Thanks guys for the further clarifications on PnP and Digital Download.
One thing that I'd like to point out is that I have always been a 'war gamer' and I started out with the old classics such as Afrika Korps, D-Day, The Bulge and then moved on to The Russian Campaign and PanzerBlitz/PanzerLeader before getting into SL/ASL.
I'll never give up ASL, besides investing 26 years and countless $$$$$ into it I simply love the social aspect of the ASL community (mostly face to face but also VASSAL).
With all that said (despite what I may or may not have said/posted on say CSW or GS) I do have an open mind and like I posted elsewhere I have darn near 500 games on my shelves, but like everyone else with concerns to family or money at one time or another I had to decide on which games to actually play, stay with and just quit collecting.
For example, I used to have 2-4 year subscriptions to S&T and I used to try to buy every war game I saw, but those days are over. I will pick up just about any and everything ASL related and part of the appeal to me in PG are two fold.
Fold one is the platoon level game itself, I think I can get my son up and into PanzerBltiz really quick, but to make it work I'd have to buy a rotary cutter, mat boards and print out those 17 maps from the IS web site, which since this is a hobby I might do I have been contemplating making my own counters for years. I took my OCS rule books (or rather the newer versions for DAK2, I have DAK) and charts and got them printed and bound in spiral books for 45 bucks as well as making new (extra sized 11x17) charts for the system and having them laminated, yeah its the price of a ASL module or even a smaller to mid sized game but it's nice to have.
Fold two is I like what I have read so far in the PG version 3 rules (only on page 2 though, lol) but I do still have and have played Pazner 44, Deset War, Kampfpanzer, Mech 77 (all from SPI) and Assault (GDW). I have enjoyed these to one extent or another, but I had to play all of them solo, now that my 16 year is a ASL hopping mad fellow, I have been thinking about introducing him to other systems (now more so since mom has flown the coop and it's just me and the boys).
Anyway I have rambled on a bit, but I hope this sort of explains where I am at in all this.
So far I find it a little odd that I have heard at least 2 PG fellows mention or allude to my ASL heritage being an obstacle, I don't know if that steams from some of the personalities on either CSW or GS or from personal experience, but I do understand it, since a lot of ASL players only exclusively play ASL. However, I know of several (myself included) that either player or own other systems and in some cases its an extream.
For example I really do love and dig Napoleonic for some reason and I do enjoy playing other non-complex games for fun, such as D-Day, Europa (Fire in the East), War in the East, or Russian Front just to get a break from some things like
"Okay I am going to DFF at your AFV, first I'll pivot my RST turret 3 hexes fire, buttoned up at a moving small target, through a blaze with a 8-1 armor leader that is under little stun at that Pz IIA that spent 2.5 MP in my LOS, oh there is brush in between us as well" that is a pretty simple DRM (+10 if under 7 hexes, so 2 to hit) but when some one says
"can I CC RF that T-34 as it's in bypass with my half squad and wounded 8-1 leader, there is SMOKE in my hex and the T-34 wants to turn it's turrent, how does the VCA and TCA play into this?" I have to stop for a second and figure it out.
I hope you get the humor in this, my open mindedness and yes my still beating heart of love for ASL and looking for a mistress type of thing all rolled into one...
[split from DIY Counters] zovs - "What to start with in PG?"
