Why HeroScape is Perfect

obsidianguard · #1 March 19th, 2008, 01:56 AM

As I was attempting to buy as many Volcarren Wastelands as possible on ebay, I slipped into nostalgia mode and started looking up old toys I used to play with as a kid. I am knocking on 30's door, and I am fortunate to have a 15 year old brother who has kept me up to date with today's games and toys. (It is his fault I am bankrupt, not mortgages or college loans.) I wasn't a big gamer as a kid, but I loved action figures. In the 80's they ran the gambit from M.U.S.C.L.E. Men and GUTS, BattleBeasts and M.A.S.K. (the 80's apparently were all about acronyms), Visionaries, and Centurions, to the more commercial products like HeMan and Star Wars. I would spend hours building huge battlefields out of blocks, legos, D&D castles, and whatever else I could find indoors and out. These were epic battles with all figures attempting to squash the other side into oblivion (Darth Vader, Skeletor, Venom, Decepticons vs Voltron, ThunderCats, HeMan, etc.). It spanned space, time, and genre.
HeroScape is a dream come true for a guy like me. It has EVERYTHING: a completely customizable board (with a castle!), figures representing many genres of warriors, different weapons, different objectives, and different armies! It is truly a perfect concept game.
The purpose of this post is simply to take a step back from arguements over which squad is better, why Taelord sucks, or how to improve the game and to appreciate what it is that drew us to this game in the first place. It is, quite simply, the best game ever created. It keeps us mentally agile (it takes planning to build an army based on terrain and synergy!). It is a chance to get together with friends and family and do something different. It gives us an excuse to patrol the toy aisle. It allows us to build and create. Most important of all, it allows us to tap into the kid that still gets a thrill from simply playing.

Manatee · #2 March 19th, 2008, 02:08 AM

Plus it's got an orc riding a dinosaur! How cool is that?!?

obsidianguard · #3 March 19th, 2008, 02:08 AM

Exactly my point!

Wytefang · #4 March 19th, 2008, 02:10 AM

I think that one of the most telling things (positively speaking) about HeroScape is that you always hear new players saying things to the effect that, "this was the game I was always looking for." I think that just really sums up what a great match of simplicity, strategy, and luck that HeroScape presents.

I can't wait until Logan is old enough to play with the figures and get a feel for the game. It'll be awesome having him build stuff with the fantastic hex system...

tchop · #5 March 19th, 2008, 02:13 AM

Word

Sums it up for me minus 5 years of age. M.A.S.K. - I forgot about mask since I was about 8. You just opened up a whole nostalgic can of whoop on me. Anyone remember Cops the cartoon with rockcrusher the inmate and big boss. How about dino riders. I wish I was a kid sometimes. Scratch the sometimes.

Screw you mortgages and student loans. I loathe you.

tchop · #6 March 19th, 2008, 02:14 AM

Whoa, we tag teamed that post dude

tchop · #7 March 19th, 2008, 02:21 AM

Dude, Buttons Mcboomboom and Ms. Demeanor are the sweetest old school names for "crooks" ever.

See I told you your nostalgia inducing post would be cataclysmic to my head.

"ITS CRIME FIGHTING TIME!!!!!"

robbdaman · #8 March 19th, 2008, 02:26 AM

Heh, HSL and I were nostalgic about our toys when we were kids. M.A.S.K., G.I. Joe, Centurions, Lazer Tag, Robotech and of course Star Wars. I miss being a kid sometimes but I always have new toys like Heroscape to play with.

R~

eric.dunfee · #9 March 19th, 2008, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by obsidianguard

As I was attempting to buy as many Volcarren Wastelands as possible on ebay, I slipped into nostalgia mode and started looking up old toys I used to play with as a kid. I am knocking on 30's door, and I am fortunate to have a 15 year old brother who has kept me up to date with today's games and toys. (It is his fault I am bankrupt, not mortgages or college loans.) I wasn't a big gamer as a kid, but I loved action figures. In the 80's they ran the gambit from M.U.S.C.L.E. Men and GUTS, BattleBeasts and M.A.S.K. (the 80's apparently were all about acronyms), Visionaries, and Centurions, to the more commercial products like HeMan and Star Wars. I would spend hours building huge battlefields out of blocks, legos, D&D castles, and whatever else I could find indoors and out. These were epic battles with all figures attempting to squash the other side into oblivion (Darth Vader, Skeletor, Venom, Decepticons vs Voltron, ThunderCats, HeMan, etc.). It spanned space, time, and genre.
HeroScape is a dream come true for a guy like me. It has EVERYTHING: a completely customizable board (with a castle!), figures representing many genres of warriors, different weapons, different objectives, and different armies! It is truly a perfect concept game.
The purpose of this post is simply to take a step back from arguements over which squad is better, why Taelord sucks, or how to improve the game and to appreciate what it is that drew us to this game in the first place. It is, quite simply, the best game ever created. It keeps us mentally agile (it takes planning to build an army based on terrain and synergy!). It is a chance to get together with friends and family and do something different. It gives us an excuse to patrol the toy aisle. It allows us to build and create. Most important of all, it allows us to tap into the kid that still gets a thrill from simply playing.

Holy shnikies, thanks for the flashback to my childhood! There were so many cool toys in the '80s!

django · #10 March 19th, 2008, 03:08 AM

You forgot to mention it doesn't talk back and try to cuddle after sexy time.

tchop · #11 March 19th, 2008, 03:15 AM

No ones gonna remember cops the cartoon, are they? Now I feel old even though I'm young. How did this happen?

Kroc · #12 March 19th, 2008, 04:50 AM

I was actually more of an "epic story" kind of guy, more like D&D, but I don't have time for that any more.

But yes, my blocks, my action figures, my spaceships (built out of cardboard), ahh, the good old days. This game truly brings back the joy of all those toys and it's a cool strategy game to boot.

Probably the best mix of strategy and simplicity I've seen in a game, not that I am a big miniature games player. It's brilliant.

And it's such a relief to see a thread on HS in general that is not about The Doom of HS. I get so tired of those posts. Thanks for an excellent breath of fresh air, obsidianguard. Here's to hoping HS lasts forever, I hope to see it in my closet alongside Monopoly and Chess in 50 years time. (When I will be 91, eek!)