Yaquinto Games (1980; thin album $7, thick album $9)
Designed by Michael S. Matheny
Players 2-3
Playing Time 1-2 hours
Period Medieval Fantasy
Scale Tactical
Turn 1 minute
Map 8 feet
Unit one man or beast

Components
1 Album game box, folds out into 24”x12” game board. Came in two album styles - thin like an LP record jacket, and a 1” thick version with cardboard storage insert
1 12 page rules booklet
1 card with three perforated hero set-up sheets
2 plastic ziplock bags [Thin album] three panel folder (Yaquinto catalog), Space Gamer Magazine advertising flyer [Thick Yaquinto price sheet dated album] “Feb 1 1982”, rules booklet marked “Second Printing, March 1981” Counter 52 3/8” counters, 130 ˝” Manifest counters (9 white, 1 blank, and 3 identical sets of 40 colored red, blue, or green)

Yaquinto says:

“[A] wild, no holds barred man-to-man (or beast) game on two levels. Players control their own Hero in their portion of the maze as well as monsters in the opponents portion ... Your Hero must avoid traps, slaughter monsters, gather gold, and make it to the end of the labyrinth to win the hand of the stunning, voluptuous daughter of the most powerful wizard in the land.”

The reviewers say:

“[A] fast- playing, exciting adventure game ... The rules are direct and straight forward. Play flows smoothly and combat is not bogged down in a sea of tables and charts ... a relaxing change from other, involved, complicated fantasy adventure games.” --Paul Manz in The Space Gamer 30.

“Instead of devising yet another open-ended system, the designer ... opted for a limited but polished one-scenario game ... [C]ontributing to the game’s flavor is the map of three identical catacombs strewn with skeletons, mummies, bottomless pits and the other elements that give a dungeon its charm ... Hero is an enjoyable game ... However, after a few playings, it becomes repetitive and a bit worn ... What Hero is tailor-made for is as an introductory game, utilizing the strong allure of superior graphics to entice a newcomer, showing him a good game and leaving him wanting more.” --Roberto Camino in The Dragon 43.

“All in all, the game lacks real excitement but can be enjoyed purely as a ‘beer and pretzels’ game.” --Bob Schroeder in Campaign 101.

Comments:

Hack and slash dungeon with a twist. The mapboard consists of three dungeons that lead to a central area where the princess is patiently waiting to be rescued. Each player guides a lone Hero through one of the three dungeons to reach the princess. The twist is that in addition to playing their own Hero, each player controls the monsters in an opponent’s dungeon. As per the reviews, it’s beer and pretzels all the way, but a fun introductory game.

Collector’s Notes:

Hotter album game titles include Swashbuckler, French Foreign Legion and Adventurer. Colder titles include Neck and Neck, Market Madness and Fast Attack Boats. Hero seems to fall somewhere in between these groups. Boone lists low/high/average prices of 3/18/8.28 at auction and 5/20/ 12.57 for sale.

Other Yaquinto Album Games by this designer:

Asteroid Pirates, Beachhead, Commando Actions and Demon’s Run.

H is For Capsule Reviews

Introduction
H-Hour
Hell Hath No Fury
Hero
Hitler’s War (Metagaming)
Hitler’s War (AH)
Hougoumont
Hyper Battle