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HeroQuest returns at last in a new edition, available in the UK next year

By John Freeman on November 16, 2021

When Hasbro launched a bid to resurrect HeroQuest, the popular dungeon-crawling game first published in 1990 last year, British fans were understandably upset the new version of the game, first created in the UK was not, initially, going to be immediately available to fans here.

Eventually, UK customers were able to take part in the HeroQuest crowdfunding campaign last year exclusively through Zavvi. For £149.99, paid in advance, you were able to get the core game, two expansions, and a lot of extra content such as gender-swapped heroes, new heroes, alternate sculpt monster minis, new campaign books, cards, tiles, etc.

Zavvi have said UK backers should have their “Mythic Tier” orders will be shipped by the end of November – and standard edition the HeroQuest Game System Board Game will arrive in shops in the UK in January next year.

It isn’t cheap at an RRP of £99.99, but the price is similar to other board games with miniatures.

Avalon Hill HeroQuest Game System Board Game (2022)

Originally published in the 1989 by Milton Bradley, in collaboration with Games Workshop, HeroQuest was initially designed by Stephen Baker, who now lives in the United States, and was one of the first dungeon crawl board games to hit the market – and hugely successful, sold not only in and English language edition, but across Europe, too.

Original copies, featuring art by Gary Chalk and Les Edwards, sell for a significant premium to collectors. The game not only still has thousands of fans who remember it with great fondness, but spawned a one-shot Marvel UK licensed magazine in 1991, which we previously featured here.

Now, Hasbro have published a new edition, the HeroQuest Game System Board Game, available in January, through their Avalon Hill brand, which has an eye watering retail price of £99.99, although to be fair, it looks impressive.

As originally released, in the HeroQuest dungeon crawl board game, heroes work together to complete epic quests, find treasures and defeat the forces of evil. It’s designed for 2-5 players, ages 14 and up.

This semi-cooperative board game has one player taking on the role of Zargon, the Game Master, while four mythical heroes – Barbarian, Dwarf, Elf, and Wizard – team up in their quest for adventure in a maze of monsters and eerie dark dungeons.

Players can immerse themselves in the fantasy with the stunning artwork, and 65+ detailed miniatures. The game comes with 14 quests and has limitless replayability because players can also build their own quests and create their own stories.

So, gather friends together for an exciting night of tabletop gameplay in an epic battle of good and evil.

• The HeroQuest Game System Board Game goes on sale from 15th January 2022 and is available to pre-order now. It will be available in the UK from Smyths and AmazonUK.

It’s distributed by Asmodee UK and is also available to pre-order now from your local hobby store: GAME, Zavvi, Collectors Den, and, in Ireland, the Big Bang Comic Shop

• Follow HeroQuest on Twitter @heroquest | Heroquest Facebook Group

• Missing in Action: HeroQuest at Marvel UK, and the RPG magazine that never happened

If you need to know why HeroQuest is so great, then “Bardic Broadcasts” has all the answers

Thanks to Paul Dawson for the information on the Zavvi release

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.