HISTORY Of AVALON HILL 1971-1977 / The Story Of The AVALON HILL GAME COMPANY Part 3

The Avalon Hill Game Company is 70 years old this year, so what better time to chronicle the history of Avalon Hill. In Part 3, we look at the amazing period in the 70s, when many classic games were produced.

In case you missed it, here is a link to part 1:

and Part 2:

After this, we have part 4:
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#avalonhill
@avalonhill

[tvogel]

I spent several hundred dollars on ASL - in the 80's. A lot for a teenager.

[whiskey_tango_foxtrot__]

The great thing about these games is that you really learned history and geography in a very fun wsy.

[Mariner]

Seeing the comments of others - it takes me back down the Rabbit Hole - I inherited my older brother's PanzerBlitz game in 1975 (I was in junior high), and then got Squad Leader when it came out in 1977 - I used to play with a couple of neighbors; games that would last hours or maybe days. My gaming life went on the backburner mid-high school when I found girls and working as a stage-hand... THEN the old Harpoon came into my life in college via a family friend (US Naval Officer) - and again in 1986 when I was in school as a US Naval Aircrewman - Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare Operator - there were a dozen of us who would gather in three different barracks rooms (Red, Blue, and Observer/Judge) and play ASW games using a 4x8 sheet of plywood for our map-board as we charted positions, contacts, etc - again, games that could last hours and sometimes a weekend. Ten Years later - my favorite was Harpoon on the PC - which we actually used for training scenarios. I NEVER got into the vapid shoot-em-up games - still like sitting and THINKING. Thanks for the Memories.

[MrPigfarmer]

so many weekends of my life on these games, Luftwaffe, Panzerblitz, wooden ships & iron men, diplomacy, Arab-Israeli wars and squad leader. So many fantastic memories, thanks for the great vid

[robertmoffitt]

I was 11 years old in 1977, and had a paper route, so money to spend, when I discovered Avalon Hill. Been a fan ever since. 🍻

[Phalanx]

Made me sad those days are over. I went on to exclusively play computer games for 30 years but have recently started playing Fortress Europa Compass Games enhanced version with a friend. I find it more fullfilling than computer games. The tactile feel of the game and pitting your wits against your friends is much more interesting than a cold computer game.

[TheByteknight]

Very nostalgic romp for me. Squad Leader blew my 14 year old mind in 1981..

[pm]

Thank you.
This series is an immensely valuable contribution to the hobby.

[jonathanw]

This series is wonderful. Thanks for producing them. My time with Avalon Hill was primarily the mid 80’s to mid 90’s, but it’s interesting to see how many of the older games like Midway and Outdoor Survival I somehow acquired. My all-time favorites were Up Front, Hannibal Rome vs Carthage, and Diplomacy.

[RiccardoMasiniWLOG]

I didn't know the "Liverpool Attack" story on Diplomacy, but i can personally confirm through my family history that things like that happened all the time. My father is the translator for the first Italian edition of the game in the early 1980s and one day he accidentally forgot the end date for the transmissions of his orders in a play-by-mail game. He was playing Turkey and had to disband a fleet after having lost a Center, so he rushed to the post office and dictated the following telegram to the game master: "Eliminate Fleet in the Black Sea". Considering that this was the high point of Cold War and Italy had just gone through a wave of internal terrorism in the last years, the post office clerk refused to send it and was about to call the police! Great game, but more than a classic: a legend.

[charlesharris]

I used to have the original purple box Squad Leader. In fact, I was involved in a pre-release play test while still in high school. I was playing the Germans versus Russians in The Guards Counterattack. The game went down to the final turn and all that I had to do to win was send my last squad across the street into the victory building. However, the Russians had a 50cal positioned at one end of the street ready to cut my squad down as soon as they stepped into the street. At that point I failed my personal morale check and conceded to the Russian player saying "good game, you win ". The Avalon Hill reps just stared at each other with amazement. I found out later that they knew that they had a hit on their hands at this point. They wrote about the incident in The General.

[agilemonk]

I was around and playing so many of these across the board. What a great time for games and Avalon Hill. With my all time favorite Squad Leader, later to establish Advanced Squad Leader.

[brucewarren]

So many fond memories rekindled by this one in particular. These were my hay days of purchasing Avalon Hill games with many of these titles still in my collection! I thank all involved for the countless hours of entertainment they gave to me! ❤

[wheel]

Am really enjoying this series. I got started in the late 70's playing Tactics II, Bismarck, War at Sea, & Submarine that my friend owned. I still have Panzer Leader, Squad Leader, Luftwaffe, Jutland, Wooden Ships and Iron Men, and Feudal. Another friend had Outdoor Survival which I don't remember ever surviving! :D

[Aquadoc]

Wow! What a great trip through war gaming history with an incredibly well constructed video! I started with AH Gettysburg, Christmas Day, 1959! I still own all my war games through the years, hundreds of them! Thank you!

[orbitalair]

Great series, really cool videos, thank you for making these. I got my start with Arab-Isreali Wars, then I got Squad Leader. Squad Leader is AH best game. Still love the original. Great memories.

[bencrowbeardfletton]

Thank you for these awesome videos. Perfectly presented and bought back so many memories. I can't believe how many of these games my friend and I owned during the 80's and 90's - found myself constantly thinking - had that!. Unfortunately life changes means I only have one AH game left! Statis Pro Baseball. Great times with great games.

[simplyest]

Thanks, probably my favorite games are from that era!

[StevenPLegere]

The first Avalon Hill game I ever played was Luftwaffe. That was as a 10-year-old in the early '80s my best friend and I spent months figuring out how to play it...

[markc]

An absolutely brilliant production about the history of AH. Squad Leader! Wow. I'm an ASL player now, but SL started it all and took me down a major rabbit hole. This video is an exciting nostalgia trip that takes me back in time to the glory days of the war gaming genre. Also very interesting is the Gary Gygax rejection - as an AD&D player, this could have had huge implications at the time for that game with the backing of AH. Thank you for illustrating AH evolution in an interesting format. Cheers!