Hasbro Layoffs: Impacting Avalon Hill: future of HeroQuest?

[lucapaschi]

I think the risk is for HQ to go down the same road as the original 90s release: getting cut because margins are too low. Think about that: a box of HQ, even if manufactured in China, has lots of components - even too many, think about the themed furniture we've got that was not necessary, the dice sets, the translucent minis, etc.
Compared to a, don't know, Uno deck of cards, a MTG booster pack... there's no comparison. They're literally printing money. We can only hope that, despite this, the HQ line is still profitable enough for it to be an AH staple, at least for a few more years.
Seems like they're quick in dropping what is not working as intended, see Heroscape. The funding mishap might also be another thing that affected the AH team directly.

[TheLastChaosWarrior]

I always lived in hope we would see AH do a DQP to finish the full set, but it looks unlikely. Luckily we have a proxy for it in the unofficial one listed on this site, and it is really good.

Im gessing they are remading ATOH to be the DQP...

Mmm, that's a good point. I hope so.

[Markus Darwath]

I actually hope not. Back in the day of the original HQ, I had heard of AtOH and WoM, and assumed that they were the DQP and WQP that just hadn't been released in the US yet... I did not know that the EU rules were significantly different from US rules, just that they called Zargon, Morcar. Since I now know that those expansions were not the same, and that significant work had previously been done on the quest packs, I want all four... the adaptations of AtOH and WoM., plus the completed (and updated) release of the originally planned DQP and WQP. Ultimately we should also have character specific quest packs for all the new hero classes as well, but we'll probably have to settle for "related" expansions, such as how the Rogue Heir's backstory feeds into MotM and RotDM... assuming of course that Hasborg doesn't prematurely scuttle the whole franchise like Milton Bradley did.

[LucaRocks]

My main concern first and foremost is ATOH. All we have seen is a box, which could mean a lot of things both good and bad. It could be a sign of yes it's def coming out or it could mean we just produced a cover to gauge interest and will release it if enough people want it.

I tend to think it is already produced and ready to go, but you never know. Molds cost money so if they have them already, they will use them. But if they want to scale back, they may do a limited run of ATOH and release some Ogre minis in a pack one day with a couple new quests. Hasbro are the kings of reuse. So getting more mileage out of existing molds is their number 1 priority. I mean, next year they are releasing 4 two packs of Wolverine for his 50 anniversary. Most of those figures are reuse is some form.

[TheLastChaosWarrior]

As an owner of the original ATOH and WOM, I can say that the first was a really good quest pack. Excellent games and as the evil player for most of the time, I actually could do some real damage to the Hero's with the Ogres. I liked the Ogre Minis as well.
WOM however was only five quests and just didn't seem finished or polished enough to be called a full quest pack.
It had the feel of something released just before a company went belly up, which was prophetic as it turns out.
I'm expecting much better if AH get to re do it.

[Vorimir]

WOM was made with the leftovers of the cancelled WQP. It had the four evil wizards with spells and the Storm master as the first boss but of course less quests, no introductory ones, no new monsters, etc... But the bones were there.

The DQP had ogres in the desing notes as monsters but it had some new ones. Thats why I think they are mixing them in the same quest pack. I dont like the idea but that is what I belive they are doing, adding three dwarven themed introductory quests, the dwarf female and some dwarven treasures or artifacts and tadaaaaah,the new and shinny DQP: ATOH.

[lucapaschi]

No, WOM was completed before work began on the WQP. They only shared a sprue of minis as molds are expensive and they were going to reuse the european ones they had already.
The same is tru for the DQP: ogres are there because they had to fit the ATOH sprues in it. Of course there were not enough monsters for a pack.
It’s possible they’ll reuse some WQP/DQP bits on the redesign or on the news packs: the animal companion for the Frozen Horror introductory quests is a possible instance if this happening.

[TechnoBiologist]

GWS already has Warhammer Quest. But if they entered into some kind of agreement to manage HeroQuest... it would seem to provide the perfect true entry level game point that can also serve as its very own thing. And a person can easily move their eyes along the shelf to see the more "advanced" more hobby focused editions to decide what they want to try next.

I don't think that the license would be at a better place at GWS. They are not know to be open and tolerant towards usage of their IP outside their own product line and one of the first things that they might do is demand this website to remove a lot of content.

[lestodante]

WOM was made with the leftovers of the cancelled WQP. It had the four evil wizards with spells and the Storm master as the first boss but of course less quests, no introductory ones, no new monsters, etc... But the bones were there.
The DQP had ogres in the desing notes as monsters but it had some new ones. Thats why I think they are mixing them in the same quest pack. I dont like the idea but that is what I belive they are doing, adding three dwarven themed introductory quests, the dwarf female and some dwarven treasures or artifacts and tadaaaaah,the new and shinny DQP: ATOH.

This is NOT correct.
ATOH was produced in 1990, WOM in 1991.
WQP and DQP were stated to be released in late 1992, early 1993.
The US designers of WQP and DQP received spare parts from WOM and ATOH respectively, to take inspiration from and create new questpacks following the new Hasbro guidelines (3 solo quests, a female hero and so on...).

[Vorimir]

Damn, it seems I was wrong. I had 1993 in mind when i thought about WOM release.
But in the end I still think Hasbro is completing it to make it also the WQP for the 2021 edition.