Heroquest – eat my skulls Gargoyle!

I’m forever kicking myself here – coming across a copy of Heroquest the original board game in an op show for the ludicrously amazing price of $3 and passing on it.
Yes I went back a couple of days later after some long thought on why I should grab it and of course it was gone.
I would have loved to paint up all the pieces once again but more than anything, I would’ve loved a copy of just the board itself because that was just about all that was left of my original copy and that board went through quite a lot of miniature related adventures in its time..

I mean I could buy the fairly new 2021 version of course..

When you’re a kid and a killer commercial comes on during the Saturday morning cartoons..

That’s exactly what happened. I mean how could I not want a copy of Heroquest after watching this in action?

I loved my Choose Your Own Adventure books and in the early 90’s when this landed I was also huge fan of solo player RPG’s – great stuff like Fighting Fantasy books, Lone Wolf of the Kai series and also Tunnels and Trolls (which turned out to be a little harder than I remembered the last time I took one for a spin). And so after just one glimpse of this Heroquest commercial on that fateful Saturday morning, the board game was on my Christmas list in a heartbeat.

I played it…a few times

I forget if I got it for Christmas, a birthday or I just saved up to buy it myself but I do remember I spent far longer painting the pieces in Heroquest than I did actually playing the game. And when properly setup according to the official rule book with the furniture and monsters in place, I always opted to play as the rampaging Barbarian or the stubborn Dwarf. The Elf bored me and the Wizard? He’d be wiped out in a single hit before he could finally unleash that fireball that really didn’t do much. No much better to have a battle hardened character skulking the corridors looking for things to slay and loot to…uh…loot.
But equally as enjoyable was breaking out the model paints and going to town on the orcs, goblins, undead and of course the heroes themselves. I wasn’t a great miniature painter (nothing’s really changed there) but I thoroughly enjoyed bringing the pieces to painted life.

But then over time..

Typical kid – I lost the pieces. The Heroquest Orc horde got trampled, broken and ultimately turfed in the bin. The dog chewed a couple of skull dice. And then I moved onto Warhammer Fantasy which meant thanks to the original High Elf/Goblin set, my collection of fantasy minis almost quadrupled overnight meaning the HQ mob got shifted to the shelf.

But since I was still big on RPG’s, the board did get a lot of use. I mean look how gorgeous it was!

Yeah no wonder why I kicked myself hard at passing at the op shop – what a glorious piece of 90’s gaming wonder right there.

However not all is lost brave heroes – if you grew up with this great bit of dice rolling and axe swinging kit, there’s a few more options nowadays..

YOU CAN BUY ANOTHER BOARD BY ITSELF

Obviously nowhere near a bargain as paying three bucks for one or getting the whole thing for about $20 at a garage sale, if you absolutely must have a board then there’s a few you can search for on eBay. Or if the classic board is too rigid, how about this? You can get a Heroquest mat board from Aliexpress instead and roll it up when not in use!

THEN WHEN YOU HAVE A BOARD, YOU CAN PRINT OUT SOME PIECES VIA A 3D PRINTER!

I knew my Ender 3 V2 3d printer would come in handy one day – now you can print your favourite Heroquest pieces at your earliest convenience! Now depending on your printer, expertise and patience you might get a fantastic replica or like Fred the zombie here, something full of obvious lines when up close. Still, it’s a ready to go printed zombie from my childhood, so how could I not give it a go?

What’s even better about the 3d printed avenue is that you can try and track down the original models or go with new and improved one. This Heroquest reborn Fred the Zombie is a perfect example – welcome to the new age Freddie!

If you’re into these things for the painting then printing them out as you go makes things a lot easier – although if you’re anything like me you too will have a pile of things to paint that seems to grow out of control every week..

If you’re keen on checking out what Heroquest printed options are available, I’d suggest starting with a great design collection like this one.

OR OF COURSE YOU COULD BUY THE LATEST VERSION OF THE GAME

Yes be still my adventuring heart, Heroquest is back in action. Er..print. Round bases on the pieces, a new lick of paint but the Barbarian/Dwarf/Elf/Wizard choice is still there good to go. Is it as good as the original though? That’s something I’ll have to look into but it certainly does look the goods.
(And comes with a price tag to match naturally – but reliving your childhood was never meant to be cheap now was it?) I spotted a few copies in Myer a couple of days ago but any good games store should have them available and there’s always online (Via Amazon US or Amazon AUS as a suggestion.)

But now that it’s back, will I?

Sigh, I’m leaning towards no. Because I may just be the only one in the house keen to play it. Jackson and Sophie like video games over board games (nothing gets in the way of Roblox apparently) while my wife would take one look at this new version of Heroquest and instantly report that it was too complicated and not for her (even though she too had a copy of the original in her household growing up.)
Knowing me I’ll play it by myself a couple of times before wanting to use the set as things to paint…and never get that finished, ever. Then the cat will chew the dice and…

Although if a new or original version for three bucks pops up at an op shop again..

Still it’s nice to see something I loved so much back in action again. Can we do this one next then?