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- 8.7
Frosthaven
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Rules assistance for The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 30–60 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.0/5
Rules assistant for The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes is an expansion for The Quest for El Dorado released in 2018 for 2–4 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Reiner Knizia and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Race.
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About the game
The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes includes three new double-sided terrain tiles that add a new element to the game: curses. When a player stops on a demon space, they must draw and reveal a curse token to see how they're affected. Maybe they have to discard certain cards before they can travel on a particular type of terrain, or perhaps other explorers will move while the cursed one is paralyzed, or maybe you'll be afflicted by a demon, specifically a demon card that's shuffled into your deck and does nothing but frustrate you or get transformed into a half-coin each time you see it. Why would you travel to a demonic location when bad things would happen to you? Moving to that space doesn't cost a card, so you might just be being cheap, but additionally some demon spaces have tunnels that allow you to move directly from one hex on a tile to another on that same tile. Is that free movement worth the punishment you might suffer? The expansion includes two blockades that bear a demon symbol, and if you're the first to break such a blockade on your quest across the map, you must suffer the curse that follows. To play with this expansion, you must use the "Caves" variant of The Quest for El Dorado base game in which mountains are loaded with cave tokens. This expansion includes new cave tokens to be mixed with those of the base game, as well as four new types of expedition cards (with three copies of each) that can be pulled into the market once a stall opens. Each player starts the game with one of four familiars (dealt out at random) in their deck, with each familiar having a repeating power and a one-shot bonus power. For a further way to juice up your deck, you can visit one of the three tavern spaces in the game. When you do this, you draw the top three hero cards of the ten-card deck, place one of those heroes in your hand (after which it becomes a regular part of your deck), then shuffle the other two heroes into the deck. Only one hero per adventuring party, please! The expansion includes six suggested map set-ups — all at medium or hard levels, and all with three new terrain tiles — as well as guidelines for how to create maps yourself.
Editions
- The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & HexesenMeeple2023
- The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & HexesenLautapelit.fi2022
- The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & HexesenRavensburger AG2018
- В поисках Эльдорадо: Герои и демоныruLavka Games2023
- ล่าขุมทรัพย์นครทองคำ: ผู้กล้าและมนตราต้องสาปKorea Boardgames2023
- エルドラドを探して 新版：拡張 英雄と呪いArclight Games2022
- De Zoektocht naar El Dorado: Helden & Demonen999 Games2021
- Eldorádó legendája: Hősök és átkokReflexshop2021
- 황금의 땅 엘도라도: 전설적 탐험가와 저주Korea Boardgames2021
- Wyprawa do El Dorado: Demony DżungliplNasza Księgarnia2021
- The Legendary El Dorado: Eroi e DemoniitRavensburger AG2020
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Arclight Games
- Korea Boardgames
- Ravensburger AG
- Reflexshop
- 999 Games
- Lavka Games
- Lautapelit.fi
- Nasza Księgarnia
- Well Designed Game
- Meeple
Questions and answers
The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes is 30–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes belongs to these categories: Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Race. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes are: Reiner Knizia. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Quest for El Dorado: Heroes & Hexes as an expansion for The Quest for El Dorado. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need The Quest for El Dorado to use it. Check that your edition of The Quest for El Dorado is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.