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Gloomhaven (5th Printing) Reviews

4.9 Rating 16 Reviews
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Gloomhaven is a co-operative adventure game for 1-4 players which immerses you in the fantasy world, surrounding the town of Gloomhaven, as imagined by designer Issac Childres. By playing the game over many scenarios, you’ll develop your own character and learn to cooperate in the game’s tactical, card driven combat system. The game is scenario based, with a story woven between each scenario that you will find in the book. As you encounter new characters they might lead you to discover new areas of the board – applying stickers to customise the board itself. You can choose where to explore, as well as choosing the outcome of different events along the way. For each scenario, you’ll build a unique map of game tiles, populated with terrible creatures, which you must defeat to succeed. You’ll gain experience and treasure along the way, allowing you to upgrade your adventurer with skills and items to help in further scenarios. In terms of gameplay, Gloomhaven is a unique dungeon crawling experience. Each turn you’ll select two action cards, which determine your speed and also the movement and combat actions you’ll take. Although you’re co-operating, all players choose their actions independently to try and take on different challenges that the group are currently facing. This simple card mechanism is a really effective one for giving you control over your outcomes in the game, as well as driving some really interesting decisions. Gloomhaven is widely regarded as a fantastic game, with two successful Kickstarters behind it, as well as the accolade of being the number one rated game by gamers on BoardGameGeek. It seems to appeal to both gamers with an interest in typical dungeon crawl style board games, as well as a wider range of people who are drawn to the game for its story, campaign and card driven mechanisms. There is a significant amount of content in the Gloomhaven box! The game includes miniatures to represent each character, as well as a huge amount of cardboard map tiles, tokens and monsters. It’s a great big box, full of adventure, that keeps gamers coming back to the table for tens or hundreds of game sessions. Player Count: 1-4 Time: 60-120 Minutes Age: 12+
 
 

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The big box RPG that needs no introduction... We found that 2-3 players is our sweet spot for playing this epic game of battling, teamwork and moving through a well crafted world that will change permanently according to your decisions within it. It take a long time to set up (without an organiser) so if you are going to buy it, try to factor that in or you may have trouble getting it to the table. Of course, an organiser doesn't have to be expensive (google is your friend here) you can make your own or pay almost the price of the game again depending on the weight of your gold pouch :) Once you get it out, set up everything for your first fight and have a go - chances are your first night will be a disaster, this is reasonably normal and you will find your feet in the second shot at it (and it's well worth it). Also...read the manual before opening any tuck boxes / envelopes :)
3 Helpful Report
Posted 4 years ago
Though expensive and a big time commitment to play, we are hugely enjoying this rich, crunchy and deep game. It's going to keep us happily busy for many gaming sessions to come. We've played the game both 2-player and 4-player and the scaling and balance are perfect. Almost every scenario comes right down to the wire, so winning feels incredibly satisfying. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes D&D and complex boardgames.
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Posted 5 years ago
Author didn't leave any comments.
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Posted 5 years ago
Only downside is it makes your other boardgames look bad! My wife got me Gloomhaven as an anniversary present and I love it. Creates stories you want to talk about, the combat modifier deck is so much more satisfying than rolling dice, and each scenario you feel like you win by the skin of your teeth. The new Bloodborne game is using diceless combat mechanics. I'm sure this will become a trend as it gives the designer such a wonderful lever to tweak player power and the customisation options are vast. Love it.
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Posted 5 years ago
This game certainly is an investment but it's worth every penny and I can see myself having it in my collection for a long, long time!
1 Helpful Report
Posted 6 years ago