The 2 Half-Squads

It's time to do something really spooky.  Play Advanced Squad Leader in miniature!  That's a really scary and FUN idea, boys and girls! We are thrilled to have Hayes Wauford join us for this episode and have him compare notes with Dave about how each of them approached the task at hand.  Hayes has made some fantastic WWII terrain for his games and you can hear about it here.  And see more of it's glory, on our Youtube page.  

SHOWTIMES

Tangled Up In Rules

Concept:  Jeff Hallett

Written by Jeff Hallett and Dennis Donovan

Vocals, music, and mixing: Firefly

Early one morning, the sun was shining

I was playin’ ‘gainst Fred 

Startin’ up a new campaign game

One from the Barricades, Red

Just couldn’t play it enough

We never did like that Squad Leader mess

The rulebook wasn’t big enough

Now it’s time to get the show on the road 

Wondering what units to choose

Setting up will take weeks at most

Tangled up in rules

He was married when we first met

Soon to be divorced

Helped him through a rough time, oh yes 

With Advanced Squad Leader of course 

We played that game as much as we could

Never gave it a rest

Stayed up late most every night

Arguing, but only in jest

He poked around in Chapter B

As I was yakkin’ away

Heard him mumble something ‘bout “ rubble

Collapsing on a wide city avenue?”

Tangled up in rules

I had a half-track set up in some woods 

Lurking on the flank for a spell

But it wasn’t really doing all that much

Then one turn some mortar shells fell

So I read all about area fire

Chapter C, 1 point 5-5

Knowin’ he’d smile and probably gloat 

If my half-track got destroyed

But the HT’s partially armored

So I asked around online

I’ve seen a lot of answers

But none made sense in my mind 

What else is new??

Tangled up in rules

When I popped opened a beer

I just kept reading the Chapter C pages

The examples aren’t so clear

And later on when we figured it out

Finally gettin’ back to our game

He was saying, “I’m still not quite clear

‘bout that whole open-topped thang.”

I muttered somethin’ underneath my breath 

And studied the links on the page

I must admit I felt a little uneasy

When he pointed out some errata from Journal 2

Tangled up in rules

I'd setup for a perfect shot

‘Twas no way I could lose

He walked into my clever trap

Put his men's heads in the noose.

I rolled a six & yelled, “I got ya good!”

He said. “I hate to disappoint you,

Your squad's of the inexperienced kind

And that machine gun's captured, too

And did you forget that the SSR

Said the ammunition was short?

And I must point out your sustained fire

Will only add to the growing list of your blues…”

Tangled up in rules

He took a burger off the stove,

And offered me a bite

“I see you read Chapter O,” he said

“Your eyes hurt from the tiny type?”

Then he opened his book of rules

And showed me something he’d

Written down in the margins were notes

From 1993

And every one of those notes was true

There were all from an ol’ 

Q & A on the last page of

Avalon Hill’s ASL Annual ‘92

Tangled up in rules

In the cellars under the stairs 

There were Ruskis on the attack at night

And starshells in the air

Russians are stealthy for ambush but 

Conscripts aren’t, I realized

He won most all ambush rolls

And lots of my guys died 

When the star shells finally burned out 

His squads had all withdrawn

The only thing I knew how to do

Was to keep on playing on, like in A point 2**

Tangled up in rules

I got to figure it out somehow

All the rules that I thought I knew

Are eluding me right now

Some CG SSRs

Some in Chapter H

Don’t know where errata’s listed

I don’t know why we chose this campaign 

And me, I’m still scratchin’ my head 

Wondering what’s the point

12 years now we’ve been playing our game

And haven’t even started German, Turn 2

Tangled up in rules

**A.2 ERRORS:  All errors stand once play has progressed past the point of commission.

304 packs a punch. The saga of the invasive animal species continues as Dave recounts the adventure of the attacking squirrel, and Jeff relates his big fish stories. Dave's been playing Scenario WO42 Spartan Style with Dave Timonen and in the box is Green Hell of Inor!  We round this episode off with an entertaining round of Quiz Show with Team Spilky against Team Black Riders of the Night of Death.  What a blast!

SHOWTIMES

1:00 Banter

Chad Cummins and Chuck Hammond (or do you say Chuck Hammond and Chad Cummins?) lend some serious heft to this show.  They share the delightful story of how Hazardous Movement began, from it's humble beginnings to the massive global domination that they now enjoy. The scenarios in their packs promise to bring the fun back to your ASL game, and they promise to be well play-tested and therefore, well balanced.  Many of the Advanced Squad Leader tournaments include these gems in their playlists. Order a pack, play a few of them, and you will understand why they are so well respected. 

Joined once again by Rich Spilky, we are able to provide some real quality content. Rich guides us through three of his famous charts.  The first is IFT and CC effects on guarding units and firepower, the second is 26a Effects of No Quarter, and the third is a complex looking but actually very elegant and simple chart entitled 26b Effects of No Quarter. After all that ASL goodness Rich points out the best parts of Jim Bishop's article Prisoners: Take 'em or Leave 'em. There are also some tactical tips and tricks revealed herein.  Enjoy!

We are now posting our episodes (with more visuals) on Our YouTube Channel. Easter Egg.

35:00 Bishop's Prisoner Article

57:54 Total Running Time

There is another contest in here. You might like the product that is to be given away. Listen for it. 

We have two boxes to open on this show.  So many ASL treasures. So little time. The first is the the Three-Player Pack from the gents who produce the March Madness stuff. Dave presents a close look at those scenarios and, all of 'em are designed for three players, not two, but three players. Yes, count 'em, three!  If you like the Deluxe Advanced Squad Leader products or the Korean War module, you will absolutely love the Winter Offensive Pack #13 because it features three new boards for Deluxe ASL games, and it includes two Korean War scenarios, and two more for WWII in the Pacific featuring the U.S. Marines.  Semper Fi!  

Rich, Mike and Jared return to the Remote Broadcast Foxhole and join us in a serious Roundtable conversation about our love of the game. We can tell you why Advanced Squad Leader is the greatest game in the world. We also tackle that age old question that we find on so many forums, "Does ASL teach history?".  Then we compare and contrast wargames with fantasy games.  But, before that, we hear a questionable rendition of the song Olive Groves written by the one and only, Dennis Donovan, and let our listeners speak as they congratulate us on the big 300. 

What's in a number? 

We would like to thank our mysterious benefactors for the wonderful gifts that we have received in the mail. Wow. You really do like us!  And, in order to pay back the community we'd like to offer...wait for it, it's a really big prize...are you ready?  It's a brand new copy of... SWORD AND FIRE: MANILA.  To hear how to enter the drawing have a listen.  

Olive Groves

Concept & Lyrics: Dennis Donovan  

Performed by: The Worst of The 2 Half-Squad Singers

The scenario starts in a sleepy little town

The orchards in this one are strange

Well, the MF and the MP

Some say that this rule’s inane

‘though they grow in the Mediterranean

And though it’s part of the ASL game

Sword and Flame: Manila is here as you most likely already know.  We take a look in that big ole box and are wowed by the size of the map in there. Well it's folded up and in many sections, but when it is assembled it is BIG! You're going to need to play on the floor of your garage we thinks.  Once again our fans send us some entertaining and informative letters. We announce a new contest as we draw the winners of the old contests. We've got good ASL stuff to give away. Listen to find out how to get that East Side Gamers Dezign Pak 2. 

Don't forget you can watch us on our Youtube channel.  

This episode is a must listen. Well, we think all of our episodes are must listens but what do we know? The most excellent ASLer Jim Bishop honors us with his presence and knowledge, and he provides us with a fascinating hour of Advanced Squad Leader talk.  

It's the return of Box Art Review.  We take a look at the artistic qualities of the new Hollow Legions