Rob Ranks - Avalon Hill

Join Rob as he ranks the games from Avalon Hill!

Check out Rob on BGG:

[FallenDominionStudiosLLC]

Amazing list. So many of these games remind me of my childhood as well.

[robertvandam]

Awesome list. That brought back many fond memories of my teenage years. Thanks

[GenghisVern]

I played most of those. Wood Ships & Iron Men was, for me, a stapled booklet that I picked up at a convention when I was young in the early 70s, and I used ships from Broadsides (remember that?). Excellent list. Good memories. Still have some of them in my collection.

[michaelmelen]

I also grew up with AH, with my first one being Gettysburg in '60. I have or had all of your top 15 except Third Reich. My tops would add Magic Realm, Gunslinger, Midway, and Gladiator off the top of my head. I've probably forgotten a few. At one time I had most of their line. I moved to Baltimore in '76 and the second thing I did (apartment first) was visit their HQ on Read & St. Paul St. Mick Uhl was working on Gettysburg, and Alan Moon was helping with several projects. Fun times!

[MonsterX]

Dune is coming back in print, Rob. This year!!! Supposedly before summer!

[usmcfutball]

Thank you for including Tactics II. One that I could argue deserved inclusion was AH's "Blitzkrieg". It featured a superb fictional map board and upgraded the identical Tactics II Red vs Blue counters into a mesmerizing collection of Marines, Lancers, Rangers, Airborne Armor, Guards and Fusiliers. Sucked...me...IN!


Rise and Decline Of The Third Reich is my personal favorite. Like you said yourself sir, buddies put on hold, dates cancelled, beer not enjoyed. Just getting those BRPs in line and making sure your lines of supply were secure. To this day it fascinates me. Excellent vid. Thank you.

[josemiguelmarquescampo]

Thanks for your recollections! Really fun and immersive games! You brought back some pretty good memories from my youth. 🙂

[billmasters]

You nailed it. Especially starship Troopers. It was really well done.

[stevenumerator]

I am glad we agree on so many Avalon Hill games. "Wooden Ships & Iron Men" was my first. I would need at least a Top 25 List, since I would include Richthofen's War, Kingmaker, Tobruk, Gladiator, Gunslinger, War at Sea, Submarine, RuneQuest (Avalon Hill edition), Machiavelli, and Diplomacy.

[timwhite]

Love your number one pick Rob..in fact it I got this game as a gift in 1978 on my 10th birthday, however it was a little above my head at the time, it was the first game I ever owned..over the years I don't exactly know what happened to my copy, but of recent I've really gotten into collecting games again, and I just found an unpunched copy this week and can't wait to get it in the mail and start playing and re hashing old memories and making new ones. I as well can't say it's Avalon Hill's best game but it's a personal number one favorite of mine as well.

[dennisheinen]

Great list Rob, love them all! Only 2 games I would add, B-17 and Gettysburg (1977 Edition). I know there are better Gettysburg games and people tend to pan the AH version, but I really do like the campaign version.

[Inkspot]

I miss the days of Avalon hill, my first wargame was panzerblitz, my grandfather got it for, it was a magical moment when I opened up that box read those rules and played it, and yes squad leader was another moment in my life that ill never forget.

[bryangasche]

Excellent list Rob! I agree with many of your choices.

[DownriverRick]

A really good list, Rob. Many that you mentioned are among my favorites from my youth and hard to ho wrong with any of them.
A couple of games that weren't mentioned that I got a lot of play were Luftwaffe, Air Force with the Dauntless gamette and Victory In The Pacific.
It's been years since the first two of those has hit my table, but VITP still sees play.

[billdavis]

Respectable list. Everyone is going to have their own favorites based on what they played. There are a number of games on your list that would make mine including Squad Leader, Starship Troopers, & Third Reich.

[BogWraith]

Rob, I would just add a game that innovated to the nth degree and that's Up Front. One of the best games I've ever played. Yes the rule book was a bear to get through, but it has since been re-written and there have been many additional learning aids done that make the game much easier to learn. Outstanding game!

[Xix]

Man, this brings back memories. I have almost all these games. My favorites were 1. Blitzkreig, 2. Tactics II, and 3. Midway. I got a chance to lay out and set up the two-set World at War (War in the West, War in the East). It took most of my basement floor, much to my parents' chagrin. 😀

[garryeckert]

I love Waterloo and Gettysburg '64 was great

[ThymeKeeper]

Can't really argue with ASL and Squad Leader, but Panzer Blitz and Panzer Leader are pretty close to each other. You could put them together at #1 and have room for another game.

[supark]

This takes me down memory lane. Many of these are at the back of my closet. List seems incomplete w/o Stalingrad. Nice job big guy.