Gloomhaven (2017)

“This game is fun! This is an amazing game, with a lot of replayability. Finishing each campaign level leaves me wanting to come back for more, and more and more.”

The reviewer considers Gloomhaven a 'must-play' for fans of complex, tactical board games, praising it as one of the finest tactical deck-building board games ever created for those willing to persevere through its slower pace and higher difficulty.

The reviewer hails Gloomhaven as a masterpiece and the best dungeon crawl board game they've ever played, highlighting its balanced mechanics, thematic card play reflecting character fatigue, and robust tactical and strategic depth.

The reviewer expressed immense satisfaction with Gloomhaven, stating it was a fantastic experience that exceeded all expectations and his most anticipated game, despite a couple of minor nitpicks.

“The game was quickly praised for its ‘masterful design’, dubbed the ‘ultimate tabletop dungeon crawler’, and recognized as one of the best fantasy board games available.”

“Gloomhaven is all these things and more and if it is not my game of the year I will be very, very surprised.”

The reviewer enthusiastically recommends Gloomhaven, highlighting its unique legacy system, deep card-driven combat, and evolving narrative that creates a rich RPG experience without the need for a Dungeon Master.

The reviewer highly praises Gloomhaven, calling it a masterpiece and the best dungeon crawl board game they have ever played, highlighting its balanced mechanics and the urgent decision-making created by card loss.

Tom Vasel found Gloomhaven to be a phenomenal and impressive game, easily one of his favorites, praising its persistent world, engaging story, and unique characters despite some initial slow pacing and high difficulty.

The reviewer, Adam Smith of Rolling Solo, holds Gloomhaven in extremely high regard, as evidenced by his extensive coverage with over 140 videos dedicated to the game, showcasing a deep and lasting appreciation for its tactical combat and persistent world.

“I spent more than 50 sessions over 3 years with that great game and I definitely feel this was a time well spent. Really, highly recommended!”

“It’s a reimagining, an artistic revision that allowed a team to apply the skills and experience they gained over the years to bring out the full potential of the initial catalyst that first ignited the flames of the Haven Games into the world.”

The Man vs Meeple hosts enthusiastically praise Gloomhaven as an exceptional dungeon crawler, highlighting its deep hand management, constant meaningful choices, and captivating legacy campaign that provides a compelling experience and makes it difficult to stop playing.

“I’ve played a lot of dungeon crawl board games, but Gloomhaven has quickly become my new favorite. The game gives you a giant world to explore, and its tactical combat is innovative and best in class.”

“While the game is complex, it's not complicated, it needs to be played, but it's not difficult to understand. It's a game that will challenge you, engage you and keep you coming back for more.”

“Gloomhaven does dungeon delving better than Descent or Imperial Assault by a long way - and in many ways just by removing the dice! It has a solid core and a superbly rich exterior that so many games fail to get right.”

The reviewers describe Gloomhaven as a gargantuan and highly immersive legacy dungeon crawler that, despite its significant time commitment and unique dice-less combat system, offers a deeply strategic and rewarding puzzle-solving experience that players will come to call home.

The reviewer highly praises Gloomhaven for its innovative card-driven action system, the exceptional variety and uniqueness of its 17 playable characters, and the engaging narrative elements provided by city and road events. He particularly enjoys the balanced difficulty and the tension created by the combat modifier deck, finding it a refreshing alternative to traditional dice rolling.

The reviewer highly praises Gloomhaven for its exceptional tactical combat, resource management, and the immense amount of content it offers through nearly 100 missions and diverse character classes. However, they note that the game requires a significant time commitment and has a steep learning curve due to its many icons and effects.

The Game Boy Geek praises Gloomhaven for its immense content and strategic depth, noting that even for someone not typically keen on dungeon crawls, the game offers an incredibly engaging and long-lasting experience.

The reviewer praises Gloomhaven Second Edition as a "damn good game" and one of the best dungeon crawls ever, noting its enhanced presentation and exciting updates that build upon the original's legacy and the improvements seen in later titles like Frosthaven.

The reviewers highly praise Gloomhaven's combat system, calling it the best dungeon crawler gameplay available, and commend its vast content. However, they note that the game's immense size leads to considerable setup and organization challenges, and some late-game repetitiveness and balance issues.

The reviewer found Gloomhaven to be a highly satisfying and crunchy tactical combat experience, offering a constant stream of new content, though acknowledging its considerable administrative overhead and potential for analysis paralysis in some groups.

The reviewer enthusiastically praises Gloomhaven for its massive, engaging campaign, intricate card-based combat, and rich thematic elements, noting it's an 'awesome' experience despite minor criticisms regarding the quantity of standees and large box size.

The reviewer highly recommends Gloomhaven, stating that it lived up to and exceeded the hype, offering a deep story, engaging strategic card-based combat, varied classes, and exceptional replayability that makes it well worth the investment.

The reviewer found Gloomhaven to be an immensely valuable and deeply tactical cooperative campaign game with genuinely unique characters. However, they noted that its massive size leads to a very time-consuming setup, tear-down, and overall management, often necessitating digital tools to streamline play.

The reviewer highly praises Gloomhaven as an incredible achievement and a game he never regretted playing, recommending it as a prime choice for those who can dedicate significant time and effort. However, he warns that its demands for commitment in playtime, organization, and logistics might lead to regret for players with limited time or a backlog of other games.

The reviewer highly praises Gloomhaven for its incredible, deep, and strategic dungeon-crawling gameplay, vast amount of content, and distinct character classes, calling it one of the best in its genre. However, significant criticisms are aimed at the game's cumbersome setup and organization, as well as its somewhat basic story and potential for late-game repetitiveness.

“Isaac Childres’ epic dungeon-crawling fantasy adventure Gloomhaven had held the top spot for just over five years, reportedly making it the longest-reigning BGG number one to date.”

The reviewer highlights Gloomhaven as a unique, massive hand-management card game with extensive campaign content and unique character progression, cautioning viewers not to expect a traditional dice-rolling RPG. The game offers incredible gameplay and value, despite potential setup and organization challenges.

This video serves as an official tutorial for Gloomhaven 2nd Edition, meticulously explaining its rules and mechanics to help players learn how to play the game.

“I think I can recommend Gloomhaven to a certain type of game group or player, but I cannot breathlessly recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone-everywhere-all-the-time.”

“Gloomhaven does a great job of inventing a deep, tactical, dice-less combat, dungeon crawl system. Too bad that the game is bloated, grind-tastic, and poorly paced.”