The Best of (Old) Avalon Hill

[@charlesfrank5273]

My all time favourite is Advanced Civilization, recently remade as Mega Civilization and can accommodate up to 18 players! The rules are simple enough, easy to teach. The drawback is the amount of time to play the full game, but it is a game with little downtime, excellent player interaction - the trading can be fairly lively particularly if you are trying to unload a calamity or two. We found that we didn't notice the passage of time while playing (until 4 am). It looks like it can be played as a war game with area control like Risk and combat is possible, but to play it as a war game is a losing strategy. The calamities function as an equalizer or balancing factor so players don't get too far behind. Selection of the different advances determine the type of civilization you develop. For some reason, Mega Civilization plays faster and has twice as many advances, but some of these advances feel "empty".

[@Tehnbar]

Civilization and Magic Realms were two childhood favorites for me.

[@alexlord4599]

Civilization was my favorite game of all time for a long time, only to be dethroned by its newest iteration, Mega Empires ❤ With all the campaign and legacy games around, I don't know why a "long game" is still considered by many to be a flaw. Just break it up in a few play sessions, like you would a campaign. Plus the game is a ton of fun. So you get that many more hours of amazing gameplay to enjoy 😍

[@peterterry7918]

In college my room mate introduced me to Rail Baron and that was my intro into Hobby board games. It always has a soft spot for me because of this.

[@LPGamble]

Third Reich Squad Leader (Advanced) B-17 Up Front Russian Campaign Napoleon's Battles Ceasar: Epic battle of Alesia Midway Panzer Leader Wooden Ships and Iron Men Honorable Mentions Jutland, Submarine, Blitzkrieg, Bowl Bound, Kingmaker, Magic Realm

[@josephvalvano829]

You forgot Caesar’s Legions, War At Sea, Victory in The Pacific, Gladiator, Circus Maximus, Bar-Lev, Panzer Blitz, Starship Troopers.......lol.

[@syramento]

Your list of “older” AH games barely mentions any of the true older games. I have fond memories of playing, and in fact still owning, the following (not listed in any particular order): Tactics II, Gettysburg (first edition), Civil War, Waterloo, D-Day, Guadalcanal, Stalingrad, Afrika Korps, Battle of the Bulge, Chancellorsville, Blitzkrieg, U-Boat, Baseball Strategy, Football Strategy, Air Empire, Management, LeMans, Verdict II, Anzio, and Jutland. And my favorites, again not in any particular order - Dispatcher, Midway, and Bismarck (first edition). Now, that my friend, a list of TRUE older Avalon Hill games!

[@tomfrogge9306]

syramento awesome list! I owned and played most of these...loved Stalingrad and Bismarck!

[@syramento]

@@tomfrogge9306 Thanks Tom.

[@jonbauer4282]

Civilization still stands up as a great game even today. A worthy dice tower essentials possibility.

[@jimmarble1425]

Loved Speed Circuit and Rail Baron! Can still remember where the tracks were in Rail Baron - good history.

[@snailysaurus]

My favorite is definitely Magic Realm, but to be perfectly honest I haven't played it in many, many years; it's just so complicated, takes so long to set up,etc etc. Still it has a very important place in my collection and I would never part with it. I loved Kingmaker too and was happy to see it on Tom's list.

[@wardragonprime]

My first Avalon Hill games were Blitzkrieg and Afrika Korps.

[@BobK58]

Same

[@EricMortensen27]

Down with the King was one of my favorite Avalon Hill games that me and my role playing friends loved to play. Long game that we frequently never finished but always entertaining with 4-6 people.

[@twarnken]

Some of my favorites: Circus Maximus Statis Pro Baseball Speed Circuit

[@gregkleinfall1901]

I enjoyed all the statis pro sports games, but the basketball one was by far my favorite

[@DougSchulz]

Like Speed Circuit, check out Championship Formula Racing boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/156175/championship-formula-racing Full disclosure: I'm the designer of CFR, but it is basically a new addition of Speed Circuit.

[@NativeAmericanElder]

I like the 3M version of Speed Circuit. Good game.

[@ericharris7699]

I love Acquire (and still have the game). To me it combines skill with elements of poker (when you have a tile that will make a merger and are trying to quietly buy into those companies w/o giving away inside information!) and chance. Great game!

[@annjourney14]

When I was in middle school, I bought my very first board game with my own money - an Avalon Hill title called Dinosaurs of the Lost World that I found in the discount bin at Hastings. Based on the novel The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, it remains one of the most thematic games I've ever played. It was one of the last titles Avalon HIll published before being acquired by Hasbro and I played my copy to tatters. I still own it, in fact, and it's the pride of my collection. I run sessions of it at local conventions to great acclaim. It's one of my perfect 10/10 rated games and is easily my favorite old Avalon Hill title for both nostalgic and gameplay reasons.

[@cthulwho8197]

No Complaints from me, we played Dune soooooooo many times. Blow that shield! Played so many times that I won a couple of times as the nuns by guessing who would win and when.

[@jimsmith7445]

Interesting list. Even IF you're not a war gamer, you could have put any of the "Status-Pro" sports games or abstract games on your list.. I agree that component quality and sometimes board design were , at times, inferior, BUT...and let's be fair, gaming was fairly primeval at this point. IF you could even find a plastic mini (Milton Bradley's "Battle Cry", or "Broadside" ) at that time, consider yourself lucky. "Feudal" did have plastic components, I think. OK... I'll give you a Top Ten.. 1) B-17, Queen of the Skies... so innovative, for its day, that most hard core gamers are still wrapped up in the story telling aspect of it. 2) PanzerBlitz/Panzer Leader... Possibly the best of the "bookshelf" games or the "$7" as we knew them, back in the day. The first tactical game where you controlled all aspects of units and unit command. The geomorphic maps were amazing for their time and game play was thought provoking. You can go to "2xsindustries.com" to get specialty units for the game and "reinvent" game play. 3) Midway... This was, for its day, a naval game that was challenging and addictive. Both players were screened off, and had to "search" for one another, only then being able to attack each other. It's replay-ability was massive, no matter which side you chose. 4) Guadacanal... possibly the first board game to utilize hidden movement and many other new combat game mechanisms. it gave an inferior Japanese force, the ability to outfight the Americans because of hidden movement. 5) Status-Pro Baseball... Perhaps STILL the best system for the hard core baseball fan!!!! They upgraded their player cards every year, and IF you really knew the game, there were always ways to take your piss poor team to victory. It was always interesting to see the players stats grow bigger, or IF they changed teams. You could also "create" your own super teams, giving your favorite teams massive advantages. 6) Status-Pro Football... This game REALLY knew football! Again, the players changed by stats and trades. It was a dice-less system that kept the players always looking for a sense of surprise. Again... create your own super team, as you like. 7) Tobruk... Perhaps NOT the most popular of the "bookcase" games, but intensely innovative. Despite its anal-retentive nature, it guided you through tutorials as to game play. It was highly thought provoking and probably for only the serious minded gamer... it was probably along the lines of TI3 in terms of game length. 8) 1914... one of the first AH games to negate the "zone of control" system and create a perfect illustration of the traffic jam that became trenches, and hundreds of thousands of men parked only short distances from one another. It also got rid of unit elimination, for the most part. 9) D-Day/Stalingrad/Afrika Korps/Anzio... these were the "Basic" games ... the campaign games that taught us ALL about how to move units, "zones of control", and strategic thinking, along with hex controlled map boards. By today's standards, it's kind of board game playing "on the short bus", and component quality was fair at best... BUT, the richness of what we learned must be mentioned and honored. 10)Blitzkrieg/Tactics II/ Kriegspiel.... these were the military abstract games that gave us command of armies, in a non historical game sense. We learned how to use navies, air forces, terrain, and tactics to "rule the world", in the day. *11) Napoleon... one of the first "block" games prior to Compass Games. It worked a little like Statego, but was far more interesting. *12)Luftwaffe.... a new way of looking at air games. Innovative units (not square and such). *13)Origins... A game of politics prior to WWII, where all nations vied for influence and power in Europe. There was even a pacific addition. *14)Civilization... a ground breaking game that forced the players into thinking beyond their armies and check out how economics played into it. *** LORDY! These guys put SO MANY great games, it would be impossible to give them their due!!!! Some games became instant winners, some games like "Blackbeard" were forerunners of themed games to follow many decades afterwards. Some games, like "Arab-Israeli War" were hopelessly unbalanced, and fell to the wayside... but what a library these guys produced. It could be argued, that prior to MTG, FF, and such, that AH and SPI, created really thought provoking and adult minded games that took board gaming away from the play-and-pitch aspects of family games. ***AND YES, TOM... DIPLOMACY (I own the original in the boring box) isn't a horrible game... most people who hate it, generally played with some horrible people. IF anything, it taught people how obstinate and back stabbing people can be. Blame the people who played it, not the game. Great list... keep up the good work.

[@airborneranger-ret]

Loved Diplomacy ;)

[@KabukiKid]

Ah... I am not shocked that Tom never played B-17: Queen of the Skies, since it is a solo game, but that is one that would definitely be on my list. :-) Another one that would be on my list is Origins of World War II. It isn't very well known, and despite the name, isn't really a wargame. It is more like a political struggle game where each player plays as a nation leading up to WWII. It feels almost like the grandpa of Twilight Struggle, in ways. The major flaw it seems to have is that the USA player seems to have little chance of winning. I'd be interested to see someone remake this today and polish it.

[@dylanmaltby3813]

Surprised to see Diplomacy on the list, since Tom is usually so against it. Personally, I LOVE the game, but I completely understand why others wouldn't like it - it's a really long game with player elimination, it's difficult to learn/teach because of some fiddly rules, and it's reputation for ruining friendships is well earned. But even with all of that I really enjoy the tactics, strategy, and negotiation involved (though I usually play online because it's tough to get a group together willing to sit down for 6-8 hours).

[@ronfisher5259]

If you can attend WBC: the Dip tourney is set to 3 heats of 4 hour gams: last couple years we’ve had 7-9 boards across the couple days.

[@charlescothran4946]

Not one traditional Hex & Counter wargame on this "Fringe" list :(

[@dennisshaper4744]

Nice to see other games in Avalon Hill's history get some love. He didn't hit my favorites though, except Kingmaker and Acquire.

[@farpointgamingdirect]

Especially seeing as how AH started the hex and counter game...

[@NostraDunwhich]

Dune is finally getting a reprint after 40 years. Galeforce9 is making a new edition and the original design team is doing the update.

[@majkus]

I am not sure why this was recommended to me so late. It is remarkable how many of these games were not designed by Avalon Hill: Diplomacy, Kingmaker, Kremlin, Acquire, Brittania, Titan the Arena, and perhaps others in the list I've forgotten about. Got to give them credit for finding good games to republish and redevelop (or, in the case of Acquire, to acquire along with the rest of the 3M line), but these are not _old_ Avalon Hill, in the sense that they didn't start publishing outside games until the 1970s. A list of the best Avalon Hill originals might be interesting.

[@Haldurson]

Advanced Civilization was one of my favorite board games years ago -- yeah, it could go on for a bit too long, but also, I had a lot of fun playing it. I also enjoyed Kremlin a lot -- I'd certainly include it on my personal list. And it had some fun mechanisms that you just didn't see in any other game. There were a couple of these less popular games that I liked from AH : Gladiator was fun -- not too deep, but a fun game of gladiatorial combat. In the same vein, there was Circus Maximus, which involved chariot racing, that I thought was pretty cool. Lastly, I know it was a very flawed game, but it had great theming -- Source of the Nile. Even back then, I recognized that the game was flawed, but I Still had fun with it, and it really did make me feel like I was exploring deepest, darkest Africa. I did kind of like Britannia, but yeah it didn't have a whole lot of playability. I liked it at first, even bought my own copy of it after friends brought it out at a game night. But I felt like it was played out after about 3 or 4 games. I'm not going to criticize your choice of Dune -- it looked like a great game even to me at first, on paper. And I loved the Dune books (with the exception of "God Emperor of Dune" which was just God Awful). But every game seemed to end with a few people agreeing that the game had gone on for too long, and deciding to create an undefeatable alliance. Every single time that I tried it, it just felt so underwhelming.

[@snailysaurus]

I loved Source of the Nile as well and still have my copy! I remember seeing a window display for it in my local game store ("Chess and Games Unlimited") back in 1980 and just being so excited by the art on the box cover. Got it for Christmas that year and really enjoyed playing it. Just played it again a couple of years ago and readily saw its flaws, realizing once again what a long way board games have come since the 80's, still enjoyed it, though

[@nanorider426]

I got it from ebay ten years ago and I LOVE IT! So much exploring to do. :D (...and Adv.Civ. is my number one of all time) :)

[@bbblackwell]

Nothing exceeds the mystique and presence of Magic Realm!

[@trevorames889]

Advanced Civ and 1830 are two of my favourites.

[@0PsychosisMedia0]

Elric, I have this game and eventho its a little confusing it has a 1 player option. The art work on the box is amazing and the board art is colorful and interesting.

[@timd4524]

Acquire can become maddeningly addictive.

[@gabrielf2432]

My personal favorite as a kid was Bismarck. Pop a Johnny Horton record on and have at it! Pretty typical tile-based naval combat system for the era, maybe slightly better than average, but the asymmetrical warfare was fun and it was overall fairly balanced (well, the fog was a bit much sometimes).

[@mrfudgehammer]

Always loved Avalon Hill, one of our favorites was Statis Pro NBA Basketball, we literally played it until the ink wore off the cards, thousands of games.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

The Britannia image seems to use the board and pieces for the upgraded Fantasy Flight edition, not the (starker looking) AH edition. And, yes, I think you would hate Titan, whether the original "water-soluble ink" form AH or the updated version from Valley Games. Personally, I would have Gunslinger and Republic of Rome on my list. Somewhere below Advanved Civilization.

[@KabukiKid]

Wasn't the Gorgonstar version of Titan the one with the water-soluble ink where the ink ran on the pieces?

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Could be, I thought it was the AH edition but noone of us dared to test it... :)

[@KabukiKid]

LOL! I have only played the AH version, and we never had an issue with the ink, so I think that version is safe. :-)

[@derwoodbowen5954]

AH was my introduction to "modern" gaming. Played a lot of the hex games and a few of the others. I really like 1830 and Titan (yes it is long) and History of the World. Acquire was originally a 3M game which AH "acquired." Diplomacy was originally published by Games Research. I really like Acquire and Diplomacy, though it is hard to persuade me to play Dip much anymore. Whatever you think of AH the modern gaming hobby owes them a lot. They gave me a lot of fun for a lot of time.

[@hankwetzel5917]

I cut my teeth in board gaming with Statis Pro Baseball. I love still to this day to pull it out and play tournaments with teams from different years or to mix the players up and make new teams. Great game. It's a shame that it's no longer made by a producer but only by print and play.

[@stump182]

I love that the random color combo of Tom's outfit came together today to coordinate.

[@jimgrant9081]

I would have added Rail Baron, but great list. This was the main company for hobby games when I was growing up. Lots of fond memories!

[@mikewright2750]

Had many gaming nights playing Dune. Although I never won, I really enjoyed this game. Thanks for reviving those memories :)

[@arsewynd]

Favorites, Magic Realm (still have it, still play it), Wooden ships and Iron Men, Dune, Squad Leader, Jutland, Tobruk, Ricthoffens War.

[@StephanSandiares]

Civilization/Advanced Civilization (always like that players could really never get knocked out ... but man, did it take forever) Stellar Conquest Speed Circuit

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Black Spy, the back-stabbing card game. We had more fun (and a few near fights when the combo of one to many drinks + a failure to collect all the spy cards happened) with that game than any other card game I've ever played. We wore out two copies and it was really hard to acquire (no pun intended) that third one.

[@seatravelers]

Advanced Civilization!

[@farpointgamingdirect]

My favorite old AH games are Gettysburg '87 and Statis Pro Baseball

[@Rad_B_OLand]

Are you kidding me Wizards Quest is one of my favorite Avalon Hill game right next to Aquire.

[@pm71241]

Yeah... It might be dice chucking, but it does fix all the problems with RISK

[@noeldillabough2153]

Advanced Civilization....so many games of that and loved every minute

[@Ego10trik]

I miss the Tresham Games Advance Civilization; but my favorites are 1830, Win, Place & Show and Executive Decision!

[@peterjuzyk3705]

My favorite "non-wargame" AH titles include Kingmaker, Advanced Civilization, and Conquistador.

[@Wr0ngNumb3r]

I would also put Dune at my #1. I agree with several of the games people have mentioned, but I would also add Blackbeard which I enjoyed as a solo game.

[@gheilers]

So many to name. Although I vastly preferred the war-games by SPI and GDW...Avalon Hill produced some that I still enjoy playing, such as PB/PL/AIW, Tobruk, Midway, and Afrika Korps.

[@snailysaurus]

Glad to see someone mentioning SPI, I've often felt that they were the game publisher that everyone has forgotten. Had some real favorites from SPI, "World War III," "John Carter, Warlord of Mars," "Time Tripper" great stuff. Weren't they bought by Avalon Hill at the end (just shortly before Avalon Hill was bought by Hasbro)?

[@gheilers]

Interesting that you mention SPI's "World War III." Just recently, I picked up a copy of the "designer edition" (mounted board) at Half-Price Books, for about $20.00. After SPI folded, they were purchased by TSR...who released a few noteworthy titles in slightly upgraded graphics...but soon killed off the entire line. (As Vasel would say, about the Frank Herbert Estate - "May they burn!") I also enjoyed the John Carter game, as it captured the "flavor" of Burroughs, very well. It is surprising that there have been so few games on Burroughs' material, as it is "public domain." If you REALLY liked that game...then check out this repository of treasure: drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5OeKs4RNZaEdTZ3d3AtU2pkaFE

[@douglasdea637]

I loved AH growing up in the 80s, they had the best board games. Africa Korps was my first. Soon came Midway, Tactics II, Civilization, King Maker, Submarine, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, Dune, Titan and more. I still own some of those original games and hope to always keep them. (Never cared for the ultra complex games. AH had a 1-10 scale with 10 being the most complex such as Third Reich and Freedom in the Galaxy. Magic Realm was a 7-9, Squad Leader was an 8 with expansions being 9-10, etc. 3-6 was really the sweet spot, for me at least.)

[@ronfisher5259]

I started with AH in the 60s: and Midway was a real fav. U-Boat was the most fun filler-you could sometimes play in 15 minutes , rather more than half an hour. Quite a few including Diplomacy are still played at WBC.

[@dinkmartini3236]

Blackbeard for solo play. Gladiator for quick and simple arena combat. Circus Maximus--FLIP! FLIP! FLIP!

[@sty0pa]

Thanks for the list. Not sure how you could miss Advanced Civilization - not just a great game, but the progenitor of an entire genre of computer games and then ironically spawning a boardgame, lol. Personal shout out to Republic of Rome and History of the World as well - innovative, clever, not-wargames from AH.

[@DarthEd77]

Age of Renaissance, anyone? One of my groups still plays it about once per year, and it holds up well.

[@exeterjedi6730]

Have played Britannia 100s of times. Have two games going on right now by email.

[@rags417]

Number One, hands down is History of the World. Quick to set up, easy to learn, hard to master, self balancing (ie the current loser chooses his next nation first and vv), complex but not complicated and historically accurate. My dream game. Honorable mentions - Victory in the Pacific (real life outcomes from screwy "bucket o dice" mechanics), Republic of Rome (historical accuracy and endless negotiation at the expense of - endless negotiation and finally Civilization (crap historical accuracy but really fun and interactive game play). I agree with Britannia, Kremlin and Diplomacy - all great games

[@mellophonium1]

I played Rail Baron with my friends in the 80's, is it still made? Or is Ticket to Ride just a better replacement?

[@Coffeemaker1978]

I wholeheartedly agree with your #1 choice. That's an amazing game!

[@t1s2m3a4]

Monsters Menace America almost looks like a design cousin of Fortress America. Additionally I wouldn't be surprised if Small World's use-up and decline mechanics may have been influenced by Britannia. I guess it helps to know your roots. Thanks for the vid.

[@KabukiKid]

The old Avalon Hill had a lot of fun ones, but I am in huge agreement with Tom that Dune was easily the best game they ever made.

[@martinandersson2109]

But to play Dune you need all six players to really understand the game, right?

[@KabukiKid]

Yeah, as Tom said, you really do want the full six player count to play it right.

[@christophergray7991]

Agree with Dune, not all the add one were great but it is fun to put it all together with the mini expansions and the General addons and go to town. Yes you do really need a full table.

[@KabukiKid]

Yeah, I have all of the expansion stuff and some of it is better than other stuff, but I honestly am happy playing with none of that stuff. Just the base game is a great gaming experience. :-) If you do print-and-play, you can also get expansion stuff that way, if you desire them.

[@iansanderson2567]

Updated Kingmaker is about to be published by Gibson Games Kickstater stating soon

[@robertcampbell6349]

Good choices. Merchant of Venus is a hoot to play.

[@thegodlessvulcan]

Sister game to Britannica is Maharaja. Not sure if it got remade though along with Britannica.

[@NostraDunwhich]

I cannot argue Dune as #1, I love that game and I agree with Tom you want 6 players to really bring out the theme. it really is a shame FFG could not get the rights to the IP because it really is a perfect fit.

[@peanutplaysboardgames6868]

The lack of Rail Barons makes me sad.

[@richardbell7678]

Diplomacy is a game that can only be played with very good friends or people that you will NEVER MEET AGAIN! Kingmaker, or 'The Game of Game of Thrones'. I never even heard of "Monsters Ravage America". I read nice things about Britannia, and Kremlin but never owned them. Magic Realms is another game that I never owned. Merchant of Venus is fun and explains how the Caribbean Triangle Trade worked. Acquire is a very good game. I have Titan. Titan Arena sounds like they took aspects of Titan and merged it with the campaign rules for Circus Maximus (where players bet on the outcomes of chariot races). I played Dune, once. It was not a bad game, but I never had the opportunity to play it again

[@stefrasca]

Civilization & Advance Civilization is (are) very well done, simple to explain, boardgame(s).

[@Diabolik771]

[@charlescothran4946]

Just one maybe? Tobruk? Kreigspeil? Third Reich?

[@michaelsoto5542]

Kingmaker absolutely freakin' ROCKS! WAY--------- too low at #9!

[@krisztiankalman5805]

5:00 it seems Tom has never actually played Acquire 🙂

[@NativeAmericanElder]

Top Ten (1 is best, 10 is 10th best) 1. KingMaker = best wargame ever 2. Midway (the first) 3. Blitzkrieg 4. Squad Leader 5. Gettysburg (1959 version) 6. Dispatcher 7. D-Day (first) 8. Richtoven's War 9. Tactics II 10. Acquire

[@martinandersson2109]

I was sitting there... will it be Dune?? - and yes! Dune was well ahead of it's time. Also, the Dune books are really good SF that has stood the test of time. I grew up with Civilization, that has a special nostalgic place in my hart.

[@davedogge2280]

This one like the Heroscape video will get a few teeth gnashing as all games are unavailable ... but wait .. there's ebay.... I have Dune and the 2 x expansions, Starship Troopers, Magic Realm and Gunslinger ... all excellent and all bought this year would you believe it.

[@elbowjonesevents9061]

Wizard's Quest!

[@turks1966]

This is a very sad list since Tom doesn't care for so many of their war game products. Which I do realize he admitted, but still he should have had Joe Steadman do this one, much more qualified and valid.

[@scottpduncan]

AH, after a while, took three different directions (not counting the really bizarre games someone thought would be a big hit with people who read the old large format glassy magazines). First, there were the hex and counter wargames which Tom skipped. Next, there were the games Tom covered which were aimed -- except perhaps for Diplomacy -- at a different audience than the former folks. Finally, they had the sports line, largely because, I think, Don Greenwood was such a big sports fan as was Tom Shaw. I played and had (and have) games from all three 'cause I just love games.

[@56squadron]

Sad is being kind. Most people like this don't like the pure wargames for one reason - they REALLY suck at them. As someone who grew up in the 70's playing these games I can attest that finding a quality opponent, even then, was very difficult. This generation? Forget it. Even something basic like Tactics II, you could crush these people over and over because all this generation can do is look at a video screen and push buttons.

[@paoloborghi2024]

56squadron yes I agree. It was REALLY difficult to find people suitable to board war games. I tried many times with some friends of mine... lost time! New generations? The average QI is collapsed of about 7 points every 10 years since 1980......

[@pm71241]

None of these "top X" lists are actually "top" anything other than what just came to mind in the head of the person making the list. Not even the BGG top list... it's plagued by too many voting on games they have basically no qualifications for placing on a scale of anything. I'm still puzzled why, say, "Empires in Arms" can end up with a complexity rating of 4.44 ... I've taught that game to beginners in less than an hour. I have a suspicion people call it "complex" due to a gut feeling they have because of playing time ... and they really don't know how complex games can actually be (like Campaign for North Africa). Anyway... there's just too many games for anyone to have tried them all and make en enlightened opinion about them. ... but at least Tom only mentions those he actually know anything about.

[@56squadron]

@@paoloborghi2024 - LOL...2 years later I look at this again not realizing I'd already seen this video. I don't think this is a skill tied to IQ. "Strategy" is an innate ability you have or don't, and it can't be cultivated. I can look at any board game in progress and know exactly where each side is weak, where I'd attack etc... and it appears very, very few people possess this insight. (You can tell watching one move if people know what they're doing or not) I think that is why table top is making a comeback. It's far more abstract and forgiving, the "board" size severely limits tactics and it's (IMHO) fluff and eye candy. You basically stand there rolling hand fulls of dice over a model railroad layout... that's not wargaming, or strategy.

[@JimPulles]

No Air Baron... I'm surprised.

[@jamesmitchell2704]

No "Tales from the Floating Vagabond"?

[@NoferTrunions]

The 1961 games like Chancellorsville and Management are the most difficult, complex games ever made. Think SAT's or PHD Oral Qualifier. Learning to play Management basically had to do a full corporate tax return just to asses how much money you made - and that has nothing to do with the people you're playing against. These games were created to produce stress, anxiety and achievement - and definitely not fun.

[@Statalyzer]

Victory in the Pacific, Russian Campaign, Civilization, and Acquire still hold up very well today.

[@LJ-gu2dj]

Dune and Kingmaker are excellent games... but there are so many not even mentioned here...

[@farpointgamingdirect]

Favorite AH game: Statis Pro Baseball

[@williammeyer4509]

Dune is so expensive. ($80-200+) Wish someone would negotiate for the rights and reissue it.

[@kdogg7882]

No Statis Pro Baseball or Fortress Europa... Fired

[@darrylng4854]

i spent wayyyyy too many hours of my youth on Statis Pro Basketball simulating whole seasons and all!

[@gregkleinfall1901]

Amen! Me and my friends would shuffle all the player cards together and draft teams. I still remember a game between the Nuggets and Mavericks that went into triple ovetime.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Same here with SP Baseball. Fabulous games.

[@Shadoglare]

AH had a lot of good titles, and Dune is a pretty good choice for #1. Personally I would have gone with 1830, I know Tom isn't an 18xx fan though.

[@KabukiKid]

Oh man! How did I forget 1830?! Yes, that would definitely be on my list, as well.

[@Diabolik771]

Does AH top 10 shows Hasbro version of Diplomacy. WHAT?

[@stephanvalkyser3186]

Titan: the Arena has nothing to do with Titan - those are two totally different games

[@SH3Bstanko6]

No Republic of Rome?

[@Zaidkw]

Tighten the Arena.

[@Publicistvideos]

Gladiator was fun

[@tovarischD]

Diplomacy, not a game to play with your friends, unless you don't want them as friends anymore.

[@exeterjedi6730]

And I've got the new Dune.

[@michaelkieffer9930]

Dune belong at the spot you gave it.

[@danielwilliams6082]

Old games hardly. No Tactics II, No Blitzkrieg, no Gettysburg, no Africa Corps,

[@mastergeneral4421]

The 'best' of old Avalon Hill? Only for the RPG/fantasy/sci-fi geek fringe. Not a single true AH classic on his list, which is more like the bottom 10/worst of old AH -- silly wastes of pulp which are best relegated to the dustbin of AH history and deservedly forgotten. But I suppose it's just about what one has to expect from the D20 D&D and Catan crowd...

[@billmolyneaux4019]

This was the worst list of Avalon Hill games I have ever seen!!!! What about the WAR GAMES!!!!

[@scottmccloud2894]

Oh no, no, no, no. Please re-label this video to "MY BEST..." My best of the classic AH games are; Up Front, Battle of the Bulge, Africa Corp, Waterloo, We the People, Bismarck, History of the World, Circus Maximus, B-17, and Panzer Blitz.

[@paulrobilotti9294]

Old games??? really, old Avalon Hill games is from the late 50s & the 60, his list is far from old Avalon Hill games

[@naturalobserver1322]

Russian campaign never seems to get the props it deserves.🤷‍♂️

[@jaranyi]

The Russian Campaign ... All other games are simply arguing for 2nd place.

[@DeafSparrow]

Lol what no Magic Realm? COME ON SIR. And you can't review the Titan game you picked if you haven't played the original! PLS.

[@tonymammel3542]

Weird that this list has both games you hate and that you’ve never played. Why bother, just make a video about dune.

[@paulrobilotti9294]

this guy has to be kidding, what crap