EU vs. NA rule comparison

[mitchiemasha]

So this thread showss us 1 thing... Bob Bob was playing it wrong...

At least in a few places.

[Daedalus]

Was the NA rule included about the number of treasure searches that could be performed?

In NA, each Hero may search a room once for treasure, (4 total searches per room) in the UK version, I don't believe there is a limit? Or each Hero may only search a room or corridor only once for treasure?

I checked both rule books for the EU version, and I couldn't find any restrictions on Searching within them. I could swear I read somewhere that the EU ruleset limited Treasure searches to "once per room", though...

(Note that this would be "once per room" full-stop; i.e. one search in total, rather than the American "once per Hero per room". )

I was also surprised to find no specific mention of number of treasure searches per room in the EU (British) rules. The text from the Treasure entry on p.13:

Some of the Quests provide details about specific treasures which can be found by searching. If a character searches for treasure in the appropriate room the evil wizard player should reveal what treasure is hidden there. If there is no specific treasure listed for that room then the character player must take the top Treasure card.

With only this passage to work with, I think the assumption by EU players is that since taking a Treasure card is only mentioned if no specific treasure is listed for the room, then by default no Treasure card would be pulled if specific treasure is present. That results in only one treasure search being allowed for rooms with specific treasure. That limit is then globally applied to all rooms.

Figuring this EU interpretation against the specific four treasure searches per room allowed in the NA Instruction Booklet, I'm now led to reconsider how NA treasure searches are handled in a room with special treasure. Moved discussion to this thread.

[Decipher]

I've been on these forums for a while now and I've seen a few dozen threads comparing the two versions. The simple question of why always pops up when I read these threads. It makes little sense to me to have two different versions of the same game. I do not recall this being true for any other type of table top game.

[Count Mohawk]

I've been on these forums for a while now and I've seen a few dozen threads comparing the two versions. The simple question of why always pops up when I read these threads. It makes little sense to me to have two different versions of the same game. I do not recall this being true for any other type of table top game.

Consider the year the game was released originally and you may find your answer. If Milton-Bradley, or whoever owns them now, tried releasing a board game with different versions based on geographical location now, they'd surely fall afoul of players' ability to use the Internet to pick and choose the rulesets they preferred, rather than be artificially forced to play by the designers' intentions. Imports are also a thing.

However, EuroQuest was first released in 1989, with AmeriQuest coming shortly after in 1990. The Internet wasn't a thing back then; I think it only became mainstream around the turn of the century, which was almost ten years later. Before that, consumers didn't have anywhere near as much information available to them.

I'd like to think that the Euro version of HeroQuest was designed as sort of an early playtest beta, and they refined it in the intervening year before releasing it into the American market. However, that assumption makes the existence of separate expansions on each side of the ocean completely inexplicable...

[Decipher]

I've been on these forums for a while now and I've seen a few dozen threads comparing the two versions. The simple question of why always pops up when I read these threads. It makes little sense to me to have two different versions of the same game. I do not recall this being true for any other type of table top game.

Consider the year the game was released originally and you may find your answer. If Milton-Bradley, or whoever owns them now, tried releasing a board game with different versions based on geographical location now, they'd surely fall afoul of players' ability to use the Internet to pick and choose the rulesets they preferred, rather than be artificially forced to play by the designers' intentions. Imports are also a thing.

However, EuroQuest was first released in 1989, with AmeriQuest coming shortly after in 1990. The Internet wasn't a thing back then; I think it only became mainstream around the turn of the century, which was almost ten years later. Before that, consumers didn't have anywhere near as much information available to them.

I'd like to think that the Euro version of HeroQuest was designed as sort of an early playtest beta, and they refined it in the intervening year before releasing it into the American market. However, that assumption makes the existence of separate expansions on each side of the ocean completely inexplicable...

I think it has something to do with different companies making HeroQuest "their" own way, the way they knew how to make, market and sell games to make a profit in their region. Case in point, most European players prefer the EU version and American players prefer the NA version. I also ponder the question had they reversed the versions the other way, would HQ still have been such a big hit? Guess it wouldn't have mattered to us in the end, its whatever we newly introduced to that keeps us interested.

[Goblin-King]

I think EU players prefer the EU-version simply because it's the one they were first exposed to - and the same goes for US players. It's like that with a lot of things. Think about hearing different versions of songs.
But I also think it has something to do with availability. Yes, everything is available in here to print DIY-style, but really... Printing rules, maps, cards etc etc just to try a different version? No thanks. This is also part of the reason why players stick to their own regional versions.

Being Danish I admit to preferring the EU version as well.
HOWEVER...

The chaos spells are sorely missing from EU.
Multiple BP, especially on bosses are missing as well.
These are the BIG two.
Then we have a lot of small rules that are different, but for no good reason really. I wouldn't care much one way or the other.
I do think this thread could be used to make an ultimate rulebook with the best from both regions.

[Decipher]

I think EU players prefer the EU-version simply because it's the one they were first exposed to - and the same goes for US players. It's like that with a lot of things. Think about hearing different versions of songs.
But I also think it has something to do with availability. Yes, everything is available in here to print DIY-style, but really... Printing rules, maps, cards etc etc just to try a different version? No thanks. This is also part of the reason why players stick to their own regional versions.

Being Danish I admit to preferring the EU version as well.
HOWEVER...

The chaos spells are sorely missing from EU.
Multiple BP, especially on bosses are missing as well.
These are the BIG two.
Then we have a lot of small rules that are different, but for no good reason really. I wouldn't care much one way or the other.
I do think this thread could be used to make an ultimate rulebook with the best from both regions.

Sounds like an fantastic idea but a daunting task.

[Goblin-King]

Yeah, I never said *I* was gonna do it!

[sajungzak]

It wouldn't be too hard to do an ultimate rulebook.
A new thread has been created for deciding which rules to use.
Choosing between NA, EU, and houserules. http://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3174
An ultimate rulebook with the best from both regions could be hashed out there, but we need a list first. What needs to be done to bob-bob's list?

[Figomurphy]

Great thread.