ASL

By David Garvin

I can’t believe he spent all that time painting us like this

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 composed of a Germany grenadier company. It was essentially custom built and I knew how to use it, in spite of not winning (the games were close, as I recall).

I later went to the Canadian Nationals in Ottawa. For this tournament I had an armored infantry company from the US 2^nd Armored Division. It was late war and I did much better. There were two days of play and I got in 6 matches.

We had a great crowd and there was quite a bit of competition that really got me to hone my skills. The next year I did even better; it was early war and I had a German Panzer Company, based around Panzer 38 (t) E tanks.

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 a number of online tournaments using (VASL), a freeware game that allows for online live play as well as for the somewhat cumbersome play by email (PBEM). A quick and incomplete check of the shows 19 tournaments in 2019 alone. The number is closer to 25.

Winter Offensive at a glance

What does it mean to have precision? Some may equate it with accuracy, but that is, well, inaccurate.  Consider the following: an armed force has a target in a building. Their 155mm round may hit the target accurately, 99 times out of 100; however, if the resulting blast levels the five adjacent buildings, was the effect precise? Not in the least! In order to be precise, one must first be accurate and then one must ensure that the effects are only those desired.

By David Garvin

As gamers from across the country and around the world settled on Bowie, Maryland last month, there was a buzz in the air. The numbers showing up seemed to be greater than ever and this was to be confirmed by the organizers: 190 registered players. This was by far the greatest Winter Offensive held by (MMP).

Winter Offensive is the annual gaming tournament held every year by the publishers of Advanced Squad Leader (ASL).

It is an open format tournament that features many games into the ubiquitous ASL. Many of these cover various battles of the US Civil War. But there is no doubting the fact that the big draw for Winter Offensive is ASL.