Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of the world, divided into 42 territories, which are grouped into six continents. Turns rotate among players who control armies of playing pieces with which they attempt to capture territories from other players, with results determined by dice rolls. Players may form and dissolve alliances during the course of the game. The goal of the game is to occupy every territory on the board and, in doing so, eliminate the other players. The game can be lengthy, requiring several hours to multiple days to finish. European versions are structured so that each player has a limited "secret mission" objective that shortens the game.
Midway is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1964 that simulates the Battle of Midway during World War II.
Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in the United Kingdom in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil and in the United States in 1981 by Avalon Hill. The Civilization brand is now owned by Hasbro. It was out of print for many years, before it saw republication in 2018, by Gibsons Games. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players.
History of the World is a board game designed by Ragnar Brothers and originally published in 1991. It is played by up to six players across various epochs, each player playing a different empire every round to have the greatest score at the end of the game by conquering other players' regions of the board.
War at Sea is a strategic board wargame depicting the naval war in the Atlantic during World War II, published by Jedko Games in 1975, and subsequently republished by Avalon Hill in 1976 and more recently by L2 Design Group in 2007.
Empires in Arms is an out-of-print board game by Harry Rowland, published by the Australian Design Group in 1983. It was licensed to the Avalon Hill Game Company in 1985.
Kingmaker is a board game published in the UK by PhilMar Ltd. in 1974 that simulates the political struggles to place a king on the throne of England during the Wars of the Roses. The game was popular, and other editions, including a computerized version, were produced by Avalon Hill, TM Games, and Gibsons Games. The game won a Charles S. Roberts Award in 1976.
Battle of the Bulge is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill (AH) in 1965 that simulates the World War II battle of the same name. General Anthony McAuliffe (ret.), who had been commanding officer at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, was a consultant during the game's development. The game proved popular and sold more than 120,000 copies, but was dogged by criticisms of historical inaccuracies, and was finally replaced by a completely new edition in 1981. A third edition in 1991 was released as part of the Smithsonian American History Series.
Victory in the Pacific (VITP) is a board wargame published by the Avalon Hill game company in 1977 that simulates the War in the Pacific during World War II.
Air Assault on Crete is a wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1977 that simulates the Battle of Crete during World War II.
The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia under the Danelaw. These were Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford. The first four later became county towns.
Advanced Civilization is an expansion game for the board game Civilization, published in 1991 by Avalon Hill. Ownership of the original game is necessary to play. While Civilization is in print as of November 2019, Advanced Civilization is not, following the dissolution of the original Avalon Hill game company and sale of all rights to titles to Hasbro in 1998.
Hitler's War is a strategic level World War II board wargame first published by Metagaming Concepts in 1981, and then by Avalon Hill in 1984 that simulates the war from Operation Barbarossa to the Fall of Berlin. Critical reception was general favorable, using phrases like "very good", "An incredible bang for the buck", "single most satisfying game of its type" and "well thought out."
Civil War is an early strategic board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the American Civil War. Unlike other games produced by Avalon Hill during this period such as Gettysburg, Civil War did not sell well and was dropped from production two years later.
Storm Over Arnhem is a 1981 board wargame designed by Courtney F. Allen, published by the Avalon Hill game company, and depicts the battle for Arnhem bridge over the Lower Rhine river during Operation Market Garden in World War II. This battle was fought between elements of the British 1st Airborne Division and elements of the German Bocholt Battalion and 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions. The plan was for the airborne forces to seize and hold the Arnhem bridge for two days, before being relieved by the British XXX Corps. However, Operation Market Garden failed in numerous places, and the airborne troops were never relieved. They did however achieve more than their objective by capturing and holding the northern end of the Arnhem Bridge with some 700+ men for four days.
Conquistador, originally subtitled "The Age of Exploration: 1495–1600", is a board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the exploration of the New World in the 16th century. Players take on the role of European countries sending expeditions to find gold and establish colonies. Although the design uses the trappings of board wargames such as a hex map, combat is not a major part of the game.
The Burghal Hidage is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of over thirty fortified places (burhs), the majority being in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes assigned for their maintenance. The document, so named by Frederic William Maitland in 1897, survives in two versions of medieval and early modern date. Version A, Cotton Otho B.xi was badly damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731 but the body of the text survives in a transcript made by the antiquary Laurence Nowell in 1562. Version B survives as a composite part of seven further manuscripts, usually given the title De numero hydarum Anglie in Britannia. There are several discrepancies in the lists recorded in the two versions of the document: Version A includes references to Burpham, Wareham and Bridport but omits Shaftesbury and Barnstaple which are listed in Version B. Version B also names Worcester and Warwick in an appended list.
Stalingrad is a strategic-level board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1963 that simulates the first 24 months of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. As one of the first board wargames it was extensively played and discussed during the early years of the wargaming hobby.
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in the United States in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice and other game elements that produce random effects. Set in Europe in the years leading to the First World War, Diplomacy is played by two to seven players, each controlling the armed forces of a major European power. Each player aims to move their few starting units and defeat those of others to win possession of a majority of strategic cities and provinces marked as "supply centers" on the map; these supply centers allow players who control them to produce more units. Following each round of player negotiations, each player can issue attack and support orders, which are then executed during the movement phase. A player takes control of a province when the number of provinces that are given orders to support the attacking province exceeds the number of provinces given orders to support the defending province.
Lewis Errol Pulsipher, often credited as Lew Pulsipher, is an American teacher, game designer, and author, whose subject is role playing games, board games, card games, and video games. He was the first person in the North Carolina community college system to teach game design classes, in fall 2004. He has designed half a dozen published boardgames, written more than 150 articles about games, contributed to several books about games, and presented at game conventions and conferences.
