Batman Gets an RPG and Hasbro Revives HeroQuest in the Latest Gaming News

Batman Gets an RPG and Hasbro Revives HeroQuest in the Latest Gaming News

Welcome back to Gaming Shelf, Gizmodo’s column all about board games and tabletop roleplaying games. This time around, we’ve got a solo mission for Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, a new roleplaying game for Batman, and a survival game starring The Thing. Check it out!

News and Releases

A look at Hasbro's revived HeroQuest board game.  (Image: Hasbro)
A look at Hasbro’s revived HeroQuest board game. (Image: Hasbro)

Hasbro Revives HeroQuest

Hasbro is bringing back HeroQuest, the classic board game that inspired a generation of dungeon-crawlers. According to Dicebreaker, the new HeroQuest will be a largely faithful recreation of the original 1989 game. In addition, Hasbro has announced it’s reclaimed the HeroQuest trademark, after decades of it passing between various board game companies. HeroQuest is available to support on Hasbro’s version of Kickstarter, HasLab, and has already surpassed its $US1 ($1.4) million fundraising goal. (Unfortunately it doesn’t appear Australians can contribute to this fund.)

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Solo Mission

Wanting to recreate that single-player Fallout experience in a tabletop RPG? Well, Modiphius has you covered. The company has released the first of its planned solo missions for Fallout: Wasteland Warfare. The 36-page solo adventure, called The Unexpected Shepherd, puts players in the trading outpost of Century to help an old friend with a strange request. Players can use their Wasteland Warfare miniatures for scenarios, as well as an AI system to control NPCs during major encounters. The Unexpected Shepherd costs $8 and is available on DriveThruRPG.

We don't need no stinkin' patches! Oh wait we do. (Image: Talon Strikes Studios)
We don’t need no stinkin’ patches! Oh wait we do. (Image: Talon Strikes Studios)

Camp Pinetop

Talon Strikes Studios has announced that Stephen B. Davies’ Camp Pinetop is now available for pre-order. The adorable-looking 1-5 player card game has players taking on the role of campers exploring the wilderness. The goal is to reach the highest rank by going on adventures and collecting badges, which level up your character and give them special abilities. Camp Pinetop is set to come out on October 31 and costs about $30 for the pre-order.

Batman: Gotham City Chronicles

Monolith Edition has announced a new tabletop roleplaying game based on its hit board game, Batman: Gotham City Chronicles. According to Dicebreaker, this RPG will let players roleplay as iconic Batman characters or create their own — but honestly, if you can be Batman, Harley Quinn, or Nightwing, why the heck would you want to play as anyone else? Batman: Gotham City Chronicles will be heading to Kickstarter, where the previous board game was funded.

A look at The Princess Bride: Adventure Book Game.  (Photo: Beth Elderkin)
A look at The Princess Bride: Adventure Book Game. (Photo: Beth Elderkin)

The Princess Bride: Adventure Book Game

Be sure to check out our review of the upcoming The Princess Bride: Adventure Book Game, which will be released on October 2. In short, the game is a fantastic recreation of the beloved fantasy film, but there are some potential issues with replayability.

Crowdfunding

Mother of Frankenstein

Mother of Frankenstein is an at-home puzzle experience from the folks behind Hatch Escapes, a Los Angeles-based escape room. The fictionalized game centres around “The Shelley Volumes,” a collection of hollowed-out books left by the Frankenstein author to her son. Inside are a bunch of letters, jigsaw puzzles, artifacts, and other challenges that the player has to piece together (literally and figuratively) in order to figure out “the truth behind Mary Shelley’s famous novel.” Mother of Frankenstein will be on Kickstarter through October 25. The minimum pledge for a copy is $125 and it’s set to come out in April 2021.

Arkham Archives: The Limestone Abyss

This is the first in a planned series of immersive, interactive stories that take place within the world of Lovecraftian horror. In this tale, The Limestone Abyss, players take on the role of an archaeologist named Jack who finds himself “in a horror as old as the Earth itself.” Others will follow suit, as part of the ongoing Arkham Archives series that itself has lore and secrecy. Arkham Archives: The Limestone Abyss will be on Kickstarter through October 24. The minimum pledge for a digital copy is $25 while a print version is $56, and both are set to come out in February 2021.

The 7th Citadel

No, it’s not a sequel to The 7th Guest, unfortunately, but it does sound interesting. The 7th Citadel is a cooperative exploration and adventure game, taking place in a post-apocalyptic medieval fantasy world where players take on the role of “slave-gardeners” who escape from the Citadel of Necrodruid Ninidazir’, only to find themselves in the midst of the great and wild unknown. The game uses some of the design and game mechanics from its predecessor, The 7th Continent, with plenty of new qualities to make it all its own. The 7th Citadel will be on Kickstarter through October 16. The minimum pledge for a copy is $114 and it’s set to come out in May 2022.

The Thing: The Boardgame

It’s coming for you. John Carpenter’s classic horror film The Thing is getting a board game. Similar to games like Dead of Winter, this tense survival game has 1-8 players working together to keep themselves alive while sussing out which person among them is actually an alien. Because, oh yeah, one of the players is secretly the Thing, using a fake identity to keep itself hidden as it tries to escape or devour everyone standing in its way. The Thing: The Boardgame will be on Kickstarter through October 15. The minimum pledge for a copy is $129 and it’s set to come out in December 2021.

Crash Octopus

In this cute, family-friendly game, players try to get cargo onto their boats while avoiding the clutches of a giant octopus that’s roaming the seas. The game is very physical, with players having to actually flick pieces of cargo toward their boats without knocking anything over — or disrupting the octopus. However, getting in trouble can also be a strategy, as you may end up trying to get your opponents in the creature’s path. Crash Octopus will be on Kickstarter through October 28. The minimum pledge for a copy is $44 and it’s set to come out in June 2021.