AVALON HILL Announces 2005 Line-up; Pirates, Robots and Casino Magnates Help Iconic Board Game Brand Launch Exciting New Titles and Reintroduce Classics.

RENTON, Wash. -- Attendees of this winter's Game Manufacturer's Association (GAMA) trade show in Las Vegas are in for a special treat as iconic strategy board game brand AVALON HILL premiers the five games that will make-up its 2005 product lineup.

After nearly fifty years of existence AVALON HILL will continue to remain true to its roots of creating strategy-intense games while broadening its horizons with the introduction of new and exciting titles designed to reach to its core customer base and beyond. Celebrated as the developer of such popular, high-concept game titles as Axis & Allies(R), Diplomacy(R) and Squad Leader(TM), AVALON HILL is published by Seattle-based game manufacturer Wizards of the Coast (NYSE:HAS).

--AVALON HILL weighs anchor on the 2005 year with a swashbuckling pirate adventure: Sword and Skull(TM). This track-style game melds strategic play with family entertainment in an easy-to-learn, but challenging, package sure to be enjoyed by young and old alike. Releasing in March, the game is designed for three to four players ages ten and older.

--Long time AVALON HILL fans are sure to be excited with the re-release of the popular Monsters Ravage America(TM) title, which has been revamped and repackaged as Monsters Menace America(TM). Playing off a campy, B-movie theme, Monsters Menace America finds individual players controlling both the diabolical creatures preying on North American cities and the military units that have been tasked to stop them! Monsters Menace America debuts in April.

--Classic war game mechanics meet an intriguing sci-fi storyline in Nexus Ops(TM). An aggressively competitive game in which strategic play is integral, Nexus Ops features stunning art, beautiful game pieces and a fantastical "other world" scenario in which the armies of battling corporations vie for a foothold on a distant, resource-rich planet. Nexus Ops releases this June.

--Veteran game designer Dr. Richard Garfield (creator of the popular Magic: The Gathering trading card game) returns to AVALON HILL and Wizards of the Coast to help launch a reprint of an old favorite he designed: RoboRally(TM)! This fast and fun game of battling robots will hit store shelves in July.

--Wrapping up the AVALON HILL 2005 lineup is a sure-fire hit that provides a new take on an increasingly popular theme: the world of high-stakes casino gaming. Coming on the heels of popular film and television properties such as Ocean's 11 and World Poker Tour, AVALON HILL's final title, Vegas Showdown(TM), lets players compete against each other to determine whom can best manage limited resources to build the most luxurious casino in Las Vegas. Vegas Showdown debuts in fall 2005.

In response to popular demand AVALON HILL will also reprint two great games under the Wizards of the Coast label: Guillotine(TM) and The Great Dalmuti(TM). These classic card games have been tapped by AVALON HILL for release in the late spring and early summer of 2005.

"Since the early 1950's the story of AVALON HILL has been inseparably tangled with the history of strategy gaming and, from a larger perspective, the evolution of serious adult gaming in general," said Linda Cox, manager for the AVALON HILL brand at Wizards of the Coast. "The games in our 2005 lineup come from the same great tradition that has made the AVALON HILL brand synonymous with strategy board games for nearly half a century."

For more information on AVALON HILL, visit avalonhill.com.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on the method of playing trading card games (TCGs) and produces one of the world's best-selling TCGs, Magic: The Gathering(R), as well as the celebrated Dungeons & Dragons(R) roleplaying game. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games, and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearance on The New York Times bestseller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com.

Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Sword and Skull, Monsters Menace America, RoboRally, Nexus Ops, Guillotine, the Great Dalmuti and Vegas Showdown are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Avalon Hill, Squad Leader and Diplomacy are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. All rights reserved. (C) 2004 Wizards.