''Hero'' is a medieval fantasy board game published by
Yaquinto Publications in 1980. Each player creates a hero and attempts to make it to the end of the labyrinth while fighting off monsters, while simultaneously controlling the monsters that plague the other players.
Description
''Hero'' is a
dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...
adventure game for 2-3 players that takes place in a labyrinthine catacomb.
Gameplay
Each player is given a pool of points with which to buy attributes for their Hero: Courage, Comeliness, Class, Intelligence, and Luck. The player can also choose to purchase armor, which will aid the Hero, but will count against their score at the end of the game. Each player is then given a separate dungeon full of monsters to explore. All the dungeons lead to the center of the board, where Princess Alysa awaits.
Each player also controls monsters in the other players' separate dungeons to slow down or even eliminate the other heroes.
Victory conditions
The first Hero to reach the dungeon exit wins the favor of Princess Alysa and wins the game. If more than one hero reaches her during the same turn, the princess chooses the game winner based on the sum of each hero's ability scores (subtracting points if the hero wore armor), as well as points for treasure found and number of monsters killed.
Publication history
In 1980, new game company Yaquinto released four games packaged in
LP-style folders,
with the maps printed on the inside cover of the folder, the first one being ''Hero'', a game designed by Michael Matheny, with cover art by John Hagen.
Reception
In the August 1980 edition of ''
The Space Gamer'' (Issue No. 30), Paul Manz found it a simple and enjoyable game, saying, "''Hero'' has very high-quality components. It's a relaxing change from the other, involved, complicated fantasy adventure games, and for
he price
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
it's a great buy!"
In the November 1980 edition of ''
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' (Issue 43), Roberto Camino found the production values to be professional and the cover art "eye-catching". Despite the relatively high cost and lack of replayability over time, Camino recommended it for players new to the fantasy genre, saying, "''Hero'' is an enjoyable game, due greatly to the device of the player who controls a hero as well as the monsters which are arrayed against an opposing hero. However, after a few playings, it becomes repetitive and a bit worn. What ''Hero'' is tailor made for is as an introductory game, utilizing the strong allure of superior graphics to entice a newcomer, showing him a good game and leaving him wanting more."
In Issue 101 of ''Campaign'', Bob Schroeder commented, "All in all, the game lacks real excitement but can be enjoyed purely as a 'beer and pretzels' game."
In a retrospective review in Issue 12 of ''Simulacrum'', Joe Scoleri commented, "Hack and slash dungeon with a twist: in addition to playing their own Hero, each player controls the monsters in an opponent's dungeon." Scoleri concluded, "It's beer and pretzels all the way, but a fun introductory game."
References
{{reflist
Board games introduced in 1980
Yaquinto Publications games