HeroQuest Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review HeroQuest, the updated version of this classic dungeon crawling classic. Published by Hasbro, this new version of HeroQuest reprints this long sought after grail game.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. The early 90s, me sitting down at the table behind my GM screen, ready to control the minions of Zargon. By now I’m sure most of you have heard of HeroQuest. Originally published in 1989, this is the granddaddy of the tabletop dungeon crawler game. Back then, it was amazing and inspiring.

Fast forward to 2022, and publisher Hasbro has rereleased this long sought-after “Grail Game” thanks to their Hasbro Pulse crowdfunding platform. After 30+ years does the gameplay of this dice chucker still hold up? Let’s find out.

HeroQuest is a semi-cooperative board game where one player controls the minions of the evil wizard Zargon, while the other players (up to 4) control a team of iconic heroes. Barbarian, Wizard, Elf, and Dwarf are your options as players delve into the dungeon.

HeroQuest is a scenario-driven game, with some brief upgrading between missions. The basic round structure has each hero player taking a turn, followed by a turn for the Zargon player. On a player’s turn, they can both move and take an action. Movement is handled by rolling 2 6-sided dice, which are totaled up to your move value for the round (I hope you don’t roll snake eyes).

Either before or after your movement, your hero can take an action. These range from searching for traps, treasure, or secret doors, or fighting a monster/casting a spell.

Combat is handled via opposed dice rolls. The attacker rolls dice equal to their attack value, and the defender rolls dice equal to their defense value. Skulls are hits and shields cancel skulls. Most monsters have 1-3 hit points, and heroes have anywhere from 4 for the lowly wizard to 8 for the tough barbarian. Once a unit loses its last hit point, it is defeated.

The game ends when either all the heroes are defeated, or they achieve