"Gentlemen,this is a story you will tell your grandchildren...and mightily
 bored they'll be."
                          -Gen.Horrocks in "A Bridge Too Far"

Before we get started I want to get the obligatory joke about one side getting
FT-17s and the other side getting Kingtigers out of the way.Ha ha.Was'nt that
terribly funny. My sides are hurting. Now,is that out of our system?

>INTRODUCTION & NOTES<

 THE CONCEPT
This is not meant as a substitute for a regular game of ASL.It should not take
up table space or much of anyone's time.It is meant as a sideshow,like being
part of a fantasy sports league.

As such it will require a different mindset by the players.The idea here is that
by the use of a gamemaster & individual tank commanders we will closely simulate
actual tank combat.Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen.
As anyone who has participated in real military field wargames knows,most of the
time is spent either moving into position or sitting around (bored) waiting for
something to happen.But when the shit hits the fan it gets interesting in a
hurry.I see this game being similar to that,although hopefully more fun (the
only fun part of the real army is getting out).

The game takes little of the player's time. All relevant info will be included
in each of your mailings so you can even take the game down between segments
if you have limited space. Most players liked the game the first time around,
but the novelty may eventually wear off so get in on it before it goes the
way of the pet rock.

 THE RULES
These "rules" are homegrown,& as such may be a bit rough. I have tried to
tighten up the rules since the first game,but in so doing I may have created
a monster. I have a clear idea in my mind of how it would play,but writing
understandable rules takes a helluva lot of time. I can't justify spending
the time it would take to edit & rewrite the rules to bring them up to the
level of the ASLRB,so I'm just gonna go with what I've got & hope guys catch on.

In other words, this rulebook kinda sucks. Bear in mind that there is no
such thing as an official anything for the Tank Rumble. These are just
concepts submitted for approval. Individual gamemasters will run their games
as they see fit. This is just a basic standard for others to use as a helpful
tool in running double blind team games. That said,I have tried to be as
comprehensive as possible so gamemasters can hopefully use this system "out
of the box" if they wish.

Much of the rules may seem unintelligible for the above reasons,but don't
worry too much about it. If you can play ASL you'll get by. Most of the
concepts will make more sense once you've played a turn or two.Some of these
rules are new and untried,& may explode during play. Have I included
enough warnings & disclaimers to cover my ass yet? 

If you play in a rumble you will recieve an email copy of the rules so you
can cut/paste/print them into whatever form you find most useful. If you have
any questions about these rules or great ideas, email me at
.

 THE GAMEMASTER
As the game is double blind,an all-seeing gamemaster must moderate the game.
This is a problem. The game is totally dependant on having a gamemaster,but
few want to do it. Being a GM can be fun. You meet a lot of fellow gamers
online & the game itself is interesting. It can also wear on you a bit though.
It takes less time to GM than to play a regular PBEM game of ASL,but you are
responsible for getting those mailings out quickly. On average, a game will
take about 3 months,& you'll be sending out mailings every 2 or 3 days.

If enough full game GMs cannot be found,we could try dividing the game between
a number of part time GMs,with each running a turn or 2 & handing it off to
the next guy. In this case there would have to be more standardisation of
the mailings to keep everyone on the same page,but it should work. If not
enough guys do this the game will die out.

 START THE RUMBLE
If after looking through the rules & after action reports you think you'd
like to try a game,send me an email & I'll keep a list of prospective players.
Whenever a GM gets a game going I'll send him the list & he can get started.
Let me know also if you can be a GM or part time GM.