Post by Whiterook on Mar 29, 2024 8:20:03 GMT -5
I have to say that the following quote is one of the most interesting takes on Advanced Squad Leader I’ve seen and is spot on in my estimation…
This touches on 90% of my feelings on the game; the other 10% being the fact that it can be terribly elitist in its’ gamers attitude to anything Not-ASL; it is obsessively “cultish”; it’s a massive financial cash hope to its gamers and cash cow to it’s sellers.
….it’s that system I desperately try to love and quickly cycle into avoidance. I own all but a couple of the main core modules, as well as a smattering of accessories, mostly bought as original retail when they were perhaps a tad more reasonably priced. I also own the entire Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit series of games and accessories, which while admittedly a bit more mentally accessible, is still a drain on other game playing interests.
I have a buddy named Tim, who has mentioned more than once that if he could ‘…only choose one game system to play’, it would likely be ASL. However, that emulates exactly the sentiments of that facebook poster whom I agree wholeheartedly with… ASL doesn’t allow ‘…the ‘headspace’ to allow play of any other games’. Though I also agree with the Facebook posters’ second paragraph assessment of the actual game mechanics, the whole ‘headspace’ argument is the exact key to why I avoid playing the full system ASL like the plague; I can handle ASLSK much better and haven’t given up on that version… yet I often wonder why I keep the full system stuff around taking up a massive amount of precious bookshelf space! …I guess the answers to that is, *delusional hope*.
To play ASL well demands time and commitment. If you are really serious about becoming a good player then it’s very likely that there isn’t the ‘headspace’ to allow play of any other games. It’s the latter part that I’m wrestling with. Even though retired I find that I can focus on ASL exclusively or I can focus on other systems and accept I’ll be a so-so ASL player. I find unceasingly that I’m drawn to operational level games as they represent more closely the books I read. Nothing teaches you more about a battle or campaign than a good operational level wargame.
ASL can become very formulaic; a few squads, a few vehicles, a geo board and a tactical puzzle to solve. All executed in an environment where the player exerts a degree of command and coordination his historic counterparts could only dream of on a battlefield where fog of war is almost non-existent.
Still enjoy the game, but am cooling towards it.
— Facebook Member
ASL can become very formulaic; a few squads, a few vehicles, a geo board and a tactical puzzle to solve. All executed in an environment where the player exerts a degree of command and coordination his historic counterparts could only dream of on a battlefield where fog of war is almost non-existent.
Still enjoy the game, but am cooling towards it.
— Facebook Member
This touches on 90% of my feelings on the game; the other 10% being the fact that it can be terribly elitist in its’ gamers attitude to anything Not-ASL; it is obsessively “cultish”; it’s a massive financial cash hope to its gamers and cash cow to it’s sellers.
….it’s that system I desperately try to love and quickly cycle into avoidance. I own all but a couple of the main core modules, as well as a smattering of accessories, mostly bought as original retail when they were perhaps a tad more reasonably priced. I also own the entire Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit series of games and accessories, which while admittedly a bit more mentally accessible, is still a drain on other game playing interests.
I have a buddy named Tim, who has mentioned more than once that if he could ‘…only choose one game system to play’, it would likely be ASL. However, that emulates exactly the sentiments of that facebook poster whom I agree wholeheartedly with… ASL doesn’t allow ‘…the ‘headspace’ to allow play of any other games’. Though I also agree with the Facebook posters’ second paragraph assessment of the actual game mechanics, the whole ‘headspace’ argument is the exact key to why I avoid playing the full system ASL like the plague; I can handle ASLSK much better and haven’t given up on that version… yet I often wonder why I keep the full system stuff around taking up a massive amount of precious bookshelf space! …I guess the answers to that is, *delusional hope*.
