[ASLML] 2003: My Year In ASL

[Mark Pitcavage]

My Year in ASL:  2003

The year 2003 was a great year for me, ASL-wise.  I was more involved in the
hobby than in any previous year of my (admittedly brief) experience with ASL. 
I was able to play 90 scenarios, plus a number of Buckeye Pack playtest
scenarios, which together put me over the 100 scenario mark for the first
time.  With the 28 2001 scenarios, 60 2002 scenarios, and 2002 Buckeye Pack
playtests, I am now over the 200 scenario mark for total scenarios played.

Obviously, the nicest ASL event for me personally was the release by Heat of
Battle of the scenario pack I designed (Buckeyes! if you don’t have it, what
are you waiting for?).  It was the culmination of a year and a half of effort
(and not just mineI am grateful to everyone who playtested for it).  The year
2003 also saw an article written by me appear in Schwerpunkt (“The Whites of
Their Eyes”) and a second article appear in the ASL Journal #5 (“The Jungle
Isn’t Neutral”).  I was also able to playtest a Schwerpunkt scenario, playtest
a Journal scenario, and do a hardly-worth-mentioning amount of proofreading for
Critical Hit, which nonetheless netted me a “Pitcavage” counter.

ASL event wise, I did more than ever before.  I attended Winter Offensive for
the second time, and had a great time (the first time I ended up in an
emergency room with a kidney stone!).  I went to my first ASL tournament at
Doncon (the World Boardgaming Convention), and not long after that, attended my
third ASLOK, at which I played more scenarios than at any of my previous ASLOKS
(although, alas, I did not come out with a winning record).  In addition, I
attended all three Detroit Officefests of 2003, as well as Rodney Callen’s
annual Northern Kentucky ASL Bash.  I also played games of ASL in Dayton and
Medina, Ohio, and Seattle, Washington, as well as plenty of games right here in
Central Ohio.  For the first time, I ran an ASL tournamentthe ASL tournament at
Originswhich was fun, if sparsely attended.  

One of the best things about the ASL traveling that I did was that I got to
meet so many more ASLers face to face, and found that so many of them were
really cool.  I hate to mention anybody by name, simply for fear of leaving
other people out, but I will say it was great to meet the Scandinavians who
came to the states for ASLOK this year.

On the Internet, I gave my ASL website, Desperation Morale Central
(http://www.desperationmorale.com), an overhaul, and added more cheat
sheets and
play aids, which I have been seeing more and more at tournamentsincluding
events in Europe.  I also created a new section to the website, the ASL Museum,
devoted to ASL paraphernalia and gear.  I have a great many new items to add to
it.

Leaving aside Buckeye Pack playtest scenarios, I played 90 scenarios in 2003. 
I had 60 wins and 30 losses, for a very respectable 2-1 win/loss ratio (I
wasn’t sure I’d be able to maintain that after going 5-7 at ASLOK).  I was very
pleased with this, but I don’t kid myself; I am still very much a journeyman
player.  My worst defeat (defining worst as worst play, not worst luck) was at
the hands of Michael Hastrup-Leth in a playing of “Skirting the Mace.”  Twice I
lost scenarios due to miraculous come-backs, after my opponent had verbally
given up (in one case shaking my hand!), but we decided to keep on playing
because there were no opponents to switch off with.  There’s a lesson there,
somewhere.  

I played a real mix of scenarios, both geographically and by producer.  I
played 31 West Front scenarios, 27 PTO scenarios, 23 East Front scenarios, 8
Med/Balkans scenarios, and 1 Spanish Civil War scenario.  I would have played
more PTO if I could, but I can’t always get people to agree to play PTO.

The largest chunk of the scenarios I played37were official scenarios.  Next
came the 15 Critical Hit scenarios I played, followed by 10 Schwerpunkt
scenarios.  Following that were 5 Kinetic Energy, 5 Melee Pack, 5 Fanatic
Enterprises, 3 Franc Tireur, 3 George Kelln, 2 Windy City Wargamer, 2 Heat of
Battle (plus many Buckeye Pack scenarios), 1 Dispatches from the Bunker, 1
Forward Observer, and 1 ASLUG scenario.  That is what I call spreading my
largesse.  

So, without further ado, here are the scenarios I played in 2003:

OFFICIAL (AH/MMP):
67. Cibik’s Ridge (w)
77. Le Herrison (w)
A25.  Cold Crocodiles (w)
A58.  Munda Mash (w)
A72.  Italian Brothers (l)
A81.  They Fired On Odessa (l)
A104.  In Front of the Storm (w)
A109.  Scouts Out (w)
A118.  The Waterhole (w)
BRT4.  Rikusentai (w)
E.  Hill 621 (w)
G6.  Rocket’s Red Glare (w)
HS8.  Bailey’s Demise (l)
HS19.  Bewildered & Belligerent (w)
HS23.  Tussle at Thomashof (w)
HS25.  Lambs Led to Slaughter (w)
HS30.  The Good Shepherd (w)
HS32.  A Few Rounds (l)
J7.  Slow and Steady (w)
J9.  A Stiff Fight (played twice: w, w)
J12.  Jungle Fighters (w)
J23.  Kampfgruppe at Karachev (w)
J33.  The Slaughterhouse (w)
J51.  Canicatti (l)
J59.  Friday the 13th (l)
J60.  Bad Luck (w)
J74.  Priests on the Line (w)
J76.  Ultimate Treachery (w)
J78.  Fast Heinz (w)
J84.  Makin Taken (w)
J85.  Ptichin’ In. (playtest, l)
J88.  Escape to Wiltz (w) (recommend)
OA6.  Mounted Extraction (w)
T1.  Gavin Take (w)
T8.  Aachen’s Pall (l)
U7.  Han-Sur-Neid (l)

CRITICAL HIT:
CH14.  Ninety Minute War (l)
HP3.  Rimling Round-up (played twice:  w, l)
HP4.  French Toast (w)
HP5.  Rudder’s Keystone (w)
HP6. Kraut Cookout (w)
HP7.  Ripple Effect (w) (recommend)
HP8.  The Ligneuville Halt (l)
HP10.  Three Brave Men (w)
HP11.  Pillau Fight (l)
HP15.  Moldavian Massacre (l)
LN2#4.  Suicide Creek (w)
PBP14.  Under Seige (w)
PBP22.  Morire in Belleze (w) (recommend)
RPIII#1.  The Dragon’s Claws (l)

SCHWERPUNKT:
SP39.  Down the Manipur Road (w)
SP65.  Ayo Gurkhali (l)
SP69.  Meiktila Break-In (l)
SP71 Cutter’s Cross (w)
SP74.  The Last Tiger (l)
SP79.  The Mius Trap (l)
SP80.  Die Gurkha Die (l)
SP90.  Skirting the Mace (l)
SP95.  Burn Gurkha Burn (w) (recommend)
SP107.  The Sawmill (playtest, l)

FANATIC ENTERPRISES:
FE10.  An Abandoned Army (w)
FE13.  Defeat at Seroczyn. (l) (recommend)
FE22.  Ritpong Rampage (w)
FE26.  Precious Minutes (l) 
FE34.  Go Down Fighting (w)

KINETIC ENERGY:
TOT45. The Dogs of War (played twice: l, w)
KE7. Tennis, Anyone?  (l)
KE21.  Franzen’s Roadblock (w)
KE13.  Scorched Earth (w)

MELEE PACK:
MP1.  The Wolves’ Last Tooth (l)
MP4.  Bleeding the First (w)
MP5.  The Rats of Hamich (played twice: l, w) (recommend)
MP6.  The Marnach Strongpoint (w)

LONE CANUCK:
CiI9.  First Clash (l) (recommend)
MLR1.  Hana Saku (l)
WP1.  First Blood (w)

LE FRANC TIREUR:
FT33.  Flanking FTs (played twice:  w, w)
FT34.  Borodino Train Station (w)

HEAT OF BATTLE:
FF4.  A Walk in the Woods (w)
FF5.  The Sound of Guns (w)

WINDY CITY WARGAMERS:
WCW7. The Eye of the Tiger (w)
WCW10.  Stand and Die (w)

ASL UNION OF GAMERS:
ASLUG12.  One-Log Bridge (w)

FORWARD OBSERVER:
FO4.  Catcher in the Kunai (w) (recommend)

DISPATCHES FROM THE BUNKER:
DB038.  Centauro on a Flank (w) (recommend)