Gloomhaven Review

Intro

When Gloomhaven landed on tables in 2017, it didn't just make a splash—it created a tidal wave. This massive tactical combat dungeon crawler swept up nearly every major board game award that year, and honestly, it deserved them. Designer Isaac Childres crafted something that feels like the love child of a legacy board game and a full-blown RPG campaign.

The game supports 1-4 players and typically runs about 2 hours per session, though you'll be coming back for dozens more. With an online rating of 8.56 out of 10, it's firmly planted in the "heavy" category—not quite expert-level, but definitely more complex than your average game night fare. Think of it as moderately challenging with a lot of moving parts to track.

How It Plays

At its heart, Gloomhaven is about making tough decisions with limited resources. Each player controls a mercenary character with a unique deck of ability cards. Every turn, you pick two cards from your hand—one determines when you act that round, and you'll use the top ability from one card and bottom ability from the other.

Here's the kicker: after using cards, some go to your discard pile, but others are lost forever. Run out of cards, and your character gets exhausted and has to retreat. It creates this brilliant tension where you want to use your powerful abilities, but you also need to pace yourself for the long haul.

Combat happens on hex-based maps with cardboard standees representing monsters. The enemies don't need a game master—they follow simple AI rules based on ability cards you flip each round. Between scenarios, you make story choices that permanently change the world. New locations open up, others become unavailable, and your decisions ripple through the entire campaign.

Character progression feels satisfying too. You'll gain experience, find loot, unlock new ability cards, and even retire characters to unlock entirely new classes. The persistent world keeps evolving based on your group's choices.

Highlights

The card-driven combat system is genuinely innovative. Instead of rolling dice and hoping for the best, every action feels deliberate and tactical. You're constantly weighing short-term gains against long-term sustainability, and the initiative system creates interesting timing puzzles as you try to coordinate with teammates.

The sheer amount of content is staggering. We're talking about a campaign that can easily run 100+ hours with branching storylines, 17 different character classes to unlock, and nearly 100 unique scenarios. The legacy elements mean your copy of the game becomes uniquely yours, scarred and modified by your group's journey through this dark fantasy world.

What really sets Gloomhaven apart is how it nails the cooperative puzzle aspect. Sure, you're fighting monsters, but the real challenge is coordinating with your teammates when you can't fully communicate your plans. You have to telegraph your intentions through card selection and positioning, creating these wonderful moments of unspoken teamwork.

The solo mode deserves special mention too. Playing multiple characters yourself works surprisingly well, and it's one of the best solo board gaming experiences out there. You get all the tactical depth without needing to wrangle a consistent gaming group.

Character retirement might sound like a drawback, but it's actually brilliant. Just when you're getting comfortable with your abilities, you unlock a new class and get to explore completely different tactical approaches. It keeps the game fresh across its massive campaign length.

Criticisms

Let's be honest about the elephant in the room: setup and teardown time. Getting this beast to the table is a commitment. You'll spend 15-20 minutes just setting up each scenario, sorting enemy standees, building the map, and organizing the various decks. After a long gaming session, packing it all away can feel like a chore. The insert that comes with the game is pretty much useless, so you'll probably want to invest in some organizer solution.

The rules complexity can be overwhelming initially. There are tons of small rules interactions, status effects, and special cases to remember. Your first few scenarios will involve a lot of rulebook flipping, and even experienced players occasionally discover they've been playing something wrong for months. The game also demands a lot of bookkeeping—tracking damage, conditions, scenario goals, and campaign progress.

Some players find the fantasy theme and writing a bit generic. The world-building is serviceable but not particularly inspired, and the scenario flavor text can feel repetitive after a while. If you're looking for rich storytelling and memorable characters, you might come away wanting more. The focus is clearly on tactical gameplay rather than narrative immersion.

Conclusion

Gloomhaven is perfect for gaming groups that crave deep, tactical experiences and don't mind the commitment. If you love puzzling out optimal plays, coordinating complex team strategies, and watching your characters grow over dozens of sessions, this is your game. Solo players looking for a meaty campaign will also find plenty to love.

Skip it if you prefer lighter games, need something that hits the table quickly, or want rich storytelling over tactical combat. The time investment is real, both in learning the rules and playing through the campaign. But for those willing to dive in, Gloomhaven offers one of the most rewarding and comprehensive gaming experiences available. There's a reason it dominated the awards circuit and continues to top popularity charts years later.