The return of Heroscape

Michael Barnes wrote: I realized that I just have a ton of 2p skirmish stuff…all of which are better and more interesting than Heroscape

This.
Heroscape existed/thrived in a pre-Kickstarter, pre-skirmish-game-explosion, pre-minis-companies-proliferating-like-Easter-rabbits environment, and used that to great success. I don't know what the game would be like now, other than (as others have pointed out) a nostalgia vehicle like HeroQuest. Especially for a company like Hasbro that has a mentality of "this product better make bottom line margins of +50% or else we end it this afternoon" attitude to most hobby games.

Jexik wrote: What does ‘sticking’ even mean? It had a 7 year run or so. All is ephemeral.

I’m not as excited about this as one might guess. I don’t know who I’d play it with. And driving to tons of tournaments doesn’t seem possible with my obligations now.

Risk/Monopoly/Magic: The Gathering levels of sticking. "I played it as a kid, and now I'm playing it with my kid." Granted, that's a big ask.

fightcitymayor wrote:

Michael Barnes wrote: I realized that I just have a ton of 2p skirmish stuff…all of which are better and more interesting than Heroscape

This.
Heroscape existed/thrived in a pre-Kickstarter, pre-skirmish-game-explosion, pre-minis-companies-proliferating-like-Easter-rabbits environment, and used that to great success. I don't know what the game would be like now, other than (as others have pointed out) a nostalgia vehicle like HeroQuest. Especially for a company like Hasbro that has a mentality of "this product better make bottom line margins of +50% or else we end it this afternoon" attitude to most hobby games.

Not a rhetorical question: has modern-day additive manufacturing and offshore printing techniques done away with the economies-of-scale advantages that some monster like Hasbro can bring to the party? Because I have images in my head of Hasbro selling a box of plastic that's too big to lift at Walmart for $69.95.

RobertB wrote:

Jexik wrote: What does ‘sticking’ even mean? It had a 7 year run or so. All is ephemeral.

I’m not as excited about this as one might guess. I don’t know who I’d play it with. And driving to tons of tournaments doesn’t seem possible with my obligations now.

Risk/Monopoly/Magic: The Gathering levels of sticking. "I played it as a kid, and now I'm playing it with my kid." Granted, that's a big ask.

With this release we’ll be getting close to that. Original game first came out ~18 years ago.

I’d add Pokemon to this list. I was 13 or so when I first played and now taught the card game to the 6 year old.

Jexik wrote:

RobertB wrote:

Jexik wrote: What does ‘sticking’ even mean? It had a 7 year run or so. All is ephemeral.

I’m not as excited about this as one might guess. I don’t know who I’d play it with. And driving to tons of tournaments doesn’t seem possible with my obligations now.

Risk/Monopoly/Magic: The Gathering levels of sticking. "I played it as a kid, and now I'm playing it with my kid." Granted, that's a big ask.

With this release we’ll be getting close to that. Original game first came out ~18 years ago.

I’d add Pokemon to this list. I was 13 or so when I first played and now taught the card game to the 6 year old.

20th century family heirloom: jewelry or watch

21st century family heirloom: storage tote full of Heroscape

What really sucks is that the terrain has become brittle. I hope they fix that with however they produce it this time.

RobertB wrote:

fightcitymayor wrote:

Michael Barnes wrote: I realized that I just have a ton of 2p skirmish stuff…all of which are better and more interesting than Heroscape

This.
Heroscape existed/thrived in a pre-Kickstarter, pre-skirmish-game-explosion, pre-minis-companies-proliferating-like-Easter-rabbits environment, and used that to great success. I don't know what the game would be like now, other than (as others have pointed out) a nostalgia vehicle like HeroQuest. Especially for a company like Hasbro that has a mentality of "this product better make bottom line margins of +50% or else we end it this afternoon" attitude to most hobby games.

Not a rhetorical question: has modern-day additive manufacturing and offshore printing techniques done away with the economies-of-scale advantages that some monster like Hasbro can bring to the party? Because I have images in my head of Hasbro selling a box of plastic that's too big to lift at Walmart for $69.95.

Hasbro still has those scale advantages, but because they exist as a company where the revenue from printing cards (Magic The Gathering) and books (D&D) accounts for almost all of their actual profit I don't see them rushing back into the mass production of oil-based foreign-manufactured plastics that might only garner a pittance of profit margins in 2022.

I don't see it existing like "classic" Heroscape where new content hits Target shelves every quarter in the form of multiple SKUs, but maybe they will try that avenue. I do know that when the Magic tabletop game didn't prove to be an immediate runaway smash hit for Hasbro then those sets went mega-clearance in record time (and still are, you can buy those Magic sets for $15-$25 brand new all day long even today, and that game was released back in 2015.)

I will mention that I got most of my heroscape packs from deep discount sales back in the day as well. Hasbro canceled it for a reason.

It's not going to be prepainted. That makes it less appealing for those wanting to mix it with old.

Shellhead wrote:
20th century family heirloom: jewelry or watch

21st century family heirloom: storage tote full of Heroscape

You joke but I have a tote of so many lego pieces I'm pretty sure it's worth MORE than my watch box!

Not long ago there was pressure from activist investors for Hasbro to spin off WotC into a separate business unit in order to carve out the most lucrative part of the business and distance itself from stuff like boardgames, Heroscape, etc. Its fair to wonder if Heroscape would exist in such an environment .

So let's call the question. Does this new version go the distance? How many big box releases, how many small box releases before the entire thing has run its course?

I think it goes one big box and one expansion wave then disappears again.

Basically agree. It'll be like the D&D Heroscape initiative or the Magic semi-Heroscape. They'll find out that the market has moved on and that what made it work the first time was cheap plastic, $40 mass-market base sets, and $15 boosters in Target and not $100 or $150 direct-market tubs that only nostalgic nerds with too much disposal income will buy.

charlest wrote: It's not going to be prepainted.

Interest level exceeded.