Heroscape

My 8-year-old got the basic Heroscape set over the summer, and I have to say it is by far the best $40 we've spent in a LONG time.

I recall with crystal clarity (and equal distaste) the AD&D miniature I "painted" in 8th grade for a contest. While I was quite proud of "Hanse the Thief" (with a shout out to all the Thieves' World fans out there), my miniature-painting skills are best suited to rendering characters near the final stages of leprosy. Imagine my surprise when we pulled a couple dozen superbly-painted miniatures from the box. And the surprises kept coming...

The rules were simple, the gameplay engaging and the game is expandable. 6 expansion sets later, my son is still avidly saving his money for the next one. Using terrain pieces and assembling the battlefield is equally brilliant. Granted, it lets Milton Bradley sell new terrain pieces ad infinitum, but it lets you add variation to the game whenever you want.

The last piece that impressed me was the army-building. I'm still trying to get across to my son the benefits of assembling an army from complementary characters, but at least this game helps him think some about strategy rather than just stronger-army-beats-the-crap-out-of-weaker-army.

If you're looking for a visually appealing mix of Risk and AD&D with reasonably simple yet engaging gameplay, Heroscape (http://www.hasbro.com/heroscape/) is definitely for you.