Vassal

[Jobu88]

Does anyone here use Vassal? I have a few board games on Vassal and have never tried actually using it. Looking at GMT's Stalingrad 42 and wondered if anyone finds this game as interesting as I do. I LOVE my computer wargames but one of the things I miss about the old board games many of us grew up with, is the personal involvement. In computer games you click and move, click and fight, and yeh the equations are more complex and easier for us mortals to resolve, but I feel we have less "skin in the game" when you dont actually have to roll the dice and look up the results. Yeh, its easier to click the "Reachable Hexes" icon. But one has more immersion, I think, if you actually have to calculate movement points and ZOC costs, river crossings etc.  I have never played a game using Vassal solitaire, much less against another person but it seems like it might work good with every thing you change recorded in the log? Just wondered what everyone's experience has been with it?

Coming in late to the conversation, but I got into Vassal 2 years ago and I find it fantastic for all the old board games I grew up on ( and new games as well).  I'm in a very active Squad Leader group, and I've played Panzer Leader, Russian Campaign, Fortress Europa, Arab Israeli Wars,  MMP's Rostov '41, even the card game Undaunted Normandy.  For games that have a lot of player interaction during a turn ( like Squad Leader)  it is most useful to be online at the same time and using a headset and microphone so you can talk as you're playing.  For other games that are " I go / you go "   it's a great way to play and you can play at your own pace since you don't have to be online at the same time.  And yes, each player creates  turn log and saves it, and the other player watches it and then records his own turn.  

Best of all, for old games like Squad Leader and even for a surprisingly large number of new games, you don't need a physical copy of the game.  You can get the rules on BGG, and the Vassal module has all the game charts and player aid cards built in.