HeroQuest First Light Board Game Review

Stats:
No. of players: 1-5
Amount of time to play: 60-90 min per quest
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5-10 min

HeroQuest First Light is an introductory version of the HeroQuest game system that includes new quests and is compatible with all HeroQuest expansions. With the companion app available you may play this fully cooperatively or solo. It is very accessible and can be enjoyed by anyone looking for a rules light dungeon crawler.

Heroquest First Light Rules Description:

In HeroQuest one player takes on the role of the evil sorcerer, Zargon. The rest of the players take on the role of one of four heroes; the barbarian, dwarf, elf or wizard. First Light contains ten quests to play through with different goals. There is also an app that plays as Zargon and allows for a fully cooperative or solo experience.

The Zargon player is responsible for controlling the monsters and setting up the map with items and monsters as the heroes explore the board. Hero players begin the game with their starting gear and the elf and wizard gain spells. They also fill out their character sheet to help them track items, treasure, and health.

Each round the player to the left of Zargon goes first. Turns continue clockwise until the quest objective is achieved. On their turn a player moves their miniature and then takes an action or takes an action and then moves.

Your movement is determined by rolling 2d6. The six actions you may take are attack a monster, cast a spell, search for treasure, search for a secret door, search for traps or disarm a trap.

A hero may attack orthogonally and you roll a number of combat dice equal to the attack dice stat on their card (or their weapon’s card). Each skull you roll is a hit. Zargon rolls defense dice based on the monster’s defense stat. Each shield result blocks one of your hits. Any unblocked hits remove body points from the monster and once at zero body, it is eliminated. Heroes that are reduced to zero body are dead but may be renamed and begin in the next quest. Their friends should grab their equipment to give to their heir or monsters might take off with it.

The wizard and elf may cast a spell on their turns. Follow the text on the spell card to resolve it and then discard the spell card. You may only cast each spell once per quest.

If there are no monsters in your current room you may search for treasure. Zargon will let you know if there is a specific item in that room. But you might need to draw from the treasure deck. This might trigger a hazard or introduce wandering monsters to the board.

In order to search for a secret door in your current room you must be out of the line of sight of any monsters. Zargon will announce any doors you might have found, but they enter play closed.

When you search for traps you must again be out of sight from monsters. You then search your current room and Zargon will tell you if and where you found traps. Disarming traps takes another action and requires a toolkit unless you are the dwarf. A die roll determines if you are able to disarm the trap without suffering damage from it.

On Zargon’s turn they move and attack (or attack then move) with each revealed monster based on the stats on their specific monster card.

The quest ends when all heroes are dead or when its goals are met. Between quests you may visit the armory to buy and sell equipment to gear up for the next challenge.

Quick Review of Heroquest First Light :

HeroQuest: First Light is a great introduction into the HeroQuest game system. It has everything you need to start playing at a lower price point than the 2022 relaunch of the base game. This game is very accessible and appeals to non-gamers and gamers, young and old. It is easy to teach, learn and play.

The components for this game are really nice. The art on the cards, standees and books look great. One of the major differences between First Light and the original re-release is the standees for monsters and doors and the flat cardboard furniture. They still look great and the heroes and dragon are plastic miniatures and this is what allows it to sell at the lower price point. But something buyers should be aware of. The other major difference is the double sided map. The rulebook is well laid out and easy to follow. My only minor issue is that some rules for items are only found in the quest booklet.

There is a lot to like about the HeroQuest system. You get to kill monsters, explore dungeons and collect treasure and items. Your character will progress as they finish quests and find loot. And though the monsters also get harder, it is always fun to get better items and new ways to attack and eliminate them.

First Light contains a lot of content that will provide hours of fun. But it is very expandable by purchasing official expansions or using your imagination to create new quests. There is even a design you own Quest Adventures section in the book to help you do just that. A quick google search will get you access to fan made quests you can try too.

Another game changer is the companion app that runs Zargon and the monsters. It comes loaded with additional quests. It also allows you to play fully cooperatively or solo. This adds a lot of flexibility to how the game is played and how often it hits the table.

My only knock on the game is that by being super accessible, it is less complex and can feel repetitive at times. More modern designs offer more options and nuance, but have a steeper learning curve or require you to remember a lot of rules. It is a tradeoff. That said, many players have created house rules and home brewed this system.

Should you buy HeroQuest First light? If you are looking for an accessible dungeon crawler that you can expand and even home brew, pick this up. If you own the base HeroQuest game, you might want this for the double-sided map, additional quests and dragon miniature. That decision might be based on your disposable income.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 3 of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6