Tussle in the Tundra ASL Tournament

[Sven]

Greetings Commanders!

We’re testing the waters for a new ASL tournament to be launched next summer—probably the end of July 2010—in beautiful Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. The tournament will be called the “Tussle in the Tundra” and the goal is to provide fun, affordable, top-quality ASL competition for both grizzled veterans and green troops alike.

In addition to welcoming some of the best players in the northeast, and—eventually we hope—from throughout the US, Canada, and beyond, we also plan to create a newbie-friendly environment in which potential new recruits to The Game will gather, learn, enjoy, and perhaps take their first tentative steps down that golden road (to unlimited devotion…) known as ASL Starter Kit. The long-term plan is to get an ASL Starter Kit Championship underway as an ongoing feature of the tournament.

With luck, next summer we will also celebrate the release of the upcoming Hakkaa Päälle Finnish ASL Module, including a Finnish-themed mini-tournament and other goodies commemorating the spirit of the old country. There will be postings with additional information, tournament details, etc. as well as a list of prizes and sponsors over the course of the coming year.

Next summer’s inaugural “Tussle in the Tundra” tournament will almost certainly be held in Manchester, New Hampshire to take advantage of cheap Southwest flights directly into town. Even so, it makes sense to do a test-run of the proposed tournament hotel in advance to check out the facilities, amenities, etc.

So this summer, we are pleased to announce a small round-robin ASL playtest event at the hotel we are looking at in Manchester for next summer’s full ASL tournament. Not only will we get to check out the hotel facilities in advance, but hopefully the round-robin playtest format we’ve developed will help move the HP Finnish module toward final production. Here’s the basic information:

WHAT: ASL Playtest Round-Robin Tournament (3-5 rounds) for the upcoming Hakkaa Päälle! Finnish ASL Module.

Top Prize: Certificate for a FREE HP MODULE

Additional Prizes and a Raffle depending on final numbers.

WHEN: Friday, August 14 – Sunday, August 16, 2009

WHERE: Comfort Inn Airport
298 Queen City Ave
Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
(603) 668-2600

The attached document below contains all the details. The schedule is flexible, and even if you can’t come for the whole event you are welcome to drop by for a game or two. Space is limited in each unit so don’t miss out!

--Sven

[Ganjulama]

Glorious news Commander! I just checked my PTO accrual and it looks like I get 17 days / year starting next June, so this event is a definite possibility for me.

[Khill]

I'm in! This looks to be a fun one and I can't wait. Very exciting to help move HP along too.

[Carln0130]

I'll definitely be in attendance at ringside too. Looking forward to a nice long weekend of some ASL playing. I certainly hope some of our brethern from the North country, (Yes Ted, that means you ;-) ) can make it up as well. Chris Fluery, if your within the sound of my typing, I hope you can make it also. I know for years there was nothing North of MA for you, at least this one is North of the People's Republic's border. I realise the notice is quite short, but then at least so is the travel for some of youz guyzs.
For anyone else who can make the trek, come on out. This tourney has to be a good time. It's being run by the only man I know who can break his leg walking his dog AND pick up a hot lady officer all in one night!!! Now the breaking a leg part is easy in Vermont, but for anyone familiar with the eye candy up there, picking up a hot anything is not!!!!

[Sven]

This tourney has to be a good time. It's being run by the only man I know who can break his leg walking his dog AND pick up a hot lady officer all in one night!!!

LOL!!!!

One should NEVER pass by the bargain book rack at Barnes & Noble without a look. I picked up Injuries Chicks Love for like three bucks....

Full story is complementary with registration, btw....

--S

[Ken Hampel]

Steve,
This looks like a sure fire great time and terrific event. Organizing a playtest event such as this it really innovative, Congrats! and thanks for putting in a huge effort to organize it.

I won't be able to make it due to our family vacation schedule , otherwise I'd be going. I'd like to encourage all those who are on the fence to hop over. Knowing Steve, I can say, you won't be disappointed.
Ken

[62nd Army]

Gentlemen

The "test" tourney idea is very clever and next year should be a real good time. Back to the present, I encourage anyone who can make an effort this year to come to Manchester. Steve has been working hard on this and it will be fun for all!!! (Food/libations, etc)

Regards
Joe

[Trezza]

Not enough notice for me. Have concert tickets for that weekend. Will be there next year. On my calendar already.

[Earthpig]

Love to go but alas this year is a no-go. Next year maybe I can make it. An old friend, who introduced me to SL back in the early eighties, lives in Portsmouth not too far off.

[Sven]

Generals!

Everything is on track for the HP Playtest Tournament to get underway one week from today (Friday 8/14) in Manchester NH.

For those of you who have expressed your support but just can’t squeeze it in this summer: Thanks for putting the 2010 inaugural “Tussle in the Tundra” ASL Tournament on your calendar and we’ll see you there!

Meanwhile, for those who are planning to make the trip to Manchester for next weekend’s event, here is an update:

1.Priorities: The top priority is to get games played and AARs submitted, so I will be most concerned about making sure that people are paired and playing as quickly as possible when they arrive. We can sort out rankings, etc. as we go, based on input from the participants and the overall numbers in attendance during the weekend. The bottom line is that a certificate for at least one free HP module will be up for grabs based on the original round-robin formula if we have enough players, or on the fairest combination of total rounds played, AARs submitted, and overall record if we don’t. There will also be a variety of raffle-based prizes and other goodies given away throughout the weekend.

2.Scenario Packing List and Counters: We are awaiting the final scenario pool, at which point I will provide a packing list to those who will be attending. A draft copy of the relevant special rules will be provided in your registration packet when you check-in. Additionally, Joe Gochinski has graciously agreed to help produce some temporary counters (armor, special information counters, sw’s etc.) that will represent at least a few of the new counters coming out in the HP module. While they won’t be perfect, they will help reduce the hassle of ‘converting’ substitute counter values by memory (and thus should decrease the playtest error rate considerably). Joe is one of a long list of folks that I will be thanking for their support of this event when we’re done (and you can thank him as well when you see him Saturday).

3.Game Room: When you arrive and get checked-in, come on down to where the action is in the Mannerheim Room on the first floor. The gunning will get underway there at 1:00 pm on Friday the 14th and continue through the weekend. There will also be an after-hours tournament lounge upstairs on the 5th floor in the Finlandia Suite. We will have some tables available for small nightcap games, a place where you can set up your laptop to submit AARs, and a variety of beverages and snacks. All this AND a classic Hogan’s Heroes DVD Marathon (interspersed with occasional Stooges episodes) will mean a guaranteed great time for all!

4.Taste of Finland Pizza Beaching: In the immortal words of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi: “I have been to Finland, and I have had to endure Finnish food.” Our mission, quite simply, is to prove that Finnish cuisine can be just as versatile and satisfying as any dish offered up by these southern European culinary chauvinists. A local Manchester pizza restaurant has accepted the challenge and will be delivering some pizzas to the front on Saturday evening: plain cheese for the timid flat-landah’s, suomi-salami for the somewhat adventurous, and a sample of Nordic pizza featuring three different species of marine life: anchovies, shrimp, and—wait for it—tuna. That’s right, tuna. Keith Hill and I will be guiding the non-Fenni among us through this cultural experience, so grab your birch beer and come on ovah!

I’ll post once more with last-minute updates next week—see the first item in this thread for details on registration, contact information, etc.

See ya soon!

--Sven