The protagonists are four heroes ("Barbarian", "Dwarf", "Elf" and "Wizard") who face a selection of monsters: Orcs, Goblins, Fimir, Chaos Warriors, a Chaos Warlock (which represents many of the named characters for the various quests, such as Sir Ragnar and the Witch Lord), a Gargoyle and a number of Undead: skeletons, zombies and mummies.

Kellar's Keep added new quests, items, artefacts and a further batch of monster figures (more Orcs, Goblins and Fimir).

Released shortly after in the same years was Return of the Witch Lord which extended the undead with more skeletons, mummies and zombies.

The basic concept is the same: four heroes venture into a dungeon to fight monsters and gain treasure, but the rules are more detailed and complex.

[8] 1992 also saw North America release of two sets of their own: The Frozen Horror, with a snow and ice theme, featured a Female Barbarian, Mercenaries, Ice Gremlins, Polar Warbears and a pair of yeti as well as the "Frozen horror" of the title, while The Mage of the Mirror had an Elven theme: Female Elf against an evil Elven Archmage, Elf warriors and archers, Giant Wolves and Ogres.

[citation needed] Three HeroQuest novels by Dave Morris were published: The Fellowship of Four in 1991,[9] The Screaming Spectre in 1992,[10] and The Tyrant's Tomb in 1993.

[11][citation needed] The Fellowship of Four novel included a 135-paragraph gamebook 'The Heroquest Adventure Game - In the Night Season'.

This was sold in 2013 to Moon Design Publications who continued to use it for the same purpose, eventually selling it back to Milton Bradley (now Hasbro Gaming) in 2020.

[12] Under the vision and direction of Jeffrey Anderson,[13] Hasbro Gaming bought the HeroQuest trademark from Moon Design Publications in September 2020.

[12] This allowed Avalon Hill, a subsidiary of Hasbro, to launch a teaser website with the HeroQuest logo, art and a countdown timer, leading to speculation that an official remake or app was being produced.

[14][15] On September 22, 2020, the countdown revealed a Hasbro Pulse crowdfunded campaign for $1,000,000 to produce an updated edition of HeroQuest with new figures, Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord expansions.

[citation needed] Hasbro Pulse crowdfunded HeroQuest campaign offered two pledge tiers, Heroic or Mythic.

Supporters who pledged for the Heroic Tier would receive the HeroQuest Game System with both expansion packs Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord.

[17] Included were three quest books: Prophecy of Telor by Stephen Baker, The Spirit Queen's Torment by Teos Abadia,[18] and The Crypt of Perpetual Darkness by Joe Manganiello.

[30][better source needed] [31] The summer of 2022 Hasbro released online quest two: Into the Northlands by Doug Hopkins,[32] and the HeroQuest Adventure Design Kit.

[36] On March 27, 2023, Hasbro announced a new expansion, Rise of the Dread Moon that will include a variant sculpt of the Commander of the Guardian Knight, three clear translucent spectres and four Cadre of the Raven's Veil figures in purple plastic.

Building on the events explored in ‘HeroQuest - Mage of the Mirror’, collaborative partners showcased an original quest revealed as ‘Knight Fall’ and as the catalyst[39][better source needed] for ‘Rise of the Dread Moon’.

[citation needed] On June 14, 2024, a new starter box was announced, First Light, with the goal of providing a cheaper option for new players to purchase the HeroQuest game system.

[44] The heroes of the original release, are agents of the Wizard known only as Mentor, Zargon's former master and keeper of a book called Loretome, which contains all the world's knowledge.

The evil wizard first places the entry point on the map, usually a spiral staircase, although on some quests the players enter via an external door or begin in a specific room.

The number of dice used is determined by the basic statistics of the player or monster, whether they are attacking or defending, plus any modifiers due to spells or items being carried.

Some spells must be played immediately before attacking or defending, and all require the target to be "visible" to the character using the game's line-of-sight rules.

The dwarf is the only character that can disarm traps without the aid of the specialized kit which is either bought in the armory or found during certain quests.

The game ends when every player has either returned to the spiral staircase, exited by a door or been killed by the evil wizard.

Its name was changed to "Quest Pack for the Elf" in a settlement after Warp Graphics, owner of the ElfQuest trademark, brought suit against Milton Bradley for infringement.

[45] In the August 1989 edition of Games International (Issue 8), Philip A. Murphy thought that HeroQuest "plays simply but effectively" but he noted a few flaws, mainly to do with loopholes in the rules that players can quickly take advantage of.

"[47] In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "this game is calibrated for kids and, despite claiming to be cooperative, it truly shines with chaotic chemistry when a bunch of gloryhound eleven-year-olds resort to backstabbing each other to be king of the hill."