrealistic but fun as hell!

 

[Actionjick]

I have all the Hall of Famer cards, my favorite 3/4/5 lineup included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams. I used Willie Mays as a lead-off hitter, you could do insane line-ups with all those old-timers. Incredibly fun game.

Obligatory ASL - Finishing up Playtesting for Dispatch #60 in the next month, currently playing Mussolini's Laughter, the Italian invasion of Albania, which was more difficult than they planned for. Good looking scenario, look for it and 3 others in late September...

Fish always took Ty Cobb.

 

[Fort]

Fish always took Ty Cobb.

I liked the card he had made for his dog, lol. That pup was a beast.

 

[Pitman]

I've been burnt out on ASL for a while now, so in order to recharge my batteries and also justify to myself all the other games I buy, I've been playing some other games the past two years. For most of the period 2001-2023, ASL was about 90% of my wargaming.

 

[Actionjick]

I liked the card he had made for his dog, lol. That pup was a beast.

Fish was extremely attached to Chauncey. He had a vet come out to check on the puppy. He told me that he had his Walther P 38 pistol on him in case the vet thought about putting Chauncey down. Dogs aren't the only loyal critters.

 

[Alan Hume]

I find I don't really have the time for other games these days, what little time I do spend gaming is pretty much spent on ASL (and I haven't played a game in months). I used to be a miniatures wargamer but, again, I was in denial, I didn't have the space so all the models went (for a song, I didn't make much money off them). I used to play a lot of RPG's as well but again, not for a long time. I need to get rid of my Heroes of Normandie collection to make room for more ASL to be honest. But I've played Settlers of Catan in the past and other Eurogames so I have enjoyed playing them and would play them again if the opportunity came up.

I recently bought a copy of Data Driven Football (the modern successor to Paydirt) so I'm hoping to be able to play that at some point

 

[Fort]

Fish was extremely attached to Chauncey. He had a vet come out to check on the puppy. He told me that he had his Walther P 38 pistol on him in case the vet thought about putting Chauncey down. Dogs aren't the only loyal critters.

Yeah, every phone call we had, had a mandatory Chauncey report. I miss those calls very much.

 

[Actionjick]

Yeah, every phone call we had, had a mandatory Chauncey report. I miss those calls very much.

Same here.

 

[bendizoid]

Yeah, every phone call we had, had a mandatory Chauncey report. I miss those calls very much.

I would talk to Fish every 6 months or so, was always amazed at the random 1 hour conversation over a rich variety of topics, ya never knew what crazy stuff Bill was currently into. Just before he passed I was walking home and thought ‘I should call Fish’ but my phone was on low battery and I knew a ‘Fish’ call would be at least 45 minutes so I didn’t call. Three days later he was gone.

Concerning other games, I’ve played about 300 games of ‘Wingspan’ with my friend Tammy. I saw her doing a puzzle all by herself one night and said ‘you know, good games are like a puzzle except they are sociable and interactive’. Now she’s hooked and asks me to play all the time.

Maybe I could say “ya know, Wingspan is a cool game but have you ever heard of Advanced Squad Leader” ? Lol

 

[daniel zucker]

In 1969 to 1974 in my neighborhood we played Sports Illustrated Baseball. WE used the same charts for 3 years in a row keeping track of player trades and things like that.

 

[wrongway149]

Concerning other games, I’ve played about 300 games of ‘Wingspan’ with my friend Tammy. I saw her doing a puzzle all by herself one night and said ‘you know, good games are like a puzzle except they are sociable and interactive’. Now she’s hooked and asks me to play all the time.

Maybe I could say “ya know, Wingspan is a cool game but have you ever heard of Advanced Squad Leader” ? Lol

Wingspan has replaced 'Ticket to Ride' in my Thursday night meetups as "the game everybody knows and likes well enough to play when we can't agree on anything else".

Only one person in that group has ever played ASL, and he stopped when PTO came out (but still plays a bit of starter kit from time to time.)

For me: 'Euros' and light card games: 90%
Other wargames: 3% (Counting things like 'Twilight Struggle' as a wargame.)
So, ASL is about 7% of my 'tabletop time' -- but it is consistent and regular. I don't think I've gone more than maybe 60 days without a game in 30+ years. And even that was MAYBE twice.