ASL as a means to Mental Health

Editor’s note: This week David takes a look at how the hobby of TT Wargaming helped him through a tough emotional time. In this story, he reminds us that our games are not just about the counters, the figures, the little toy soldiers, but about the people across the table from us. The hobby can […]

The XXVII Nor’Easter: an ASL Tournament, New England Style!

By David Garvin From March 23 to 26, I attended the 27th Annual Nor’Easter Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) tournament in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. With the restrictions of the COVID pandemic waning, this tournament saw quite a resurgence. 49 players registered in advance, and in spite of a number of late-notice cancellations, just over 50 players showed […]

Valor and Victory and ASL: A War Gaming Cross over

By David Garvin One thing I’ve found in war gaming is that I tend to stay in one genre for most of my gaming. In spite of the computer evolution of the 1990s that saw many war games be released in digital form, I have almost always come back to play my games on cardboard. […]

Flexibility at ASL Tournaments

By David Garvin When I went to my first gaming tournament, it was a local Flames of War tournament. About a dozen or so of us showed up and it was grand fun. We played three rounds in a day and I recall not winning a single game, yet having a blast. My force was […]

Why go to an ASL Tournament?

By David Garvin In any calendar year, there are a number of regular Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Tournaments. From the at Winter Offensive in January to the unofficial ASL Oktoberfest, () in October, there are more tournaments than months in a year. These span the globe, though most are in the US. There are even […]

Gaslands Review

1st Gear:  Do you remember a time when miniatures gaming was much more about having fun with toys, and less about min/maxing your army lists to ensure complete and total victory over unsuspecting fools? No?  Me neither! But, if such a time existed, Gaslands comes from that time.  is a miniatures rules set from Mike […]

Wargaming as Professional Development in the Canadian Army

By David Garvin As many who frequent this site know, wargaming is used by many modern militaries as a means to train and develop their leaders. There are semi-professional organizations, and there are military colleges and organizations that use wargames as an educational and development tool. One of the latest armies to dip its toes […]

Winter Offensive 2024

By David Garvin With the new year, many gamers across the land get excited for the annual Winter Offensive, hosted by the folks at Multiman Publishing (MMP). With over 150 attendees, this is one of the larger annual conventions, but it differs from many in that it does not focus on a wide variety of […]

Great War – Flames of War

By Tom Gall Flames of War Great War has recently been re-released by Battlefront. Let’s take a 2023 look at the product line, what it offers, and what it takes to get started. Great War takes Flames into the WWI period. Tanks are in their early infancy. Due to trench warfare, the mortar was refined […]

The Street Fighting Man in Advanced Squad Leader

By David Garvin “Summer’s here and the time is right For fighting in the street, boy” – The Rolling Stones, Street Fighting Man. 1968. I was reading up on some challenges of gaming recently, and the challenge the author was pondering was how to game fighting in built-up areas (FIBUA), or Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). […]