Heroquest remake by Hasbro - The BIG discussion thread

[Kurgan]

I wonder about the Armory... if it's NA, does that mean no Bracers, Cloak, Spear or Hand Axe? That would be a shame. Equipment cards aren't strictly necessary but would be a nice expansion idea (and yes, release the dang thing in Europe, thanks!). Of course it doesn't matter much, since we can always just modify the rules to our liking as we always have to get the best of all worlds in our game sessions (and somebody will photoshop up their own expansion).

I wouldn't be surprised if we did get a new digital/mobile game version of this, but how sad would the rest of the world be if that was the ONLY love they got on this 31st (?) anniversary remake.

I'm in. To be fair, I knew I would be before we knew what the timer was actually leading us towards.

I have a solid history with KS, but know very little about Pulse. For example, I don't know how long it typically takes to produce a unique offering like HQ with as many moving parts as it includes--particularly with expansions up front. I also don't know if this will ultimately be a one and done, or if these projects can lead to retail editions with new expansion content and the like. I did see that HQ was "Only available through HasLab", but again I don't really know what that means big picture.

I am disappointed for those fans outside the US who would have wanted in, and similarly disappointed that this likely means that the unique content previously released in other markets probably will not be available--at least not affordably in the US. I, like others here and elsewhere, assume this is all about licensing, but it seems short-sighted to not make the project broader in scale thus allowing reprints of all the content from from previous releases available to everyone. I get that it wouldn't make much sense for a company like this to use a tool like KS when they have a proprietary analog... But I cannot help but feel that's limiting the potential of a project like this one that is relying heavily on nostalgia. Nostalgia that is absolutely not localized to any one particular market.

I've got mixed feelings about the rules being a "Faithful Reproduction" of the original. On one hand, I know this will make a lot of people quite happy. On the other hand, I started house ruling stuff almost from the beginning, so I know I was never overly satisfied with the original RAW. The simplicity of the system at least allows for that quite easily.

I don't know if I'm excited or not really. I'll be glad to finally have a pristine copy again, and with KK and RotWL, some expansions as well, (My original copy w/Expansions, is long gone other than the box, dice, and board), but I really would have liked to have seen more legacy content. That is, content that would receive a similar spit-shine and re-release into the wild.

Ahh, well... Again, I'm still all in.

I'm okay with rules... we can throw out the "official" rule book and substitute your own. The components are the same. What, are they going to start hosting "official" Habros HeroQuest Tournies where they insist that you have to use Courage and Borin's Armor the "canonical" way? I wouldn't stand for that, but otherwise (I wouldn't worry, this isn't Pokemon or Magic: the Gathering, thank goodness), you'll just have more ignorant noobs thinking it was always impossible to search corridors for Treasure or shuffle the deck each and every time you draw Treasure. They seem to be making it difficult for anyone outside the US to get this, but if they did, you could just use the EU rules easily enough. Design and print up your own Equipment cards, presto.

They don't seem averse to creating new miniatures, so why not throw in some Ogres, wolves, elves, evil sorcerors? With the similarity in style to WizKids and the tiles looking virtually identical, you wouldn't have to do that much work to "port" the Elf and Barbarian quest packs to the new coat of paint. Just my opinion. But yes, the general public would have no clue about any of this.

Bard... if you can hear me... ! You've got to educate these folks on HeroQuest lore! Spin forth your memes, wave your magic beard, and influence them to get Hasbro to get cracking and meet our reasonable demands! (and yes, you still get to name your character)

[Kurgan]

Larger board (quad-fold), furniture is all sculpt and no cardboard, and the Armory is on cards like the EU version. Everything shown is a digital mock-up at this stage though.

I wonder what those minis are going to end up looking like, because they don't look injection-molding friendly. Sad to see the game with no GW license, but I do like the new goblins at least.

Early hype has already got the total to 150k. Reaper kickstarters make around $3M (give or take a few hundred thousand), but aren't the same product. And also on Kickstarter and not...whatever this Hasbro crowdfunding page is.

I missed the new Equipment Cards (even though they were in pictures I posted TWICE, )... I'm cool with that, though there's also something fun about seeing a big board with all the stuff you can buy to pass around (same effect can be achieved by putting all the cards into a binder I guess, if a little less board-gamey). "Broodsword" jokes can continue, though tinged with bitterness if there's never an official release in the UK!

Sorry for the spam guys. The only thing more impressive than the funding growth was the growth of this thread.

[Stig]

I think it’s worth mentioning the Blood Bowl story as there are interesting parallels and a hint as to what might come next. Blood Bowl was also a cult game out of print sine the 90’s. Games Workshop reskinned the original game, with zero rule changes, in 2016, just like Hasbro have done now. It surpassed all expectations and made millions instantly. Four years later they’re releasing a new version with the rules tidied up.

I’m with everyone who feels relieved but at the same time as if nothing has happened - canon remains and our homebrews continue. Maybe they’ll do a revised version in a few years with proper rule tweaks.

[Pancho]

There’s nothing to interest me here really, except one thing, and that’s a real biggy; a brand new official HQ quest book from Steve Baker himself

The new miniatures and art are unfortunately incompatible with what most of us already own, the style does nothing for me. I’d pass on all of it even if I lived in the US, but the new quest pack alone is massive cause for celebration. This shouldn’t be overlooked because even us fans living outside the US will be able to get hold of it, by hook or by crook.

Stephen Baker's questbook The Profecy of Telor is a stretch goal to 2 Million USD!
I am one of the guys who is very disappointed with the new miniatures style!
Artworks are ok but still not as good as the original ones.

I was looking forward to seeing your take on all this. Seems pretty similar to mine.
I allowed myself to get excited when some of the black and white art was leaked, but overall the new aesthetic is almost completely incompatible with the old stuff. I’d definitely keep the board and the dice, and probably use the doors and furniture, but send the minis straight to ebay. The weapons especially are too silly, and break the immersion in the game for me. Old school fantasy had a realism that the new mini designers just don’t get.

But saying that, there does seem to be a real divergence with the new colour art and the black and white stuff. The colour art continues the cartoony theme, but I think people like you could make really good use of the B & W images. What I have seen of that so far looks compatible with our games.

2 million for the Prophecy of Telor stretch goal looks achievable I think. Even if it isn’t, Baker has already written the quest pack, so I can’t imagine it would go completely to waste. I think enthusiasts like us will see it somewhere down the line, we might just have to be patient.

[Goblin-King]

I'm surprised at all the negativity. I would have assumed a faithful remake would be what people wanted, but everyone is complaining that it's TOO faithful?

This is why we can't have nice things

Anyways, I see a lot of people complaining about the price of the actual game(s). $100 for the base game or $150 for base game + 2 expansions.
If people expected this to cost $22 like the original game in stores, they obviously haven't been in a game store for decades.
All miniature games are expensive. I dare you to find a similar game that isn't in this price range.
Most modern games have a much higher production value than back in the day.

Gloomhaven - $140
Descent: - $80
Resident Evil 2: TBG - $100
Conan - $120
Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress - $150

I'll gladly go on record and say the price is pretty fair for what you get.
Is it expensive? Yes! But is it unreasonably compared to similar products? no!

[Anderas]

That said, Conan for example had loads of miniatures, but at a mediocre quality. I rather pay a buck more and have good quality.

I'm not excited, but the main reason is that I can't get it here. Content seems ok enough. Models fit in style with other modern games, so you can mix and match and use painted models from another game...

[Pancho]

I'm surprised at all the negativity. I would have assumed a faithful remake would be what people wanted, but everyone is complaining that it's TOO faithful?

This is why we can't have nice things

Anyways, I see a lot of people complaining about the price of the actual game(s). $100 for the base game or $150 for base game + 2 expansions.
If people expected this to cost $22 like the original game in stores, they obviously haven't been in a game store for decades.
All miniature games are expensive. I dare you to find a similar game that isn't in this price range.
Most modern games have a much higher production value than back in the day.

Gloomhaven - $140
Descent: - $80
Resident Evil 2: TBG - $100
Conan - $120
Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress - $150

I'll gladly go on record and say the price is pretty fair for what you get.
Is it expensive? Yes! But is it unreasonably compared to similar products? no!

I don't think the negativity is largely down to the price though.

After reading posts here and on FB, the negativity seems to be more down to;
- US only release. Bit of a kick in the teeth for everyone else, including, you know, the country that actually invented the game
- Kickstarter. Pretty unethical for such a big company to be using a platform intended for independents and smaller businesses.
- the miniatures. Not compatible with the existing game due to size/bases/cartoony style, everything's grey and will require paint (fine for me, but will annoy lots of gamers), and some pretty bad designs overall.
- Lacking in love of the original game. Seems like a bit of a cash grab. No real effort to capture the look and magic of the original, and looks like it will be a straightforward reprint without even fixing some of the obvious bugs and problems but just using worse art and figures. I hope I'm wrong about this last one. The fact that they asked Steve Baker to write some quests could show that I'm wrong.

[Crusader]

I was so excited watching the counter tick down the final seconds but then gutted when I saw that shipping was to the US and Canada only. I live in the UK and bought the base game and all the expansions when I was a kid. I have lovingly played it on and off ever since, creating loads of homebrew stuff for it. I realise that it may eventually be released in Europe but I can't wait!
I don't know anyone personally in the US who could get me a copy and I started to wonder if anyone at the Inn could help me and other British get us one, such is my love for this game. Us interested Brits need to let them know that we want a copy. I know shipping will be expensive but as long as it's not ridiculous I'd be willing to pay it.
Many thanks to BStewart 80 for sending an email, I really hope it's a positive reply.

[Goblin-King]

I don't think the negativity is largely down to the price though.

After reading posts here and on FB, the negativity seems to be more down to;
- US only release. Bit of a kick in the teeth for everyone else, including, you know, the country that actually invented the game
- Kickstarter. Pretty unethical for such a big company to be using a platform intended for independents and smaller businesses.
- the miniatures. Not compatible with the existing game due to size/bases/cartoony style, everything's grey and will require paint (fine for me, but will annoy lots of gamers), and some pretty bad designs overall.
- Lacking in love of the original game. Seems like a bit of a cash grab. No real effort to capture the look and magic of the original, and looks like it will be a straightforward reprint without even fixing some of the obvious bugs and problems but just using worse art and figures. I hope I'm wrong about this last one. The fact that they asked Steve Baker to write some quests could show that I'm wrong.

Absolutely - My point was that the price is the one complain I thought was unwarranted. It did pop up here and there, but not as much as "US only" of course

- the miniatures. Not compatible with the existing game due to size/bases/cartoony style, everything's grey and will require paint (fine for me, but will annoy lots of gamers), and some pretty bad designs overall.
- Lacking in love of the original game. Seems like a bit of a cash grab. No real effort to capture the look and magic of the original, and looks like it will be a straightforward reprint without even fixing some of the obvious bugs and problems but just using worse art and figures.

But really, I wonder... Is it even possible to make this game today without people complaining?
A straight up 1:1 reprint with original components? Why would I buy that?
Entirely new modern ruleset? It's not the same game anymore.
Un-detailed miniatures in the style of the original? What boring ugly miniatures!

I mean... You'd be hard pressed to even find 4 players here at the Inn who play HeroQuest the same way

[Anderas]

But really, I wonder... Is it even possible to make this game today without people complaining?
A straight up 1:1 reprint with original components? Why would I buy that?
Entirely new modern ruleset? It's not the same game anymore.
Un-detailed miniatures in the style of the original? What boring ugly miniatures!

I mean... You'd be hard pressed to even find 4 players here at the Inn who play HeroQuest the same way

This!
I love minis low on details, because they paint faster
I love a little update to many details, but not the same update like the others. facepalm
I won't buy a 1:1, I have it already. But well, I am happy they do this because that widens our player base.

I did a check on TMBase, though, just to see if Hasbro was strategically securing the "Heroquest" Brand outside the US.
They didn't. It's up for grab.

https://www.tmdn.org/tmview/#/tmview/re ... =Heroquest