HeroQuest was first published in 1989 by Games Workshop. There has been several re-releases, with the most recent one, HeroQuest: First Light coming out soon in 2025 by Avalon Hill. The game is all about a fantasy adventure with heroes – a barbarian, an elf, a dwarf, and a wizard – who team up together to face off against the gamester who players Zargon. This version is mostly for new players, but will include some new things for experienced players. The game looks to retail around $50, and will be stored in a small box, different from other versions. The copy I received is not 100% portrayal of the final copy version, the box art has changed, the dice color is different, and possibly some other design choices differ from the final as well. Nevertheless, it was a good way to get a feel for what’s to come.
What’s in the Box?
- 1 Double-sided Game Board
- 1 Game Master’s Screen
- 4 Hero Miniatures
- 1 Dragon Miniature
- Pad of Character Sheets
- 31 Monster Pieces (8 orcs, 6 goblins, 3 abominations, 4 dread warriors, 1 dread sorcerer, 1 gargoyle, 4 skeletons, 2 zombies, and 2 mummies.)
- 15 Furniture Pieces (2 tables, 1 throne, 1 alchemist’s bench, 3 treasure chests, 1 tomb, 1 sorcerer’s table, 2 bookcases, 1 rack, 1 fireplace, 1 weapons rack, and 1 cupboard.)
- 41 Cardboard Tiles (1 double-sided stairway tile, 2 double-sided dungeon grate/double blocked-square tiles, 12 double-sided skull/blocked-square tiles, 6 double-sided pit trap/blocked-sqaure tiles, 8 double sided falling block trap/blocked-square tiles, 3 double-sided pit trap/secret door tiles, 4 double-sided falling block trap/secret door tiles, 1 double-sided Mark of Zaragon/Eye of Mentor tile, 4 rat tiles.)
- 21 Dungeon Doors (5 closed, 16 open.)
- 102 Game Cards (4 hero character cards, 4 reference cards, 24 treasure cards, 23 equipment cards, 14 artifact cards, 12 elemental spell cards, 12 dread spell cards, 9 monster cards.)
- Quest Book featuring 10 Quests.
- 6 Combat Dice
- 2 Movement Dice
- 52 Plastic Movers
How’s it Play?
Just like previous HeroQuest editions, one player plays as Zargon, who is trying to destroy the realm and heroes while also serving as the game master. The others play as the heroes, trying to answer Mentor’s call by questing through 10 quests. The rulebook has blue sections highlighted for Zargon and red sections highlighted for the Heroes.
NEW TO HEROQUEST? – You play 10 sequential game sessions called quests using the quest book. Each session gets harder and takes 1-2 hours to play. Heroes can acquire treasures, which can be used to gain weapons and armor between quests.
BEEN HERE BEFORE? No rule changes from the 2021 HeroQuest Game System. But this does include 10 new quests, a dragon miniature and game card. The Dwarf’s starting weapon is a handaxe instead of a shortsword. There are 4 unique hero miniatures, and there is a double sided game board with differentiated layouts.
Heroes use the attack dice according to the weapon they wield. Defense strength can change according to spells, environmental effects and items, but if a hero’s strength gets to zero, the hero perishes, with a chance to be revived. Mind points shows wisdom and intelligence and resistance to magical influence. You use the red dice for movement, rolling 2 of them to move. All of this information is included on your character card. You should fill out a character sheet and track body points on it as well.
Zargon sets the game board, and as you play through will change things according to the heroes actions following the quest book. Zargon knows all. Corridors are populated by line of sight, while the rooms appear all at once.
Players each take a turn starting with the all the heroes, and Zargon ends each round, this continues until the quest is achieved or the heroes exit the quest. It’s wise to have the barbarian sit to Zargon’s left, then the dwarf, followed by the elf, and then the wizard. Heroes can perform one of the following actions: Attack a monster, cast a spell, search for treasure in the room, search for secret doors in this room or corridor, search for traps in the room or corridor, disarm a trap on a square you move onto. Movement is done by rolling 2 red dice and moving the number of squares, one at a time into the rooms, but you can never move diagonally. You either move and then take an action or take an action then move.
Attacks – You can attack a monster adjacent to you, rolling the number of dice shown on your card. Each skull is a hit. The defender rolls defense dice with the number shown on their card, and each shield blocks a hit. Hits that are not defended count against that monster’s body points. Once a monster’s body points drops to zero, they are defeated. With ranged attacks you use line of sight to determine if you can attack in that direction.
Casting a Spell – Each spell can be cast once per quest using line of sight of casting spells. When setting up, the wizard chooses one of the four spell groups and take those cards, the elf chooses one other group, and the remaining 2 groups go to the wizard.
Searching for traps – Some traps trigger when a hero walks on top of that space without disarming them. Usually they are hidden until sprung or disarmed. This action can only be done if no monster is in line of sight. Traps can be hidden in treasure chests or furniture, so many times its worth checking before just doing stuff. You can jump known traps by having 2 movements still left, you then roll a combat die, and you are successful with any result besides a skull. A skull causes you to spring the trap and suffer damage.
Disarm Traps – You need a tool kit and know the location of the trap. A combat die is rolled. A result of a skull causes you to spring the trap. On a result of a black or white shield, the trap is disarmed.
Search for Treasure – Zargon looks in the quest book to see if there is special treasure in the room. If no special treasure, you draw a card from the treasure deck. Warning, wandering monsters or other effects can be triggered this way. Found treasure is added to your character sheet.
Searching for Secret Doors – This can only be done when no monsters are visible. Zargon checks and adds any secret doors if present. These doors start closed and need to be opened, but also can never be re-closed.
Using potions – the card describes the effects, and this can be done at any time, just drink potions one at a time. You can give one potions to an adjacent hero on your turn as well. Once used, the potion is discarded.
After heroes perform a turn, Zargon can control monsters on the board and move or attack with them according to the stats on their cards, or cast a dread spell. These attacks are very similar to when heroes attack. Movement is not determined by dice roll, but its listed on the monster chart on the Game Master’s screen.
If a hero dies, they can try to save themself if they possess any life restoring potions, then they can use it, or if they are a spell master with an available healing spell. Otherwise the monster dies and you can rename your hero and play as a new character for the next quest. Armor, weapons, and treasures can be picked up by other heroes requiring no action to do so.
When ending a quest, the heroes should have achieved their goal, or they voluntarily return back to the entrance before completing the quest, or all four heroes die. If successful, you split up the final treasure or rewards among everyone. Circle the quest number on your character sheet, as you will record all your quests on it.
Between quests – If you were successful on the last quest, you can restore your full body and mind points, as well as any spells you cast. You can visit the armory and purchase new weapons and armor with gold coins you collected, marking the gold off from your sheet when used. The wizard can’t buy much, so it might be wise to save your money. Any treasures found, you take with you for the next quest.
The Verdict
This is a great offer for those like me new to HeroQuest. As I understand it, there are other past version that might include better components to use like 3d furniture and plastic doorways and doors, but those version come at a steeper price. Here we have the game with some updating, but still the same game with the same rules as the 2021 version.
If you are already a HeroQuest player, you might decide this version isn’t for you, which is okay. But if you are a fanatic, you might just go ahead and need to add this to your other version to keep your collection complete. It will add the new miniatures with the new dragon and it’s card. You will have a new double sided board, and some new quests to go through. I’m not sure exactly the price, but for around $50, that is what you might be deciding for or against.
Also from what I have learned, it looks like this box art is not the actual final art that will be on the top of the box. HeroQuest fans didn’t like this AI generated art, from what I have learned, and it got changed. So, this prototype version is not the actual complete game you will be getting when it releases in February 2025.
The game provides you with a fun dungeon crawler experience where you learn when you need to fight, how you should fight, and when you should slow things down to look for traps, treasure, or gold. You will be able to buy new weapons and armor, upgrading your characters as you progress through the quests. Remember, one player plays the monsters representing Zargon and be the game master while the others move their heroes around trying to complete their goal.
Ultimately if you like HeroQuest this is the same game with some new things. If you are new to HeroQuest like myself, this will be a great experience for you to see what you have been missing since 1989. Where have you been all this time?!? But like myself, I have been learning and playing other games, which finally has led me to HeroQuest.
I’ve also learned that the HeroQuest community is huge. So, if you are new like myself, you will most likely see comments from others who have been playing this game for a long time. Don’t let that discourage you, ask questions, and they will most likely answer the best they can, and invite you to join that community if HeroQuest: First Light is your first HeroQuest game.
For me, First Light is a version that will get me started. Do I want 3d furniture? Heck yeah, I do. But this will be a good beginning to get into the game, to start questing to see if I want to continue with other versions or decide which new accessories I need to continue playing. This has been a great experience for me and my kids thus far, playing through the 10 quests. They are still learning the basic rules and figuring out how to beat me as Zargon, which is fun for all of us. But so far, this has been a fun cooperative like game that me and my kids have enjoyed. Just like many of you in the HeroQuest community remember playing this game as a kid, I too am giving that experience to my kids to maybe leave them with that HeroQuest experience that continues to impact them forever.
Images via Avalon Hill
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