HERO QUEST crowdfunding campaign opens in the UK (and possibly Europe)

Hasbro's Hero Quest relaunch crowdfunding campaign has launched in the United Kingdom, thanks to a partnership with UK retailer Zavvi.

Hasbro unveiled their reboot of the game on 22 September with a crowdfunding campaign via their HasLab crowdfunding service. The game sailed past its target of $1 million within a few hours and is currently just short of $2 million. The success of the crowdfunding campaign means that the game will ship with two expansions, extra miniatures (including alternate-gender versions of all characters), more dice, one brand new character type and a whole new, second campaign from the original creator of the game.

Currently included in the "Heroic Tier" is:

• The original board game, complete with 76 miniatures: 8 Heroes*, 1 Sir Ragnar, 1 Gargoyle, 1 Dread** Sorcerer, 4 Dread Warriors, 4 Skeletons, 2 Orcs, 2 Goblins, 2 Mummies, 2 Zombies & 3 Abominations***.
• Furniture and scenery: 5 closed doors, 16 open doors, 1 tomb, 1 sorcerer's table, 1 rack, 1 weapons rack, 2 tables, 2 bookcases, 1 cupboard, 3 treasure chests, 1 fireplace, 1 throne, 1 alchemist's bench, 4 rats, 10 skulls.
• Quest and Rule book, board (at a larger size than the original), dice, character sheets, cheat sheets and tokens.

The "Mythic Tier" comprises all of the Heroic Tier and in addition (so far):

• The Return of the Witch Lord expansion, featuring 8 Skeletons, 4 Zombies, 4 Mummies, 1 Witch Lord and 1 Mentor figure; reinforced and iron doors and new Quest and Rule Books and tiles.
• The Kellar's Keep expansion, featuring 3 Abominations, 6 Goblins and 8 Orcs; reinforced and iron doors, new Quest and Rule Book and tiles.
• The new halfling Warlock hero class, available in male and female variants, by artist Shauna Nakasone.
• 6 extra combat dice.
• 2 extra Skeletons and 2 extra Goblins.
• New Prophecy of Telor quest book by original Hero Quest creator Stephen Baker.

The total Mythic Tier package now therefore consists of 118 miniatures, 4 Quest books and 3 Rule books in total.

There are further bonuses which are waiting to be unlocked (for no extra charge), which no doubt the influx of new European orders should help with. The known extra unlocks so far comprise:

• A new quest book, The Spirit Queen's Torment, by Teos Abadia.
• A new Druid hero class, available in male and female variants, by artist Nikki Dawes.
• A new quest book designed by actor and celebrity gamer Joe Manganiello.
• A revised optional rules system.

There are a few weaknesses, though. Zavvi are offering the Mythic Tier only, not the standard Heroic one. Although Zavvi's small print insists that the campaign is open for European backers as well, some EU-based fans had noted that they haven't been able to get the system to accept their overseas addresses. There is also some exchange rate shenanigans: the Mythic Tier in the US crowdfunder is $150, which translates to £116.10 as of this morning, but the UK cost via Zavvi is £150, which feels a bit cheeky. That is, however, still cheaper than backing the US campaign and importing the game to the UK manually.

Some may also balk at the price for what is effectively a reprint of a 31-year-old game, albeit with all-new models, especially as some of the things fans have most requested, such as modernised rules, are not yet unlocked. The Mythic Tier is considerably more expensive than a copy of Gloomhaven which, although it has far fewer miniatures, certainly has more gameplay depth and much greater longevity.

Still, nostalgia is a powerful thing and I suspect the campaign will continue to do well. It runs until 6 November with delivery anticipated for late 2021.

* The 8 heroes comprise the Barbarian, Elf, Dwarf and Wizard in both male and female variants.

** For copyright reasons, "Dread" is the term that replaces "Chaos" from the original game.

*** Also for copyright reasons, "Abominations" replace the Fimir from the original game.

Rebooted HERO QUEST smashes crowdfunding target

Hasbro launched a crowdfunding programme for a new version of classic 1989 board game Hero Quest yesterday. They asked for $1 million to get a new version of the game funded and out to market in 2021. At just under the 24 hour mark, they sailed past the target. With the campaign expected to run until 6 November, it looks possible that the campaign might pull in several multiples of the target.

Additional stretch goals will be unlocked as more funding comes in. At $1.2 million, the game will gain a new Warlock character class courtesy of designer Shauna Nakasone. At $1.4, $1.6 and $1.8 million the game will add new models (dice, skeletons, goblins respectively). At $2 million the game will add an entire second, new campaign called Prophecy of Telor, designed by original Hero Quest creator Stephen Baker.

Additional stretch goals will be unveiled after that, with designer Nikki Dawes working on a Druid character class and Teos Abadia developing a further campaign called The Spirit Queen's Torment, which intriguingly will allow orc heroes to join the party.

Controversially, the crowdfunding campaign has only been open to contributors from the USA and Canada. Hero Quest was originally a British game, developed by British designer Baker and co-designed with British company Games Workshop. The game launched first in Britain (ahead of its American release) and was an immense smash hit here, selling hundreds of thousands of copies in the UK by itself. The game was also immensely popular across Europe (particularly in Spain) and Australia as well.

With the game fully funded, it will be launched as retail project via Hasbro's wargaming and board gaming arm, Avalon Hill, in late 2021 and will presumably be available worldwide. The first two of the original game's expansion packs, Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch-King, are also being rebooted, with a possible eye to the other expansions following.

More information on the game will be revealed at the virtual PulseCon 2020 this weekend.

Hasbro unveils new HERO QUEST project

 Hasbro has unveiled their fresh take on classic 1989 board game Hero Quest.

As related previously, Hero Quest was launched in 1989 as a collaboration between Milton Bradley Games (a subsidiary of Hasbro) and Games Workshop. The game saw a band of heroes braving a dungeon, depicted on a single board which would be adjusted with scenery into numerous different configurations. The game was a revelation at the time for its detailed miniatures and intricate scenery (particularly the impressive furniture). The game was a bestseller in both the USA and across Europe, although sales dropped off in 1992 and the game was cancelled after several expansions and a revised "advance" edition.

The new game is true to the original but has some updates to the gameplay to make it more streamlined and user-friendly. It has also removed any Games Workshop IP-derived creatures and characters to avoid potential legal issues, with "Chaos Magic" becoming "Dread Magic," Chaos Warriors becoming more generic "Dread Warriors" and Fimirs becoming a new race of aquatic monsters, the "Abominations".

The game has several improvements, such as using full plastic models for the doors (rather than card), plastic engraved dice and plastic bookshelves and fireplaces. The game will also allow players to play as either male or female versions of the four main characters.

The game is being crowdfunded via Hasbro's inhouse Hasbro Pulse Lab system. Players can preorder the base game for $99.99 or the "Mythic Tier" at $149.99, which includes additional miniatures based on the guy who gives the party its missions, Mentor, and the evil Witch Lord Zargon (who replaces Morcar, who is now a Chaos Lord in Warhammer). It will also include two full expansions based on the originals: Return of the Witch Lord and Kellar's Keep.

If the game exceeds its funding goal of $1 million, it will unlock additional bonuses like a new character class, the Warlock, and an entire new campaign book from original Hero Queste designer, Stephen Baker.

At this time of writing, the game had exceeded $200,000 in funding in less than 45 minutes, so it's quite likely the game will hit and then smash its goal.

Unfortunately, Hasbro Pulse does not ship directly to Europe, Asia or Australia, and only to Canada with hefty shipping fees. Given the absolutely titanic popularity of Hero Quest in many of those territories - and this is a British game in the first place! - that is disappointing.

Some fans have also expressed dismay at the price and the lack of any updated gameplay, noting that contemporary dungeon crawlers like Descent, Imperial Assault and, especially, Gloomhaven and Frosthaven have much more gameplay and many more ideas than Hero Quest at a cheaper price point.

More details should be released at Hasbro's virtual games event this weekend. They are currently targeting a late 2021 release date.

Hasbro resurrects the classic HERO QUEST board game

Hasbro has resurrected the long-defunct Hero Quest board game IP and is set to make a big announcement on the game on 22 September.

Hero Quest is a board game franchise that was created in 1989 by Milton Bradley Games in collaboration with Games Workshop, who provided the game's excellent miniatures. The game was set in a traditional fantasy world and saw up to four players create an adventuring party and enter a dungeon, which was laid out and prepared by another player serving as the Games Master. The game used a clever modular board design to provide for hundreds of possible dungeon layouts without spilling over an entire desk (something modern board games sometimes struggle with), and it was possible to play the dungeon adventures as stand-alone quests or sequentially to form a long-running campaign.

The original Hero Quest game was supported by a substantial number of expansions: Kellar's Keep, Return of the Witch Lord, Against the Ogre Horde, Wizards of Morcar, The Frozen Horror, The Mage of the Mirror and the Adventure Design Kit. The board game and expansions sold extremely well for three years, but the line ran out of steam in 1992 and was cancelled. Games Workshop published their own version of the game, Advanced Hero Quest, along with an expansion called Terror in the Dark, in 1991 but these were not as successful as the main line.

There were also two successful video games based on the board game, and MB and Games Workshop collaborated again on a science fiction iteration, Space Crusade (1990).

The Hero Quest design paradigm inspired many later games, including Warhammer Quest, Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Zombiecide and Gloomhaven.

Unsurprisingly, the game's popularity (it sold hundreds of thousands of copies in its original run) has made it a prime target for restoration in the modern board games market. Gamezone Miniatures, a Spanish company with the licence to make the game in Spanish, tried to mount a reprint campaign in 2013 but fell afoul of legal concerns. A second attempt was made a few months later, but this was shot down by Moon Design Publications, publishers the HeroQuest pen-and-paper RPG. Chaosium took over the RPG and renamed it QuestWorlds at the start of 2020, which may have allowed others to stake a claim to the Hero Quest name (although this is unclear).

In July Restoration Games stepped in to trademark a project called Hero Quest: Legacies, although they noted at the time they did not plan to immediately develop a project.

Given that Hasbro have now set up a Twitter account and website, it appears that they have fully secured the Hero Quest name. They also have the design work IP from their prior acquisition of MB Games. They don't have the rights to use any of the Games Workshop-specific creatures or factions, so don't expect to see Fimirs or Chaos Warriors in the new game, but beyond that it looks like all systems go for a resurrection of a beloved, classic game. It'll be interesting to see what form it takes.

A game designer's perspective on HERO QUEST 25th Anniversary Edition

Gamezone Miniatures, a Spanish company, are crowdfunding a new edition of the classic Hero Quest boardgame, as related previously. Gamezone have repeatedly said they have the legal rights to do so, and have been in consultation with Hasbro about it.

However, game designer Mike Selinker, a veteran of both Hasbro and Paizo, pours cold water on these claims in an interview with Gaming Trend and a discussion board on Board Game Geeks. In both cases, he points out that Gamezone may indeed have the Spanish trademark for the game, but this does not automatically allow them to re-release the game without Hasbro's permission. The fact that they are doing so, and that Hasbro has not yet stopped them, hints at another possibility: that their Hero Quest game will have substantially different rules to the original game and will merely be using the same name and the same generic fantasy archetypes.

If so, this will be disheartening to the majority of backers, who no doubt committed funds on the basis that this would be a simple remake of the original game, rules and all. Selinker's conclusion is that the end product will be either infringing of Hasbro's copyright (if Hasbro don't stamp on it first) or will be de facto fraudulent (the game they deliver will not be the game backers were expecting), with neither alternative appealing.

It looks like this controversy will run and run, at least for a while.

HERO QUEST returns! Again!

After their previous crowdfunded resurrection of Hero Quest floundered on the shoals of iffy legal licensing rights, Gamezone Miniatures have returned with a new attempt. This time they are using Spanish crowdfunding site Lanzanos to fund the resurrected game.

In all other aspects, this is the same deal as their previous Kickstarter attempt: a new boxed set, with all Warhammer/Games Workshop-troubling lore and design references removed. The rules, spells, characters etc all remain the same, but the new version of the game will improve on the original in some respects: the cardboard scenery and obstacle markers will be replaced by plastic miniatures.

The campaign runs for another 23 days, but the game is already funded to the tune of 402% of its original goal. As more money is raised, more features will be added to the game (including extra cards, character sheets, models and so on). Assuming no more obstacles, the game should be available to buy at the end of this year.

HERO QUEST maybe not returning after all

Just a few days into its campaign to resurrect the classic 1989 board game Hero Quest, Gamezone Miniatures have run afoul of IP laws and had the project suspended.

So far the only official word is that the Kickstarter is the subject of a copyright dispute, with no word given on what parties are involved. The most likely possibility is that Hasbro, who own the Hero Quest brand name and the original game rights, were not impressed with Gamezone's claim that they would be shipping the game outside of Spain and other countries where they still have the licence. According to Gamezone, they had been in talks with Hasbro about officially licencing the game to other territories (presumably for a fee); Gamezone saying they could ship anywhere in the world effectively meant they were saying this was not required and the game could be delivered regardless of talks with Hasbro, which Hasbro may have taken a dim view of.

An alternative possibility is that the famously litigious-even-when-they-don't-have-a-leg-to-stand-on Games Workshop decided to get involved. Whilst Hero Quest was created and owned by MB (owned by Hasbro), Games Workshop created the lore for the original game and manufactured the miniatures, some of which were drawn from its Warhammer IP. The only Warhammer-specific monsters in the original game were Fimirs and Chaos Knights, neither of which were apparently going to feature in the new version; all of the other creatures were 'standard' elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, undead, gargoyles etc. Removing the few (and always very vague) references to the Warhammer world from the setting and plot description would also be very easy.

Even if Gamezone's project is unable to continue, hopefully the fact that people were willing to back it to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars sight unseen might mean that the project could be continued by Hasbro themselves. More news as it appears.

HERO QUEST returns

Back in 1989 Games Workshop joined forces with MB Games to produce Hero Quest, a miniatures boardgame which pitted four heroes against the forces of a diabolical wizard. The game drew on the Warhammer world and setting for inspiration, though foreknowledge of that game was not required. The game was immensely successful in Europe and a minor hit in the USA, spawning both an SF spin-off (Space Crusade, based on the Warhammer 40,000 setting) and numerous expansions to the base game. Now it's coming back.

The original Hero Quest and its monsters, board and scenery.

Gamezone Miniatures have the licence to reproduce the original board game in Spain, as well as adding various new features to it (the 'scenery' markers in the original game were cardboard tokens, but in this release will be small 3D models). Gamezone are also talking to other IP holders (Hasbro own the Hero Quest IP in the UK) about rolling out a wider release. However, the game will be available (in English) from Spain for international orders.

The Kickstarter has already been an enormous success, raising over $320,000 of a mere asked-for $58,000 in just a day. It's expected that the appeal will comfortably raise more than $1 million before the Kickstarter closes in 30 days' time.

 

A rough mock-up of the new version.