I’ve included some photographs from the 2013 Winter Offensive ASL tournament, held each January in beautiful (ahem) Bowie, Maryland. The Winter Offensive tournament is the only ASL tournament actually hosted by MMP, the producers of ASL. It is the 2nd largest ASL tournament in the U.S. and thus the world. In recent years, alas, MMP has opened up the space to include non-ASL games as well. It began with other games published by MMP but this year included a bunch of other stuff, including a weird fantasy naval miniatures game. I wish the non-ASL stuff could be done in a different tournament (Summer Offensive!). In any case, I did not take any pictures of the non-ASL stuff.
I will divide the photos into several different posts, for ease of viewing. I have included captions, including names of people when I remember them. Let me note for the record: I am just plain awful at putting names and faces together and I often have to meet and interact with someone several times before I will finally consistently remember the name to the face. I can’t do anything about it; it’s just the way my brain works (or doesn’t work) and if you find yourself in a photograph but unidentified and you think I should damn well know who you are, I just apologize. I can’t help it. That’s why I love nametags.
The other disclaimer is that I have no skills at photography, so these are what they are. Hopefully I can do an AAR of Winter Offensive in the near future.
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| Joseph Ladd shows off his nifty bound rulebooks. Nice job. Met JL for the first time this Winter Offensive; a very pleasant opponent. |
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| Winter Offensive room probably on Friday |
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| Sean Deller scrutinizes the mapboard. I would play Sean for the first time this Winter Offensive and have a fun time. |
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| Looks like a little Stalingrad action going on. Nice dice towers, too. |
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| I do not know these guys! But they look like they are having fun! |
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| Kevin Meyer and J.R. van Mechelen duke it out in the rice paddies. |
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| Gary Fortenberry and Alan Saltzman ponder whether life has any ultimate meaning. |
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| There’s a compact little scenario. |
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| The vaunted Wall of Gear. Note dice towers and boxes brought for sale. |
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| Mumble mumble playing Mumble mumble! |
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| Gary Mei getting it on, so to speak, with Ken Modiuski |
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| Phil Palmer and the back of someone’s head. |
I don’t suppose you know who was selling those kewl ASL mapboard dice towers at all? be good to find out how much they want for one of those babies:.)
To whom it may concern………..As a gamer since the mid 60s, I witnessed the genesis of FRP games, AKA D&D. The historical gaming community turned up our snooty noses at the idiotic “children’s game” and casually dismissed it as nothing worth noting and we just knew it was impossible that flying dragons and midget mystics could ever compete with Marlborough, Napoleon, RE Lee and Rommel in the gaming community. WE WERE SO WRONG. The RPG community flourished, grew and as we sat sadly watching…….replaced historical gaming as the gaming choice among the younger generations. Your comment up top about wishing Winter Offensive could be ASL only is wrong in my opinion. The attitude that other types of games should not dare to enter the holy world of ASL………..THAT IS THE SAME STUPID ATTITUDE THAT DAMN NEAR KILLED HISTORICAL GAMING. Instead of taking that attitude, why not welcome openly anyone and any game. Show genuine interest in what the non ASLer’s are playing and then they might just do the same with ASL, thereby allowing growth of the ASL hobby. The attitude of “we are to special to associate with other games” is a huge reason we are not growing as fast as we all wish we could grow. I hope this post will give you cause to rethink the elitist attitude you seem to convey.