In 2015 I was asked to write a column for new magazine about Tabletop Gaming. The column was to take a look at a historic board game each issue and so I was delighted to accept. We settled on the title "Tabletop Time Machine" and I continue to contribute to the magazine every issue. I wanted to choose something very special for the first edition and I wanted something that modern board gamers would identify with so I chose one of my all time favourites, HeroQuest!
By
the 1980's Fantasy Role Play Games with their tomes of rules and
complex combat systems had created a barrier for new players. Milton
Bradley (MB Games) was the number one name in family gaming at the
time and in partnership with Games Workshop they created a board game
that would smash through this barrier and make fantasy role play
gaming for everyone.
HeroQuest
was the brainchild of Stephen Baker, an employee of Milton Bradley.
He kept the rules simple and players could only choose from four
predefined characters; Barbarian, Dwarf, Wizard or Elf. This
eliminated the need for a character creation system and allowed
players to get involved quickly. Players were then guided through
each quest by a Games Master who revealed the dungeon and its
monsters one room at a time, using the miniatures and props supplied
with the game.
HeroQuest
was successful but short lived, the managing director of Games
Workshop at the time was Bryan Ansell, founder of Asgard Miniatures
and inventor of a game called Warhammer Fantasy Battle. In 1991
Ansell bought Games Workshop from its owners Steve Jackson and Ian
Livingstone and from that point on Games Workshop focused entirely on
the Warhammer product. HeroQuest was actually set in the Warhammer
world but the only reason you would ever know this is from a map
printed on the back of the “Return of the Witch Lord” expansion
pack.
As
a product HeroQuest was extremely well presented with fantastic
artwork throughout by Games Workshop artists Gary Chalk and Les
Edwards. The dungeon furniture and miniatures were detailed and
helped to create a believable world leading to HeroQuest winning an
Origins Award for “Best Graphic
Presentation of a Boardgame of 1991”. The game continued to have
some support through several expansion packs and each brought more
miniatures, overlaid room tiles, and a whole new book of quests. Even
with a static board design, these expansion packs and the versatile
layout of the rooms meant that playing HeroQuest always felt like you
were exploring a new dungeon.
The
fact that HeroQuest was a board game rather than a role play game
didn't stop the Game Master from being creative, there was an
official “Adventure Design kit” available for creating your own
campaigns and the initial quest book came with a blank template to
photocopy. The game was officially expanded to more traditional role
play style later when Milton Bradley brought out their sequel
Advanced HeroQuest.
HeroQuest
is still popular today with both players and collectors meaning very
high prices are paid for second hand copies and expansion packs.
There is also an “unofficial” 25th
anniversary edition launching soon from Gamezone.
HeroQuest's popularity today is justified; it provided its players
with a fantasy adventure and a slowly revealed environment to
explore, its world was inhabited by dangerous foes but full of
treasure, best of all it's a cooperative game that encourages us to
work together and reap the rewards of friendship both in and out of
the game.
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