A Year of Advanced Squad Leader: a resolution kept and a new one made

What a year it's been for me.  I started the year wondering how to make a realistic resolution.  Years ago I made one to stop using margarine and switch to butter.  Big deal!  Anyway, as we were starting to slip into 2017, I realized that I had completed 58 matches of ASL.  That's a lot!  Over one a week!  So, I decided to up the ante, as it were.  I decided to resolve to play 104, or, as you maths wizards would realize, 2 games per week.

It all started out at Winter Offensive across the Potomac in Maryland.  I did get some games in, but the most memorable was losing to Jim Stahler.  Yes, *that* Jim Stahler.

Jim Stahler and I after our match in which he taught me a thing. Or two.

Now, for those of you who play ASL, you know exactly who he is.  For the other 99.9% of you, Jim was a playtester for the original Squad Leader and contributor to the development of Advanced Squad Leader.  There is a leader counter with his name in both Squad Leader and Advanced Squad Leader, he designed many scenarios and wrote several articles on the game. He was a gracious winner and I really enjoyed the honor of playing against him.

The year went on and I continued to play as often as I could.  I went to tournaments (Nor'Easter, Tussle in the Tundra, Oktoberfest and the New York State Championship) and of course played games as part of the DC Conscripts ASL club.  I also played online (using a freeware program called "VASL", short for "Virtual Advanced Squad Leader") and so the year went. 

Sean Deller and Dave Ginnard at Tussle, back in August

I met many people playing this game, from locals such as Jamie "Monty" Montgomery to the two gentlemen pictured above, Sean Deller and Dave Ginnard.  Both have been playing this game for years, some from the very beginning back in the mid-80s.  I had a chance to do so, but without more experienced players to guide us, my friend Gary and I resorted to other games, such as "Assault" by the Game Designers' Workshop (GDW). 

So, the year ends and now the moment of truth.  My goal was 104 matches completed.  As of today, the 31st of December, I have completed 120 matches!  I won 55 and lost 65 and had a blast in every single one of them.  My best performance was up at Nor'Easter where I actually won my first two tournament matches (and a warm up game prior).  But winning 46% of my matches was much better than I expected.

So, what about next year?  My resolution is quite simple: Play every scenario issued with the first eleven modules.  Why this?  Well, as I was going over my scenarios played, I realized that there were many scenarios from these modules (all of which I own) that I had yet to play.  So, for those who don't know, this means I will have to play many of those 90 scenarios I have yet to touch.  As of today, I have completed 29 of those 90.  By this time next year, I expect to have completed 90 of 90.  In fact, since making this resolution, I have already started into these, completing two already, including a first for me, a desert scenario!

OK, so that's it for me.  I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas (it's still Christmas, doncha know!) and all the best for you and yours in 2018. 

David