Throwback Thursday: HeroQuest

HeroQuest is the best boardgame I ever played as a kid. Nothing even comes close. Just look at that box art! It looks like Dungeons and Dragons in a box! Oh wait a minute...

......it is Dungeons and Dragons in a box!

One player acts the Game Master and controls the various traps, monsters and horrible scenario incidents that can take place. The base game came with a massive scenario book with 14 pre-designed scenarios and then there two extra supplements, one focused on the Dwarf hero and the other on the Elf hero. Items, skills and spells could be used from game to game giving you a sense of leveling up your heroes and adding a cohesive thread through each of your games. 

The heroes are Barbarian, Elf, Dwarf and Wizard, each with their own card detailing unique stats. The plastic minis representing the heroes and monsters weren't exceptionally detailed but they did the job. Each hero was easily recognizable, each monster was clear as to what they were, but it was the terrain that was the clear highlight. 

Doors could be opened or closed, with different rules for each, all sorts of cool tables, bookshelves, alchemy workstations, forges, etc. The easy to use board combined with the awesome furniture and tokens allowed for endless customization in scenarios. My favorite was #8, Bastion of Darkness, that had the heroes start in the dungeon and then stage a breakout from the heavily fortified barracks. It doesn't hold up to elaborate D&D campaigns, but for a game aimed at 10 year olds, it's incredible stuff!

I would spend many afternoons running games with just one friend or maybe two, and we'd adjust the rules to make it cooler. Like adding a MP system instead of the scroll system for magic use, or designing or own heroes and monsters. How awesome is that back of the box photo now, in a world of games infinitely more complex available on a phone? Nothing will ever beat the sheer joy of rolling dice and moving miniatures around a table with some of your friends, shrieking in joy or screaming in anguish at your dice. 

HeroQuest is awesome to this day.