Advanced Heroquest Ultimate Project (begins after 33 Years)

[samuraitrev]

Greetings fellow painters and gamers, with the announcement that tzg is set to continue (for a while), thanks the kind donations to keep the lights on. I thought I would post my current project.

The Awakening - 1989 - HeroQuest
One Christmas I went over to friends house, he was that lucky kid who always got the coolest stuff because his parents had money. He'd get the Millennium Falcon, I'd get a General Nadine figure. He'd get the G.I. Joe Cobra Raptor, I'd get a Cobra Trooper Figure. I could go on but you get the idea. I walked in to see all this new stuff he had all over the floor and my attention was immediately grabbed by a boxed game known as HeroQuest. This was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. All was forgotten as I opened the box which was like discovering a whole new world. We set it up and played it for hours and I had just taken my first steps into what would become a lifelong passion.

Expanding Horizons - 1989 - Figures, Paints and Games
Pretty soon after the HeroQuest revelation. I was sat in a tedious science lesson and the teacher was talking at us about properties of metals. He'd brought some samples and one of them was a single boxed metal skeleton. My attention was immediately kindled and I asked where he'd gotten it from. He told me of this place over the other side of town called Book and Stuff (sadly long gone). I made it my mission to investigate asap. This was the days before the internet so I had to go and find the place and what I found was rather strange. I found this dark and secretive looking building that looked like a bookshop from the outside. Furtive, bearded guys at around 40 were sidling up to the place then darting in at the last moment. It was a bit like the adult shop in that respect. I had to get in there. When I entered I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Shelves and shelves of boxed metal figures. Not just by Citadel but other companies such as Grenadier and Marauder Miniatures. There were blister packs and boxed sets plus paints to actually paint them! At the top shelf was another revelation - boxed games! DungeonQuest, Talisman, Space Hulk, Dark Future, Space Marine, Adeptus Titanicus and the jewel in the crown (for me) Advanced Heroquest! I also picked up my first copy of the White Dwarf magazine.

Taking it to the Next Level - 1989 - Advanced Heroquest
As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I knew I would be saving up for it. I got 50p ($0.63) a week spending money and I believe the game cost around £30 ($37.99) at the time. I saved and saved and put my birthday money towards it too. I went down to the shop and asked the store owner (Brian) to fetch it me down. I paid my money and I was out of there on my way home. I always walked to save bus money. I got it home and I was beaming and my mum took my picture
   

I opened the box and feasted my eyes on the contents. Miniatures, corridor and room tiles and tokens. I built everything and set up a dungeon it all looked so cool! I soon opened the rulebook expecting it to be much the same as the original HeroQuest. How wrong I was! The only similarity was they were both dungeon crawlers. Even the front cover had no resemblance to the contents. No Barbarian and none of the monsters were in the box! Even the Skaven weren't depicted on the front cover. It is my belief that this was a second choice for the box art of the original HeroQuest. I sincerely believe that Games Workshop expected that you should own both games. I didn't... The rule set was a whole new world to a kid who had barely grasped HeroQuest. I really, really tried to learn them but when my mates were introduced to the game they quickly lost interest. I tried playing solo but that held no interest to me either. I read my White Dwarf magazines and began to paint some of the miniatures but a slow realisation came to me that the game was beyond me. I don't recall when we parted company or what happened to it. It either got swapped to a friend or sold on a carboot sale.

Friends Reunited - 2021 - The Return of Advanced Heroquest
I never stopped painting and gaming throughout the years and I bought and enjoyed many of the aforementioned games. I particularly enjoyed Space Hulk. I never lost my interest in dungeon crawlers I picked up HeroQuest and much later Descent 1st ed. and after that Gloomhaven. I got all the expansions to Descent and I painted almost all of the miniatures for the base set. Yet something was missing, something at my core kept pulling me towards Advanced Heroquest. It's probably the nostalgia but after lots of research many people swear by it. Including Daniel from The Dungeon Dive and Always Board Never Boring. Two channels that many people aren't aware of but I think they're brillant and deserve more traction. I read the rules online and made my own notes. The rules had now become clear to me and I began to hunt for it. I eventually found a copy of it that was in pretty good shape on Facebook Marketplace and I bought it. When it arrived, 30 odd years dissolved and I was that kid again.
   

I had found a new project and this is what I'm going to share with anyone who wants to follow along. I have LOTS of stuff painted already and I will be posting my work on here on a daily or semi daily basis. I have almost every miniature from the game and I will be painting and posting them on here. Here's the Heroes to start with. I placed them on square bases as the original round bases don't fit on the dungeon tiles!
   

Please comment or ask questions Have you played/owned it? Would you play it?