Avalon Hill

Avalon Hill was an American manufacturer of board games. He specializes in strategic board games, the games Diplomacy, Civilization, Britannia, Dune, 1830: Railroads & Robber Barons, Up Front and Advanced Squad Leader are among their best known products.

The company was founded in 1958 by Charles S. Roberts, led by the great success of his game Tactics. With this game, he made a new type of popular board game, which is based on war-like scenarios and strategies. Over the years Avalon Hill invented a number of game elements that are now taken for granted in many strategy games. Examples are the use of hexagonal lattice on the game board, the accumulation of units on a field, the effects of terrain type on the unit morale or the real historical background to a board game. In addition to strategy games Avalon Hill made ​​a name for itself with sports games.

In 1962, Avalon Hill was for financial reasons, a subsidiary of Monarch Avalon Printing, the Avalon Hill business for 36 years. In 1976, Avalon Hill games series from 3M, and thus such successful titles such as Acquire or TwixT. Since 1982, former employees of simulation Publications included under the name Victory Games Avalon Hill. After some financial failures monarch decided in 1998 to abandon the subsidiary. Hasbro then bought the rights to the games and to the name Avalon Hill for $ 6 million. Hasbro was a selection of the earlier games under its own brand new, others have been sublicense to other companies. Because of the high visibility of the brand even some games under the label of Avalon Hill, reissued as a board game division of Wizards of the Coast or the manufacturer's designation were from Hasbro changed in already existing Hasbro Games Avalon Hill, as for example in Axis and Allies.

In 2004, the excellent with a price board game Betrayal at House on the Hill was released under the name Avalon Hill Publishing. After a few more Individual Publications Avalon Hill / Hasbro concentrated in recent years solely on the Axis and Allies line, other game systems have not been developed for several years. Since Axis and Allies already belonged to the Hasbro range, the publisher Avalon Hill can be seen as no longer being actively considered today, just the name is reminiscent of the old meaning.