  An overview of a hadron resonance gas (HRG) model that includes van der Waals
interactions between hadrons is presented. Applications of the excluded volume
HRG model to heavy-ion collision data and lattice QCD equation of state are
discussed. A recently developed quantum van der Waals hadron resonance gas
model is covered as well. Applications of this model in the context of the QCD
critical point are elaborated.
