Dungeon crawl board game HeroQuest concludes first major storyline in Rise of the Dread Moon expansion

HeroQuest, the revitalised dungeon-crawler board game, will cap off the first major narrative since its relaunch in 2020 with new expansion Rise of the Dread Moon.

The new quest pack is currently available to pre-order through various retail locations such as Amazon and will come in a standalone box full of miniatures, cards, standees, terrain and other necessary bits and bobs - note: Rise of the Dread Moon is an expansion and thus requires the HeroQuest base game in order to be played.

A quest booklet contains 10 scripted adventures that sends a party of two to five adventurers into dangerous locales as they attempt to free Elethorn from the control of returning villain Zargon (extremely genre pulp names, both).

Rise of the Dread Moon marks the conclusion of a broader storyline introduced in The Mage of the Mirror, HeroQuest’s first major expansion following its official relaunch in 2020. From the official description: “As a brave knight, you're challenged to finally free Elethorn from the clutches of Zargon. Embark on dangerous quests, as you seek the aid of the Cadre of the Raven's Veil to help stop Zargon's forces of Dread from destroying the kingdom. Navigate through a dark labyrinth of waterways, an underground city, and more perilous locations. But be wary—for Zargon's forces grow ever stronger with the rise of the Dread Moon!”

Once a group tears through the quest book, the expansion’s mechanics can be added to the HeroQuest core experience and replayed as they fancy. Players can also design their own scenarios and connected adventures using the new miniatures, cards and terrain tiles in addition to everything that comes in the base box.

First released in 1989 as a joint venture between Games Workshop and Milton Bradley, HeroQuest is arguably one of the most influential board games in the hobby. Its design and structure helped clear the way for an entire ecosystem of similar titles. The decades since found HeroQuest as a hard-to-find collector’s item until Hasbro and Avalon Hill crowdfunded a new edition in 2020.

Rise of the Dread Moon may mark the end of HeroQuest’s first major narrative campaign, but there’s little signs that the publishers will slow down development on more experiences in the future. Players have access to a fairly robust line of boxed expansions, card packs and extra miniatures, so hopefully this new HeroQuest won’t recreate the history of its predecessor.