My TOP 10 FAVORITE Avalon Hill Games / BEST games of all time / What is YOUR list? 

Thank you for the wave of nostalgia. I spent many hours playing these games in the 70s. My first game I played was Blitzkrieg. followed my many others. I was one of those DMs that bought "Outdoor Survival" for a campaign map. My favorite AH game was Richthofen's war many, many hours dog fighting with biplanes... oh the memories. Thank you once again.

I graduated HS in 79. Many of the games you featured I never heard of. My high school buddies and I really got into Panzer Blitz and Panzer Leader. We kept buying more copies to recreate bigger battles. The ultimate game involved a hand drawn map on blank hex paper that was 6 feet long and 4 feet wide. Using hundreds of counters for each player. At one point one of the guys calculated that we had so many counters that we had counters representing more Panther tanks than Germany produced during the entire war.

This video brought tears to my eyes. Add D&D to all these Avalon Hill games and you have my childhood and teenage years. My siblings and other kids in our neighborhood used to build bikes from spare parts, built wooden gokarts using wheels from old lawn mowers, we made stilts from 2x2 and 4x4 lumber and so much more. We were active outside the house and when it rained we would be active playing Avalon Hill games and much more.

Tactics II, played it in 1959 at age 13. Been hooked on war gaming ever since. Thanks for the memories. I got out my set and am playing it 63 years later. Along with Unity of Command II on my PC. What a contrast but both are great in their own way.

My favorite was Midway. Played often with a high school buddy in the early 70s. It really made you experience the strategy of that battle. Thanks for this post. It brought back memories.

Thanks for the video highlighting Avalon Hill .... What a great gaming company! When I was young (8-10) years it was barely 20 years after WWII ... we were getting ready to land an American on the moon and Vietnam was in full swing. I spent countless hours with my best friend - my grandmother - with whom we watched hours of movies on WWII ... played chess and risk and .... Gettysburg 1st edition ... from Avalon Hill! ... that is until she rolled bad and lost 2 Union brigades against 1 Confederate on higher ground, whereas she refused playing that one ever again ... hahaha. But my first and about my most favorite was Guadalcanal 66 ... I spent countless hours with buddies or solo playing till 3 in the morning .... Ditto Panzer Blitz and Luftwaffe ... I hadn't played Starship Troopers but a friend had and loved it ... then came Gettysburg 77 which I absolutely loved and played over and over ... until 3 and 4 am! Outdoor Survival was kppky as you say and Wooden Ships and Iron Men never piques my interest too much. Then came Squad Leader ... and its follow ons .... with Cross of Iron probably being my favorite. I have gotten into ASL only because of MMPs fine Starter Kit Series which breaks the system down into a more simplified approach with complete kits about 20 bucks or so allowing first infantry only - then ordanance and guns and finally armor! What a Hobby! I still like to go back to Midway and its Coeal Sea vatiant along with Guadalcanal 66 at times ... don't have the time for Gettysburg 77 ... but these are great!

Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (4th Ed.) was probably AH's best game. It won numerous awards. I played it well over 10000 hours with my buddies in the USAF and at home. Nothing beats it.

my favorite AH game was called Blitzkreig. It pitted two superpowers, each at the opposite ends of a continent, against each other. They were evenly matched, and the only thing that separated them was the six small nations which unfortunately shared the continent with these two very war-like neighbors. Needless to say, they were quickly over-run and the two supers got to duking it out. There was army, navy, and air force components to each side that had to be coordinated, with options for amphibious invasions and even nuclear strikes on the opponents major cities. I have not found any game that I have found to be so complex and complete since.

When I was 12 or so my father bought me a copy of Squad Leader. It was the first wargame I ever had, and while I moved on to Advanced Squad Leader and now computer based games, I will always have a soft spot for Squad Leader. Also loved D-Day and The Russian Campaign from AH.

Panzerblitz heads my list. But I've also played & enjoyed Squad Leader, Magic Realm, Diplomacy, Up Front, Circus Maximus & Republic of Rome. AH has many games I'd love yet to play. What an outstanding company it has been.

Avalon Hill is what also got me into gaming beyond stuff like Monopoly and Risk. My first game was Squad Leader which I bought probably around '82. Favorites that I played many times over the years are Advanced Civilization, Merchant of Venus, Kremlin, Acquire, B-17, Russian Campaign, Republic of Rome, Dune, Titan, and Britannia. Those are the ones I can think off the top of my head. I still play some of these on a semi-regular basis. AH was such a great publisher of games and I remember being so bummed out when they were bought out by Hasbro.

I see I was not alone going up on Avalon Hill. My father had a collection of intriguing looking game boxes on the top shelf of the hall closet that us kids were not allowed to touch. Finally, about age 12, he pulled one down, and I got my first introduction to AH with "Tobruk". He and I spent years playing it, "Luftwaffe", "Feudal", and the others. We would later play Axis & Allies, Fortress America, etc, but we always ended up back in the desert at Tobruk. Even now that I am 50, I recently have expanded into actual miniatures, with Flames of War, and of course, mid-war in desert, Desert Rats vs. the Desert Fox. My father still gets a kick out of it. AH was definitely a gateway drug.

I bought AH Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (3rd ed) when I was 12 on a whim. Nobody around me understood it. Fell in love instantly. Yeah, it was a heck of an intro but the aspects of simulating a real war kept me intrigued to this day. Squad Leader (orig) remains an equally dear friend. Love some of the SPI folio games despite the obvious weaknesses from such a fast-paced production system. Empires of the Middle Ages just was magic and insprired me to learn more about that time period and not get stuck in WWII and such. Thanks to those at AH and SPI and others like Yaquinto that provided fun, education and a life long hobby.

Born in '48 played Gettysburg in the last 50's and got hooked. Played many of the early AH games, then my childhood opponent moved on and I did not find a new set of gamers until I graduated and entered Med School. We had a blast playing 1-2 times each month usually 12 hours or more. We played big games with teams and kept the games for weeks or months in my spare room. By the late 80's and the birth of our third, the spare room was gone, and we tailed off. I began computer gaming by the 90's, so the old AH, SPI, GMT and a few other publishers' games gathered dust. Gave most of them away by '95, but still keep The Longest Day, Gettysburg, Ardennes Offensive, Korsun Pocket and a few others downstairs on a shelf to show my grandkids how we spent our time. I played some but not all of your list. This was a happy pastime in years gone by...

I loved playing Squad Leader with my buddies in the US Army. The game was respected enough by our leaders that we could leave the boards up during Inspections, no problem.

Dad was a game tester for Squad Leader, not A/H but he tested Panzer, 88, and Armor...he left me an incredible micro armor collection. Thank you, you brought back a flood of wonderful memories of My Old Man! Thank you!

Great retrospective. My first game was AH’s Jutland. That was 1967. I loved each new game. I learned so much about history through the games as they led me to read more history. I also fell in love with simulation. Ultimately in addition to degrees in geology I accidentally fell into a math degree because I took mathematical modeling and moved on to more and more math classes. Even got a minor in history. Games were my “gateway drug” to such a rewarding life in simulation and history.

I'm so struck by the wonderful art and branding. So much love and talent went into creating these games.

British gamer here and I played and owned many AH games during the 1970s and 80s. Played a ton of "Squad Leader" and "Third Reich" but also "1776", "Gunslinger", "Starship Troopers" and "Gladiator". What I loved about AH was that all their games had mounted map-boards at a time when their biggest rival "SPI" only had paper maps.

I fought many a naval battle on the living room floor using the Jutland ship counters and rules. I'd set up my own scenarios, not just the historical one. I even made my own up sized movement and firing rulers so that maneuvering wouldn't be constrained to a small space. I even hand drew score sheets since I didn't want to use up the precious ones that came with the game for a small encounter (I didn't have access to a copying machine back in the 1970s). A lot of fun.

My first serious wargame was Avalon Hill's Panzer Leader, purchase in 1977, from a toy store in Manassas Mall. That started a life-long hobby.

Thank you for this video. I still play my favorite AH game: Advanced Civilization. Finding enough people to play it in person now is difficult, but I love doing so in July each year in Seven Springs, PA at the World Boardgaming Championships, a convention that was originally devoted primarily if not entirely to AH games. Many AH games are still played there by players from around the world.

I spent many happy hours playing AH games. It started with Tactics II, then on to Gettysburg, D Day, Waterloo (which I never lost, no matter which side I played!) and the most difficult of all--Dispatcher. This was a rough diagram of the Pennsylvania Railroad lines west of Altoona over and around Horseshoe curve. This was probably the most difficult of them all, and could be played solitaire! There was nothing like AH games!

Thank you for the memories. I discovered my first Avalon Hill game in a once great toy store called "Kirouack" in Quebec City. That first game was AH's "War at Sea" and I bought so many other AH games in that store before it and AH disappeared. I know you can still buy wargames, but the old AH games will remain my nostalgic favorite. Thanks again!

Born in 1945 Played AH games since, I guess their beginning. Played… everything we could find. We found AH sharpened our minds. Twenty or so years in US and Canadian militaries. And a few years in a Washington think tank. Owe it all to AH

I consider Squad Leader with the Cross of Iron expansion as AH's best game. That 1st expansion really fleshed out the vehicle rules. After that, IMO, the rules got too complicated with Crescendo of Doom and Anvil of Victory. Don't even ask me what I think of ASL.

I was in college in 1979 and a classmate turned me onto Avalon Hill games, we played mostly those from WW2 im 66 now and no one i know these days play those games, but i have so many great memories of those days. I thank yiu for your channel, very nostalgic fkr me.

You missed my favorite two games !! “Rail Baron “ and “wooden ships and Iron men “ !! They were the first two games that I played that weren’t the standard monopoly or Life game. They were my gateway games into this board game hobby. I visited my brother for a week who was in the Air Force and we played both these games everyday. I was hooked.

For me, it was ADVANCED THIRD REICH and its companion game EMPIRE OF THE RISING SUN. I still have my copies and play semi-regularly with buddies that I've had since high school. Although it takes literally months to go through a game, in my opinion, no game has come close to the grand strategy offered in this classic.

I agree- Squad Leader is amazing- played it right after it came out and I was hooked- the design is amazing- some games have nice design but fun is not so great- this a good, FUN simulation. I'm happy I was able to purchase all the stuff they put out (I have A LOT of counters and maps)- the first scenario with just super basic rules is SO fun

I HAVE to add Wooden Ships and Iron Men . Not only did we play it from the Battle of Lake Erie to Trafalgar , but we based our minature games on it! Scaling up the hexes to fit scale ship models brought a visual component to the basic game that was fantastic!

I was in my thirties by then, and could afford to expand my squad leader. I convinced a friend of mine to play with me the add-on, “Crashedro of Doom”. I always enjoyed playing the one Polish scenario in 1939 and the French in 1940. I spent a lot of time in H39s and Somua S-35s. That was long before anyone was thinking about World of Tanks, War Thunder or RU-vid.

I got into AH in the 70s it was great fun. My favorites were Panzerblitz and Panzer Leader. I tried to rekindle the interest several years ago. I put on a monster game. I purchased 12 copies of them both complete and partials. Then combined 30 boards make the battlefield. Used a lot of plywood and saw horses. Set up 3 generals on the German side and 3 on the allied side. Both sides had a Supreme commander who might suggest ideas, but his job was reinforcements. Each turn he got an envelope of pieces and he would distribute them to each front. The trick was it took 3 turns for them to show up on the board. It was a blast. A bunch of old guys eating pizza and drinking soda for 12 hours like we did when we were young. It's a wonder we didn't all die!!! Hehehe. Great games I truly enjoyed them.

This might be my favorite RU-vid video of all times. Still own most of these games. Avalon Hill was the best game company ever. Squad leader was THE game to play for us growing up.

I ran into this time capsule and the memories came surging back. I was VP for R&D for Avalon Hill from 1972 to 1979. I designed some games and developed others, then went on to design wargames for the USMC. Starship Troopers was well received. My list would echo your list, but I started about a quarter of a century earlier. Keep on playing!

I am a squad leader [AH] since 1984. Your selections were spot on. Wargaming (board) will start to gain momentum per current events we all are challenged with. Thank you for presenting this clip. I have been designing a system that may advance the science of game theory with enhance social awareness plus practical behavioral applications, aside from military, business, and hobby players. Oh, Wall Street has been gaming us all for 100+ years. Oberst Stigner 10-3.

I started with Panzerblitz, went on to Third Reich, then the miniatures style game Tobruk. That lead to Squad Leader and then ASL. Those were my main games. I tried a few other AH titles, but these were my favorites and the ones I played the most, especially ASL - the ultimate wargame. I never played any other company's games. To me AH was the gold standard, until they started to decline towards the end. (Subscribed to the General as well, until that went down hill too.)

Great video! You and I started playing about the same time. I would say these are my fav AH games: 10. Battle of the Bulge '65 9. Panzerblitz 8. Wooden Ships Iron Men 7. Patton's Best 6. Turning Point Stalingrad 5. B-17 Queen of the Skies 4. Afrika Korps 3. Stalingrad 2. Victory in the Pacific 1. Squad Leader

Richthofen's War. It was my very first wargame which my parents bought me for Christmas the same year it came out, 1972. I actually still play it occasionally to this day!! Great video series and keep up the good work.

I remember playing Diplomacy, so far back that it had wooden pieces instead of plastic. My fav though was Russian Campaign. I played that until I wore a hole in the map board.

AH: what great memories. Started playing in the early 60s. I fear my favorites are more due to the great times I had with my friends that any more esoteric analyses. Among my favs: Stalingrad, Afrika Corps, Midway, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge. One memorable Stalingrad, a friend and I were the Russians, another friend the Germans. Through an oversight, we left a gap that allowed panzer units to slip through and take Moscow (Stalin was NOT pleased!) But Tom and I stubbornly held Leningrad and Stalingrad. Over the next several turns we stopped, then repulsed the Germans from Mother Russia and drove them off their board edge. There was much fun had by all-and isn’t that why we play? Thanks for the memories.

Kudos for the nostalgia trip but... I also loved the AH (and their subsidiary Victory Games titles) but... I played an almost totally different set of AH titles than you did, lol! Panzer Blitz, Panzer Leader, Arab Israeli Wars, Third Reich, King Maker...many more. Squad Leader and Diplomacy were the only shared titles you and I played, LOL. Regardless, good to see someone still remembers these excellent games and thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Thank you for the memories. Started with Midway in 1969, then Panzer Blitz, Richthofen's War, France 1940, Jutland, Wooden Ships and Iron Men, AK, PL, Guadalcanal, Blitzkreig, Kriegspiel, Tactics II, then on to SPI and bi-montly games with some crazy complex games like Fast Carriers, War in the East. Finally on to computer games in 1980. Favorite computer game at that time was Carrier Force. I still play SPWaW which is very close to Squad Leader.

I was introduced to AH in 1980 when I was 15 by a very good friend of mine, named Ron. We had hours of fun before he moved away. I continued playing and buying more games. Some of you may think I'm a masochist with the list below. There may be some merit to that as I'm a CPA by trade. Here's my list: 10. Naval Warfare 9. Wizard's Quest 8. Caesar's Legions 7. Waterloo/Gettysburg 6. Struggle of Nations 5. Starship Troopers 4. Squad Leader 3. War & Peace 2. Third Reich 3rd Edition 1. Advanced Third Reich (last game purchased in late '90's)

My first AH game was Richthofen War. It started me on a lifelong wargame journey. Once I found SL in 1982 it became my go to game. How many times did we play Guards Counterattack! Of course when ASL was released I progressed to it and still play it today. UF is my favourite AH game. It was so different at its time of release. What no map! I’ve owned or played at least 20+ AH games in my time, some great others forgettable. It was a great time to get into war games. I have fond memories of being a kid buying a game, reading the rules, and playing for hours in my friend’s basement. The only games I’ve always wanted to play/own but never did was The Longest Day, (oh that huge red box) Third Reich, and Turning Point Stalingrad.

Midway was my Favourite. Still have it in near new condition.

Squad Leader - the one game to rule them all, the same game that spawned a million satisfied gamers, and 10 million more eternally frustrated ones.

I do not recall all of the games I played; however, I do have a top 5: 5. Squad Leader 4. Richtofen's War 3. Arab-Israeli War 2. Starship Troopers 1. Panzer Leader Thanks for the memories! I still have a bunch of the games too. :)

I bought about a dozen games made by Avalon Hill. Still have them today. I also lived in Canada and they were sometimes hard to come by. I remember when my dad was transferred from Saskatchewan to Ontario in 1977 we travelled through the US and I managed to find the new Squad Leader game. Many of my new friends in Ontario were amazed that I had a copy as they were hard to find in Canada. My favourite and most played AH games were: 1. Victory in the Pacific 2. Russian Campaign 3. Squad Leader and it's three expansions Cross of Iron, Crescendo of Doom and GI: Anvil of Victory 4. King Maker 5. Third Reich

My start to wargaming was 1973 with Luftwaffe for 9.99. I was amazed at what these games had to offer for the same reasons you described. I've been wargaming ever since, 50 years.

Thank you for the trip down memory lane. My top AH games are Squad Leader and Statis Pro Baseball. I still spend time making player / team cards each season. Thanks again.

I played AH games in the 70's. Games I played most were France 1940, Jutland, Panzer Blitz, and Luftwaffe. Also played some Tobruk, and Richthofen's War, and Starship Troopers. I remember the little post card that they included with the games to send to "somebody with the necessary gray matter" to play the games.

Now we're talking. I use play AH games back in the early 70's. Very cool. I spent hours creating modifications to the rules so I could play solo. Thank you for the new video especially on AH.

Thank you - so nice to watch. Most of these I did not discover until later - where I grew up there was no one into this stuff and there were no gaming establishments. I discovered gaming in college. There, I LOVED Civilization/Advanced Civilization. We once played a 7-player game of Advanced Civ that lasted 17 hours! We paused for a quick dinner but otherwise sat at that table non-stop. Awesome. Later, I discovered Up Front. It's difficult to get someone started on it, it being so abstract, but when someone does take the time to learn it, they love it.

Three AH games were my absolute favorites and i used them in other ways as well. B-17 Queen of the Skies was my main thing. Lord knows how many missions i flew and i used maps of Europe and 8th AF histories to add more targets and further range. I even used it to GM a RPG based upon it. When i got the copy of the General with the Lancaster variant rules, i went on a deep plunge into RAF Bomber Command history that has stuck with me to this day. Panzer Blitz and Panzer Leader were my go to tactical games. I even bought the Guide to Panzer Blitz that was around at the time also. The way the maps were designed were genius and i also used the for GMing battles for a Battletech/Mechwarrior RPG campaign. Before i forget. Patton's Best was another i played quite often. It was really tough but an enjoyable game.

I was surprised you didn't mention War and Peace.

I too was introduced to "War Games" by Avalon Hill. Over the years I have bought at least 30 of either Avalon Hill or Strategy and Tactics games and I happen to agree with you on Squad leader. I also bought Advanced Squad Leader and ended up with all the books, all the maps and a binder full of rules. It was the best I ever played. A couple of years ago I passed it on to a gaming friend of mine who is much younger and better able to take care of it. I subscribed to S&T Magazine and got several of their small magazine games as well. (Oil War is my favorite Magazine game.) It is a remarkable hobby and one that keeps on giving.

Great walk thru yesteryear. Thku very much.

Really enjoyed your nostalgic look at games that I too enjoyed. I went the ASL route, and it was a great ride.

Had several of them, but my favorites were: -Midway (Battleship, just in more detail) -Kingmaker (aka the game that never ends) -Gettysburg

I am probably in the range of 10 years older than you but I agree on your number one. I spent hundreds of hours with that one. I still have it somewhere in my house. My list would have included Third Reich, Feudal, and maybe even Tactics.

Thank you so much for this video. It immediately took me back to my youth and formative years. I was a bit of a Squad Leader junkie and moved on to ASL. But I will always have great memories of playing Waterloo and Battle of the Bulge.

Thank you for making this. I too started with AH (Gettysburg in 1972). I too saw the value of these games. Well done!

My other Favourite Avalon Hill game is Flat Top! Still have it. Battle Line Version. Spent hours playing this game.

I started playing AH games around 1960 when they first came out when I was 10 years old. Here’s my top 10. Did not include diplomacy since it was originally published by someone else. 1 - Battle of the Bulge 2 - Guadalcanal 3 - Anzio 4 - Dune 5 - 1776 6 - France 1940 7 - Afrika Korps 8 - Kingmaker 9 - Wooden Ships and Iron Men 10 - Republic of Rome

Tail end SPI / S&T here, plus of course the playable Squad Leader and The Gamers Operational Games. You've made me think what my favourites might be, and to break out that moving box full of them :) Thank you.

I love this video. So many memories. Like you, I had to conscript my Father into playing with me even though he wasn’t interested. I was mostly into the sports games. I spent endless hours playing Statis Pro Football and Baseball and, my all-time favorite… Title Bout boxing. The amount of research they put into, seemingly, every pro boxer ever, was amazing.

10. Battle of the Bulge '81 9. Kremlin 8. History of the World 7. Civilization 6. Bismarck 5. Football Strategy 4. Up Front 3. Acquire 2. The Russian Campaign 1. Victory in the Pacific Toughest Omissions: PzGruppe Guderian, Republic of Rome, Merchant of Venus, Statis Pro Baseball, Naval War/Enemy In Sight, Pz Leader/Blitz, Breakout Normandy, Storm Over Arnhem. Man, they made a lot of good ones. I didn't even include most of the ones on your list, but it's not like I think they are bad, there are just that many choices!

Loved this, and brought me back to the early 80’s, when we played a bunch you mentioned. I remember playing Third Reich on my neighbor’s parents dining room table, leaving it there for the whole summer. I don’t think we finished the game, even though we played every day, for hours. War At Sea was an easy and fun one we played a lot.

All great and fun games covered here. Thanks for the video. I grew up playing Luftwaffe, Third Reich, Jutland, Panzer Leader/Blitz, Bismarck, Diplomacy, and later on, Squad Leader and its sisters. My brother and I just played a couple of games of Jutland last month for the first time since the early 80s. So much fun!

Bravo! I had never heard of your channel before, until this video came up on my feed. My first encounter with AH games was in 1976 in Frankfurt a/M, West Germany, when I found a copy of Afrika Corps at the recreation center at Edwards Kaserne. I was a member of the 3rd Armored Division Band, U. S. Army. I was immediately hooked on AH games, and I still own many of them today: Squad Leader, along with many of the add-on modules, Panzer Leader, Panzer Blitz, Caesar’s Legions, Russian Campaign, Arab-Israeli Wars, Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Starship Troopers, etc. I see that several of our favorites overlap.

Man, this really sent me on a nostalgia trip. Tactics II was the opening of the rabbit hole for my brothers and me in the late 60s. We hunted and scrounged for titles in central Indiana back then until SPI and their Strategy & Tactics magazines opened the flood gates. My list of go-to AH games (not in any particular order): 1. Squad Leader (plus the Cross of Iron expansion) 2. Jutland 3. Waterloo 4. Afrika Korps 5. Guadalcanal 6. Bismarck 7. Tactics II 8. Patton's Best 9. Kingmaker (guaranteed to end up in real life civil war between three brothers) 10. 1914 (had to play this one solo)

Loved AH and the General. My favorites: 1-10. WSIM 3R Gettysburg Panzer leader Malta in AAOC Midway Afrika Korps PanzerBlitz

Thank you for the wonderful nostalgia:-) Their list of games was impressive. I am not even sure we have any overlaps :-D

In the 60's, I collected hundreds of pop bottles so I could buy Blitzkrieg! (Morgan's dept store) and later Waterloo...played them for years (still have them) years after they came out I got Panzerblitz, which was mind blowing, played that with a whole new group of wargaming converts in college...great times.

Breakout Normandy, Victory in the Pacific, D-Day! Avalon HIll - Hip, Hip!!

Avalon Hill started my gaming hobby these last 50 years. Many of the games listed in the comments I have not played but I still have many copies of the "General" My interest was Military History and primarily played solo. In my man cave I have Panzer Leader, Panzer Blitz, Wood Ships Iron Men, 1776, IDF(never played), Russian Front, Squad Leader X2, and ASL complete collection, all modules and annuals. Got to the point I was buying ASL stuff mindlessly. Have not played Gung-Ho, Kamptgruppe Pieper I, or Pegasus Bridge but I own them. Played "The Tractor Works" scenario hundreds of times, etc. I have TWO ASL rules books for crying out loud. Best investment: Dice Tower. Most Artistic Map Board: "Armee' du Nord, The Belgian Campaign" by Clash of Arms, not AH but thought I'd throw that out there. So beautiful I had them mounted on foam board. Cheers to all.

Thank you! My first AH game was from my dad, Tactics II. I then went on to get D-day, Afrika Korps, panzer leader, Gettysburg. A shame they are no longer in business, but many memories. Thank you again.

Oh man, what memories. I remember in the early 90's leafing through the paper Avalon Hill catalog dreaming of the games I was going to get. They all looked so interesting. I was lucky enough to have a buddy who liked the games as well and we ended up playing "Civilization", "Diplomacy", "Russian Campaign", "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and "Advanced Third Reich after that. We had a lot of fun playing "Flat Top" as well. I tried the solitaire game "Carrier" which turned out to surprisingly fun. But then we settled on "Squad Leader" and fell instantly in love with it. Eventually we progressed into "Advanced Squad Leader" and still get together to play it once a week some 30 odd years later. I will admit though there is still a soft spot in my heart for the old "Squad Leader "days.

Oddly enough, I've never owned any AH game, but played Up Front to death when I finally learned about it's existance around 10 years ago - scen 1 is easily my most played scenario of all time😁 Quite keen to try out Bismarck eventually, as still onthe run with all subjects naval😁

I think I had every AH wargame. Mine were a lot older than yours! My Afrika Korps looked completely different. My favorite game was probably Midway.

Just discovered your channel over the weekend and am so glad it's here. I still have a lot of my AH games and play them. Putting a Top Ten list together is tough and varies by taste, but here is mine: 1: Squad Leader 2: Tie: France 1940 / Chancellorsville 3: Tactics II 4: Flight Leader (this one NEVER gets any attention) 5: Afrika Corps 6: Acquire 7: Battle of the Bulge 8: Midway 9: Jutland 10: Tie: Storm over Arnhem / Gettysburg '88

Just happy to watch this, my exposure to Avalon hill Always left me wanting for more, and I see you 👀 as the same, I played Gettysburg and Africa Korps. Growing up and always was amazed

Great list! I have several in this list. And I can thank Squad Leader for getting me into wargaming. (I'm now into ASL, but I totally get it)

Jutland was the best...but I first started with Gettysburg (version from before 1988)...purchased from a garage sale.

Wow, stumbled across this video - use showed up in my feed. Brought back memories from the 60’s when I played AH games almost every day. First was D-Day - that one got me hooked. Played quite a few others - bought them as they were coming out (Gettysburg, Blitzkrieg, Afrika Corps, Guadalcanal, etc), but my all time favorite was the original “Battle of the Bulge.” That one seemed to be evenly matched so it seemed as though you weren’t starting with a handicap whichever side you were playing. Many fond memories of these games.

Oh man, Squadleader - we had some sessions back "then". Thanx for the video - loved it!

I picked up my first three AH games very cheaply from an "Exchange & Mart" (Basically a 2nd hand store) back in the early 80's: Luftwaffe, Richhoven's War & finally Panzer Blitz.... for £2 each. I went on to collect nearly all Squad Leader, then all the "Official" ASL stuff that AH produced... and Wooden Ships & Iron Men, Trireme and finally Advanced Third Reich (which to my shame have never even managed to set up a game for...). All of which cost me considerably more than those first few cheap purchases.....

I was more an SPI wargamer than an Avalon Hill one. Still hard not to make a top 10 games as AH games are iconic or legendary (alphabetically): 1830, BlackBeard, Breakout: Normandy, Civilization, Hannibal Rome vs Carthage, Kingmaker, Magic Realm, Panzerblitz, Titan, Up Front.

Thank for this fine video! :) I am a German, and i guess it was 1988, when i saw for the first time in my life a Avalon Hill Game named "Squad Leader", when i was invited to a birthday party at my neighbors. I was flashed - and bougt it for a very high import price. But, from this day on, i had found a hobby wich grew via the upcoming PC-Games and still is part of my live. :) Thank you Avalon Hill.

My Avalon Hill love affair began in the 1972. I was fascinated with the cover art of Richtofen's War. After a while I saved up $10, a princely sum in those days for a 3rd grader, and brought it home. Throughout the journey, I acquired Feudal, Afrika Corps, Wooden Ships and Iron Men, and Starship Troopers. Some of these I traded away, some have disappeared. Richthofen's War, Feudal, and Starship Troopers are still on my bookshelf. And I agree about the idea of supply lines in Afrika Corps. Very innovative. A friend of mine had Panzer Leader and Jutland. We preferred the former. I am sure we didn't understand the rules; we were so young.

Good list, but I was hoping for Blackbeard somewhere! You said you like games where the player has maximal choice, and this is a game about high seas piracy where (it's a stretch to remember it, I admit) you don't even have to do piracy ... you can become a KC and kill the other players who are pirating. I think the map stretched from Boston in the north to Port o' Spain in the south, but you could also go to Africa or India if you wanted to kill time. Good way to learn Caribbean geography, and it had all the weird personalities that Up Front seems to have (never played that one).

In no particular order, my all-time favorite AH games are: Diplomacy, Empires in Arms (aka Diplomacy on Crack), Kremlin, Circus Maximus, Advanced Civilization, Adel Verpflichtet (a pre-Catan Euro), Kingmaker, Titan: The Arena, and Britannia. I would love to learn to play Acquire, Dune, and Merchants of Venus, but haven't found the right group.

When I was a teenager 40 years ago I visited the AH company in Baltimore. Right now I still play 1914, Guadalcanal, battle of the bulge, and the ASL series which I have about 3 grand in.

Great video! Great list. I think I was introduced to AH by buying Paydirt in the late 70s. And then later, by playing Titan in the college dorms in the late 80s.

I found your list interesting. SO... as a person who, much like yourself began playing AH games at around 16, let's compare lists. #1/ PanzerBlitz/Panzer Leader/Squad leader... in my mind all three games are linked and hold the place of "desert Island" games, bought lots of expansion units, including air and specialized units over the years... also expansion maps for BULGE and North Africa. #2/ Blitzkrieg-Tactics II-Kriegspeil... abstract combat but deep in strategy. #3/Midway... first and, in many ways, the best hidden movement game. #4/ D-Day/Stalingrad... again two games that deserve to maybe be played together, bumping one board up against the other. An exhausting battle of grunt and blood. #5/ Wooden Ships, Iron Men... one of the first "sail" conflict games... excellent production, and great eye on strategy. #6/ B-17... got the Italian expansion and the Lancaster expansions... really told a great narrative. #7/Guadacanal... hidden movement, great production quality and a real grindstone! #8/ Status pro Baseball/Football/Basketball... only need 1992 and 1993 cards to complete my baseball... what a delightful sandbox! I can trade players, create a super team... and even move teams around to develop a more centralized geographical feel for the game (Pitts, Clev,Cinn, Phil in one division)... I can change a few rules, like the DH and have a ball. #9/ Baseball/football strategy... an intense experience without name players, pure strategy. #10/ A toss up... Tobruk or Origins... educations in a box! Tobruk walks you through each step... Origins takes Diplomacy one step farther.

AH, Avalon Hill! I loved the backstabbing of Diplomacy and the Big Red v. Great Blue slugfest of Blitzkrieg. I even loved the unbalanced nature of some of the historical recreations - you could feel pride in holding your opponent down to only a "marginal victory".

Thanks!!! Many, many memories! The first game I purchased was Rise and Decline of the Third Reich. Definitely picked probably the hardest of the bunch at the time (1975) but I was hooked. Some (but not all) of my favorites were ASL, Assault on Crete/Invasion of Malta, Diplomacy, B17 Quee of the Skies, Panzer Leader, Panzer Blitz, Arab-Israeli Wars just name a few.

How reassuring it is to see, after all these years, a You Tube channel recounting experiences very similar to mine with AH games. I started in about 1975 with Outdoor Survival which I got as a christmas gift. Later I got another gift of Gettysburg (the really complicated one but not Gettysburg 88). Enjoyed that immensely. I encountered Tactics II and Third Reich. In early 20s many of my friends played AH games, mostly 3R and Squad Leader. I also had a number of others, including Starship Troopers.

I think I will follow your lead with this... :) I found ASL to be way to cumbersome so I also stuck and preferred SL. I seriously must have played the tractor works 100 times.