Ye Olde Inn

I just noticed that there are two versions of the old Elf Quest Pack. If you browse Ebay, for instance, you can come across photos of boxes with different titles.

One reads "ELF QUEST PACK":



I personally own one of these boxes.

The other one, which I don't have on my shelf, reads "QUEST PACK FOR THE ELF":



So here comes my special question for the most pedantic HQ retro fans out here: is there anything known about differences in the box contents? And do you know which one of these versions was the earlier one?

So far, I have not seen anything similar for the Barbarian Quest Pack. My own box has the title "BARBARIAN QUEST PACK". Does anybody here have a box with a different title perhaps?

The story goes that it was due to fear of a lawsuit from the "Elf Quest" prior trademark (a fantasy comic book series) that the title was changed on the box mid-run (and presumably also the quest book inside), otherwise no changes were made. The gameplay and contents should still be identical to the first 1992 release. Which is the more rare one? I don't know, maybe the "Quest Pack for the Elf"? That's just a guess.

No info on any variation of the '92 Barbarian pack.

These were originally US only releases (assuming the NA ruleset) and only officially available in English (European players instead got to buy ATOH and WOM in various languages). EQP/BQP also had a very short run apparently, having been rushed out at the end of the franchise's lifespan. Hence they were inadequately tested before release, and the planned Wizard and Dwarf Packs were never finished. Sadly, I also hear that many unsold copies of BQP & EQP were tossed into the shredder (though collectors were happy about that since they could be sold as rare for so long!). This helps explain the extra care taken by Avalon Hill in tweaking these packs (whether in digital format or in MOTM's case, inside the box) from their original versions.

Any other historians want to chime in?

Thanks, Kurgan, for this very enlightening information!