Multi-Man Publishing, LLC ("MMP"), founded in 1994, is a
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
based game company that publishes many
wargame
A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for Recreational wargaming, recreation, to train military officers in the art of milit ...
titles, including ''
Advanced Squad Leader'' 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 word, blend of ''fan (person), 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 pleas ...
for Avalon Hill's wargame '' Advanced Squad Leader'' (ASL).[ MMP also entered into discussions with AH about purchasing the rights to ASL.][ In late 1995, professional ]baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player Curt Schilling, 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 compan ...
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
*'' Advanced Squad Leader''
*'' Area Movement Series''
*'' Battalion Combat Series''
*'' Civil War Brigade Series''
*'' Great Campaigns of the American Civil War''
*'' Grand Tactical Series''
*'' International Game Series''
*'' Line of Battle Series'' (LoB)
*'' Napoleonic Brigade Series''
*'' Operational Combat Series''
*''Panzerblitz 2''
*'' Regimental Sub-Series''
*'' Standard Combat Series''
*'' Tactical Combat Series''
*'' Variable Combat Series''
*'' War Storm Series''
Individual games
*'' Circus Minimus''
*''Front Toward Enemy''
*'' Lincoln's War''
*'' Shifting Sands''
*'' The Kingdom of Heaven''
References
External links
* {{bgg publisher, 196
Multi-Man Publishing
official website
1994 establishments in Maryland
Wargame companies