January 16, 2009
Episode 14: The Spilky Way
Happy New Year to all from The 2 Half-Squads!
It’s going to be a great year for ASL, thanks in part to the efforts of our guest today, Rich Spilky. Rich is a long-time ASLer with a passion for finding better ways to play the game. And to him that means simplifying the decoding of complicated rules and complex circumstances. Available for download at the link below, Rich has created a variety of tables and charts that clearly present results for common situations that might otherwise cause lengthy and abstruse delving into The Rule Book. So download Rich’s Player Aid Pack and read along as Rich discusses the utility of these great player aids. It’s ASL smarter, faster, better. It’s ASL The Spilky Way. (Rich Spilky’s email address is richspilky@comcast.net)
We also have a great book report from Dave, who just finished reading not one, but TWO ASL scenario builders handbooks (generously donated to us by a listener from Anchorage, Alaska). There’s also listener feedback AND we announce the soon-to-be-available T2HS t-shirts.
Oh yeah. It’s going to be a GREAT year for ASL!
Links for this episode
You can now get to this web site with the simple URL http://www.the2halfsquads.com
The Official War Journal of the Philippines Historical Boardgamers Club
Scenario Designer’s Handbook by Michael Dorosh
Scenario Designer’s Guide by Mark Pitcavage
Mark Pitcavage’s Desperation Morale web site
Dave King’s C4 Corner Cutter
Jay Richardson’s excellent ASL Starter Kit tutorials, parts 1 through 5 on BoardGameGeek.com
Kevin A said,
January 17, 2009 @ 4:05 am
Ma…I’m number 1!!! I’m number 1!!!
Ok, haven’t actually listened to the episode yet, but I did try the links. The links to Jay’s tutorials are backwards. Part 1 links to Part 5 and Part 5 links to Part 1. And so forth.
Kevin
Yes, you are number 1, Kevin! Thanks for the heads-up. The stated errors have been corrected. Thanks for looking out for us.
Jeff (and Dave)
Joe Pellam said,
January 17, 2009 @ 3:14 pm
Clarification:
It was mentioned in the pod cast that Ernst Barkmann was killed in action shortly after the “Barkmann’s corner” battle.
Rich and I discussed this further and discovered that Ernst Barkmann survived the war and is still alive according to wilkipedia.
It was another famous tank ace, Michael Wittman, who was killed in august of 1944 near St. Aignan de Cramesnil and is whi now buried in France.
Joe
Michael Dorosh said,
January 19, 2009 @ 1:22 am
Thanks for the discussion of Mark’s book, and mine - glad you appreciated both of them.
Mike, Great job with the book. A listener sent us those copies so we reviewed them. It was a pleasure to do. We will be glad to review ASL products. Just send them to us! Dave (and Jeff)
Hobiecat said,
January 22, 2009 @ 10:38 am
Hey Guys I am pretty good with Vsal so if you would like we could get together and get you two up to speed on how it works and get a play in as well, just hit me up if you are interested.
Mike
Michael Dorosh said,
January 23, 2009 @ 8:37 am
Gentlemen; Sorry for my sparse comments the last time - was a bit sleep deprived having read notice of my mention in your podcast and of course having to stay up late hoping for a fleeting mention of my name. I was not disappointed. I had heard of the podcast in months past and had listened to parts of other episodes before, of course. Your fame preceded you in my case - you’re mentioned with some regularity at the gamesquad forums (http://forums.gamesquad.com/index.php). My initial reaction to the podcast was that it was a bit like listening to one’s uncles at the Christmas table after a couple of glasses of wine - slightly incoherent, and talking about stuff that’s been mostly talked about before, and yet there is a friendliness about it and a familiarity that is compelling. I don’t know if that is a left-handed compliment or not - perhaps it depends on how well you get along with your uncles!
Like any good uncle, I think there is some comedic effect - I can’t tell if it is unintended - that Mutt and Jeff seem slightly out of touch with the rest of the ASL “world”. But it’s also interesting to note that every corner of the community think that they are the ones who constitute “the world.” A tiny minority of those who post at GS are convinced that they represent all of ASL when of course there are hundreds and hopefully thousands of players who have never heard of the place. There is an opportunity for the 2halfsquads to seize the initiative. In any revolution, one always captures the radio stations first.
To paraphrase from der Untergang - “I smell a putsch”.
The podcast does get mentioned regularly on the forums I visit, and on those occasions where the 2halfsquads seem unaware of other “ASL” stuff going on, I think it adds a bit to their charm. I played a lot in high school in the 1980s, cloistered here in the wilderness in Canada, where names like Mark Nixon and Fish Connor were just names on a page in the General, now its possible to see them interacting with tournament level players in real time online. How far we’ve come. I kind of like a throwback or two to more innocent times, and the notion that there are others who still look at the game less as big business in which there is money to be made, or competitive sport in which playing to win on the “circuit” is the ultimate goal, and simply as a fun pastime in which we occasionally stop to pay homage to the guys who lived through some pretty horrible history which we hopefully aren’t trivializing too badly.
Mike
Joe Pellam said,
January 23, 2009 @ 11:05 am
Well said Mike.
Daniel Brown said,
January 23, 2009 @ 3:16 pm
What a great podcast. Now that I have Rich Spilky’s Player Aids and the other information that you linked I will never need to listen to The 2 Half-Squads again. I now have all the information that I need to play the game. …. Ok, I am just joking. The podcast is more than just information, it is entertainment.
Also, all this talk about playing 1000 games, old players, etc… has made me think what it would have been like if I had more people to play the game with when I purchased ASL Rules and BV the week it was released. I played one person a few times and that was it. I wish now I would have had a chance to keep up the hobby and seen it grow. Maybe I could have been famous like Rich or infamous like Dave and Jeff.
I was thinking that now that there is Vassal that I have a chance to play again. Would anyone like to play a scenario. I have played a few games on Vassal so I am not a newbie at that but I will be rusty on the ASL rules. Let me know if you would like to help an old ASLer as he tries to get back into the game
Dan,
I have no time for VASL , too many games, too little time. I even have the problem of having too many ASL live opponents. That wasn’t the case over the first ten years of my gaming career. That is a problem that is wonderful. Some of the old players take this stuff too seriously. Just play and have fun. There are lot’s of new guys like yourself. Remember Jeff has only been doing ASL for a few years.
Dave (not Jeff)
Hobiecat said,
January 25, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
Hey dan I would be happy to help look for me on VASL under the name Hobiecat
Mike
Daniel Brown said,
January 26, 2009 @ 9:55 am
Mike,
I will look for you. I will be under my BGG name of StyxParadox.
Thanks,
Daniel
scrub said,
January 26, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
Finally got around to listening to the podcast guys. I think the highlight is around the 16:30 mark. This triplepbf.blogspot.com sounds awesome.
LOL, actually I let my wife listen to that part and she was very proud. Now I know I’ve made it bigtime!
Minke said,
January 28, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
Hi
Great podcast. Keep up the good work. Regarding the artwork discussion in this episode. Some ASL-related artwork can be found here: http://www.godsavethesouth.com/new_rel.htm
I dont recognize them as box covers but i think some of the paintings have been used for ASL Journal covers. Seems like they have prints availabe for purchase too.
Michael Decker said,
January 29, 2009 @ 8:25 pm
Hey guys, order me a T-Shirt. Let me know when they come in.
Dave Reenstra said,
February 24, 2009 @ 11:31 am
Hey guys,
Enjoying the podcasts, keep them coming!
A small correction in this last one, Pete Shelling did not design the classic scenario “Acts of Defiance”. Credit for this one goes to Pete Mudge. Actually, at the point where this scenario is discussed, Rich and Dave may be talking about two different scenarios. Rich mentions “Acts” but says it is designed by Pete Shelling and Dave then discusses units being generated via SAN, the signature SSR of Shelling’s “Urban Guerillas”.
Anyway, just to give credit where credit is due. Both are excellent scenarios, I recommend both highly. Great work on the podcasts.
Dave
Thanks Dave, You are right about “Urban Guerillas” being the one I was referring to. We played it in miniature and I recall the little partisan guys popping up on the board. FUN! Dave (and Jeff)
prymus(Bill) said,
February 25, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
Hey Dave and Jeff, Great job as always, and appreciated much. Ya know, I get sick and tired of the pompous “you aren’t up to our level, but keep it up and maybe you will be someday” attitude of some of the older ASL crowd. Please understand that I’m not referring to you guys, you are the “Uncles” that I wish I had(my real uncle is a sleeze of the worst sort). Just continue to do what you are doing,because you do it well, and there are a lot of us that appreciate your hard, selfless work! Maybe its just the way they are, but they would do well to remember that there was a time when they were not the self appointed “afficionados” that they have come to see themselves being. Sent a little “scratch” your way. Wish I could afford to pay you a price that equals the quality of your podcast, the entertainment value alone is worth far more than what I sent, but hope it helps. Thanks my new ASL Bros, keep’em comin’. prymus
Tim Klepaczyk said,
May 2, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
Great job as usual, guys. As you well know I’m relatively new to ASL, having advanced through the starter kits to full ASL in our Chicagoland gaming community the last two years. I’ve made the effort to know the starter kit rules really well, and I find I can wing full ASL when you guys prefer to play it. Rich has done a great service. I’ve printed copies of all his tables, and I’m encouraged that they will help me to keep trying full ASL.
However, I couldn’t help but notice something very amusing when I read his intro to the tables. Rich says “We cross-referenced all of the various rules chapters which pertained to each rule, and where discrepancies arose, we made decisions based on well thought out interpretations.” Omigosh, I just finished two books on historical-critical analysis of the Bible, and he sounds just like those authors! It’s nice to know with Rich’s help we may not as often need to resort to a “devotional” approach to ASL - how many times have ASLers thrown up their hands trying to resolve an esoteric rules question and just blundered on, not caring if they got it exactly right as long as they stuck to the spirit of the game?
I guess we’re all a little bit crazy to play such a complicated game.
Tim K.
Mark Humphries said,
October 18, 2009 @ 8:09 am
Great episode guys. Rich Spinky’s player aids are fantastic!
Mark Humphries said,
October 18, 2009 @ 8:11 am
Correction: Rich Spilky’s (not Spinky) player aids are fantastic!