Multi-Man Publishing, LLC ("MMP"), founded in 1994, is a

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

based game company that publishes many wargame titles, including ''

Advanced Squad Leader ''Advanced Squad Leader'' (ASL) is a tactical-level board wargame, originally marketed by Avalon Hill Games, that simulates actions of squad sized units in World War II. It is a detailed game system for two or more players (with solitary play ...

'' and Operational Combat Series.

History

Multi-Man Publishing (MMP) was founded in 1994 by four Avalon Hill playtesters and a graphics art designer. Their first publication was ''Backblast'', a

fanzine A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share ...

for Avalon Hill's wargame ''

'' (ASL). Around the same time, Avalon Hill had made the decision that ASL did not have a future, and so MMP sought to keep it alive among fans by publishing occasional scenarios and a fanzine. MMP also entered into discussions with AH about purchasing the rights to ASL. In late 1995, professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

, who was a devoted player of ASL, separately also tried to buy the rights to ASL. Avalon Hill did not agree to either offer, they held out for more money, but introduced Schilling to MMP, who subsequently joined the company as a one-third partner, the other two-thirds owned equally by Perry Cocke and Brian Youse. After Avalon Hill was sold to Hasbro in 1999, MMP negotiated to license ASL from Hasbro. MMP would also develop, print and sell some of the other former

Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company' ...

titles. In 2002 MMP acquired The Gamers line of wargames, vastly increasing its list of titles including the popular Civil War Brigade Series and Operational Combat Series. MMP also continued publication of The Gamers' '' Operations Magazine'' as a "house organ" similar to Avalon Hill's '' The General'', which had ceased publication with the demise of Avalon Hill. In summer 2011, MMP started a new magazine called ''Special Ops'' which replaced ''Operations'' as the MMP house organ. The company is privately owned and thus does not publicly report financial information. Co-owner Brian Youse has stated that the company supports itself solely through the sale of its games, and has done so since 1999.

Published games

Series games *''

'' *'' Area Movement Series'' *'' Battalion Combat Series'' *'' Civil War Brigade Series'' *'' G.C.A.C.W.'' *''

Grand Tactical Series The Gamers was a wargaming company founded and run by Dean Essig in Homer, Illinois. Their distinction was the focus on a few series, with special rules for each individual game. This made it easier to play new games within a series that wa ...

'' *'' International Game Series'' *'' Line of Battle Series'' (LoB) *''

Napoleonic Brigade Series The Gamers was a wargaming company founded and run by Dean Essig in Homer, Illinois. Their distinction was the focus on a few series, with special rules for each individual game. This made it easier to play new games within a series that was w ...

'' *'' Operational Combat Series'' *''Panzerblitz 2'' *''

Regimental Sub-Series The Gamers was a wargaming company founded and run by Dean Essig in Homer, Illinois. Their distinction was the focus on a few series, with special rules for each individual game. This made it easier to play new games within a series that was w ...

'' *''

Standard Combat Series The Gamers was a wargaming company founded and run by Dean Essig in Homer, Illinois. Their distinction was the focus on a few series, with special rules for each individual game. This made it easier to play new games within a series that was w ...

'' *''

Tactical Combat Series The Gamers was a wargaming company founded and run by Dean Essig in Homer, Illinois. Their distinction was the focus on a few series, with special rules for each individual game. This made it easier to play new games within a series that was w ...

'' *''

Variable Combat Series Variable may refer to: * Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed * Variable (mathematics), a symbol that represents a quantity in a mathematical expression, as used in many ...

'' *''

War Storm Series War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regul ...

'' Individual games *''

Circus Minimus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicycl ...

'' *''Front Toward Enemy'' *'' Lincoln's War'' *''

Shifting Sands Shifting Sands can refer to: *''The Shifting Sands'', a book in the ''Deltora Quest'' series * ''Shifting Sands'' (1918 film), a 1918 film * ''Shifting Sands'' (1922 film), a 1922 film *''Shifting Sands'', a 1957 episode of The Goon Show *Forms of ...

'' *'' The Kingdom of Heaven''

References

External links

* {{bgg publisher, 196
Multi-Man Publishing
official website 1994 establishments in Maryland Wargame companies