In 1990 Avalon Hill released the first Historical ASL (HASL) module, RED BARRICADES. Charlie Kibler's groundbreaking design covered the battle for Stalingrad around the "Krasny Barrikady" (or RED BARRICADES) ordnance factory on two historically accurate maps. RED BARRICADES offered a new ASL experience, introducing the concept of Campaign Games (CGs), multi-scenario battles spread over several days, alongside traditional scenarios depicting discrete historical actions. Three CGs and seven standalone scenarios covered the epic struggle for the heart of Stalin's city. The CGs presented a special challenge, as players not only directed their forces in action, but also built and customized their orders of battle, agonizing over how best to spend their precious resources to achieve overall victory in a grueling campaign. Charlie now brings us RED OCTOBER. This follow-on HASL adds two new maps, expanding the playing area covered in RED BARRICADES to include the "Krasny Oktyabr" (or RED OCTOBER) factory complex. RED OCTOBER features three CGs and seven scenarios.

The two modules are combined into one package: RED FACTORIES. The source files for RED BARRICADES are no longer available, so Charlie has taken this opportunity to paint all four maps in a consistent style to assure they match. The original RED BARRICADES material has been updated, taking into account accumulated clarifications and errata. Over the years a great deal of follow-on material has been released for RED BARRICADES, including a fourth campaign game. This material has been consilidated to create an expanded version of RED BARRICADES as part of the new release.