Avalanche Press
Encyclopedia
Avalanche Press is an American
company that publishes board
wargames
and has published some role-playing game
supplements. An extremely prolific company, they have produced many respected contributions to the wargame community, most notably The Great War at Sea
and Panzer Grenadier series
, as well as Red Parachutes, one of their earliest games and a detailed study of the Soviet crossing of the Dnepr River in 1943.
Avalanche Press was started in 1994 by Mike Bennighof and Brian Knipple(a.k.a. "Big Doody"). In 1996, Avalanche Press released the first game in the Great War at Sea series. Twice, the series has won the prestigious Origins Award
for the best historical game of the year. They have also received many finalist nominations for the Origins Awards over the last few years.
In 2001 Avalanche Press became one of the early publishers to produce products using the open-source d20 system
. The book Celtic Age won the 2002 Origins Award for Best RPG Supplement.
Like many modern wargame publishers, Avalanche has adopted the practice developing several games on similar subjects, re-using and refining the rules of earlier games in new ones (Soldier Kings and Soldier Emperor, for example, are very similar), as well as releasing series of games where each one comes with an identical rule book, with different maps, counters and scenarios in each one.
Avalanche Press currently employs 11 people. Its physical plant located in Irondale, Alabama after previously being in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
or $40 per year elsewhere. When announced, benefits included a 10% discount on all orders, a 20% discount at conventions where Avalanche Press is presenting, two free sheets of die cut counters per year, a quarterly Gold Club Insider newsletter with inside information on the company and future games, a free game every year, and a Gold Club membership card.
files, not boxed games. The games will require some assembly, but Gold Club members will be able to vote on which games they would like to have produced in that format. It was later decided in early 2008, based on customer feedback, to deliver one boxed, retail game and one game delivered as a pdf.
, the "File Cabinet of Doom".
The first set of games under the revised program were Army of Lappland, Red Fortress: Odessa, and Red Desert: Nomonhan. Of these games, Army of Lappland and Red Desert graduated into production. According to the Gold Club Insider, the next group of games will be in the Great War at Sea series
.
during the age of sail, a conflict between the United States
and Canada
on the Great Lakes
during the 1920s, an updated version of U.S. Navy Plan Orange, a game covering the German Plan Z
, a World War II
air combat game, a game covering the Six-Day War
as well as one based on Napoleon's campaigns.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company that publishes board
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
wargames
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
and has published some role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
supplements. An extremely prolific company, they have produced many respected contributions to the wargame community, most notably The Great War at Sea
Great War at Sea series
The Great War at Sea series of board wargames released by Avalanche Press features operational and tactical-level naval combat in the period of the early battleships and dreadnoughts...
and Panzer Grenadier series
Panzer Grenadier series
The Panzer Grenadier series of Board wargames is Avalanche Press's series of World War II tactical land combat. The first game in the series was released in 2000. -Series Summary:...
, as well as Red Parachutes, one of their earliest games and a detailed study of the Soviet crossing of the Dnepr River in 1943.
Avalanche Press was started in 1994 by Mike Bennighof and Brian Knipple(a.k.a. "Big Doody"). In 1996, Avalanche Press released the first game in the Great War at Sea series. Twice, the series has won the prestigious Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for the best historical game of the year. They have also received many finalist nominations for the Origins Awards over the last few years.
In 2001 Avalanche Press became one of the early publishers to produce products using the open-source d20 system
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
. The book Celtic Age won the 2002 Origins Award for Best RPG Supplement.
Like many modern wargame publishers, Avalanche has adopted the practice developing several games on similar subjects, re-using and refining the rules of earlier games in new ones (Soldier Kings and Soldier Emperor, for example, are very similar), as well as releasing series of games where each one comes with an identical rule book, with different maps, counters and scenarios in each one.
Avalanche Press currently employs 11 people. Its physical plant located in Irondale, Alabama after previously being in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Gold Club
In mid-2006, Avalanche Press debuted the Gold Club program. Membership in this club costs $30 per year in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or $40 per year elsewhere. When announced, benefits included a 10% discount on all orders, a 20% discount at conventions where Avalanche Press is presenting, two free sheets of die cut counters per year, a quarterly Gold Club Insider newsletter with inside information on the company and future games, a free game every year, and a Gold Club membership card.
Changes to the Gold Club in 2007
Avalanche Press had a hard time in 2006 and as a result did not release anything for the Gold Club. To help compensate for this problem, in July 2007, the company announced that current memberships and memberships placed within a certain time span would be increased to 18 months. The pace of the newsletter releases was increased, with Avalanche Press aiming for a monthly schedule. In early August, it was announced that members would receive two free games, but that they would be delivered as pdfPortable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
files, not boxed games. The games will require some assembly, but Gold Club members will be able to vote on which games they would like to have produced in that format. It was later decided in early 2008, based on customer feedback, to deliver one boxed, retail game and one game delivered as a pdf.
Free games
The first free game for Gold Club members was shipped in mid 2008. The second free game, U.S. Navy Plan Crimson was announced on October 22, 2008 as a free download only available to Gold Club members.Classic Wargames program
The Classic Wargames program is designed to let customers choose what games they would like Avalanche Press to produce.Original program
In the original Classic Wargames program, descriptions of several games were put on the website and customers could place orders for the games that they wished at pre-order prices. There was no time limit placed, and once a game reached a certain number of orders, the game went into full scale production and the price was raised to full price. This resulted in some games staying on the website for a long time.2007 program redesign
In 2007, as part of several other changes, the Classic Wargames program was restructured. Under the new Classic Wargames structure, every few months three related games are placed on the website at once. After a certain amount of time has passed, the game that has the most pre-orders is placed in production. If the games are less than $100 and two games are close in the number of pre-orders, two games may be produced. Any games that do not have enough pre-orders are sent to NiflheimNiflheim
Niflheim is one of the Nine Worlds and is a location in Norse mythology which overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel...
, the "File Cabinet of Doom".
The first set of games under the revised program were Army of Lappland, Red Fortress: Odessa, and Red Desert: Nomonhan. Of these games, Army of Lappland and Red Desert graduated into production. According to the Gold Club Insider, the next group of games will be in the Great War at Sea series
Great War at Sea series
The Great War at Sea series of board wargames released by Avalanche Press features operational and tactical-level naval combat in the period of the early battleships and dreadnoughts...
.
Future games survey
On September 12, 2008, Avalanche Press posted a survey so that fans could vote on games that they would like to see made. These games include a variation of the Great War at Sea seriesGreat War at Sea series
The Great War at Sea series of board wargames released by Avalanche Press features operational and tactical-level naval combat in the period of the early battleships and dreadnoughts...
during the age of sail, a conflict between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
during the 1920s, an updated version of U.S. Navy Plan Orange, a game covering the German Plan Z
Plan Z
Plan Z was the name given to the planned re-equipment and expansion of the Nazi German Navy ordered by Adolf Hitler on January 27, 1939...
, a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
air combat game, a game covering the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
as well as one based on Napoleon's campaigns.
Series
- Eagles of the Empire series
- The Great War at Sea seriesGreat War at Sea seriesThe Great War at Sea series of board wargames released by Avalanche Press features operational and tactical-level naval combat in the period of the early battleships and dreadnoughts...
-- Dreadnought era naval combat - Infantry Attacks seriesInfantry Attacks seriesAvalanche Press' Infantry Attacks series is a World War I version of Avalanche Press' Panzer Grenadier tactical combat series. Infantry Attacks is very similar to Panzer Grenadier -- the two series' use the same map formats and have very similar rules.-Empires End:Empires End is the first game in...
-- World War I tactical combat (a spinoff of Panzer Grenadier) - Ironclads seriesIronclads seriesThe Ironclads series of board wargames is Avalanche Press's new series about naval combat in the mid 1800s. The series is loosely based on the company's Great War at Sea, and features operational and tactical level gameplay.-Games:...
-- 19th century naval combat (a spinoff of Great War at Sea) - Panzer Grenadier seriesPanzer Grenadier seriesThe Panzer Grenadier series of Board wargames is Avalanche Press's series of World War II tactical land combat. The first game in the series was released in 2000. -Series Summary:...
-- World War II tactical combat - Rome at War seriesRome at War seriesThe Rome at War series is Avalanche Press' Board wargame series covering ancient land combat. The series started in 2000 with the release of Hannibal at Bay.-Hannibal at Bay:...
-- Ancient warfare series (closely related to the Napoleonic Battles series) - Second World War at Sea seriesSecond World War at Sea seriesSecond World War at Sea is a game series produced by Avalanche Press covering naval combat during World War II. The series is based on Avalanche Press' Great War at Sea...
-- World War II naval combat (a spinoff of Great War at Sea) - Third Reich/Great Pacific War seriesThird Reich/Great Pacific War seriesAvalanche Press's Third Reich/Great Pacific War series is a strategic level board wargame of World War II. The series consists of two boxed games , one supplement , and an enlarged map, with one more future supplement .-Third Reich:Avalanche Press' version of Third...
-- World War II strategic game
0-9
- 1898: The Spanish-American War (2000)
- 1904-1905: The Russo-Japanese War (1999)
A
- Afrika Korps: The Desert War (2002)
- Airborne (2002)
- Airborne: Introductory Edition (2006)
- Airlines (1998)
- Alaska's War (2007)
- Alsace 1945 (2005)
- America Triumphant: Battle of the Bulge (2003)
- Avalanche: The Invasion of Italy (1994)
B
- Battle of the Bulge (2002)
- Beyond Normandy (2004)
- Bismark (2005)
- Bitter Victory: Sicily 1943 (2006)
- Blood on the Snow (1995)
- Bomb Alley (2002)
C
- Chickamauga & Chattanooga (2003)
- Cruiser Warfare (2004)
D
- Defiant Russia: 1941 (2004)
- Desert Rats (2004)
- Digging (game) (1999)
E
- Eastern Fleet (2001)
- Eastern Front (2005)
G
- Gazala: 1942 (2005)
- Gettysburg 1863 (2002)
- Granada: The Fall of Moslem Spain (2003)
- Great Pacific War (2003)
- Great War at Sea: The North and Baltic Seas (1998)
- Great War at Sea: The Mediterranean (1996, 2001)
H
- Hannibal at Bay (2000)
- Heroes of the Soviet Union (2001)
I
- Imperium: Third MillenniumImperium (board game)Imperium is a science fiction board wargame that was published in 1977 by the Conflict Game Company and GDW. It was designed by Marc W. Miller and developed by Frank Chadwick and John Harshman. The game came in a cardboard box illustrated with a space battle on the exterior...
(2001) - Infantry Attacks: Empires End (2007)
- Island of Death: The Invasion of Malta, 1942 (2006)
M
- McArthur's Return: Leyte 1944 (1994)
- Midway (2002)
R
- Red God of War (2005)
- Red Parachutes (2005)
- Red Steel: Clash of Armor at Kishinev (1997)
- Red Vengeance (2005)
- Red Warriors (2006)
- Res Publica (1999)
- Road to Berlin (2005)
S
- Scotland the Brave (1998)
- Sea of Troubles (2007)
- Semper Fi! Guadacanal (2003)
- Sinister Forces (2006)
- Soldier Emperor (2003)
- Soldier Kings (2002)
- Soldier Raj (2004)
- SOPAC (1999)
- Strange Defeat: The Fall of France, 1940 (2006)
- Strike South (2005)
- Survival of the WitlessSurvival of the WitlessSurvival of the Witless is a card game produced by Avalanche Press about tenure. Released in 1997, the game was created due to Avalanche Press founder Mike Bennighof's anger at being fired from his teaching job at University of Alabama at Birmingham for winning a teaching award as an untenured...
(1997)
T
- Tears of the DragonTears of the Dragon"Tears of the Dragon" is the first single from Bruce Dickinson's second solo album, Balls to Picasso, released on 28 May 1994. Allmusic called "Tears of the Dragon" a "magnificent" track,"by far the album's best song".- Track listing :...
(2003) - They Shall Not Pass: The Battle of Verdun, 1916 (2006)
- Third Reich (2001)
- Tiger of Malaya (2006)
U
- U.S. Navy Plan Black (1999)
- U.S. Navy Plan Crimson (2008)
- U.S. Navy Plan Gold (2006)
- U.S. Navy Plan Orange (1998)
- U.S. Navy Plan Red (2002)
Supplements
- All For One, One For All
- Arctic Front (2002)
- Aztecs: Empire of the Dying Sun
- Celtic Age
- Distant Oceans (2003)
- Doom of Odin
- Dreadnoughts (2004)
- East of Suez
- Edelweiss (2003)
- Endless Sands
- Great White Fleet
- Greenland Saga
- I, Mordred
- Jungle Fighting (2004)
- Little People
- Nile Empire
- Noble Knights
- Noble Steeds
- Player's Guide: Third Reich/Great Pacific War (2004)
- Ragnarok!
- Tank Battles (2003)
- Twilight of Atlantis
- Viking Age
- Vlad, the Impaler
- Zeppelins (2006)