Price and reissue

[bastianbux]

As I've documented in my introduction thread, I originally owned HeroQuest and KK and RotWK. When I moved away to college I didn't feel like taking them with me since I couldn't image that anyone would want to play it there (I was probably crazy-wrong in that thought) and so I left all my HQ stuff in care of my main HQ buddy (also my best friend). Who moved into some sketchy apartment, some bad stuff went down, and he had to quickly move and left a LOT of his stuff behind... including my HQ stuff.

So a decade later: I've been trying to reacquire at least the base game, but as you all probably well know... it's crazy expensive on eBay. A complete set usually goes at least three times as much as the game originally cost me. I'm just not comfortable paying that much on something I used to own.

But that got me wondering: can't Games Workshop see what a ton of money they would make if they reissued the original version of HeroQuest? If every day many people are spending three times (or often more) than the original listed price... it seems like Games Workshop could mark up the reissue a bit (maybe double the original price?) and make a pretty penny selling them online so that they wouldn't have to worry about distribution to stores.

Is there some reason I'm not aware of why that wouldn't be lucrative for them? Also, isn't HeroQuest's 25th or 30th anniversary or something coming along? Seems that would be an ideal time to make it happen.

[Blackthorn]

There's actually a petition to have it reprinted. Here's a thread I started about it.

This question has been asked and answered many times, and the usual reasons why people say it wont be reissued are as follows:

1) The ownership of the design elements are divided between Hasbro (who purchased Milton Bradley) and Games Workshop.

2) There are several games currently in print that are similar in concept such as Descent, DungeonQuest and the three Dungeons & Dragons board games. These all use more "modern" artwork and game mechanics like modular boards and "meatier" rules.

Personally, I don't think any of those games are as awesome as HeroQuest, but there's a part of me that doesn't want to see it reissued. It would undoubtedly be different somehow, and there are probably enough old copies of HeroQuest floating around to meet the demand. The games I listed all sell for around $60 and you can still pick up a copy of HeroQuest for around that price, perhaps a bit more.

As I said in the thread I referenced, "to me HeroQuest is like a great actor or musician who passed away in their prime, forever preserved at the height of their greatness."

[bastianbux]

It's actually not currently possible to get a complete HeroQuest on eBay for $60. The lowest I've seen in the month I've been tracking it has been in the 70s range, but usually it goes for 80-something or even as much as $110-ish. It's crazy. Even paying $60 for it is a bit crazy for me, but I'd do it. For some reason I just can't see paying $70+ though.

As far as Games Workshop co-owning it with Hasbro... if a deal cannot be struck with Hasbro, couldn't Games Workshop release something called "Warhammer Quest Basic" or something that is for all intents and purposes HeroQuest but with new artwork? I really don't care about the art so much as the gameplay.

[mako-heart]

I'm all about the fellowship of the game. Friends playing and discussing game options, but i LOVE HQ art!!

[Blackthorn]

It's actually not currently possible to get a complete HeroQuest on eBay for $60. The lowest I've seen in the month I've been tracking it has been in the 70s range, but usually it goes for 80-something or even as much as $110-ish. It's crazy. Even paying $60 for it is a bit crazy for me, but I'd do it. For some reason I just can't see paying $70+ though.

Well, if HeroQuest were on the market today, I'm certain it would sell for around $60. If you're patient, a copy will show up for that amount. There are currently 461 copies listed for trade on boardgamegeek.com and you can see if any of the members who have them want games that you own. Some of those trade listings are old, but it doesn't cost anything to make a trade offer. There are also some good deals on the boardgamegeek marketplace from time to time. There's not much there currently, but I bought two game systems and all four US quest packs for $200 there a few months ago. I've also seen two complete game systems sell for around $50-60 on shopgoodwill.com, believe it of not. Copies still turn up in thrift stores occasionally. I haven't found HeroQuest yet, but I did score Battle Masters for $2 once at a Goodwill store.

[Blackthorn]

As far as Games Workshop co-owning it with Hasbro... if a deal cannot be struck with Hasbro, couldn't Games Workshop release something called "Warhammer Quest Basic" or something that is for all intents and purposes HeroQuest but with new artwork? I really don't care about the art so much as the gameplay.

They could, but they probably won't. A more likely scenario is a company like Fantasy Flight Games licensing it like they did with Games Workshop's Talisman, but they'd be competing with their own games that have a similar theme such as Descent.

[bastianbux]

It's actually not currently possible to get a complete HeroQuest on eBay for $60. The lowest I've seen in the month I've been tracking it has been in the 70s range, but usually it goes for 80-something or even as much as $110-ish. It's crazy. Even paying $60 for it is a bit crazy for me, but I'd do it. For some reason I just can't see paying $70+ though.

There are currently 461 copies listed for trade on boardgamegeek.com and you can see if any of the members who have them want games that you own. Some of those trade listings are old, but it doesn't cost anything to make a trade offer.

Yeah, I just went through an awful experience there (I only recently found out about that place and joined about a month ago) where some guy posted on the forum there that he was looking to sell his copy to some fellow member rather than posting it on eBay. I responded and said I was looking to buy one, but wasn't keen on paying much more than the original sell price. He PM'd me and said that he'd be willing to do some trades for it. I don't own a single other board game besides Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Adventure Board Game... which I bought only because people said it was the closest thing to HeroQuest. I have basically no interest in any boardgames but HeroQuest. Anyway, I did mention that I had a lot of SNES and NES games which are now worth a lot of money and would consider trading two of those for HQ. He said he was down for that deal and in the process of deciding which two of my games he wanted... informed me that he actually HAD listed his HQ copy on eBay and someone had just done the Buy It Now thing, so he wasn't able to go through with the trade. :/

Anyway, I'd love to use BGG's trading feature... but I don't own any other boardgames because I have no interest in any but HQ. I'll give that goodwill website that you mentioned a shot!

[Blackthorn]

I saw that set for sale there as well. I actually offered him $75 and he countered with cash plus my copy of Castle Ravenloft. We almost had a deal, but then I found out that his set included painted miniatures which was a deal breaker for me. I have had success removing paint with Simple Green, but it's tedious work and I wouldn't want to do a whole set.

Even if you don't do the boardgame thing, it pays to keep an eye on the marketplace there. I hope you eventually score a copy.

[drathe]

We have an online classifieds Website called kijiji here in Canada. I've placed a few HeroQuest want-ads on there a year-and-a-half ago and purchased a couple decent and a couple excellent sets, plus expansions (KK and WL, sadly no MM or FH) for $20-$40 from people who answered the ads and couldn't be bothered to put them up on eBay. If you have something like that in your area, it couldn't hurt to try.

[Blackthorn]

If you're looking for an affordable game that's similar to HeroQuest there's Dungeon Venture. It was previous a print and play game, but they've just a released a production version. You can read more about it here.