Heroquest remake by Hasbro - The BIG discussion thread

[Kurgan]

Update, of course Joe Manganiello's Crypt of Perpetual Darkness (retail) is NOT released yet (originally release date was yesterday). It is expected August 1st now (pre-orders sold out). Also, the ONLY plastic in the box are 8 dice (6 black combat dice, 2 black movement dice with white images/pips on them) and the (slightly silvery/metallic this time) "Venim" dragon (same exact sculpt from Mythic tier). No furniture. No extra monsters. No new heroes or other mythic content. Yes it reproduces the quest booklet, the tiles (NO tiles from Kellar's Keep this time), unique cards, and the dragon mini. Same 10 quests with slight tweaks to text and some extra art inside the booklet seen so far.

Only "new" card is the Oil of Acid Immunity (as an artifact) that had no physical card in the original version. All cards have a metallic foil sheen on both sides (like MTG or Pokemon special cards I guess). There are duplicates of existing cards from KK/ROTWL and the GS that now have this wild new "90's heavy metal" artwork style on the fronts instead of the traditional art. But all of the unique CoPD cards have two versions... the new art version and an art style that matches the Mythic tier (only foil of course). Foil box, same size as SQT/PoT. $34.99. Images show it within the companion app, but as of today version 5.1 doesn't include it yet.

The only "mystery" is whether quests 2-10 have any changes (only quest 1 has been shown in unboxings and photo spreads).

It will be played at GenCon, according to whispered rumor Joe will be there at the con, but unsure in what capacity.

There's also a "convention exclusive" bonus quest for First Light being shown (presumably from the unreleased set of additional quests written by Stephen Baker?). Too bad Mr. Baker won't be at the convention. Presumably this quest will make its way to the public around that time as well (finally another digital quest?).

Wizards of MORCAR has been leaked in storefront pages already, but other than suspecting it's a bigger box expansion and coming out either at the end of this year (or maybe early next year, as the pattern seems to go) we don't know anything, as nothing is officially confirmed by Avalon Hill or Hasbro.

If the August date is firm, I'd expect we may see some people get it early, maybe in a week or two, if it's anything like past releases. Then again some Europeans are not getting it until September, so it might get delayed again for all we know.

[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).

Here's the archived link to that page... https://web.archive.org/web/20210916200955/https://dungeonmarvels.com/buscar?controller=search&s=heroquest for historical purposes


And now here we are... Wizards of Morcar remake is up for pre-order, with an expected release date of March 1, 2026! $49.99 this time, but looks packed full of stuff, just as I think Encarmine would have wanted it.

[wallydubbs]

Some co-workers and I are sponsoring a few angel tree gifts. One of the kids asked for heroquest. When I looked online I saw a few different versions and I'm unsure of what to get them. Is there a starter version?

HeroQuest First Light and/or HeroQuest The Game System are starter sets that come with the game board.
The Game System is more expensive but a lot easier to play.
First Light was made for retail stores like Target, it's a condensed version (different adventure) with cardboard cutouts instead of plastic moulds for doors, monsters and furniture. You can build the expansion packs off of either one, but it's a little more personally consistent with the Game System.

[Kurgan]

First Light is now available (in the US at least) at both Target stores AND Barnes and Noble. I've seen it now in Friendly Local Game Shops too.

When it comes to the other expansions, KK & ROTWL are getting harder to find, the Rogue is almost impossible to get MSRP, but the Monk, ATOH, JoD are plentiful. The countries that have had issues are Spain (where it seems like any expansion released prior to ATOH once sold out... is out of stock FOREVER in Spanish so fans are translating other editions themselves) and Germany (where suddenly expansions are out of stock and not replenished). Spare parts are becoming harder to find outside of the US too apparently.

Wizards of Morcar disappointed a lot of people because it keeps selling out. The next stocks apparently are coming to EntertainmentEarth in May, but you can't get it on Pulse (probably not ever), Amazon, BigBadToystore. But AH has encouraged people to check your FLGS for copies (and if they don't have it, get them to request more, the old "I can order it for you" really sends a message).
[Edit: Avalon Hill says the real reason is the Hasbro site hack that they had to recover from, less the tariff situation or the speculated reason of the Australian leak leading to stocks selling out too fast and them not being prepared for it. Wizards of Morcar is the focus of this year's GenCon at the end of July].

The PDFs for the quest booklet of First Light (so far only the "Instructions" are available that includes a small picture of Quest 1 that you can zoom in on to read) and Wizards of Morcar are not yet officially available. [Edit: Wizards of Morcar was recently released as a PDF on Hasbro's consumer care page for download. The reason for the delay was given as recovering from the website hack over a month ago.]

The Companion App's last version was 6.1, so it doesn't yet support Wizards of Morcar (and still has the incorrect stats for "Venim" the final boss of CoPD).
[Edit: Actually the correction for CoPD has been made in the App now, but NOT YET the PDF... no word on whether they will be updating the text of future printed editions of CoPD. Many are speculating that GenCon weekend will see the release of the App update for WoM but it hasn't happened yet of course.]

With the UK Games Expo taking place at the end of May, maybe by then we'll see some things updated. AH seems to have gone very silent lately. No more updates on the Avalon Hill Game Nights at local game shops... no more word about any new expansions or HQ editions. Nothing about a crossover project. No teasers from Doug. It just seems like they're hunkering down and working on whatever they're working on (my suspicion is a shift in focus to developing more Talisman).

[Edit: the only things from AH of note out of UK expo besides the Vampire themed Talisman expansion was a vague reference to the HQ convention quest which sounds like it might just have been Dread on the Horizon again, unless it was hushed up and secret which would be unusual... however GenCon sounds like it will have yet another new "digital" quest from Doug Hopkins rather than just a simple repeat of last year... with once again First Light serving as the assets for this quest and the other sessions focusing on Quest 1, probably, of Wizards of Morcar. The "big news" out of UK Games Expo were the giveaways... two cardboard illustrated "treasure chests" designed to look like mimics, containing either a brown version of the "door mimic" Dread Shifter and the other a brown version of the "chest mimic" Dread Shifter... enemies of course from Wizards of Morcar. Already these things are getting scalped. Will more copies be on hand for GenCon 2026? I would be shocked if they were not!]

The whole "December 30, 2026" support end date for the HQ Companion App worried a lot of people, but keep in mind that the Betrayal (3rd edition) App expired a long time ago and you can still download it and use it from the various App stores, no problem... which is unusual. In the past those Hasbro apps really do go away once they say support is officially ending.

As before they could renew it, or just let people keep using it. Hopefully of course they update it for any official commercially available products, again for those who don't have others to play with or (still) don't like playing as Zargon. It has improved a lot, but it still needs some improvements to truly a viable "replacement" for the human GM, I think all would agree.

[Edit: Updated a few things as of June 17th week]

[Kurgan]

Checking in this month... First Light seems to have disappeared from at least some Target stores (following a general markdown noticed some months back), and with no placeholder, implying perhaps it won't be restocked (?). It can still be found at Barnes & Noble game sections and also FLGS and is sold online however.

In general it seems that starting with Wizards of Morcar, HeroQuest releases are not appearing on HasboPulse website anymore and perhaps stocks are being allowed to run out... with the emphasis being on FLGS ("support your local hobby/game store") as the place to get HeroQuest from now on. This has bothered some people, but Avalon Hill has also repeatedly stated that you aren't "hurting the franchise/brand" by buying from say, third party online stores (not talking about buying used or from individual re-sellers of course in those cases the sale has already been made and Hasbro has already gotten paid for the copy). Some people are really concerned that their purchase goes to support the franchise they love and I can understand that, but apparently the difference in profit between a Pulse sale and a Walmart or Amazon sale is negligible.


Since the official release of Wizards of Morcar (again the slowness of re-stocking has been blamed on the Hasbro server hack more so than any supply chain issues or the Australian leak though those things probably didn't help much either) only a few things have come out or been mentioned:

Convention giveaways:
Dark green versions of the male Dread Sorcerer ('21 game system sculpt) were being given away in small boxes with the "First Light" branding on them as recently as SPIEL ESSEN this year.
As above, two cardboard boxes branded to look like "mimic treasure chests" one with a green eye and one with a blue eye were given away, each containing either a Dread Shifter door or a Dread shifter chest (identical sculpts to Wizards of Morcar, but in brown plastic, to mimic the "wooden" furniture of the game system).
A new "free quest" (labeled "online" like past ones) was printed off and given away for those who played... "Return of the Witch Queen" using First Light assets, and tying in storylines from Wizards of Morcar and First Light.

Official releases:
FanRoll is set to release (in December '26) one more installment in their "fancy dice" series for HeroQuest (all limited edition), this time for Wizards of Morcar. As with the last two releases (Jungles of Delthrak and First Light) the tin with the 6 alternate color combat dice and the snap together "rolling tray" bearing box cover art are sold separately.

"Dread on the Horizon: Miniature Collection" is set to release in 2027 (most sites say May, while some said March). This is a simple box with a transparent front panel (and "flame" background) showing 9 miniatures in three colors. While not labeled most fans have picked up immediately on this being a fulfillment of the demand for a 'villains collection' featuring "Named bad guys" from the game system and various expansions. The figures include (in gray): an armored dread figure representation of Skullmar (matching the artwork from the companion app), Belthor (see the companion app as well) a gargoyle with raised claws, and a female sorceress holding a book and a flaming skull (identity uncertain as she appears young and doesn't have any kind of skull face, possibly a generic magical villainess)... (in off white)... the witch lord (as he appears on the 1989/1991 ROTWL box art), a skeleton with a curved sword (reminiscent of the skeletal attendants of the Witch Lord on the 1991 ROTWL box/questbook art), and a zombie with a more traditional 1989/1990 look (including the "hogsplitter" two handed axe)... and (in green plastic)... an Orc shaman/sorcerer wearing a hood and holding a staff (reminiscent of Grak or possibly a reinterpretation of Grawshak who was replaced in WOM remake by his daughter Nyashak), a Goblin wearing a kind of "pineapple" headdress pointing and aiming a sling, and a beefier version of the Abomination (with turtle shell belt buckle and a large pincer hand as well as a jagged blade bearing a pose similar to the 1989/1990 Fimir). The only other detail in the box is a "lore scroll" tile that has a fluff "prophecy" text given in five languages (the sixth is simple a stylized script in English mirror writing... similar to the text found on the "Joe Maganiello" promotional GM screen given away at GenCon last year)

Announced for sometime later (December 2026?) is HeroQuest: Digital edition worked on by Nomad/Balor games as a steam release for PC (rumors of console ports since that's what happened with their previous "Talisman: Digital Edition"). It's got multiplayer capability and full animated 3d models (taking an art style from the Max Dunbar artwork of the 2021/2022 editions) as well as will have "homebrew support" from Mod.io. Other details are pending, but the steam page is expected to be updated hopefully with more languages and platforms (Talisman:DE was ported to consoles it's mentioned).

Things we're still waiting on (with no official date on any of these from Avalon Hill/Hasbro):
Wizards of Morcar still hasn't been officially added to the companion app...
First Light's questbook PDF still isn't officially available from Hasbro Consumer care website...
Dread on the Horizon and Return of the Witch Queen PDFs aren't officially downloadable from any Hasbro site...
The Purple/Green versions of the Adventure Design Kit giveaway from past conventions (identical to the brown version previously posted other than the copyright date and the addition of the "Caverns Board" template on the reverse side) still hasn't been officially posted to download from any Hasbro site...
Return of the Witch Queen isn't yet playable in the companion app...
Rogar's Hall isn't yet playable in the companion app...
the two alternate Druids (AtoH) and the alternate Knight (ROTDM) aren't officially selectable yet in the companion app...