Episode 305: Tangled up in Rules

Let's attempt to untangle the prisoner rules shall we?  We saw Rich help us out with that tangled web in Episode 302 and we learned a lot. So, it's time for a little quiz show style rule review.  The banter is a bit long on this one but Dave takes the time to discuss his little vacation.  The one that made this episode a tad late.  There are pictures included on the Youtube version of this episode.   Before we have all that fun we present a masterpiece of a song; Tangled up in Rules. Thanks again to Dennis Donovan.   SHOWTIMES 0:01 Song: Tangled up in Rules  5:26 Banter 17:34 Rules  50:11 Contest winners announced  56:30  Total Running Time    SHOW LINKS  Grand Ole Opry      The 2 Half-Squads is brought to you by Bounding Fire Productions and kind donations from listeners like you. The views and opinions expressed on The 2 Half-Squads are not necessarily those of the hosts.    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 We both played ASL together 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 Lord knows there’s SSRs, to go through 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 He was lookin’ in the Perry Sez 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 I fought against him in Stalingrad’s streets 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 So now I’m really confused again 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.