HeroScape, a novel miniatures game from the early 2000s, is back after being dead and buried for nearly twenty years. The new release is definitely cashing in on nostalgia, but it’s sure to attract new fans as well, and for good reason.
The Rise of HeroScape
Twenty years ago in 2004, Hasbro launched a new product line. Called HeroScape, it was half game, half toy, and all awesome. A lot of great ideas went into it. The game merged all manner of time periods and geographies, science fiction, and fantasy. Its rules were simple enough for a younger audience, but still managed to be fun enough for older ones. It wasn’t the first game with pre-painted miniatures on the market, but they looked pretty good. And there were the tiles.
Probably the coolest thing by far about HeroScape was the tiles. Each master set and large expansion came with at least a few modular hexagonal tiles that were interlocked and stacked. Players could build their own HeroScape maps with a variety of terrains including (but definitely not limited to) snow, water, lava, and trees. Of course, as cool as this feature was for HeroScape, the terrain could also have applications for other forms of tabletop gaming.
Originally, HeroScape released four master sets, including one licensed by Marvel, along with literally dozens of expansions, which ranged from a couple of units, to large with several new units and terrain pieces. From the count alone, it could be assumed that the game was doing well. The content was released regularly and fans were eating it up. So, what happened?
The Fall of HeroScape
HeroScape had started out under Hasbro’s subsidiary, the Milton Bradley Company. Milton Bradley was happy to have HeroScape, as it was a board game that was performing well. However, this was not to last. Presumably, Hasbro thought that there was a better fit for HeroScape, and in 2008 they gave it to their relatively new acquisition, Wizards of the Coast.
Wizards of the Coast was already managing two hugely popular IPs: Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering. Whether because they were already consumed with their two cash cows, or because the production cost of HeroScape was comparatively high in order to maintain the standard of quality, Wizards announced the discontinuation of the product line just two years later. Despite fan demand, the franchise would go quiet for over a decade.
HeroScape, Back from the Dead
Hasbro would eventually bring in one of the original designers, Craig Van Ness, with talk of releasing a new master set. This announcement came during Gen Con in 2022. Unfortunately, the crowdfunding campaign to make it a reality was a failure. However, the following year, board game publisher Renegade Game Studios made an exciting announcement: they had reached a licensing deal with Hasbro and would be producing the game. A new HeroScape set was on its way to fans.
This year at Gen Con 2024, Renegade Game Studios made the dreams of many into reality. Not only was the new master set, Age of Annihilation, available to purchase at the convention, but they also held a massive launch tournament. In addition, the next several products in the HeroScape line have been announced, and everything is available for preorder on the website.
What the Future Holds
Hasbro is notoriously fickle about licensing. There have been cases where their subsidiaries refused to renew licensing agreements, such as when WotC chose not to renew the contract with FFG for the Netrunner IP. If HeroScape enjoys great success, the same thing could end up happening a few years down the road. However, it may only see niche success, enough for Renegade to keep it going and not enough for Hasbro to pull it back. Renegade, however, appears to have a good working relationship with Hasbro at the moment, if their TTRPG lines are anything to go by. Hopefully, this continues, and we will have a long release calendar of HeroScape that stretches beyond the horizon.
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