Post date: Jan 05, 2013 9:8:50 PM
Dear Squad Leader Player:
First, I would like to announce that the 2012 Squad Leader Tournament will continue into 2013. Originally conceived as a four round tournament for 2012, we are left with a bit of a misnomer as it continues on. Far from being four rounds, the players shaped it into a social network to meet players, play games and learn ( or re-learn) Squad Leader on a continuing basis. I hope to continue the tournament and have this misnomer haunt me for years to come.
Let me say a word about our players - they are diverse and far flung: Belgium, Spain, Australia, Sweden, Italy, United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada and the United States. The tournament web page has had 1,200 visits from 500 visitors and over 4,000! page views. Not bad for a game published in 1977 and out of print for over 20 years. This type of activity leads me to believe there is still a healthy active fan base interested in the game.
So, if your are interested in bringing in 2013 with a 9-2, 3x467 and 3xLMG in hex 1I7 then you can sign up here:
https://sites.google.com/site/2012squadleadertourny/2012-squad-leader-tournament/find_match
Before we move onto the December Tournament results, I’m excited to bring in 2013 with a new AAR. I love any AAR of two players battling it out but to bring the new year in with Hill 621 is indeed a special treat. Our contributor, Brian, brings tactical discussion to life with many graphics and screenshots. And this Hill 621 appears especially bloody with wrecks and bodies littering the boards on only turn 2. You can take a look, along with 5 other AARs from the tournament, at the following link. Please note if you don’t see the screenshots then look for a link to download them. You can also expand all the posts to show everything, see link at top right.
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/squad-leader-aars
The Tournament ended its first six months of play on December 31, 2012. During that time, 43 players jointed the tournament and started 50 games, the last one added on December 30. Twenty-two of these player have returned for more than one game. i’m not sure if they are brave or gluttons for punishment but I know they have started an average of 3.77 games each with two players having started 8 games!
Lets take a look at those 50 games. Sixteen games are in progress, twenty-six are completed and eight are incomplete. Of the twenty-six completed games there are fourteen Allied victories and twelve Axis victories. The most popular scenarios were The Guards Counterattack (5), TTS Beta Hasty Assault (5) and The Tractor Works (4).
Just a word about those 8 incomplete games. Eight incomplete games out of 50 is somewhat under the 20% threshold and rather good compared to my expectation of 30-40% The fact is Squad Leader is a demanding game with its extensive rules, time commitments and bad dice. All too often real-life interferes or we underestimate the demands and find we must discontinue our play. To those players on the edge about joining, i say - Try it. The majority of people who tried have completed their games and come back for more. It is far worse to let that yellow box gather dust on the shelf or mold away in the basement.
Tournament Ranking on games reported as of December 31, 2012:
First Place - Brian with 31 points
Second Place - SL Tom with 22 points.
Third Place - Phil G with 15 points.
Finally, i would like to close 2012 by thanking all of the players and Squad Leader fans who have show their support during the year. Your participation and support ensures the Squad Leader game remains alive so many years after its release. It has been incredibly rewarding to administer the tournament and develop the website and i look forward to new challenges, new games and new players in 2013.
Scott “2 IFT +3”
2012 Squad Leader Tournament
https://sites.google.com/site/2012squadleadertourny/home
2012 Accolades
Bill T, Squad Leader Academy - A member since the purple box.
Bill S, The Alchemist of VSQL - a smoking beaker and then ‘poof’ - COD counters
Phil G, for reminding me sound tactics trump rules knowledge every time i play him.
Pete P, WBC 2013 Baby!
The Originals, creators of VSQL, The SL List, ROAR, TTS - i know not who you are but thanks