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

Avalon Hill has such a rich history as a board game company, and has contributed so much to our hobby, our sense of history, and our lives. I sat down to reminisce about my top 10 favorite Avalon Hill games of all time. Are these the best games of all time? What games would make your list? Let us know in the comment section below.
TIMESTAMPS
0:22 Introduction
1:43 Number 10
3:09 Number 9
4:10 Number 8
5:08 Number 7
6:02 Number 6
6:34 Number 5
7:09 Number 4
8:03 Number 3
8:36 Number 2
9:21 Number 1
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Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is currently a subsidiary of the game company Wizards of the Coast, itself a subsidiary of Hasbro.

[@18xxtraining625]

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.

[@rodneyharrington5049]

Why don't you still play them?

[@18xxtraining625]

@@rodneyharrington5049 mostly due to the lack of opponents. The bane of all board gamers.

[@LegendaryTactics]

@@18xxtraining625 Discord might be able to remedy this.

[@raltgaither]

@@18xxtraining625 I know the feeling.

[@terryjustice1950]

My first AH game was Tactics ll in 1959. I had all of them. I loved King maker, still play at age 74 Russian Campaign for about 50 years. Still have one still packaged.

[@bobhart677]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Ha ha, that's awesome! That must have been really fun!

[@mostlyharmless7425]

I was also in high school in the 70s and a buddy and I combined two Panzer Leader games and had many “epic” battles (LOL). We had one game go on for over 4 months, then tragedy. Bill’s mom wanted her dinning room table back, and with no warning, the war was over. I do agree that Avalon Hill games were/are great fun!

[@bobhart677]

@@mostlyharmless7425 Yeah, that's the problem with such big games. Our epic game lasted several weeks, playing most days after school. My friends cat somehow got into the basement and scrambled all the counters.

[@SmashPhysical]

Loved Panzer Blitz because you could use actual armoured and infantry tactics in the game and be successful!

[@iannarita9816]

Tactically Pander Leader/Blitz should not last more then an hour of time. This is due to the constraints of ammo and fuel. Still love Panzer Leader. My favorite scenario was a based on Kampfegruppe Pffeifer(?) over powering the 291st Combat Engineering Battalion near Malmedy, Belgium. In the real battle Pfefeifer ran into an American unit that was not going to play dead. In three days the Engineers blow several bridges in his face, and were commanded by a Lt Col who trained his men from a National Guard unit in the states thru D-Day the Ardennes, and then across the Rhein at Remagen(they built 2 pedestrian and 1 vehicle pontoon bridges before the railway bridge collapsed).

[@edo1946]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's great!! Glad to hear they are getting some play!

[@Phalanx11]

@@LegendaryTactics Can you believe how long my thread got?...Also i'm the same guy who snuck in 3rd Reich rules to read at a top secret facility.

[@im2yz4u17]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Those are some great memories! Glad you hear my video brought them back to your mind!

[@bradmenpes809]

Same here!!

[@davidskiff3083]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's great! It certainly is a classic!

[@joez1369]

Always preferred to play the BLUE nation that had a geography similar to the Iberian peninsula.😊

[@davidskiff3083]

@@joez1369 yep, red had a long front line to defend and not much depth for rear guard

[@Phalanx11]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Those 10,000 hours were probably played in a single game LOL. I have heard so many great things about that game - we will maybe have to take it on here on the channel at some point....

[@Phalanx11]

@@LegendaryTactics haha thats true...each game was probably 100 hours at least.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Ha ha ha!

[@TheTheshadow32]

@@LegendaryTactics Actually The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich is not so long. We played it with 3 people several times back in the 80’s and it took about 12-14 hours and we planned it over 3 - 4 sessions. That was the most popular version, the famous 3rd/4th edition. The Advanced 3Reich was at least double in length, while the extended World at War is in my view far too big and complex. These days I only play solo games 99% of the time and so I had to change to other games that touch upon the strategy of WW2. I like Hitler’s Reich a lot with its strategic AI Bot play. Despite its initial rule problems this wargame gave me a taste at least of that 3Reich vibe while playing against the Bot.

[@SSNewberry]

I am very devoted to 3R4. In wargames, there are sub-genres one of mine is strategic.

[@cjmaloney69]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

So many great memories whiling away the hours in cardboard conflict!

[@33Luger]

Sergeant Kelso in the streets of Stalingrad!

[@hughmcfarland2454]

Squad Leader at 12 is impressive!

[@33Luger]

I was playing Squad Leader at 12, young minds can pick up stuff fast. My 57 year old mind is going to have a tougher time getting back to playing it.

[@MXB2001]

My dad bought me SL (plus Panzer Leader and War at Sea) for Xmas when I was 14! That was how I got started with AH.

[@johncasamassa462]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thank you for watching! I'm glad it brought back some nice memories for you!

[@alonespirit9923]

Have a Midway story for ya - when Dad was in USN Destroyer School in Newport Rhode Island in 1960s, Mom helped him study and somewhere along the way they got started playing Midway and she, the auburn haired Ozark Mountains farm girl become dietician, beat him, as the Japanese, by doing things which though a bit off simple standard were not completely implausible in the real world. I remember one tale of her doing something a bit risky; she had what looked like a standard CV task group formation when initially discovered but where the carriers would have been in formation wasn't them, it was ships with heavy AA armament. Meanwhile, her carriers were off pretty much by themselves another direction and launched an attack on Dad while his planes were about to fall in to Mom's flak trap.

[@douggalbreath736]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's awesome! My kids have the Avalon Hill Games within reach, but they haven't shown that same interest :(. Perhaps I should put it on a higher shelf to make them more unattainable??

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

@@LegendaryTactics That does work. Make something difficult to access and it becomes that much more desirable. .

[@Katzbalger001]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

We all owe Avalon Hill a debt of gratitude!

[@dr.anthonytrabue7426]

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...

[@LegendaryTactics]

There's some great memories! If you had the name one, what would be your favorite?

[@tertia0011]

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.

[@kirbyculp3449]

I had/have many of those. SL was a revelation.

[@kirbyculp3449]

Tertia, you typed my comment.

[@hughmcfarland2454]

Panzerblitz was my first and favorite.

[@CrazyYog]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Well, it looks like you played your part in supporting their financial well-being! But you certainly got your money's worth!

[@TWolf317]

I was more into wargames. But Acquire was a game that not only did I like it, but most of my family and friends liked it too. I can't imagine how many hours I spent playing that game. Fortunately I had one friend who also like wargames so we played Squad Leader together.

[@bradmenpes809]

Dune was my second fave AH game of all time. Good times!

[@josefhyatt2780]

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!

[@LegendaryTactics]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!!

[@badgerstate3451]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Well,. I guess you could say you were studying small-unit tactics!

[@stephengamber7000]

How cool you could leave the boards up!

[@jona826]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes, it is amazing about how such a outwardly simple aspect can change your entire experience!

[@patchgatsby9138]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

People don't design board games for the money, that's for sure! But I think that makes the effort put into making them more beautiful

[@mengshun]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Those are some great games, and some great memories! Thanks so much for sharing!

[@petematthews9346]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Wow, that's great! It's amazing how these games spin off into all sorts of neat side effects!

[@markborreson]

I got together with some guys who played Jutland on my high school's gym floor on Saturday mornings. Jutland works best when you have the space. (Duh!)

[@randallreed9048]

I playtested Jim Dunnigan's Jutland design in 1965 or 1966. No game board! It was a great design concept, well ahead of its time.

[@lawrencewestby9229]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

There's some great memories!

[@bobsickinger6017]

I’m 64 and still have my Jutland game!!!

[@GoogleAccount-zu8yp]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's amazing! Thanks for your comment, and for watching!

[@davidsonsmith3951]

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!

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's great! Dispatcher is a game that has been more or less lost to time, even though it looks interesting.

[@bengemeister]

Not sure I ever finished Waterloo. If you were the French, did you just outflank the allies and run off the board?

[@iannarita9816]

If you look you can still find dispatcher. If you'd like a computer version one is available. Look on eBay.

[@chrisperrien7055]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Haha, ok, I won't! I see what you mean, though. Things got pretty unwieldy there...

[@neilwilson5785]

I loved ASL, but never got the artillery rules. apparently I was not alone, as AH released an expansion pack that aimed to make things easier.

[@chrisperrien7055]

@@neilwilson5785 which was the problem with ASL . You had to know(and play by) all the rules, running alterations,/corrections / errata going on at the time.. An example, I had a friend who bought/learned to play/ played ASL in 1985(IIRC), I had played SL for years by then. We set up an ASL scenario and I simply could not even start, because the rules were so foreign, and we quit. Making an extremely complex game, based on an already complex game , was simply a bad idea. Plus all that price gouging AH did for ASL, and making it incompatible with SL (which had cost a good amount of $ to anyone who owned it- including all the expansions over years). ASL made Avalon Hill look like a bunch of greedy az-holes pushing "planned obsolesce". IMO, Most of their war-gamer fanbase were not millionaires, and could not afford another $100+ to play a new version of an old game they already owned ,which had cost them $100+ . (that is 1980's dollars). So $300 now, How many people can/will buy a $300 complex board-game ? AH really messed up with ASL. Both in pricing/functionality but more importantly destroying their intangible asset value with many of their hard core fans/customers, most of who were not rich. Yea, I know AH is still around, but IMO after about 1985, they were done as having an honest war-gaming "name" . "OK, Don't ask me about ASL" LOL that game was why I came to despise Avalon Hill. If you want a good board war-game from 1985, try "Fortress America"

[@LookyLoon]

I had every expansion for Squad Leader. and a few friends who played it with me constantly. When ASL came out, I shelled out the money for the rules binder to see what I was in for. Right away I saw that it was going to be overly complicated and super expensive. Not only that, my friends were not going to bother learning the new rules. ASL killed itself IMO.

[@MXB2001]

Totally agree! I never even punched Gi Anvil's counters. It was just too much. The byzantine rules I mean.

[@EricAlainDufresne]

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!

[@LegendaryTactics]

You're welcome, and thanks so much for watching! Did you have a favorite of all the Avalon Hill games you played?

[@EricAlainDufresne]

@@LegendaryTactics I did. “Hitler’s War” for some reason. I didn’t have many friends of my age who were into war games but I did have one who loved to play that game.

[@jayspencer9513]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

I would like to cover Advanced Civilization at some point for the channel!

[@davidpirkola1547]

Not being a true "tactical game" player (for the most part), my favorite AH games include : Civilization/Adv Civilization, Kingmaker, and (my most-played AH game) Rail Baron. There are others that I own and like, but never played as much.

[@richardbell7678]

@@davidpirkola1547 I joked with my friends that "Kingmaker" was the unofficial and totally unauthorized "Game of Game of Thrones" that only managed to get distributed by being released many years before any of the books were written.

[@MXB2001]

Apologies for being a Philistine but I've only played Adv Civ on the computer. It is great though.

[@ddbishopsr]

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!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Awesome memories! Thanks for watching!

[@texaspatriot4215]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

You're welcome! Glad we can help bring back those great memories!

[@wargame2play]

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!

[@JohnnyMcNabb63]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

They weren't missed on purpose - I have yet to play them to this day. Their reputation is such that, despite it being a personal list of my own Top 10, I probably should have included them anyway ;)

[@tonyennis1787]

@@LegendaryTactics Wooden Ships and Iron Men is pretty dang cool.

[@christophersivley5289]

I had a friend in Pensacola, Fl & we played WSIM. A lot and loved it! We also played Submarine as well! Once you learn how to use radar, depth charges & where to place your ASW DD’s any sub after they fired a torpedo was toast! My friend seemed to think that if he could come up with a better attack plan with the Germans he could beet me as the Allied player but could never get pass the first torpedo warning advantage the Allied player(s) had. Now when he was playing the US submarine player he was unbeatable against the Japanese navy! We both thought the Japanese Navy had some of the best subs and the best torpedoes but lacked a good ASW radar system & had a ton of depth charges but it took a lot of ASW DD‘s to kill a sub! There sub’s where good at killing warships but not so good at merchant marine ships! WSIM was my favorite of the two! The US frigates were unbeatable against any British ship of the same class & could out maneuver any of the British SOTL! Great Game!

[@jessicafrederick3643]

Wooden Ships is right up there with Squad Leader. We played it forever. From Trafalgar to single ship engagements. Simple rules but it felt so real

[@jasonross5796]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Wow! You guys are hardcore! I have heard great things about those games but it's hard to find people to play with for weeks on end! Awesome!

[@randallreed9048]

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!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thank you very much for watching! It is great to connect with you - I am currently finishing up a series about the history of Avalon Hill, in which you, Mr. Reed, make an appearance! Here is chapter 1 if you are interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bV7PaWaOlrl_ndksi=CYweydmgxBJJOscD

[@LegendaryTactics]

Actually, this would be the part you are in: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnmng2uqps2rfcksi=JT-AI_H9HMuE2e2r

[@frankwalder3608]

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 KZbin.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes, I think that's why I don't have more experience with more games - I was 22 when Avalon Hill folded and never had the disposable income to buy all the games on my wish list. But the internet might save me here!

[@trooperdgb9722]

I would not be surprised if my buddy and I were not the only ones to use Crescendo of Doom in interesting ways. Belgium vs France 1935...Poland vs Britain etc... X number of points per player to purchase a force... (Strangely we always used balanced forces...not the stupid all /virtually all Tank forces I see figures gamers using...) Cross Of Iron was an equally good add on...

[@33Luger]

Crescendo of Doom was fun, the poor small nations trying to fight the Blitzkrieg.

[@frankwalder3608]

I showed your replies to a friend of mine, and he reminded me of our discussion about “Cross of Iron” and how that compared with the contemporary fighting in Ukraine.

[@alonespirit9923]

@@trooperdgb9722 Those are some neat ideas!

[@walterjohnson4386]

This might be my favorite KZbin 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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes! They were so great! And Squad Leader was and still is one of the best of all time! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@andreufarrancodina3439]

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

[@StrategyInformer-sjgold]

Amazing game..

[@vincentstella5131]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Thank you so much! Stay tuned, more to come!

[@christoppi5936]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Ha ha ha, true!

[@GhostRider-sc9vu]

If ever a board game needed a computer version.

[@georgebird1715]

Squad leader was the best! Good & Bad leaders, morale, it had it all. 1939 - 1945 all combatants. Loved the early engagements France etc.

[@jimcurt99]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

You got that right!

[@lifestudent2472]

Addicted to squad leader after reading the back of the box!!

[@bluesenshi]

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.)

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes, sadly all good things must come to an end, but it looks like you made the most of it!

[@roys476]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing about all those great games!

[@kurtthecat3995]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Wow, that's awesome! I have yet to play Luftwaffe, but I think it has one of the coolest covers in wargaming!

[@davidyarish1029]

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.

[@urdude67]

How do we learn more about your project? Sounds exciting.

[@davidyarish1029]

The map is on a 10' x 7' area. Miniatures represent unit types + infrastructure + political matrix offset economic affects which are applied to the GNP production of instruments of war. Aside from the percieved bore of which thick rules books give, once read & learned, turns click by quickly. One would have to participate in order to grasp the feeling of operating state strategy. Regardless of success or failure. David Yarish, B.S.

[@urdude67]

@@davidyarish1029 sounds like fun to me, but I don’t yet have the space for such a game.

[@davidyarish1029]

@@urdude67 I have my board area engineered on a pulley system. Where I wheel it down when it is game time. Dave Yarish

[@urdude67]

@@davidyarish1029 You are impressive!

[@markhampton6703]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

Midway is such a fun and underrated game! We have done some content on Midway on the channel, and hope to feature more!

[@Wizard010357]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Wow that's great! I think I did a video about that brochure: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHWveGlvqbKJaZIsi=z_G2Tye-0-N7yq7C Was that the one?

[@warrdogg]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Nice! So many great memories! Thanks for the stories!

[@christophersivley5289]

I bought TLD in 1982 and played it several times with my friends here in Decatur, AL with our game club! I also got the guys I played with in Pensacola, FL (All military guys) we took sides and I got to play Rommel and we played the Rommel option with the Allied option of a second airdrop for the allies if they could save enough of their AB divisions! We as the Germans hit the allies hard at the beaches and proved that the Germans could have done twice the damage if Rommel had been allowed to put his Panzers closer to the beaches! My Panzer General (a M1 tank platoon leader) smashed right through the British & American lines and cut the beachheads in two! He captured half of the Omaha beachheads an forced the Americans to fight a holding action until the UK player could get his forces shifted! Meanwhile the German General on the left fought hard against the Allied right flank but as in the real battle the Germans just can’t coordinate a good offense in the swamps and rivers and had to pull back to reorganize and wait for reinforcements! In the end the Allies were forced to loose a good deal of men and resources to get off of the beaches and in the end could not achieve the breakthrough until the III Army could be brought up to help drive back the Germans! When we called it quits we called at a minor victory for the Allies & slight victory for the Germans for delaying the Allies for as long as they did!

[@davidwoody5228]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

And thank you for sharing your memories with us! It's amazing how we can remember games from decades ago, even though we can't remember what we had for lunch last week :-)

[@panderson9561]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Wow, that's a lot of campaigning!

[@georgecoventry8441]

Mine too! A truly great game! It made the original Stalingrad S & T look very unhistorical in comparison. It's way of accomplishing armored breakthrough with "2nd impulse" movement was brilliant! And the Russians had to trade a lot of land for time in the early game turns. If they didn't, they were done... That made it very exciting to play either side and get it right.

[@MXB2001]

Played Diplo with wooden pieces too at my High School wargamers club. AWOL was our name.

[@mattholland8966]

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.

[@chuckcribbs3398]

My brother and I also played them! Still have Panzer Blitz on my shelf.

[@mattholland8966]

@@chuckcribbs3398 I always wanted to try a game with 2 identical battle fields separated by a divider. And have a neutral person report units that would come into sight while visible and remove them fron the players boards when not in line of sight. Always thought that would be a rush. The whole uncertainty of the battle field.

[@youtubia5330]

What great ideas! I love the whole idea of reinforcements being distributed by the Supreme commander. Also the sight rules would be fun too. I just came up with a "detection" rule on my own that was similar to that.

[@mattholland8966]

@youtubia5330 I just acquired 2 tables that are 6 by 10 feet. Now if I buy 10 more copies of the game for more boards and pieces we can have a massive front and lots of depth!!!

[@CryptoDachshund]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes, I was looking to do a short video on that little card LOL

[@timzales5344]

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

[@Maddog-nb9vu]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

Awesome list!

[@MXB2001]

Hey fellow Ontarian! I found my AH games at a place called Leisure World. Not a bad selection I think.

[@jpjpjp6328]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's a great list! Thanks for sharing, and for watching!

[@billdavis2788]

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)

[@LegendaryTactics]

Your list looks pretty normal, at least by the standards of the comment section of this video. Nothing to be ashamed of! We're all proud board game nerds here!

[@robertjones7605]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Great story of your memories! Thank you for sharing!

[@kurtwicklund8901]

Oil War! Hee hee I liked that one too. Played it many times

[@SmashPhysical]

This just showed up in my feed. How awesome, loved AH games and I still have some of them on a shelf in my office!!! My top ones: Rise and Decline of the Third Reich, Panzer Blitz, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, War and Peace, Blitzkreig.

[@Throlas]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Wow! You don't mess around! A lot of early titles and then all-in on the much later ASL, eh?

[@Throlas]

@@LegendaryTactics Yes, I play ASL on the VASSAL platform, I also forgot to mention I have the card game blackbeard which is a lot of fun.

[@hankwoolard2445]

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.

[@aidangeis4686]

Great list! ASL and Rise and Third Reich are definitely my favorites. Not that it's the greatest game either, but I always enjoyed Victory in the Pacific too.

[@JustAllinOneResource]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

We're planning more content now on it! Hopefully it will find an audience. Lots of great games there...

[@JustAllinOneResource]

@@LegendaryTactics That is very cool Legendary. They were king back in those days, and the vast majority of tabletop games they produced are still the best ever made. I remember getting the game they created called Business (I think that is the name of it), and I played that with my brother-in-law, and his children for a wee bit. It was a bit heady, but still fun to take part in.

[@lanceknowlton1871]

Ah, loved kingmaker and circus maximus. Years playing those. Very fond memories

[@LegendaryTactics]

Glad you have such great memories!

[@chuckcribbs3398]

My brother and I played Panzer Leader for hours and hours and hours. It was my first Avalon hill game. We also played a few other Avalon hill, games along the way. Great times!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Awesome! So glad you have so many nice memories!

[@sampetrie340]

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

[@kurtwicklund8901]

Oh yeah, Midway! I forgot to put it in my top list posting. A lot of replay with that one.

[@textravel1]

Agree with those three also add Tactics 2

[@billmasters385]

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. :)

[@LegendaryTactics]

Nice list! Hopefully some of those still hit the table sometimes!

[@eddarby469]

Mine started with Midway, because of the movie with the A-list actors including Charlton Heston. I bought Tactics II, Squad Leader and one or two others. But, in the 70s, I had few opportunities to play against someone. The only time I played against someone that knew as much as I did about the game (and they knew more) was a game of Squad Leader where I was the Allies and managed to win on a high risk manuver where I rolled well. I sure wish I could have found a gaming buddy.

[@tommulvihill6814]

I agree with you of the six Avalon Hill games that I played Panzer leader was the most enjoyable just the right level of complexity and good scenarios

[@33Luger]

Played Starship Troopers with my brother, he loved playing the skinnies because they had vehicles.

[@rsedan]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Those are some classic games! And 17 hours is epic!

[@regmason2329]

Just ran across this on the tube. I was playing Avalon Hill games way back in the 60's. I along with my best friend Jeffrey Hsrris used to play these gsmes for hours- Tactics II, Gettysburg, D-Day etc etc. Jeff and I both roomed in college together- and still played AH games. Then came the Army and marriage- Jeff was killed in Vietnam in 1972, and I lost a great friend. Funny how a board game played so many years ago still brings tears to my eyes.

[@shadowjack22]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

Great list! We are planning to feature more of the AH greats here on the channel! Have you tried the No Retreat series? Designer Carl Paradis took his inspiration from the Russian Campaign, Afrika Korps, Battle for Crete, Anzio, and France 40 for his designs!

[@williamkresse2966]

I loved D Day made in 1964

[@shadowjack22]

@@williamkresse2966 Me too! First AH game I ever played. 😎

[@williamschlosser77]

Battle of the bulge was a great game, but it always came down to a road outside Malmedy... on the road to bastogne.

[@33Luger]

Afrika Korps was interesting, Brits against Italian, and then the Germans.

[@fastfreddy3103]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's great! I am so glad this video brought back so many memories for our viewers!

[@highlanderknight]

Oh the good memories of Avalon Hill games. Still have them all in boxes in my attic.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Well, time to break them out to give them another go! What's your favorite?

[@tonyennis1787]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Ha ha, it doesn't matter if you didn't understand the rules, as long as you had fun!

[@Statalyzer]

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!

[@markewald6995]

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)

[@LegendaryTactics]

All classics, although you don't see Patton's Best mentioned that often, for some reason. What did you like best about that game?

[@markewald6995]

@@LegendaryTactics It was the first game designed for solo play that I encountered, which came at a time when my brothers (the usual suspects, opponent-wise) lost interest in playing. The challenge of trying to survive as a Sherman tank is very well recreated. I had some pretty short campaigns, lol. The abstract method of handling the maneuvering of the tank and the range and actions of German units was rather fascinating and satisfying to me. The system accomplished a lot within a fairly streamlined mechanic. You know a wargame is working when you blurt out, "Oh, shit!" when a Panther tank appeared in the threat zone.

[@rayturcotte1254]

Anzio, first game played by my brother and myself, love the memories, after 10years still miss him dearly.

[@LegendaryTactics]

It's great that you have a treasure trove of memories to return to when you think about him!

[@christoppi5936]

Win Place and Show - the first ever AH game I ever played. Still remember it fondly.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Interesting! That's great, and a different experience from the usual!

[@befirmbefair6674]

G U N S M O K E (A horse in the first featured race. Started fast, then pooped out.)

[@markhampton6703]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

Oh wow! That is one that I tried to get into, but I found it too finnicky at the time. I would love to use this KZbin channel as motivation for myself to learn it and play it!

[@markhampton6703]

@@LegendaryTactics I'm into World of Warships now, online PC. Great Game. I have nearly all the US & Japanese ships now. Still love the old board Games.

[@douglewis1273]

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

[@davidmurray5399]

My first war game was Avalon Hill's GETTYSBURG, my grandmother bought it for my 12th birthday. She thought it was a book about the Civil War, something I was very interested in. It was the pebble that started the avalanche of games that I own today.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Great things come from small beginnings!

[@over4595]

I also played many of these games back in the 60’s. My favorite was definitely Africa Korps

[@LegendaryTactics]

That was one of my favorites too, as it says in the video! Great choice!

[@kevinm3428]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's great! I've heard Third Reich can be a long game, but all summer?? Wow!

[@georgecoventry8441]

I played War at Sea many, many times, with friends. We renamed it "Luck at Sea". There was some real strategy there, but there was also a pretty large measure of luck involved. Definitely a fun game.

[@GrinnenBaeritt]

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.....

[@LegendaryTactics]

Who knew that "Exchange & Mart" would be a gateway to a much more expensive habit? LOL If you got hours of enjoyment out of your hobby, than whatever you spent was worth it!

[@jochenschmidt1072]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That is a great story! It's amazing how we all came to the hobby in different ways!

[@lennemoy1971]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

You're welcome! They are no longer in business, but the games and the memories they created live on...

[@Winspur1982]

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).

[@albertwestbrook4813]

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".

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes, that is great! Sometimes "game balance" is a bit overrated, as winning as the underdog came with the best bragging rights!

[@33Luger]

We actually played Diplomacy in my high school religion class. The teacher found a way to weave it into the course.

[@libertytoad6935]

I played a ton of Squad Leader in college in the early 80's. It is still a great game. My favorite was Up Front with the Banzai Expansion--one of the best games I've ever played. I should get them both out one of these days and play them again.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Up Front is so good, and yet a missed opportunity in some ways - the rules could have been a little bit more straightforward in some respects. But an amazing design all the same.

[@michaelk5007]

From Montreal : I found Alladdin's Corner in Plattsburgh in the early 80's with Avalon Hill games on sale - - - thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@LegendaryTactics]

You're welcome! As a fellow Canadian, I don't recall stores that sold Avalon Hill games - it always seemed that we had to go to the United States to get them

[@bobk4438]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Afrika Korps was reworked for the digital version. I still have my copy that I got in 1988! Every AH wargame?? Jealous!!

[@bobk4438]

@@LegendaryTactics I don't have them anymore. The only game I managed to save was Up Front. I finally got it out after 30+ years and I'm showing the wife how to play. Another favorite AH game was Hitler's War. It made WWII manageable. Two thumbs up.

[@blueTango]

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

[@Statalyzer]

Breakout and VITP still hold up really well today, too.

[@stopspammandm]

VITP was the first AH game I played and still my favorite

[@sailboat908]

My brother and I played immense amounts of Third Reich, Squad Leader and Wooden Ships & Iron Men back in our teens. Kriegspiel was the first one we discovered, and very quickly my father refused to play it with us because we got too emotional. I placed first in the seeding round for WS&IM at Origins 77 in New York. Mick Uhl, the designer of the game, stopped by our table and expressed approval of my strategy (at the time I was known among friends as the Mad Boarder!) Unfortunately we lost in the first round because the adult players didn't like taking orders from a teenager, but what can ya do. In college we played so much Titan! It was great, unless you got eliminated early and had to watch or go home in those days before smart phones.

[@stuartyablon7184]

Gettysburg was my first AH game, and still my fav. I hope my friend Neil, who introduced the game to me decades ago, still enjoys it too.

[@LegendaryTactics]

That's great! Hopefully you get a chance to play it often!

[@hgman3920]

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.

[@Centigonos]

Ohh, Merchants of Venus! What an amazing game! I love the dynamics of it. It starts really slow, then it takes up speed in such an amazing way! There must be a way to play it online...

[@malcolmsleight9334]

Avalon Hill and SPI got me into board gaming. I agree that Squad Leader is #1 based on your top 10 selection. I would include Midway, Carrier, and Panzer Leader as well. On a side note, I was fortunate to know John Hill, the designer of Squad Leader.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Oh, that's cool! I like Midway, but it's not in my top 10, and I tried Carrier but got bogged down with the rules... I want to try Panzer Leader sometime though!

[@GhostRider-sc9vu]

I started with SPI's "Oil Wars" S&T Magazine game in 73. Bought many of AH's games including AK, PB, Pl, SL, and both their excellent little navel games Victory in the Pacific and War at Sea. Still have all of them but need to sort the pieces. Have several years of The General to go with them.

[@bradmenpes809]

My all time fave AH game was Wooden Ships and Iron Men. Absolutely fabulous recreation of the conditions of naval warfare from the 1780s to the 1820s. I spent hundreds of hours running through the real life scenarios of the greatest naval battles ever fought, attempting to create different outcomes. The legacy of this game is that I read as much naval literature from the period as I could, and ended up buying the entire collection of the Alexander Kent, Bolitho book series (all 33!). I don't play the game anymore, but I reread the Bolitho books every year.

[@LegendaryTactics]

It's always amazing when playing a game leads one to learn and research more about the situations they are depicting. You should get the game back to the table, though. It apparently holds up quite well!

[@bradmenpes809]

@@LegendaryTactics I should! Viewing this video made me remember how much I loved the game - and how much I missed playing it. I still have my old game, somewhere ... but I'd love to find an online version with the potential to play other players.

[@1250ships]

My first Avalon Hill game was Victory in the Pacific which I got for Christmas in 1978. That basic naval system which started with War at Sea designed by their Australian distributor John Edwards is still being used for naval games today. Mr. Edwards was also responsible for The Russian Campaign which is another classic I spent a lot of time playing growing up. Also worth mentioning is Storm Over Arnhem which created the area/impluse game system that was used in Thunder at Cassino, Breakout Normandy and Turning Point: Stalingrad.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes! I'm looking forward to trying all those games. Thank you for your comment, you've given me some good ideas on other games we should cover on the channel!

[@dclark142002]

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

[@LegendaryTactics]

Garage sales used to be great for that, but I think the games are becoming rarer and more like collector's items...

[@jimsmith7445]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Nice list, though I count 19 games in your top 10 :). It's so hard to cut the list back. And you had some genuinely surprising titles in there! Thanks for sharing!

[@chriskasprzyk6235]

I got hooked on these as a kid in the 70's when I found a stack of original editions of Afrika Korps, Battle of the Bulge, Luftwaffe, and maybe a couple others stashed in a closet at my grandparents house. I claimed those and then started adding to them. Third Reich became the one that was played most often and a friend up the street and I played it often. Ended up with many titles including The Longest Day, Panzer Leader, Outdoor Survival, and others. Jobs, marriage, kids, house moves, and the general bummer that is being a responsible adult got in the way and I think they are all gone now. Lots of memories and nostalgia brought back with this.

[@toastnjam7384]

I got into AH in the mid 60's. The games I had were Tactic II, (My first,) Blitzkrieg (My fav), Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Midway, Dispatcher, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, and 1914. I also had a few AH Bookcase Games. Feudal, Twix, Baseball and Football Strategy. Good times.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Wow, that is quite the collection! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@tmon6219]

Did you ever play Alesia? I had the Indie version before Avalon Hill bought it!

[@LegendaryTactics]

I never did - that was a pretty complex one, wasn't it?

[@richmcgee434]

@@LegendaryTactics It really wasn't all that mechanically complex, at least by the standards of its day. But it was quite big, and fairly slow paced, and that made it feel like it was harder to play than it really was. I can recall hanging out at a local store in the very late 90s that had made a gigantic sheet metal wall map for the game with magnetized counters. Visually impressive but they were getting through about a turn a week tops so they never finished the game. And then later the whole place got raided and shut down because it turned out to be a front for a massive pot-growing operation, the whole upstairs of the place was a huge hydroponic setup. Quite the seven day wonder in the local gaming community. Wonder what ever happened to that custom Alesia set...

[@wtrollkin]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Yes, it seemed like there was an SPI vs Avalon Hill rivalry that doesn't really have a parallel today. I didn't know much about SPI Games until I bought a game called Moscow 1941. It's a pretty big game though, I don't know if I've ever played it through

[@wtrollkin]

we sort of did with the whole MMP/gamers vs GMT. GMT wargames were more like AH or full of clever innovations. MMP/Gamers ones were more into conflict simulation or using tried and true hex and counter conventions but amazing research into the history or more like SPI.

[@wtrollkin]

but yeah to have seen it in earnest late 70s is when you wanted to be gaming.

[@cbstevp]

Squad Leader and 88 were the first two war board games I ever played. Great stuff.

[@LegendaryTactics]

Those are obviously two of my favorites. I concur!

[@tonyhibbing6096]

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.

[@LegendaryTactics]

I love both those games! So many hours spent on both of them!

[@przemekbozek]

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😁

[@georgecoventry8441]

There's the original Bismarck....relatively simple to play and lots of fun. And there's the later edition...a much more complex game, and I never learned it well enough to play against anyone nor could I find anyone willing to play it and learn all those rules. But I suspect it's a great game.