Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Board Game?!

 Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Board Game?!

I want to be excited. Truly, I do. And I generally try and keep this blog positive. There are a number of games I haven't written about not because I've not played them, but because I so dislike them that I don't want to share that kind of stuff here. I think in some cases my complaints are valid and in others, I've only played the game once and I honestly can't even remember my beef with them other than knowing I never want to play them again because the experience was not at all redeeming for me. But this particular one cuts deep, man. Let me take you way back to 1996 and 12-year-old me.

Heroes of Might and Magic II was enough that I wanted a new computer that could run it. I would be at my friend Sean's house for a sleepover along with a couple of other friends and we'd play that game all night long. Sean was always the Wizard, Dave was always the Warlock, Max was always the Sorceress. And me? I was always the Necromancer. I loved everything the undead could bring to bear in battle, not the least of which were the endless Skeletons. If you're unfamiliar with Heroes of Might and Magic (HoMM), it's a turn-based strategy game in which each player would build up their respective towns and armies so those armies could be led around the board by heroes with different abilities. There are 6 different factions and there was so much to do and see. It has a Hot Seat option for people to play multiplayer games while at the same computer. Then 1999 rolled around and brought HoMM3 with it. And while HoMM2 was a lot of fun, HoMM3 was really something special. There have been plenty of Heroes games since then (they got to HoMM7), but 3 was the one that could never quite be beat. Though I'd argue 5 is quite good!

Anyway, HoMM3 holds a very special place in my heart and my childhood. So when I heard there was going to be a board game version of it, it sent an icy cold chill through both of those things (those things being my heart and childhood). Surely nobody would try to translate this masterpiece into an arena it couldn't possibly work? But here we are. I'll be the first to say that this is completely personal for me and isn't based in anything other than how much I love the video game. I am absolutely NOT coming to this with an open mind nor is any of what I'm saying particularly fair. It may very well come off as hating on the developers, but I do want to stress that's not the case. More power to them for being ambitious!

It's begrudging, but the respect is real.

I checked out the webpage for the board game and I don't really like what I see. But I'm not here to try and torpedo what they've put out there. Artistic endeavors are always a risk and it shouldn't be for us to tear artists down when they're trying a thing. I firmly believe that. But I also firmly believe that some things don't translate well between mediums. And while I enjoyed playing Diablo, I'm really not interested in a Diablo movie. And in just the same way, as much as I love HoMM3, I'm really not interested in an HoMM3 board game.

Why? Because I don't think it translates well. But I literally just spent 15 minutes laying out the beginnings of my argument when I got tired of it. No, not the case I was building. I could talk about that literally all day. So if you don't want an earful, don't bring it up around me. It was the creeping feeling that no matter how I was framing this, it was sounding negative and harsh. It absolutely reeked of the kind of crap I generally don't like reading because it's someone talking about how a thing can't work despite having no experience with it. Oh, I stand by my assessment, but I won't lay it out here.

Instead, I want to say this: try things you think you won't like. There are exceptions to the rule, of course. I don't need to play a full game of 40k to know that it's just too much for me. Too much money, too much time, too much painting, too many dice. And that's not a knock on the game! I just know it's too much for me. I know there are games out there in which I'm simply not interested because the theme or mechanics don't interest me. I don't mean "I don't think I'll like them;" I mean I've played games in that wheelhouse before, I don't enjoy them, and I don't feel the need to try more of the same. It could be that I am wrong, but I also have limited time and there's only so much of it that I want to spend on things I'm confident I won't enjoy. But in other instances, it's worth the effort! I wrote awhile back that I really enjoy worker placement games. When my friend John said he wanted to play Viticulture, I wasn't particularly interested in playing a game about wine-making. But a lack of interest is not the same as aversion, and so I was willing to give it a shot. Turns out I really dig the game! I can't tell you what made me decide to try Ethiopian food for the first time here in St. Louis. But I do know that I tried this place on South Grand called Meskerem and ever since, I'd be perfectly happy to eat there weekly. The food is truly that good. And if I find an Ethiopian restaurant in another city, I won't hesitate to order everything they've got on the menu!

I've literally never had a dish at Meskerem that I didn't love. It's ALL delicious.

It's worth trying things you think you might not like. Not all the time, of course. And oftentimes, you'll be right about whether or not you like a thing. But sometimes, you'll find that thing you never anticipated enjoying and learn that you like it. Occasionally, it'll turn out that you love it! While I've been enjoying all of the Spirit Island I've gotten to play lately, I'm getting ready to put it down for a minute or two. My enjoyment of it hasn't ceased or even lessened, really. But I'm thinking about a lot of the games from that list I made back at the end of January featuring all of those unplayed games sitting on my shelf. They're still there. Even the ones I was certain I'd play a couple of weeks ago didn't make it to the table. I've got work ahead of me and it's already nearly the middle of February! Cabin Con 2022 should help make a big dent in that, as should the next Geekway I attend! But lately, I've not had my usual game design time with Chad (which features playing new games before we settle in and get to work) and I've been spending a fair amount of my gaming time prepping for competition at Adepticon (specifically for Star Wars Armada, but I might be playing Kill Team and X-Wing too!). And as of this week, I tested positive for COVID-19. The vaccine and booster are doing the heavy lifting and my symptoms amounted to no more than some light congestion and a slightly scratchy throat. But obviously that means I'm not playing games with other folks right now.

Anyway, this started out as a post about Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Board Game, but I just couldn't keep things positive. I'm not going to lie just so I can be positive. So I decided halfway through to spin it out into something else. When this board game comes out, I will not be buying a copy of it. But if someone I know does and wants to play it, then I'm willing to give it a try. I'm still confident in my assessment of the inability to translate the greatness of HoMM3 to a board game. But I'm often willing to try things I am fairly certain I won't like just because at the end of the day, the things I like will still be there!

Except Cosmic Encounter. You can threaten to bury me alive if I refuse to play Cosmic Encounter again and I'll go out, buy a shovel, dig the hole myself, then climb into said hole, hand you the shovel, and just wait for the end.