Heroquest remake by Hasbro - The BIG discussion thread

[Kurgan]

YouTube channel La Guarida de Morcar has published a new video revealing lots of leaks about next releases of HeroQuest products:

https://youtu.be/wwWmG58pTmE?si=uhsfceX6-LP2TB8g

The video is in Spanish, so I have summarized the most relevant leaks in the following two new threads:

- JUNGLES OF DELTHRAK expansion topic thread.

- WIZARDS OF ZARGON expansion topic thread.

Additionally, the video also leaks the following highlights:

- Crypt of Perpetual Darkness retail version will be released at Q3 of 2024

- A pack with (I guess) female heroes from Mythic Tier adn maybe other extras will be released also at the end of 2024

- There are plans to release a revised version of the Basic Game in 2025, maybe including new stuff or quests (Dark Company??)

- This revised version is not confirmed for other languages than English

"Confirmed"?? Except maybe shifted to Q2-Q4 2025...
One theory is that the First Light cover debacle may have delayed things longer than we might have guessed.

I am 100% convinced we will have CoPD an WOM remake both in retail by the end of this year, based on the store leaks (that have never been wrong so far when it comes to HQ).

Otherwise the only "news" are that First Light is out in the UK (as of yesterday) and coming out in the rest of Europe Feb 20th-May 1st... first in English, then German, then Spanish. The Jungles of Delthrak "Crystal Inclusion" dice are still available in Europe, but sold out in the US (same story for the Rogue). The First Light dice remain a store leak for now, but I am expecting we'll hear about soon.

Hasbro (Iberia) Spain continues to say that Hasbro's Headquarters in the Central US makes the decisions about restocking and distribution of expansions, translation, and even whether to put the PDFs online, not them.

Cannes Games Festival is coming up soon, so I bet they'll showcase these things and possibly we'll hear about some of the new things officially by then? If not, there's always UK Gaming Expo, Bologna PLAY, GenCon, and LUCCA...

[Kurgan]

This just came up as of last night... remember how Doug Hopkins said "those aren't final" indicating the First Light dice shown at GenCon (to be fair, he didn't make clear he was referring to ALL of the dice, or just the movement dice)?

Well while many people (including myself) have unboxed copies of First Light from Target to show that the dice are the same as they were at GenCon last year ("ivory/bone" colored combat dice and white movement dice with red pips), the UK release of First Light through Hasbro Pulse happened yesterday and MULTIPLE people have reported that the dice they got inside the box were the same as the 2021/2022 dice... red with white pips.

This color scheme matches what the First Light Box cover, rulebook, and GM screen depict... which is red with white pips.

One theory was that perhaps Target has a mini, secret exclusive...

Another theory is that it was just a mistake at the factory, a last minute miscommunication. Perhaps they created a lot of these white dice and wanted to get rid of them, and guessed (correctly) that most of us hardcore fans would buy them up and wouldn't care that much, and once those run out they'll have red dice inside.

Perhaps Hasbro has a "waste not/want not" kind of philosophy. Encarmine & co. at Avalon Hill gave away the free factory rejected turquoise clear dice at GenCon (shame on anyone who scalped those) two years ago. Various "influencers" on Youtube got review copies of First Light with the old (rejected) Clark Mitchell cover.

Some people commented as if they were excited to get those as collectibles because they were misprints or rare. I just want to WARN anyone that is seeking these white dice for this reason... it would be the easiest thing in the world to fake.

White dice with black pips are probably the most common board game dice out there and a person could just paint the pips red very quickly and easily and substitute them into the box to fool people and charge a ridiculous price. Please don't fall for such a scam!

Also, if the box is sealed, with that very thick, very tight shrink wrap (with the dragon sticker on it) how would someone know what color the dice were inside? Even an X-ray wouldn't be in color!

Unless it came from Target on a certain date, it wouldn't be guaranteed to be the (presumably) "rare" white dice.

Anyway, if you think the whole thing is silly, it is. My thought was the white dice with red pips are inferior to the red dice. They make more sense to be red because that's the color they've always been, and every set (other than First Light) calls them "red dice." Plus the contrast between the two colors of dice makes them instantly recognizable even if a person were to be color blind.

Yes, it's true that Frozen Horror came with blue movement dice (and translucent blue combat dice), but no special directions are given for using those. They're clearly a bonus, like having extra character sheets (with blue instead of black/gray ink) or the red gargoyle included inside Prophecy of Telor (that COULD be used as a proxy to represent the demon form spell, though no instructions are given to use it that way).

If AH had intended to change the movement dice color for real, I think it would have made sense to represent them that way on the box, rulebook, and GM screen, and even a simple sentence in the rulebook saying that "movement dice" and "red dice" are meant to be the same thing, to ensure no confusion for future buyers of expansions. Combat dice this was no issue because they aren't referred to as "white dice" in the rules literature, so the fact that there are multiple sets with different colors combinations isn't a big deal even for the most green of newbie players.

Anyway, if accurate, I think this is an improvement. Will I hang onto these misprint dice? Probably, just as a historical anecdote... I have plenty of red dice.

[Kurgan]

https://dungeonmarvels.com/buscar?controller=search&s=heroquest

Would you look at that; a website offering the ability to reserve retail copies of not only the base game and the two expansions we've had announced so far (All estimated 31/01/22), but also The Frozen Horror (Estimated 31/08/22).

Sept 16, 2021, the day the leaks began!

[Kurgan]

First Light in the UK had red dice with white pips. I wonder what the European release will have ? Set to release Feb 24th (Cannes Games Festival is Feb 28th...).

[Kurgan]

Reports have come in that EVERY box of First Light in the UK and the rest of Europe so far have had red dice with white pips. Yes, at Cannes the set showing white dice with red pips was shown in the glass case (possibly at the table as well) but I would be shocked if France didn't also get the proper "red" red movement dice.

One guy on my youtube channel claimed that his set purchased at Target had a red dice with with pips. So maybe it was an attempt an an exclusive for a limited time just as a little wink and nod to early adopting fans like us, or maybe it really was a factory screw up... and now that the stock has been diminished, we'll just see red with white from now on (and no blue with yellow pips at Walmart anytime soon!).


Crypt of Perpetual Darkness is expected in retail July 1st. Wizards of Morcar is still iffy, but I'm going to say Dec-February (probably January, and maybe some will get it early if I had to guess) is pretty plausible at this point.

The Fanroll "First Light" limited edition dice are showing March 31st for the UK... 9 days, which probably means others should be getting it by now, if not by April.

And another rumor is that Hasbro Spain is getting more hires... maybe that will start to turn around the situation there where they have almost no support after stuff sells out?

We continue to wonder what the crossover will be... will it be HeroScape? Talisman? Some combination of things?

Many continue to wonder what the future of HQ holds. Doug Hopkins is fired up and ready to keep going at it until they can't anymore, talking about Alchemist's shops and Wizard's workbenches, bestiaries, and advancement systems in his list of things he thinks about. Hasbro is at least committed to the end of 2026, but that is always subject to change.