Avalon Hill
Encyclopedia
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames
and strategic
board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming
rules, role-playing game
, and had a popular line of sports simulations. It is now a division of the game company Wizards of the Coast
, which is itself a subsidiary of Hasbro
.
under the name of "The Avalon Game Company" for the publication of his game Tactics
, considered the first commercial wargame. Following the success of Tactics Roberts changed the name "The Avalon Game Company" to "Avalon Hill" in 1958, name kept by the company until it folded in 1998. The first game published by the company under the name of "Avalon Hill" was the second edition of Tactics, titled Tactics II and also published in 1958. Between 1958 and 1963 Avalon Hill published eighteen different games, only nine of them being wargames: Gettysburg
, Tactics II
, U-Boat, Chancellorsville
, D-Day
, Civil War, Waterloo, Bismarck
and Stalingrad
. Roberts named the company after the town where he was living at that time: Avalon
, in Maryland
. In the 1960s, the company moved to Baltimore
, also in Maryland. With Tactics, Roberts created a new type of board game based on scenarios that simulated military forces, strategies, and tactics. This sort of game was relatively well-known, as H. G. Wells
had written a set of rules called Little Wars
early in the 20th century, but it had used miniature figures and modeled 3D-terrain, like that later found in model railroading, and the situations represented were small-scale skirmishes between handfuls of soldiers.
Avalon Hill pioneered many of the concepts of modern recreational wargaming
. These include elements such as the use of a hexagonal grid (aka hexgrid
) overlaid on a flat folding board, zones of control
(ZOC), stacking of multiple units at a location, an odds-based combat results table
(CRT), terrain
effects on movement, troop strength, morale, and board games based upon historical events. Complex games could and did take days or even weeks, and AH set up a system for people to play games by mail
.
Avalon Hill published Panzerblitz
in 1970, designed for the company by a young Jim Dunnigan
. The game was a departure from wargames to that point in time by being a tactical-level game with a multiple-scenario format and isomorphic mapboards. Dunnigan went on to run what was to become Avalon Hill's biggest competitor: Simulations Publications, Inc. One offering was Blitzkrieg
. This game was more of an abstract training game featuring two sides, red and blue, and some neutral countries. Many rule variants were created for Blitzkrieg. Other well-regarded games published were simulations of actual battles and campaigns, such as Midway
, Afrika Korps
, and The Battle of the Bulge.
Later games included 1914, Anzio, 1776, Jutland, Third Reich, Panzer Blitz, Kingmaker, Napoleon, Victory in the Pacific, The Russian Front, Republic of Rome, Age of Renaissance, Storm Over Arnhem, Turning Point Stalingrad, Up-Front (a card driven game), Raid on St. Nazaire, Successors of Alexander the Great, London is Burning and Atlantic Storm.
While wargames were always what Avalon Hill was best known for, Roberts had founded it as a company for adult, (that is, thinking) games. His own favorite game that he designed during his time with the company was Management
. Through much of its history, wargames were only about half of the Avalon Hill line. In fact, the two best-selling titles in AH's history were Outdoor Survival and the trivia game Facts in Five. The non-wargame side of the line picked up several good titles such as Acquire
and Twixt
from the purchase of 3M
's line of games in 1976. During the 1970s, Avalon Hill published a number of tabletop sports simulations, culminating in the popular Statis Pro line in 1978, which was based on the statistics of actual players. Updated sets of cards were made available every year until 1992, by which time sports computer and video games were dominating the market.
Beyond just the 3M games, Avalon Hill also purchased many games from smaller companies and republished them. Much of Battleline Publications
line, including Wooden Ships and Iron Men
and the Diplomacy
variant based on Renaissance Italy, Machiavelli was republished by Avalon Hill, along w/ the popular Diplomacy
. AH also acquired Jedko Games
' The Russian Campaign
and War at Sea
, and Hartland Trefoil's Civilization
. 1830
was developed by Avalon Hill, but based on Francis Tresham
's 1829
.
Additionally, the company entered the role-playing game
market by publishing Lords of Creation
and Powers and Perils
, both in 1983. The license to RuneQuest
was acquired in a complex agreement with Chaosium
, and Avalon Hill published the 3rd Edition in 1984. But nothing came close to the popularity of long-established Dungeons & Dragons.
Avalon Hill was also an early publisher of computer games starting in 1980. Adapting some of its boardgame titles to various platforms (TRS-80
, Vic-20, Commodore 64
, Apple II, etc.), and formats (cassette tape and 5¼" disk). There were occasional successes, but nothing that was noticed by the computer game industry as a whole until relatively late in its life with such titles as Achtung Spitfire!.
Games in the summer of 1998. Hasbro, largely seeking the computerization rights to the game Diplomacy, purchased the rights to the Avalon Hill titles and back inventory and the name "Avalon Hill" for $6 million, and published a select number of Avalon Hill games while several individual titles were licensed to interested publishers. The popular long-time game series Advanced Squad Leader
was licensed to Multi-Man Publishing
. Hasbro allowed the Canadian company Valley Games to reprint the AH title Titan
in 2008.
Hasbro has also released new titles under the Avalon Hill name, also adding the Avalon Hill name to older games such as Axis and Allies
that were not originally made by Avalon Hill. The games published under Hasbro ownership have been targeted for a wider general audience, and are less hobbyist-oriented than had been published previously.
Avalon Hill also had its own house organ
which promoted sale and play of its games, The General Magazine, which was published regularly between 1964 and 1998. The magazine offered a wide array of features, including articles on both strategies of play and tactics for specific situations, historical analyses, semi-regular features devoted to individual games, columns on sports and computer games by AH, listings of vendors and opponents, answers to questions on game rules, ratings for both games and players, discount coupons for mail orders, and insider information on future AH projects.
(see image, right) announcing the launch of HEROES, its own role-playing magazine. HEROES ran for ten issues from 1984 to 1986 and had the main purpose to promote all four of Avalon Hill's role-playing games: James Bond 007
, Lords of Creation, Powers and Perils
, and RuneQuest
.
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 strategic
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
rules, 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...
, and had a popular line of sports simulations. It is now a division of the game company Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
, which is itself a subsidiary of Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
.
Founder: Charles Roberts
The company was started in 1954 by Charles S. RobertsCharles S. Roberts
Charles Swann Roberts was a wargame designer, railroad historian, and businessman. He is renowned as "The Father of Board Wargaming", having created the first modern wargame in 1952, and the first wargaming company in 1954...
under the name of "The Avalon Game Company" for the publication of his game Tactics
Tactics (game)
Tactics is generally credited as being the first board wargame. It was designed by Charles S. Roberts in 1952, and self-published in 1954 under the company name of The Avalon Game Company...
, considered the first commercial wargame. Following the success of Tactics Roberts changed the name "The Avalon Game Company" to "Avalon Hill" in 1958, name kept by the company until it folded in 1998. The first game published by the company under the name of "Avalon Hill" was the second edition of Tactics, titled Tactics II and also published in 1958. Between 1958 and 1963 Avalon Hill published eighteen different games, only nine of them being wargames: Gettysburg
Gettysburg (game)
Gettysburg is a board wargame produced by Avalon Hill which re-enacts the American Civil War battle of Gettysburg. It was originally published in 1958, and was the first board wargame based on a historical battle....
, Tactics II
Tactics (game)
Tactics is generally credited as being the first board wargame. It was designed by Charles S. Roberts in 1952, and self-published in 1954 under the company name of The Avalon Game Company...
, U-Boat, Chancellorsville
Chancellorsville (game)
Chancellorsville is a two-player board wargame produced by Avalon Hill which re-enacts the American Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville. It was originally published in 1961, and republished in 1974. The game was designed by Wargaming Hall of Fame designer Charles S. Roberts.Chancellorsville was a...
, D-Day
D-Day (game)
D-Day is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill first in 1961 and later re-released in 1965, 1971, 1977 and 1991.An operational/strategic simulation of the Western Front between June and September, 1944, the game simulates the invasion by the Allies of France while it was occupied by the Axis...
, Civil War, Waterloo, Bismarck
Bismarck (board game)
A 1962 game from Avalon Hill centered around the hunt for the KMS Bismarck and the KMS Prinz Eugen in mid-1941. The game has some similarities to game Battleship, with both players having a hidden map-board and calling out coordinates to locate their opponent. The game was designed by Thomas...
and Stalingrad
Stalingrad (wargame)
Stalingrad is strategic-level board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1963. As one of the first board wargames it was extensively played and discussed during the early years of the wargaming hobby.Despite its title, Stalingrad covers the entire campaign between Germany and the Soviet Union from...
. Roberts named the company after the town where he was living at that time: Avalon
Avalon (New Windsor, Maryland)
Avalon is a historic home located near New Windsor, Carroll County, Maryland. It is a -story, early-19th-century brick house constructed c. 1814, and reflecting Neoclassical architecture influence....
, in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. In the 1960s, the company moved to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, also in Maryland. With Tactics, Roberts created a new type of board game based on scenarios that simulated military forces, strategies, and tactics. This sort of game was relatively well-known, as H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
had written a set of rules called Little Wars
Little Wars
Little Wars is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers, written by H. G. Wells in 1913. Its full title is Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books.Little Wars is considered by some...
early in the 20th century, but it had used miniature figures and modeled 3D-terrain, like that later found in model railroading, and the situations represented were small-scale skirmishes between handfuls of soldiers.
Avalon Hill pioneered many of the concepts of modern recreational wargaming
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...
. These include elements such as the use of a hexagonal grid (aka hexgrid
Hex map
A hex map, hex board or hex grid is a gameboard design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into small regular hexagons of identical size.-Advantages and disadvantages:...
) overlaid on a flat folding board, zones of control
Zone of control
In board wargames, zones of control represent the tiles adjacent to tiles occupied by objects. For example, in hexagonal tiled maps, the six hexagons adjacent to the hexagon occupied by a unit would be considered to be in its "zone of control."...
(ZOC), stacking of multiple units at a location, an odds-based combat results table
Combat results table
A Combat results table or a CRT is used in wargaming to determine the outcome of a clash between individual units within a larger battle....
(CRT), terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
effects on movement, troop strength, morale, and board games based upon historical events. Complex games could and did take days or even weeks, and AH set up a system for people to play games by mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
.
Monarch Avalon Printing
Avalon Hill became a subsidiary of Monarch Avalon Printing in 1962, (as a way of repaying debts incurred by Roberts). Monarch then ran it for the next 36 years.Avalon Hill published Panzerblitz
PanzerBlitz
PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame of armoured combat set in the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The game is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation...
in 1970, designed for the company by a young Jim Dunnigan
Jim Dunnigan
James F. Dunnigan is an author, military-political analyst, Defense and State Department consultant, and wargame designer currently living in New York City, notable for his matter-of-fact approach to military analysis.-Career:...
. The game was a departure from wargames to that point in time by being a tactical-level game with a multiple-scenario format and isomorphic mapboards. Dunnigan went on to run what was to become Avalon Hill's biggest competitor: Simulations Publications, Inc. One offering was Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg (game)
Blitzkrieg was an early strategic-level wargame first published in 1965 by the Avalon Hill Game Company. The game depicted a war between two fictional countries on the map of an imaginary continent...
. This game was more of an abstract training game featuring two sides, red and blue, and some neutral countries. Many rule variants were created for Blitzkrieg. Other well-regarded games published were simulations of actual battles and campaigns, such as Midway
Midway (1964 game)
Midway is a wargame by Avalon Hill which simulates the Battle of Midway, during World War II. The game is designed for 2 or more players and details the battle primarily at the squadron level....
, Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps (game)
Afrika Korps is a two-player wargame published by the Avalon Hill Game Company in 1963 and then re-released in 1965 and 1977. Played on a mapboard depicting the northern coastline of Africa, the game follows Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps and their Italian allies as they fought back-and-forth...
, and The Battle of the Bulge.
Later games included 1914, Anzio, 1776, Jutland, Third Reich, Panzer Blitz, Kingmaker, Napoleon, Victory in the Pacific, The Russian Front, Republic of Rome, Age of Renaissance, Storm Over Arnhem, Turning Point Stalingrad, Up-Front (a card driven game), Raid on St. Nazaire, Successors of Alexander the Great, London is Burning and Atlantic Storm.
While wargames were always what Avalon Hill was best known for, Roberts had founded it as a company for adult, (that is, thinking) games. His own favorite game that he designed during his time with the company was Management
Management (game)
Management is a business simulation board game released by Avalon Hill in 1960. Players operate their own manufacturing companies, making decisions on purchasing supplies, determining production volume, setting sale prices, and expanding factories. Turns are measured in business cycles. The winner...
. Through much of its history, wargames were only about half of the Avalon Hill line. In fact, the two best-selling titles in AH's history were Outdoor Survival and the trivia game Facts in Five. The non-wargame side of the line picked up several good titles such as Acquire
Acquire
Acquire is a board game designed by Sid Sackson.The game was originally published in 1962 by 3M as a part of their bookshelf games series. In most versions, the theme of the game is investing in hotel chains. In the 1990s Hasbro edition, the hotel chains were replaced by generic corporations,...
and Twixt
TwixT
TwixT is a two-player abstract strategy game invented by Alex Randolph. It is a member of the connection game family, along with games such as Hex, Havannah, Y, PÜNCT and *Star...
from the purchase of 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
's line of games in 1976. During the 1970s, Avalon Hill published a number of tabletop sports simulations, culminating in the popular Statis Pro line in 1978, which was based on the statistics of actual players. Updated sets of cards were made available every year until 1992, by which time sports computer and video games were dominating the market.
Beyond just the 3M games, Avalon Hill also purchased many games from smaller companies and republished them. Much of Battleline Publications
Battleline Publications
Battleline Publications was a board wargame company founded by Steven Peek in 1973. Output was relatively low at first, with each game being funded by sales of the one before, but their games were generally well-respected. Several were re-published by Avalon Hill, and their second game, Wooden...
line, including Wooden Ships and Iron Men
Wooden Ships and Iron Men
Wooden Ships and Iron Men is a naval board wargame in which the players simulate combat by sailing ships of the late 18th and early 19th centuries...
and the Diplomacy
Diplomacy (game)
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other game elements that produce random effects...
variant based on Renaissance Italy, Machiavelli was republished by Avalon Hill, along w/ the popular Diplomacy
Diplomacy (game)
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other game elements that produce random effects...
. AH also acquired Jedko Games
Jedko Games
Jedko Games is an Australian importer/wholesaler of games, jigsaws, playing cards, wooden toys, board games, traditional games and puzzles. It was originally a publisher of original games and Australian editions of overseas wargames....
' The Russian Campaign
The Russian Campaign
The Russian Campaign is an award winning strategic board wargame of the Eastern Front during World War II, during the period 1941-45. The unit scale is German Corps and Russian Armies and roughly covers the Berlin to Gorki region and Archangel to Grozny...
and War at Sea
War at Sea
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....
, and Hartland Trefoil's Civilization
Civilization (board game)
Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in Britain in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil , and in the US in 1981 by Avalon Hill. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players...
. 1830
1830 (board game)
1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons is a railroad operations and share trading board game first published by Avalon Hill in 1986 based on an original design by Francis Tresham...
was developed by Avalon Hill, but based on Francis Tresham
Francis Tresham (game designer)
Francis Tresham is an United Kingdom-based board game designer who has been producing board games since the early 1970s. Tresham founded and ran games company Hartland Trefoil , a company well known for its Civilization board game, until its sale to Microprose in 1997...
's 1829
1829 (board game)
1829 is a railroad operations and share-trading board game in the 18xx series, first published by Hartland Trefoil Ltd in 1974 from an original design by Francis Tresham, but is now out of print...
.
Additionally, the company entered the 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...
market by publishing Lords of Creation
Lords of Creation (role-playing game)
Lords of Creation was a table top role-playing game published by Avalon Hill in 1983 and 1984. The game was written by Tom Moldvay who also worked on the games Dungeons and Dragons and Star Frontiers....
and Powers and Perils
Powers and Perils
Powers & Perils is a role-playing game written by Richard Snider and published by Avalon Hill in 1983 as a boxed set. It consisted of four main rule books and a fifth book describing an adventure set in Mordara County...
, both in 1983. The license to RuneQuest
RuneQuest
RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1978 by Chaosium, created by Steve Perrin and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world...
was acquired in a complex agreement with Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
, and Avalon Hill published the 3rd Edition in 1984. But nothing came close to the popularity of long-established Dungeons & Dragons.
Avalon Hill was also an early publisher of computer games starting in 1980. Adapting some of its boardgame titles to various platforms (TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
, Vic-20, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Apple II, etc.), and formats (cassette tape and 5¼" disk). There were occasional successes, but nothing that was noticed by the computer game industry as a whole until relatively late in its life with such titles as Achtung Spitfire!.
Hasbro
After some costly legal missteps in 1997 and 1998, Monarch sold Avalon Hill to HasbroHasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
Games in the summer of 1998. Hasbro, largely seeking the computerization rights to the game Diplomacy, purchased the rights to the Avalon Hill titles and back inventory and the name "Avalon Hill" for $6 million, and published a select number of Avalon Hill games while several individual titles were licensed to interested publishers. The popular long-time game series Advanced Squad Leader
Advanced Squad Leader
Advanced Squad Leader is a tactical-level board wargame, originally marketed by Avalon Hill Games, that simulates actions of approximately company or battalion size in World War II. It is a detailed game system for two or more players . Components include the ASL Rulebook and various games called...
was licensed to Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing, LLC is a game company formed by baseball player Curt Schilling and his partners to keep the game series Advanced Squad Leader in print. MMP operates some of the former Avalon Hill games under license from Hasbro, Inc...
. Hasbro allowed the Canadian company Valley Games to reprint the AH title Titan
Titan (game)
Titan is a fantasy board game for two to six players, designed by Jason McAllister and David A. Trampier. It was first published in 1980 by Gorgonstar, a small company created by the designers. Soon afterward, the rights were licensed to Avalon Hill, which made several minor revisions and...
in 2008.
Hasbro has also released new titles under the Avalon Hill name, also adding the Avalon Hill name to older games such as Axis and Allies
Axis and Allies
Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy board games, with nearly two million copies printed. Originally designed by Larry Harris and published by Nova Game Designs in 1981, the game was republished by the Milton Bradley Company in 1984 as part of the Gamemaster Series of board...
that were not originally made by Avalon Hill. The games published under Hasbro ownership have been targeted for a wider general audience, and are less hobbyist-oriented than had been published previously.
Victory Games
In 1982 Avalon Hill hired some of the design staff from Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI), which had just been bought by TSR, Inc, and formed them into a subsidiary company, Victory Games. SPI had generally specialized in wargames that were more complex and attempted to be more exacting simulations than what Avalon Hill published. It also published games more frequently than staid Avalon Hill, which stayed with its two-a-year schedule of releases for a long time, even after SPI published games monthly in its house magazine Strategy & Tactics, as well as stand-alone games. When Victory Games released a line of SPI-style games, it met with critical and commercial acclaim. However, the staff members gradually departed Victory Games for other companies, and were not replaced with new hires. The remnants disbanded in 1989, though existing Victory Games designs were published under that imprint in subsequent years.The General Magazine
Avalon Hill also had its own house organ
House organ
A house organ is a magazine or periodical published by a company for its customers or its employees...
which promoted sale and play of its games, The General Magazine, which was published regularly between 1964 and 1998. The magazine offered a wide array of features, including articles on both strategies of play and tactics for specific situations, historical analyses, semi-regular features devoted to individual games, columns on sports and computer games by AH, listings of vendors and opponents, answers to questions on game rules, ratings for both games and players, discount coupons for mail orders, and insider information on future AH projects.
The HEROES Magazine
In early 1984, on the occasion of the release of third edition RuneQuest, Avalon Hill included in all RuneQuest boxes a single advertising flyerFlyer (pamphlet)
__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....
(see image, right) announcing the launch of HEROES, its own role-playing magazine. HEROES ran for ten issues from 1984 to 1986 and had the main purpose to promote all four of Avalon Hill's role-playing games: James Bond 007
James Bond 007 (role-playing game)
James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service was a spy fiction role-playing game, designed by Gerard Christopher Klug, and published by Victory Games , based on the James Bond books and films. The game, and many supplements, were published from 1983 until 1987, when the license lapsed...
, Lords of Creation, Powers and Perils
Powers and Perils
Powers & Perils is a role-playing game written by Richard Snider and published by Avalon Hill in 1983 as a boxed set. It consisted of four main rule books and a fifth book describing an adventure set in Mordara County...
, and RuneQuest
RuneQuest
RuneQuest is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 1978 by Chaosium, created by Steve Perrin and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. RuneQuest was notable for its original gaming system and for its verisimilitude in adhering to an original fantasy world...
.