| Essential 119694_avalanche
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
September 2009
This summer marked 15 years of game production at 119694_avalanche Press, a pretty long run for any small business. Over that time we've published dozens of games, but these eight are the ones we think are the very best, the ones that belong on any wargamer's shelf. If you're new to this hobby, or looking for the perfect gift, these games are the place to start.
Panzer
Grenadier
Our most successful series ever, Panzer Grenadier is our infinitely versatile system of World War II tactical combat. Designed for maximum playability, Panzer Grenadier’s 16-page rulebook gives players all they need to fight fast-paced, exciting land battles in every World War II combat theater. Leadership and morale are major foci of play — each officer has his own counter, and higher-quality officers give morale and firepower bonuses to the units under their command. Combat mechanics are easy to learn, and let players focus on defeating the enemy rather than on minute details. Each boxed game stands alone: you don't need anything else to play. But with 10 boxed games, 32 supplements, 35 maps, 8,591 counters and 1,092 scenarios in print (and counting), there is no limit to the gaming possibilities with Panzer Grenadier!
Learn
to play these games in just five minutes.
  
Panzer Grenadier: Elsenborn Ridge
 The perfect intro point for this exciting series, Elsenborn Ridge covers the epic stand of American troops during the Battle of the Bulge. Both sides get to attack and defend, and both bring plentiful tanks and artillery onto the battlefield, while thick cloud cover overhead assures that the content will be decided by the hard-fighting soldiers on the ground. At just $39.99, you get 40 scenarios, or separate game situations, plus four maps and 572 playing pieces.
Eastern
Front
   
The best value for the money of any 119694_avalanche Press game. Panzer Grenadier: Eastern Front lets players fight out Hitler’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union on the tactical level, and includes eight maps, 660 counters and 112 (yes, one hundred and twelve) scenarios! Early German and Soviet tank designs duel it out on the steppes, while the endless human waves of the Red Army try to hold back the highly disciplined Wehrmacht, backed by murderously accurate German artillery. And if 112 scenarios aren't enough for you, the maps and counters in Eastern Front are the main components for many of the scenarios in our supplements.
Defiant
Russia
The centerpiece of our $19.99 Quick Play line, Defiant Russia is perfect for introducing new players to the hobby while still giving old hands a solid wargaming experience. Elite German armies invade the Soviet Union in 1941, forcing the outclassed Soviets to fight for key rail junctions and try to cut German supply lines to stall the Nazi advance. The game uses classic, easy-to-learn mechanics like zones of control and roll-for-sixes combat.
The Germans must take big risks to conquer lots of territory before bad weather slows them down, while the Red Army must constantly shift between standing their ground and retreating to avoid damage so they don’t crumble before the German advance. Best of all, the game is the start of a series, so once you know how to play Defiant Russia you’ll know how to play Red Vengeance, too!
Learn how to play this game in
just five minutes.
Second
World War at Sea
Our best-known game series, focusing on
naval and air combat during World War II.
Task forces and flights of planes cross the
operational map as they attempt to carry out
missions. When they meet, combat ensues on
the tactical map.
Learn to play SWWAS air combat games in
just
five minutes.
Second World War at Sea: Arctic Convoy
British and American fleets try to escort vital convoys to northern Russia through some of the world's most treacherous waters, while German raiders, aircraft and submarines are waiting to intercept them. With two huge maps, 550 playing pieces and two dozen scenarios, this game carries enormous play value.
Great
War at Sea
Games from the Age of the Battleship, when
sea power meant big guns. Much like Second
World War at Sea, fleets move on the operational
map while trying to carry out missions (convoy
escort, amphibious assault, shore bombardment,
raiding etc.) and when they meet play moves
to the tactical map to resolve combat.
Learn
to play these games in just five minutes.
 
Great War at Sea: Mediterranean
 The
game that started it all: our first
naval game and still our most popular. Ships
and scenarios cover wars and possible wars
between 1912 and 1923 on the Mediterranean
and Black Seas.
This is a game packed with stuff: 72 scenarios
and the ships and planes of 11 nations.
Play ranges from very small actions between
handfuls of cruisers and destroyers to massive
clashes of dreadnought battleships. But if
you want to smell cardboard cordite, this
is the game to choose.
Soldier
Kings
 The
best game for turning Risk players
into historical gamers! Soldier Kings
is our game of the Seven Years War, the first
truly global conflict. Up to eight players
use armies and fleets to conquer rich territories
all over the world, while making and breaking
alliances with each other to drive their enemies
into surrender.
Money and manpower are crucial, with players
having to pay for offensives, repair old armies
and fleets and build new ones, and bribe other
players into helping them. And historically accurate
event cards let players manipulate political,
economic and military forces to mess up each
other’s plans at the worst possible
moments!
Learn
how to play this game in just five minutes.
Third
Reich
 
One
of the best selling historical wargames of
all time, this game won the very first Origins
Award as best game of the year and has remained
a staple of wargaming for over 30 years. Our
new edition joined the streamlined play of
our games to the taught decision-making of
this hardy classic to form an exciting match
for two to five players of World War Two in
Europe.
This is why you play wargames. Make sure
you don't miss out.
Rome
at War
Rome’s legions fight barbarians from all over the Empire in our game of battles in the ancient world. Like Panzer Grenadier, Rome at War focuses on leadership, with each leader having his own playing piece and adding combat and morale bonuses to the troops under him. But there’s more fog of war in Rome at War, with players rolling against their commanding general’s initiative to see how many of their formations can move and fight each turn.
Roll-for-sixes combat keeps play fast and furious, and units that take hits are flipped or replaced with counters that have fewer soldiers on them, giving the game a strong “miniatures” feel. And the wide variety of troop types — legions, cavalry, archers, slingers, barbarians, elephants, chariots and more — give each game in the series its own distinctive flavor.
Learn
to play these games in just five minutes.
Hannibal at Bay
 
At just $19.99, the perfect introductory point to ancient warfare as Scipio Africanus comes to Carthage to face the unbeaten army of the great Hannibal. Hannibal has elephants and the battle-hardened but politically suspect Numidian cavalry; Rome counters with the discipline of its awesome legionary infantry. Five complete battles are included!
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