Review - Quest: A Time of Heroes (2010) - Z-Man Games

Tyler has been asking me if there are any games we can play that will level up his characters. Obviously, HeroQuest would be my first pick, except it's way out of print. So, I stumbled across this as another option.

The Blurb

With the new hero-game "Quest" players experience exciting adventures at the gaming table, that unfold just like a cinematic tale.

In a chain of exciting quests, most players take on the role of heroes while another player is their antagonist - the Questmaster. He controls all the challenges that the other players cooperatively have to master with the clever use of their skills and abilities.

Each of the quests build up on the previous ones and through the course of the campaign both the Questmaster and the players become stronger and therefore the gaming-experience more intense.

The personal development of the heroes through the course of several games will be continued with further expansions, that will add new heroes, more quests, more abilities and new dire enemies.

The Gist

A blend of D&D and a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book.

The Play

WARNING - GAME PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD

I decided that Tyler would control both heroes. He chose Kr'zzzt the Lizard Shaman and Karomin the Dwarven Warrior (there are two more characters to choose from, a female Elf Ranger and a Female Mage). The adventure started with the heroes docking at the harbor with a map, and going right to the merchant to buy goods. After this, they went to the tavern, where a map dealer tried to sell them a map that looked exactly like theirs. They compared the maps, realized they were the same map, and their map was a fraud. Some people started causing trouble with the barmaid in the tavern, so the fraudulent map seller bolted for the door. They tried to chase him, but a fight broke out, and they had to fight through it to get outside.  After getting outside, they chased down the merchant, and, fearing for his life, he handed them what appeared to be an authentic map. The map led them to a forest clearing with a ghostly Dwarf, where they begin fighting with Orc Warriors and an Orc Chieftain. Triumphant, they are thanked by the ghostly figure for defeating the Orcs, and given the Ax of the Dwarven King (trust me, it's fancy!). And so ended their first quest.

The Bits

Dad:

"The map is cool-looking, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't have a ton of purpose. I mean, you put locations on it, but it is just there for flavor, you could easily just put the locations on the table."






    

Ty:

"The lizard is my favorite character. I like how much detail each character has."

The Good, the Bad and the Rating

Tyler won the quest and was eager to start the next one, which is something I do not normally see.

Dad:

"The story line is great. the characters are fully developed, and the choose-your-own-adventure aspect made me remember all the books I read as a kid. I feel that you can only play each adventure once, but with a general price tag of around $20, I think it's well worth the price as an introductory D&D game."

4/5




Ty:

"This is one of the greatest games I have ever played! This is the first tabletop game where I have been able to upgrade my character, and that was awesome. I had to control two characters at once since dad was playing as the Quest Master, but it did not matter. Love this game!"
5/5