I just read that the original print run of HeroQuest was only 2,000 copies in the US

I was digging through some old magazines online, specifically a 1991 issue of Dragon Magazine, and they had a small news blurb about Milton Bradley's big fantasy game launch. It said the initial US shipment of HeroQuest was just 2,000 boxes total. That blew my mind! I remember seeing it in every Toys R Us back then, or at least it felt that way. It makes you wonder how many of those original boxes are still out there, complete and unpunched. On one hand, it explains why finding a mint copy now costs a fortune. On the other hand, it's wild that a game that felt so huge and common actually started so small. Has anyone here actually seen or owned one of those first 2,000 copies? What other board games had surprisingly tiny first runs that became mega-hits?

3 comments

3 Comments

moore.beth1mo ago

Feel exactly the same way, it's crazy to think something that felt so common was actually so rare. I remember staring at the box art in the store for what felt like hours, totally hooked. Makes me want to check my parents' attic just in case my old copy is one of those first ones. What other games do you think have a story like that?

blake7921mo ago

I read a forum post once where a guy claimed his 1990 receipt showed a stock number from that first batch. It makes the hunt for a complete box today feel like a real treasure hunt... especially with all the expansions that came later.

juliarodriguez1mo ago

Always figured it was everywhere from the start. That tiny number makes its cult status way more understandable now. Guess we all just got lucky to see it in stores.