Editing Multi-Man Publishing

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{short description|American wargame publisher}}
'''Multi-Man Publishing, LLC''' ("MMP"), founded in 1994, is a [[Maryland]] based game company that publishes many [[Wargaming|wargame]] 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.<ref name=yousebgg/> Their first publication was ''Backblast'', a [[fanzine]] for Avalon Hill's wargame ''[[Advanced Squad Leader]]'' (ASL).<ref name=yousebgg>{{cite web |url=http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/9253202#9253202 |author=Brian Youse |publisher=[[Board Game Geek]] |date=26 May 2012 |title=Wargames -> Forums -> General -> Re: Curt Schilling's video game venture explodes... what does this mean for MMP? |accessdate=4 June 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref name=yousebgg/> MMP also entered into discussions with AH about purchasing the rights to ASL.<ref name=yousebgg/> In late 1995, professional [[baseball]] player [[Curt Schilling]], who was a devoted player of ASL, separately also tried to buy the rights to ASL.<ref name=yousebgg/> 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.<ref name=yousebgg/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/9253237#9253237 |author=Brian Youse |publisher=[[Board Game Geek]] |date=26 May 2012 |title=Wargames -> Forums -> General -> Re: Curt Schilling's video game venture explodes... what does this mean for MMP? |accessdate=4 June 2012}}</ref> 

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]] 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 (magazine)|The General]]'', which had ceased publication with the demise of Avalon Hill.<ref>[http://tacticalwargamer.com/magazines/operations/operations.htm TWC page on Operations]</ref> In summer 2011, MMP started a new magazine called ''Special Ops'' which replaced ''Operations'' as the MMP house organ.<ref>[http://tacticalwargamer.com/magazines/specialops/specialops.htm TWC page on Special Ops, accessed 29 Nov 2012]</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/9253163#9253163 |author=Brian Youse |publisher=[[Board Game Geek]] |date=26 May 2012 |title=Wargames -> Forums -> General -> Re: Curt Schilling's video game venture explodes... what does this mean for MMP? |accessdate=4 June 2012}}</ref>

==Published games==
'''Series games'''
*''[[Advanced Squad Leader]]''
*''[[Area Movement Series]]''
*''[[The Gamers|Battalion Combat Series]]''
*''[[Civil War Brigade Series]]''
*''[[G.C.A.C.W.|Great Campaigns of the American Civil War]]''
*''[[Grand Tactical Series]]''
*''[[International Game Series]]''
*''[[The Gamers|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 (wargame)|Shifting Sands]]''
*''[[The Kingdom of Heaven (wargame)|The Kingdom of Heaven]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{bgg publisher|196}}
* [https://www.mmpgamers.com Multi-Man Publishing], official website

[[Category:1994 establishments in Maryland]]
[[Category:Wargame companies]]