EU vs. NA rule comparison

[Oftkilted]

My 1st edition British EU edition was red wood dice with gold pips, but they’re the exact same size as the combat dice.

[lestodante]

All the Italian editions I have seen had red 14mm movement dice with golden pips.
Some UK version I bought second hand had black dice instead but it is possible the previous owner swap them with another game.
All the sealed dice I've seen were in a plastic bag with a "made in germany" text and the movement dice were red, even the US Game-System features the same dice bag.
The only difference in the dice is the Game-System has 2 additional combat dice (a total of six+two red dice)

[Bareheaded Warrior]

We play that you can keep Treasure Card Potions between quests BUT the respective cards are removed from the Treasure Deck prior to the start of the next quest, so you don't get to stockpile them ... seems the best of both worlds.

Having now read this whole thread I'm wondering whether my new thread http://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5620 should perhaps be appended on to this one. Can you merge threads? The focus on mine is a little different as I am looking to fix problems rather than just describe differences but that could just be splitting hairs. Thoughts anyone?

[Davane]

My 1st edition British EU edition was red wood dice with gold pips, but they’re the exact same size as the combat dice.

It's worth noting that the red wood dice with gold pips are standard Monopoly dice, which is another franchise that MB (now Hasbro) were known for. For people who didn't know polyhedral dice, the six-sided dice were often referred to as Monopoly dice...

[Kurgan]

HeroQuest-Opoly !


Interesting stuff. My family had one of the "deluxe" editions (?) of Monopoly in the 80's, so it had big ("standard") plastic white d6's with the black pips. The houses and hotels were plastic and there was a tray for the banker and a little spinny plastic wheel for the title deed cards. My grandma had an old set that had wooden houses/hotels (and less variety in the metal tokens) but I don't remember what the dice were like, probably lost long ago and replaced by some generic dice. There was a super fancy limited edition advertised in magazines at the time that was a wooden box with drawers and velvet lining, and other fancy stuff, maybe gold pieces? Transparent or metal dice? Of course fast forward four decades and there's a monopoly edition for everything... hence Hero Quest!


A few years back my family also got one of those "game tables" that have a leaf (I guess you'd call it) in the center with laminated wooden boards that you can flip over and stack up, each for a different game. So you've got your classic chess/checkers board, backgammon, and one of them was Monopoly. It would be cool to make a Hero Quest one to add to it, even if it would be slightly smaller than the actual board, maybe with the logo shaved off to save space.

[Kurgan]

So to revive this old thread, but I've posted videos reading through the different rules...

North American Instruction Booklet (1990)
UK Rules of Play (1989)
EU (1990) Rules of Play compared to Remake (2021) Rulebook
Bonus! Japanese (1991) Rules of Play

[Credulous]

So to revive this old thread, but I've posted videos reading through the different rules...

North American Instruction Booklet (1990)
UK Rules of Play (1989)
EU (1990) Rules of Play compared to Remake (2021) Rulebook
Bonus! Japanese (1991) Rules of Play

I've enjoyed these videos (Full disclosure I've only watched one all the way through (1990 vs remake) but I have watched at least some of the others as well).

Thanks for making them.

Been doing a lot of thinking about optimal ruleset between EU and NA versions (I don't know the Japanese rules). Here's my thoughts so far:

i) NA monster body points - definitely the best and a big improvement in the NA adoption.
ii) NA Chaos Spells - also a big improvement in the NA adoption
iii) EU rule about not moving back through a square - makes no logical sense, but does enhance gameplay in my experience.
iv) NA rules on monsters picking up equipment and gold from a downed character are the best - EU rules I think it is way too easy to steal down characters stuff.
v) NA rules on visibility i.e. not just being able to see everything in a room.
vi) EU rules on when you can search from a visibility perspective. The visibility rules in NA version are a bit ambiguous by comparison and don't work as cleanly.
vii) NA rule on only being able to search for treasure in rooms. Rationale would be that anything that filters back the rate at which the heroes accumulate money is good, as I think one of the reasons people drift away from the game is their party becomes 'maxed out', and they lose interest without progression.
viii) Not in either rulebook but only one search for treasure per room for the entire party (again throttling back gold accumulation).
ix) EU rules on searching for 'secret doors and traps' as one thing. Rationale would be that having to search for 3 things (i.e. traps and secret doors separately) to clear each area slows gameplay down.
x) NA rules on searching for treasure in a pit trap - just a bit of fun! No secret door search rule though.
xi) For optimal effect falling block traps should be able to operate both in EU or NA style. Sometimes gameplay is best enhanced by the trap falling in the same square as the triggerer (like NA rule). Sometimes if it falls in the square with the arrow it best serves the quest (take Mellar's maze when in the EU version a player can become cut off from the rest of the party by the falling block trap with no opportunity to avoid this - lonely feeling trekking through a dungeon when a falling block trap has collapsed behind you).
xii) NA rules for disarming traps, as the EU rules are overpowered (Dwarf being able to disable any visible trap in a room or passage without it even being an action and the trap being 30+ squares away in the longest corridors is just silly). Sprung pit traps should still be able to be disarmed I think (as per EU). Sprung falling block traps should not though.
xiii) NA rules on potions including revival - helps players stay alive despite the tougher monsters in the NA version.
xiv) EU rules on selling weapons back eg. you can't do it like you can in NA version. Again rationale is throttling back gold accumulation.
xv) NA rules on spell scrolls - nice additional dimension to spell casting.
xvi) NA rules on no restrictions on each equipment card number. Also NA equipment like long swords is pretty important for building a beefier party longer term.
xvii) EU quest design standards on no greenskins and undead together - posted about this elsewhere but thematically works for me better.
xvii) NA rules on secret doors only opening when you step onto them.

Rules missing from both versions which enhance:
i) Moving next to furniture to search it - for those 'row of pit trap next to a treasure chest' occasions which don't work without forcing players to do this.

Thats all i've got for now. Let me know what you agree with and disagree with and why...

[Kurgan]

They can be a little dry! I suppose I could have broken them up by section in chapters. Another trick is to listen to them at higher speed (1.5x!!!).

Most of us end up playing some kind of hybrid edition. In many ways that is what the 2021 Remake is, as well.

Always Board Never Boring made a youtube video summarizing the differences (he grew up with EU)

[Bareheaded Warrior]

Credulous, I’ve recently published my own rules, in my signature below, mainly to keep me honest (so my players don’t think that I am just making stuff up as I go along, although sometimes…) so this is a great opportunity to do a comparison!

i) Agreed I use NA monster body points but am considering the following Goblin/Skeleton 1BP, Orc/Zombie 2BP, Fimir/Abomination/Mummy/Chaos Warrior 3BP; Gargoyle 4BP and some of the “special” bosses that are not on the list would have 3-4BP?

ii) Agreed

iii) You may well be right on this one but I’m not sure that I could justify/explain it!

iv) Downed Heroes – a blend/meld/merge - I agree that the NA version is clear but unfortunately doesn’t cover the situation in which there are no other Heroes or monsters in the room/corridor with you when you die – so in that instance I would suggest that your gear is lost as per EU version.

v) Visibility – what a can of worms, not to be opened again, see other topics on this subject, if you dare and if you have time on your hands!

vi) Agree that NA rules are ambiguous but see visibility above

vii) Agreed

viii) Agreed

ix) Agreed – EU rules combining search for 'secret doors and traps' is better than NA but I go one further and combine all three into a single search

x) Disagree – no searching in a pit trap, the only thing present is spikes and you just found them the hard way

xi) Agreed

xii) Agree about EU rules for Dwarf being daft and OP but I have changed the disarm to be in line with my new combined search rules

xiii) Agreed

xiv) Agreed

xv) Agreed – but changes to spell/mind rules mean some spell scrolls are less effective if cast by low Mind Heroes

xvi) Agreed – but I have capacity limits, but have longsword, hand axe, spear from NA / EU rules

xvii) Agreed

xviii) Covered by new search rules

And finally

i) Agreed – under new search rules there is a loot action for chests (and tombs) that are excluded from the general search but that loot action does require you to be adjacent

So, on the whole, I think I mostly agree!

[TheLastChaosWarrior]

My UK movement dice were identical size to the cd.