Gloomhaven

It is the board game! haha. Complete in all it's glory and it's a lot of glory! I didn't know what I getting myself into as I've never played a boardgame like this or even know what it was about, but the hype got to me. Did some research and felt like I knew what I was getting myself into but it can be a lot to take in. If you don't know what this game is about I would suggest a little research. If still intrigue, and I hope you will be, then take the plunge. FYI: They have released an "extra" that maybe purchased separately, which are removable stickers that you use as you play. Highly recommend if you plan on replaying. I believe these might be for the 1st and 2nd edition of the game. There's so much game that the removable stickers might not be necessary, unless ... MoreIt is the board game! haha. Complete in all it's glory and it's a lot of glory! I didn't know what I getting myself into as I've never played a boardgame like this or even know what it was about, but the hype got to me. Did some research and felt like I knew what I was getting myself into but it can be a lot to take in. If you don't know what this game is about I would suggest a little research. If still intrigue, and I hope you will be, then take the plunge. FYI: They have released an "extra" that maybe purchased separately, which are removable stickers that you use as you play. Highly recommend if you plan on replaying. I believe these might be for the 1st and 2nd edition of the game. There's so much game that the removable stickers might not be necessary, unless you absolutely want to restart everything, but that will be your decision.

Don't be daunted by the price (granted it's supposed to retail at $140). This game destroys all o...

Don't be daunted by the price (granted it's supposed to retail at $140). This game destroys all other games hands down. The sheer amount of stuff that you get in the box is impressive to the point it's almost ridiculous and it weighs nearly 30 lbs. Fair warning though that it will take you about 2 hours to fully learn the game, not to mention the time to fully get prepared to play your first game from punching out all the assorted enemy standees, tokens and map tiles. Basically don't buy this and expect to open it and be playing within a few minutes. Once you get the rules down pat and have everything sorted and ready to go it is sooooo much fun. You can play the game solo or with a group of up to 4. You start out in the town of Gloomhaven and must take on quests to ... MoreDon't be daunted by the price (granted it's supposed to retail at $140). This game destroys all other games hands down. The sheer amount of stuff that you get in the box is impressive to the point it's almost ridiculous and it weighs nearly 30 lbs. Fair warning though that it will take you about 2 hours to fully learn the game, not to mention the time to fully get prepared to play your first game from punching out all the assorted enemy standees, tokens and map tiles. Basically don't buy this and expect to open it and be playing within a few minutes. Once you get the rules down pat and have everything sorted and ready to go it is sooooo much fun. You can play the game solo or with a group of up to 4. You start out in the town of Gloomhaven and must take on quests to proceed in the massive story the game book provides. Along the way there are optional side quests you can partake in to get more loot and experience. After each quest whether you succeed or fail, you travel back to town where you can visit the shop to spend your hard earned gold on new equipment and gear, level up your character that you are playing from the experience you gained from the quests, donate to the local church (which gives a benefit) , start a new character AND/OR take part in city events. The town itself has a prosperity level that is raised as you do specific quests. It starts at level 1 and every time it gains a new level more different items get added to the town shop to pick through for purchase. The city events are randomized and they supply an interesting story of something happening in the city that allows you and your group to make a choice on how you want to proceed with the event. The choice you make determines whether something good, bad or neutral happens to your group. This game is LONG. It takes on average 2 hours to complete one quest and there are 98 different quests in the quest book. Mind you that 2 hours is generous, for my group it typically takes about 3 hours per quest as we have much more discussion as we are delving into dungeons. As such the game is made for new people to easily join and drop from playing throughout the game if someone decides they don't want to play anymore. Also there are 6 characters to choose from starting out so if someone doesn't like the character they picked right off the bat, then they can easily switch to a different character once they get back to town. Once you finally get done partaking in the city life you draw a random road event quest card to complete. These basically act just like the city event cards I detailed earlier but with story elements more directed to life on the road. Once that is finished, you start the quest you were traveling to. You open up the quest book and find the current quest and start the setup process. Each quest has a completely different setup and they are all played on modular pieces that make up the game board. Each piece will snap together to form the current dungeon or area and there are doors throughout usually that separate the individual rooms. One of the cool things is, your group doesn't know what lies in wait on the other side of each door until one of you opens it. Then whoever is running the quest book sets up the next room for the party. Also the quest book has very thematic story elements you read as you start the quest and when you open each new door to really set the mood. There is always a specific quest goal that you must complete to beat each quest run, at which point you and your group will gain any number of items. It could be gold, experience, new locations to explore, new gear to be added to the market. All kinds of cool stuff not to mention your progression in the very awesome story. If you lose the quest, you are transported back to town to recover. The good news? You get to keep all the gold and experience you gained from the quest so you don't leave empty handed and feel like you wasted your time. However if you want to proceed in the story and open new locations/quests you must buck up and beat the quest at hand. If the game feels too hard you can easily lower the difficulty of the enemies but be warned that this also lowers the bonus experience and amount of gold you collect from enemies. I would suggest for first time players to play the first couple of quests at the lowest difficulty until you have a good grasp of the play mechanics and rules. Then after that have at it! As far as progression of the game goes, as you defeat locations and quests you will unlock new locations and more quests to take part in. There is another game board that acts as a map of gloomhaven (the town) and its surrounding land. On this gameboard you will keep track of all the locations you have unlocked and beaten via stickers that are included with the game. When you beat a location you check a little box on the sticker with a marker or pen to show you have completed it. And when you unlock a new location you find that location sticker and p...

Gloomhaven

Not the average dungeon crawler or legacy game. Gloomhaven is similar to playing a predesigned D&D module without the need for a DM. Gameplay is strategic and challenging. Players build a hand of cards for their movement and attacks. These cards need to last long enough to complete a dungeon. Powerful attacks deplete the characters quickly as they can only be performed once and reduce the hand size. D20 Dice have been replaced with a deck of cards that can be customized as the characters level. Character eventually meet their life goal and retire unlocking new character classes to continue this epic adventure. 17 unique classes,a world that levels with you, branching story, 90+ predesigned locations to explore and a random dungeon generator, it very impressive.FYI ... MoreNot the average dungeon crawler or legacy game. Gloomhaven is similar to playing a predesigned D&D module without the need for a DM. Gameplay is strategic and challenging. Players build a hand of cards for their movement and attacks. These cards need to last long enough to complete a dungeon. Powerful attacks deplete the characters quickly as they can only be performed once and reduce the hand size. D20 Dice have been replaced with a deck of cards that can be customized as the characters level. Character eventually meet their life goal and retire unlocking new character classes to continue this epic adventure. 17 unique classes,a world that levels with you, branching story, 90+ predesigned locations to explore and a random dungeon generator, it very impressive.FYI - Retail is identical to the 2nd edition kickstarter edition and the 17 solo scenarios were freely released by the developer online.I would recommend a storage solution, what is included is ok but setup and takedown is very time consuming.

Great game, won't be for everyone though

Genuinely worth the price if you're into your board gaming experiences. There's no review I could provide that would be as useful or comprehensive as others out there (I particularly recommend the Shut Up and Sit Down review which does an excellent job of highlighting the best and worst of the game). That said I've played a bunch of 2 player games and I'm getting started on a 4 player campaign and it's a truly exceptional experience. That said if you're not the kind of person who enjoys watching long reviews or reading length manuals this won't be for you. Nothing in the game is overly complicated but there is a LOT to bear in mind at any given time and if you're used to more family friendly games this will be super daunting. Also if you ARE the kind of person who ... MoreGenuinely worth the price if you're into your board gaming experiences. There's no review I could provide that would be as useful or comprehensive as others out there (I particularly recommend the Shut Up and Sit Down review which does an excellent job of highlighting the best and worst of the game). That said I've played a bunch of 2 player games and I'm getting started on a 4 player campaign and it's a truly exceptional experience. That said if you're not the kind of person who enjoys watching long reviews or reading length manuals this won't be for you. Nothing in the game is overly complicated but there is a LOT to bear in mind at any given time and if you're used to more family friendly games this will be super daunting. Also if you ARE the kind of person who saw the price and went 'who would spend that much on a bunch of cardboard' then this won't be for you. However if you're the kind of person who really enjoys board games (or D&D for that matter) then I would at the very least recommend looking at some of the excellent professional reviews out there. Whilst I do think the game is excellent and worth the high price there are some caveats/ issues that may be deal breakers even for people seriously into their games so make sure you know what you're getting into.

Great strategic dungeon adventure for an ongoing game!

Excellent game for someone who consistently wants to get play an ongoing campaign of a game, either solo (you can play alone) or with a group of friends (up to four can play). The primary mechanic of the game produces very strategic gameplay- basically on your turn you can play two cards, which have an action on the top half and an action on the bottom half (movement, attacks, disabling traps, healing, etc)... and you are only allowed to use the top of one card, and the bottom of the other card, which means you are always having to pick carefully since every choice means you're not getting to choose something else. Careful choices will yield success as you battle your different hero character types through a variety of dungeons, built out of a pile of interlocking ... MoreExcellent game for someone who consistently wants to get play an ongoing campaign of a game, either solo (you can play alone) or with a group of friends (up to four can play). The primary mechanic of the game produces very strategic gameplay- basically on your turn you can play two cards, which have an action on the top half and an action on the bottom half (movement, attacks, disabling traps, healing, etc)... and you are only allowed to use the top of one card, and the bottom of the other card, which means you are always having to pick carefully since every choice means you're not getting to choose something else. Careful choices will yield success as you battle your different hero character types through a variety of dungeons, built out of a pile of interlocking map parts. The bigger draw about what makes Gloomhaven special is the campaign. Each game you play is only one battle in the ongoing, overarching game, as you gain money and level up your characters over the course of multiple sessions of gameplay, and eventually achieve character goals that allow you to retire your current character and unlock new material for the game. Aside from sealed envelopes with mystery content, there are six starter classes to choose from but another TEN that are sealed in boxes. I do not know what they all are, as we have not played enough yet to unlock more than one, but we found it exciting to experience having a game where I don't know all the surprises it has to unveil yet. So if you enjoy dungeon crawl or strategy games, and want to play it with a group for a long time, enjoy some light story elements stringing together your dungeon adventures, and slowly but surely unlock secret boxes and envelopes with more content, this is a solid recommendation. Caveats- I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who is looking for a casual party game with pals that they might pull out every couple of months, due to the learning curve of the game and the ongoing campaign nature. I found it best to run a solo session myself to get at least somewhat familiar with the rules before I played with my friends, rather than get stressed out trying to play the game straight out of the box with the rulebook. This is the internet, so if you want more information use google, but try to avoid spoiling yourself. I find the Gloomhaven community is pretty good overall about keeping things vague (ie referring to unlockable classes by their symbol rather than their names, ie "three spears", "sun", or "two-minis" class, to avoid spoiling).

It is typically overpriced here on Home Essentials Direct, but if you can find a copy under $130....

It is typically overpriced here on Home Essentials Direct, but if you can find a copy under $130.00, and if you have a couple friends who like dungeons and dragons, but don't like the whole talking like an elf part, then this is your game. PROS: It is easily one of the best stand-alone games I have ever played. My group has only played through about a half dozen dungeons so far and I am thoroughly blown away by how good it is. The actual game mechanics when you're in dungeons is pretty clever and well designed. The use of cards instead of dice works very well and always makes every choice you make feel important and satisfying. The overall campaign is basically a full D&D campaign sprinkled between exciting dungeons. We played on normal mode, and each time we ... MoreIt is typically overpriced here on Home Essentials Direct, but if you can find a copy under $130.00, and if you have a couple friends who like dungeons and dragons, but don't like the whole talking like an elf part, then this is your game. PROS: It is easily one of the best stand-alone games I have ever played. My group has only played through about a half dozen dungeons so far and I am thoroughly blown away by how good it is. The actual game mechanics when you're in dungeons is pretty clever and well designed. The use of cards instead of dice works very well and always makes every choice you make feel important and satisfying. The overall campaign is basically a full D&D campaign sprinkled between exciting dungeons. We played on normal mode, and each time we completed a dungeon it felt like we just barely completed it. Choices you make in town or on the road have actual consequences that last the entirety of the campaign and can lead to different paths for different groups. If you like painting the character models that come with it are pretty well detailed and are a pleasure to paint as well. It is a game with so much content that i can see my group playing off and on over the course of a year (or more). CONS: It is an $$expensive$$ game that takes a long time to set up, a long time to play, and a long time to pick up. Also, punching out all the content out of the cardboard takes a long time. Storage is also an issue - there is so much stuff that fitting it all in the box it came in can pose a challenge (although there are companies that make really good solutions to this... but they can be pricey).. Overall it is an amzing game that will give you somewhere around 100 hours of playable content. The dungeon gameplay is deep and rewarding and a pleasure to play, and the campaign story ties it all together in a fun "choose your adventure" style system where you and your group of friends can forge your own somewhat unique path.

It's hard to describe the awesomeness of this masterpiece. All my friends and family thought I wa...

It's hard to describe the awesomeness of this masterpiece. All my friends and family thought I was crazy waiting 7 months after spending over 200 in total for this one game... It was worth the wait. An escape from the digital world, in that fantasy realm, with more detail and lore than even triple A games seem to provide these days.... This game is a true master piece. There was so much planning and consideration put into this game, ensuring that you had content for weeks/months/years to come (varying on how much you play obviously). Balance feels great and provides a sense of challenge. Let me be clear, this isn't your family board game. This game requires dedication, commitment, and enthusiasm. You will spend time on setup and clean up. But, the experience is ... MoreIt's hard to describe the awesomeness of this masterpiece. All my friends and family thought I was crazy waiting 7 months after spending over 200 in total for this one game... It was worth the wait. An escape from the digital world, in that fantasy realm, with more detail and lore than even triple A games seem to provide these days.... This game is a true master piece. There was so much planning and consideration put into this game, ensuring that you had content for weeks/months/years to come (varying on how much you play obviously). Balance feels great and provides a sense of challenge. Let me be clear, this isn't your family board game. This game requires dedication, commitment, and enthusiasm. You will spend time on setup and clean up. But, the experience is worth it for any RPG/dungeon crawl fan. If you find the likes of DnD/Pathfinder etc too "open ended", you will appreciate this giving you that same friends at a table top experience, but a well defined rule set, where everyone players. And it's your game, so if you want to house rule it to add some openness still... go for it! The only problem I have with this game is that the people I play with don't live with me... :)

It's hard to summarize a review for this game, because some things are really great and others ar...

It's hard to summarize a review for this game, because some things are really great and others are absolutely terrible. GOOD - The general concept of a highly modular dungeon crawler game with a Legacy-style persistent world and a novel style of tactical combat is a good one - Beautiful artwork - With certain reservations, the card-based combat system is both very fresh and very fun - The amount of content included is mind-blowing. I've heard some groups got over 200 hours of play out of the base set, and I believe them BAD - My friends and I like board games, but anyone who is not an ultra-hardcore gamer need not apply here. The rules are very, very, very complex and detailed. Unless you watch like a hawk you can regularly expect to forget to draw cards or apply ... MoreIt's hard to summarize a review for this game, because some things are really great and others are absolutely terrible. GOOD - The general concept of a highly modular dungeon crawler game with a Legacy-style persistent world and a novel style of tactical combat is a good one - Beautiful artwork - With certain reservations, the card-based combat system is both very fresh and very fun - The amount of content included is mind-blowing. I've heard some groups got over 200 hours of play out of the base set, and I believe them BAD - My friends and I like board games, but anyone who is not an ultra-hardcore gamer need not apply here. The rules are very, very, very complex and detailed. Unless you watch like a hawk you can regularly expect to forget to draw cards or apply effects or alter your damage calculations when you are technically supposed to, which makes it very frustrating if you want to play correctly and not cheat. - It takes FOREVER to set up, especially the first few rounds. Block off at least an hour for your first game to do this. Overall the ratio of time spent setting up/taking down to playing is probably the worst I've ever seen. - The theme is meh. Pretty generic fantasy stuff, with a Warcraft-style option to be "good guys" or "bad guys" even though both plot threads play out pretty similarly. Because you can pick your characters, it means your characters don't actually get to grow or evolve (except for their stats) or have arcs of their own, as far as the game's plot is concerned you will always be just a gang of generic mercenaries with a "Reputation" score and not much else. - The box weighs like 25 lbs and is a pain to carry around. - Personally I thought the combat gets kind of same-y and static over time, especially since you only get one new card per level (and it takes several sessions to level up). You're basically using the same set of ~10 cards over and over and over. I respect what the designers were going for, but I think they went too far on the side of adding mechanics and complexity to the point that the game became unwieldy and flawed. They almost should've made it a computer game if they wanted this level of detail. But if you are willing to put in a lot of time dealing with the rules, I could see a group of hardcore gamers having fun with this one.

There's a Reason It's the Best

Absolutely phenomenal game. Definitely takes a long time to set up and tear down each session. Each session takes longer than you would think. Unless you absolutely stifle all irrelevant conversation, expect to be at the table for 3-4 hours if you have 4 people playing. It's oh, so worth it, though. Highly recommended game.

This game is vastly over rated. It's basically just DnD with stickers. Which is fine if you are i...

This game is vastly over rated. It's basically just DnD with stickers. Which is fine if you are into that. Except instead of your standard RPG where you have 2 hours of setup at the beginning and then can play for months. You have to do the setup literally every time. The game takes a solid 30-40 minutes to setup the first few games, you do get better at it as you go along now its at about 20 minutes max to setup for my group. Then the game can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to play. Then boom you have to redo setup for the next scenario. Every single time. And a solid 20% of the game play is asking "Hold on... I just saw that piece where did it go?" because this game comes in a big empty box. No separators, no bags, just your pieces and a half baked sorta ... MoreThis game is vastly over rated. It's basically just DnD with stickers. Which is fine if you are into that. Except instead of your standard RPG where you have 2 hours of setup at the beginning and then can play for months. You have to do the setup literally every time. The game takes a solid 30-40 minutes to setup the first few games, you do get better at it as you go along now its at about 20 minutes max to setup for my group. Then the game can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to play. Then boom you have to redo setup for the next scenario. Every single time. And a solid 20% of the game play is asking "Hold on... I just saw that piece where did it go?" because this game comes in a big empty box. No separators, no bags, just your pieces and a half baked sorta separator at the bottom that holds like 6 of the 40 things the game has. Want to cut down on some of that setup time? Well oh boy get ready to drop another 100 dollars on an organizer from a third party that you will spend 6 hours putting together at which point you come on to Home Essentials Direct to share your realization that, This game is just kinda good but not worth all that time and money you just spent. It's on par with other good games, but when you have the honest thought of "Man I want to play, but it would be way quicker and easier just to pull out Scythe" you know someone screwed up. Why are there so many pieces. It's not like the different monsters beyond the first 15 really add anything. Who needs 5 different types of demons. It just adds a bunch of unnecessary complexity to the setup so some board game nerd can gush over how much is included. All this doesn't even effect what makes the game good, and that's the card/deck building system. But you don't need 150 card board cutouts and gratuitous decks of one use pseudo-roleplay cards. To have fun in this game. You could literally cut the pieces down by half and have the same experience. That being said, meh solid game you should get it if you like big rules heavy board games. If you don't maybe go pickup a different game.