Back in the early 1990s, I was introduced to a new board game by Milton Bradley called HeroQuest. It quickly became a favorite of my gaming group of friends. In this game, players take on the roles of fantasy characters and explore dungeons to find treasure and complete objectives. The game came with lots of miniatures for the characters, monsters, and even doors and furniture. We purchased the expansions that could be purchased in the United States and played all the quests. Production of the game eventually ended in 1997. Thirteen years later, in 2020, Hasbro purchased the license for HeroQuest and launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $1,000,000 to make an updated edition of the game. Response was incredible and the goal was met within the first 24 hours. The updated game included more and better miniatures and two expansions were released at the same time as the core game in 2021. Hasbro released a brand new expansion, The Frozen Horror quest pack, in 2022. Now they have released another new quest pack where you must rescue a princess and defeat the mage of the mirror.
What Is The Mage of the Mirror quest pack?
The Mage of the Mirror quest pack is an expansion for the HeroQuest gaming system. The core game is required to play this quest pack. It is designed for 2-5 players, ages 14 and up, and takes about 30-120 minutes to play. It’s currently available for $44.99 from the Hasbro Pulse website. It is also available from Amazon. The Mage of the Mirror quest pack is published by Avalon Hill and Hasbro.
The Mage of the Mirror quest pack Components
Here is what you get in the box:
- 1 male elf hero miniature
- 16 monster miniatures
- 2 doors
- 4 portcullises
- 3 chests
- 7 pieces of furniture
- 35 game cards
- 2 sheets of tiles
- 1 quest book
The quest pack comes with an alternate sculpt of the elf character. This one is of a male elf which can be used for the elf only quests. There are new types of monsters included in this quest pack. In addition to the ogres and giant wolves, there is also a miniature for the elven archmage as well as elven warriors and elven archers who will fight against your party.
An iron door and wooden door are used for several of the quests as entrance or exit points rather than using the traditional staircase from earlier quests. The pack also includes portcullises which act as locked doors.
The Mage of the Mirror quest pack includes chests and additional furniture to compliment the furniture included with the core game. These miniatures really add to the feel of the game.
In addition to four new monster cards, there is a new elf card with the same stats but different artwork. There are also seven artifact cards, four treasure cards, and four new equipment cards with different types of potions, three of which can only be used by an elf. Finally, there are seven new dread spells which can be used by the monsters and eight new elf spells.
This quest pack also includes tiles you can place on the board to represent different types of rooms as well as traps and objects such as magic mirrors. There are also smaller tokens that are used for specific quests as well.
New Features in The Mage of the Mirror quest pack
The Mage of the Mirror comes with ten new quests. Similar to The Frozen Horror quest pack, the first three quests are solo excursions: this time for only the elf instead of the barbarian. You can play these with two players as one plays Zargon while the other is the elf, or play it solo with the app acting as Zargon. These first three quests are challenging, especially if you are playing it with a new elf who has no additional weapons, armor or potions. In fact, you may need to play the first quest 2-3 times to get through it with a new elf. The remainder of the quests can be played with four characters and the last two quests are a double quest where one leads right into the next without a chance to leave, heal, and purchase new equipment.
While the many traps on the maps can be dangerous, the new monsters are deadly. The elven archers and warriors can move quickly and attack with four attack dice. The orgres attack with 6 dice and defend with 4, making them tough to defeat. Finally, the giant wolves can move 9 spaces and have the same attack as the ogres. Of course the quests also include many of the monsters from the core game as well. To make things worse for the heroes, these monsters don’t just come at you individually or in pairs, but in larger groups. Make sure all of the heroes are ready before opening that door.
Hasbro has released a free HeroQuest app which is available for both iOS and Android which allows the game to be played solo or completely cooperatively as the AI takes on the role of the gamemaster and controls all of the enemies. The app includes the original quests from the core game as well as the new quests from each of the four quest packs. Plus it has three original quests unique to the app. The first of these Pulse Exclusive quests, New Beginnings, is a great way for new players to learn the game and collect some equipment before embarking on more difficult quests. If you are using new characters for The Mage in the Mirror quests, I suggest you play through at least the first app quest so the Elf can go into the solo quests better prepared.
Why You Should Play The Mage of the Mirror quest pack
As I mentioned earlier, I played the original HeroQuest back in the ’90s with fiends and siblings and really enjoyed it. About 10 years ago, I found my original game and began playing it with my own kids and they enjoyed it. Eventually, I received a copy of the new and revised HeroQuest over a year ago and was very impressed with the quality and detail of all the miniatures as well as how the game had the same feel as the original. I enjoyed playing through the Frozen Horror quest pack and liked the solo barbarian quests as well as the new monsters and mercenaries. Therefore, when I learned about The Mage of the Mirror quest pack, I was excited to experience some more solo quests, this time with the Elf. As with the core game and the other expansions, the quality and detail of the components are great. I really like using the app. In the past when I played, I often played as Zargon who is like the dungeon master and controls the story and the monsters. With the app, I can play solo whether I am doing the solo quests as the Elf or the rest of the quests and controlling four different characters. While the player still rolls the dice for movement, attacking, and defending, the app moves the monsters and rolls their attack dice.
I am very impressed with the Mage of the Mirror quest pack. It continues to expand HeroQuest with more story and further adventures. I like how it focuses on the Elf character similar to the way the Frozen Horde focused on the Barbarian. These ten new quests are can be tough to complete, especially the solo quests. I had to play several of them more than once to finish them. If its looking like you won’t complete a quest, consider heading back to the entrance and quit the quest so you don’t die and lose all your equipment. The challenge of these quests is one of the reasons I enjoy this quest pack. I had to develop some tactics and strategies to stay alive such as running back into a hallway to fight so I don’t get surrounded and then mauled by several attacking monsters. Not only are the solo quests challenging in themselves, they also provide the Elf with some unique artifacts and equipment which are useful for surviving the remainder of the quests. Also be sure to search for traps and secret doors during these quests since they offer lots of surprises.
HeroQuest is a great game to play with a family or a game group since it is easy to learn and quick to setup and start playing because you build the map as you play. I recommend using the app so you can all play cooperatively or even play it solo. All of the expansions to the core game have really turned it into a game system. While the Frozen Horde added mercenaries and new monsters, the Mage in the Mirror adds elven furniture, elven enemies, and even new elven spells you can use during quests from the core game or other expansions. If you enjoy playing HeroQuest, then you definitely need to add the Mage of the Mirror to your collection. If you don’t yet have HeroQuest, then I highly recommend getting at as well as the Mage of the Mirror quest pack.
For more information, check out The Mage of the Mirror webpage!
Here is an gameplay overview video for the core game.
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
