In the sixth year of Avaloncon, ASL finally relinquished its title as the biggest event, being outdrawn by the newcomer Air Baron 118 to 110. The later used a multiple heat format which would become increasingly popular in attracting more entrants due to its greater flexibility and lesser time commitment. History of the World remained in the three-digit club marking the first time that the conference had held three events with at least 100 entrants. ASL had now begun a steady decline that relinquished its role as top dog at Avaloncon. Whether that was due to its greater time commitment and competition from other events or simply the existance of dedicated ASL conferences elsewhere remains a matter of some debate.

Nevertheless, the number of events continued to expand and with them came opportunities for more individual winners as triples now become the benchmark needed to assure top conference honors. Ken Gutermuth (Baseball Strategy, Title Bout, Candidate) and Bruno Sinigaglio (Afrika Korps, Bulge '81, Waterloo) both hit three-baggers for the first time, relegating six Double winners to also-ran status. Six defending champs held serve (Blackbeard, Kremlin, Maharaja, Panzer Leader, Republic of Rome, Title Bout). While the focus on Avalon Hill games drew ever larger fields, event inflation resulted in culling an increasing number of the smaller events from such annual listings as the one below.