HeroQuest (board game)
| HeroQuest | |
|---|---|
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| Game data | |
| author | Stephen Baker |
| graphic | Les Edwards et al. a. |
| publishing company | Milton Bradley / Games Workshop |
| Publishing year | 1989 |
| Art | Board game |
| Teammates | 2 to 5 |
| Duration | 90 minutes (per challenge) |
| Age | from 9 years
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| Awards | |
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Origins Award 1991: Board game graphics |
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HeroQuest is a board game based on fantasy role-playing games . The game by Stephen Baker was developed in collaboration with Games Workshop and was published by Hasbro label Milton Bradley in 1989 in various languages in Europe and Australia. In 1990 a modified edition appeared in the USA . Games Workshop sold all of the existing materials to Hasbro in April 1993; the game has not been produced since 1993.
Gameplay
In HeroQuest, each participant plays one of four heroes ( barbarian , dwarf , fool or wizard ), all of whom have different skills, and as this one searches dungeons for monsters (enemies) and treasures (rewards).
The background story of the game is based on well-known fantasy games and tabletops . However, here no armies compete against each other, but a small group of heroes in the typical role-playing style against a relatively manageable number of opponents.
A field on which several rooms are drawn serves as a game board; Three-dimensional furniture, doors, figures, etc. are gradually placed on the board depending on the situation. It is interesting that the players cannot see all the rooms at once (the game board is initially empty), but the rooms are only set up and equipped with monsters when they enter; so the players explore their surroundings. Another special feature of the game are the paintable plastic figures modeled by Citadel ( Games Workshop ).
The four players play as a group against the game master (who embodies "Morcar", the bad guy, called "Zargon" in the North American version); he has the game board, on which all rooms, traps, monsters, treasures etc. are listed. Fighting is done using a very simple and uncomplicated dice system. Purchasable equipment, artifacts and treasure maps are used for the gradual development of your own character.
Extensions and versions
In addition to the basic game, four expansions have appeared in Europe:
- 1989: Karak Varn (Kellar's Keep) , USA 1991
- 1990: Return of the Witch Lord , USA 1991
- 1990: Against the Ogre Horde
- 1991: Morcars Magier (Wizards of Morcar)
Two other expansions have only appeared in the USA:
- 1992: Barbarian Quest
- 1992: Eleven Quest
All extensions come with a new quest book, new overlays (which can be placed over the existing playing field to change its appearance) and other miniatures. In addition, additional playing cards (treasures, spells, ...) are included with some expansions. The expansions published in the USA are also equipped with female characters (barbarian or elf), which however do not increase the number of possible players, but only serve as a replacement for the male characters from the basic game.
The Adventure Design Kit was also released in Europe in 1990 . An extension with templates for copying, stickers and blank plans that enable you to build your own level.
The Master Edition (Advanced Quest Edition) published in Europe in 1992 - an alternative version of the base game with additional content - also contained the expansion The Dark Company .
In 2013, the Spanish miniatures manufacturer Gamezone Miniatures presented a Kickstarter project that HeroQuest was supposed to bring to the market in a modernized version on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the original edition. However, this project was ultimately canceled due to copyright problems. It was later possible to continue the funding legally through the Spanish website Lanzanos.com .
Comparable games
The production of the game was stopped years ago; the parts from the expansion sets have become coveted collector's items among game fans around the world. Games Workshop published Advanced HeroQuest in 1989 ( marketed by Klee in Germany as Herr des Schwertes ), which was intended to introduce players, ages 14 and up, to the world of role-playing games with extended rules. After the expansion The Terror in the Dark in 1991, this was also discontinued. A simplified version of it called Mighty Warriors formed a spinoff in 1991. In 1995 Games Workshop released another game with this gameplay, Warhammer Quest . Although it was initially heavily supported with extensions and is now sought after by fans as a collector's item, it has since been discontinued.
Nevertheless, HeroQuest is considered a spin-off of the tabletop games Warhammer (or StarQuest for Warhammer 40,000 ), so the HeroQuest world has striking similarities with the Warhammer Fantasy world . The dwarf festivals there are usually called "Karak ..." and "Karak Varn" (the first expansion for HeroQuest, which represents a location) can also be found in the east of the Empire of the Warhammer Fantasy world.
The gameplay and the success of Hero Quest inspired many other companies and licensors to bring their own board game variants onto the market, but often without great success. The following systems are worth mentioning:
- Lord of the Sword , von Klee Spiele (German version of the board game Advanced Heroquest )
- The DSA series (DSA - Castle of Terror, DSA - Village of Horror, DSA - Valley of the Dragon, DSA - Battle of the Dinosaurs)
- The legend of Sagor , a variant with electronic accessories
- Dungeons and Dragons , the latest board game from Parker
- Descent: Journeys in the Dark (German: Descent: Die Reise ins Dunkel ), published in 2005, meanwhile (as of January 2011) there are five extensions
- The board game - Doom , released in 2005, the computer game Doom 3 modeled
- The Claymore saga
- Dungeon Saga , published in 2015, now (July 2018) there are five extensions with new adventures, heroes and monsters figures: The Return of Valandor (dt .: Valandors return), The Infernal Crypts, The Warlord of Galahir, The Tyrant of Halpi and The Eye of the Abyss , as well as the 6-adventure expansion without new characters The Black Fortress .
- Warhammer Quest , published 1995 , reissued in 2016. (as a further development of HeroQuest)
Computer game implementations
Between 1991 and 1994 the British studio Gremlin Graphics Software developed a total of two computer games and an add-on under the Hero Quest license:
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Hero Quest (1991)
- Hero Quest: Return of the Witch Lord (1991, add-on)
- Hero Quest 2: Legacy of Sorasil (1994)
Web links
- www.heroquestworld.de large German HeroQuest website
- HQ-Cooperation German-language site with a well-attended forum
- HeroQuest in the Luding games database
- HeroQuest in the board game database BoardGameGeek (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated December 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/dmca/heroquest-25th-anniversary-canceled-submitted-by-private
- ↑ http://www.heroquestworld.de/sites/heroquest25/?site=heroquest25
- ↑ Hero Quest computer game series at MobyGames (English)
- ↑ Good Cause, Old Games: 1991's DOS Version Of HeroQuest
