Ye Olde Inn

As a kid, I had Richthofen's War and Dragonhunt, but no one to play them with, and so I eventually, foolishly, gave them away.

I might try buying used ones online. Good aspect of the internet!

We have the Outdoor Survival Game (an old Christmas gift everyone forgot about for years I think, realizing when we picked it up that it was an Avalon Hill title). I was gifted this year "Sword & Skull" which was a joint Avalon Hill/Wizards of the Coast game from 2005.

I honestly had never heard of the company (despite their storied history) prior to them becoming involved with the HeroQuest revival.

Surely everyone has heard of "Betrayal at House on the Hill"?

I've come across that one online while looking for other games, but I haven't looked at it in detail, yet. As long as there's a good solo option I might be interested.

Betrayal is a great game, but it absolutely can't be played solo. The whole 'betrayal' thing kinda makes that impossible. I've got the second edition. Third is the current one; I haven't played it but a few reviews say they made some actual improvements over 2nd.

Define “Avalon Hill.” It was a game company in its own right for decades. I believe Milton Bradley acquired it (after creating the Milton Bradley Master Games line), and thus it was absorbed by Hasbro. It now functions under the auspices of Wizards of the Coast, I believe, though it’s mostly separate— and technically is the “house” which makes the current HeroQuest line.

Its most famous game is Diplomacy, going back to the ‘60s (possibly ‘50s?) JFK and Henry Kissinger were supposedly fans of the game. I’ve never played it, but it has a reputation for starting big fights and breaking up friendships, as it’s all about wheeling and dealing and making and breaking alliances to conquer Europe (circa 1890-1900 or so). That game is still being offered— one of the few, if only, true AH games still in production.

AH was well known for hex-and-chit historical wargames and board games(Gettysburg, Squad Leader, We the People etc.,) and sci-fi & fantasy stuff (Amoeba Wars, Starship Troopers, Stellar Conquest (originally a microgame), Wizard’s Quest, etc.), as well as some rather unique abstract games (Feudal). They had a reputation for complexity, though not as much as competitors like SPI.

Milton Bradley’s link to the AH line originally started with their Gamemaster Series, featuring titles like Axis & Allies, Broadsides & Boarding Parties, Conquest of the Empire (originally Seven Caesars), Fortress America, Samurai Swords (originally Shogun— they got sued by novelist James Clavell for IP infringement). These were later reprinted with the AH moniker by Hasbro, though in some cases they were redone by third party publishers— CotE by Eagle Games, for one.
Of these I have owned and played A&A, CotE, and own SS and FA.

Later Hasbro attached the AH brand to the continuing reprints and variants of A&A. (By the way, I highly recommend D&D: The Conquest of Nerath boardgame, which uses the A&A core rule concepts in a well-done fantasy setting— you don’t have to like or know much about D&D (in any edition) to love this game. Alas, it’s OOP.)

The biggest AH line prior to another rebranding was the introduction of Richard Berg’s excellent “Command & Colours” system in 1999’s hex and minis American Civil War game Battle Cry (not to be confused with the earlier games of the same name, some with hyphens and exclamation points, which cover both ACW, modern (abstracted) and WWII settings). This one is a great game; I highly recommend it. Alas, it is also OOP, even though it was released in an 150th anniversary edition of the ACW. Similar games using the same system are Memoir ‘44 and some “block games” by GMT in various historical periods. I own and play BC and M’44.

Today AH is now the brand label for pretty much any not-D&D, not-family, strategy game from Hasbro— including HeroQuest, HeroScape, Risk Variants, and the Betrayal line (which now includes D&D and Scooby-Do versions).

I own and have played/still play the original Betrayal, HQ (obviously), HeroScape, several Risk variants, and Battleship: Galaxies which is “inspired by” but has little to actually do with the classic Battleship peg-and-grid game. (Alas, B:G is also OOP.)

Richthofen's War is from the 70's, so I'm sure it's true AH. I found it complete and practically untouched back in the late 80's at a thrift shop. I should have kept it!

Kurgan wrote:We have the Outdoor Survival Game (an old Christmas gift everyone forgot about for years I think, realizing when we picked it up that it was an Avalon Hill title). I was gifted this year "Sword & Skull" which was a joint Avalon Hill/Wizards of the Coast game from 2005.

I honestly had never heard of the company (despite their storied history) prior to them becoming involved with the HeroQuest revival.

If you want modern Avalon Hill, then I own at least one edition of each of their HeroQuest Boxes (except some of the exclusive fanroll dice), Betrayal 3rd Edition (free review copy), and Talisman 5th Edition (free review copy). If you consider HeroScape to be their work (I would), then I have their jungle greenery terrain system (and Sgt. Drake Alexander jetpack figure that came free with any purchase at GenCon last year).

I forgot to mention AH’s Circus Maximus, which is chariot racing, Ben Hur style. It sounds more serious than it is— it includes rules for whipping your horses, your opponent’s horses, or your opponent! (The racer, not the player. )

I’ve only played this at a wargaming con, but it was a hoot. (It’s possible the guy who ran the game simplified the rules a bit.)