''The Last Hurrah'' is a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

board war game published by

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 ...

in 1988 as an expansion of their popular ''

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 a ...

'' (''ASL'') wargame.

Description

''The Last Hurrah'' is an expansion to ''ASL'' that simulates military combat during the German invasions of smaller European countries during the first years of World War II. The game box includes two

hex grid A hex map, hex board, or hex grid is a game board design commonly used in simulation games of all scales, including wargames, role-playing games, and strategy games in both board games and video games. A hex map is subdivided into a hexagonal tili ...

maps and 260 counters representing forces of small countries such as Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Greece and Norway. This is not a standalone game; components from two other previously published expansions, '' Beyond Valor'' and ''

Yanks ''Yanks'' is a 1979 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, and produced by Joseph Janni and Lester Persky, and is written by Colin Welland and Walter Bernstein. It stars Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Chick ...

'', are needed in order to play. The game outlines eight scenarios: * Charge at Krojanty, Poland, 1939 * Norwegian Campaign, 1940 * Invasion of Crete, 1941 * Invasion of Belgium, 1939 *

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

, 1941 * Another scenario set in Belgium, 1939 * Invasion of the Netherlands, 1939 * Polish forces try to escape Russian invaders, 1939

Publication history

Avalon Hill published ''

Squad Leader ''Squad Leader'' is a tactical level board war game originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by John Hill and simulates on infantry combat in Europe during World War II. One of the most complex war games of its time, ''Squ ...

'' in 1977, and it proved popular enough that the company published a revised edition called ''Advanced Squad Leader'' in 1985, and followed this up with a number of expansions. The sixth of these expansions, ''The Last Hurrah'', was designed by Don Greenwood, Rex Martin and Brian Martuzas, and was published by Avalon Hill in 1988.

Reception

In Issue 5 of the UK games magazine ''

Games International ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' Ellis Simpson was impressed that Avalon Hill would published such minor military encounters, commenting, "Few games attract enough of a following to make a module based entirely on the Allied minor nations of the Second World War even a possibility; with ''ASL'' it is not only thought of, it's fashioned, honed and produced to the highest industry standards with more care and attention than many competitors. ''The Last Hurrah'' is, if nothing else, an exquisite (if modest) addition to the ASL universe." Simpson didn't like the high price, noting "The only criticism is that at £15.95 it's damn expensive; not so much in play value (in pence per game ''ASL'' is cheap) but more by comparison with the dollar price. Nevertheless, a welcome module for ''ASL'' and one which proves Avalon Hill's dedication to the completion of the project." Simpson concluded by giving it a rating of 3 out of 5. In Issue 50 of the French games magazine '' Casus Belli '', Pierre Stutin wrote, "Eight scenarios isn't a lot of course, but none of them should be thrown away. We note an improvement in the team that develops them." Stutin concluded, "''The Last Hurrah'' is therefore a more interesting expansion than it seems."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Hurrah Advanced Squad Leader Board games introduced in the 1980s Don Greenwood games European theatre World War II board wargames