Bowie, MD - January 15-18, 2004

The thirteenth annual Winter Offensive saw 95 players pay for the privilege of cramming as much ASL as possible into four short days (ASL Bop Till You Drop). ASL for ALS provided a nice chunk of change (almost $3,000) to a great charity, with all fees and raffle receipts going to Curt's Pitch for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease). Threats of bad weather kept us from again breaking triple digits in the body count. Thursday was mini-tournament day, with four three round mini-tournaments, two of which featured a set of Steve Swann scenarios pitting partisans vs. Croatian paratroopers, but plenty of open gaming was also going. Only one game Thursday could count towards The Main Event, which kicked off in earnest on Friday.

The charity raffles included a large, framed print of the cover art for ASL Journal #5, signed by the artist Ken Smith, a Boston Red Sox jersey signed by Curt Schilling, some great MMP games, and some mystery prizes (you had to be there).

Steve Pleva went 7-0 in The Main Event and won the engraved dice cup as Winter Offensive 2004 Champ, along with the promise of a free copy of Armies of Oblivion (which he preferred over a $100 merchandise certificate).

Chris Spell went 6-1 for second place and a $50 merchandise certificate. Chris no doubt benefited from frequently playing against Steve throughout the year.

Ken Dunn went 5-1 for third place and a $30 merchandise certificate. Ken no doubt benefited from hanging around with me (although that may also have doomed him to defeat in his final match against The Plevinator). Unfortunately, a $30 merchandise certificate won't do Ken much good. He does so much work for MMP that he can have pretty much whatever he wants of our stuff.

Congrats to the four mini-tournament winners: Steve Pleva (getting a leg up on The Main Event), Mark Pitcavage, Pete Shelling, and Sean Deller (the latter two wisely picking the Croatian side three times). Thanks to all the mini-tournament participants for helping us playtest scenarios and thanks to all the Offenders for helping us have a fun tournament and raising some money for a good cause.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank all the serving members of the Armed Forces who come to Winter Offensive. Thanks to our geographic location, we seem to be a convenient gathering place for those serving in or near D.C. or still maintaining ties here. I consider it an honor that they grace us with their presence.