Gloomhaven/Frosthaven: Frosthavens and Frost-have-nots

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ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Finally updated this post 7/18/2020!

Welcome to Gloomhaven! This "world in a box" style dungeon-crawler experience has been the #1 rated game on BGG for like 2.5 years now. It has spawned a small expansion (Forgotten Circles), an introductory version (Jaws of the Lion), and a full sequel (Frosthaven).

What is Gloomhaven?

From BoardGameGeek (which you will want to check out for discussion, files, etc):

quote:

Gloomhaven is a game of Euro-inspired tactical combat in a persistent world of shifting motives. Players will take on the role of a wandering adventurer with their own special set of skills and their own reasons for traveling to this dark corner of the world. Players must work together out of necessity to clear out menacing dungeons and forgotten ruins. In the process, they will enhance their abilities with experience and loot, discover new locations to explore and plunder, and expand an ever-branching story fueled by the decisions they make.

This is a game with a persistent and changing world that is ideally played over many game sessions. After a scenario, players will make decisions on what to do, which will determine how the story continues, kind of like a �Choose Your Own Adventure� book. Playing through a scenario is a cooperative affair where players will fight against automated monsters using an innovative card system to determine the order of play and what a player does on their turn.

Each turn, a player chooses two cards to play out of their hand. The number on the top card determines their initiative for the round. Each card also has a top and bottom power, and when it is a player�s turn in the initiative order, they determine whether to use the top power of one card and the bottom power of the other, or vice-versa. Players must be careful, though, because over time they will permanently lose cards from their hands. If they take too long to clear a dungeon, they may end up exhausted and be forced to retreat.

It's essentially one of the most well-received Kickstarter games in the past few years, and somehow lived up to and even exceeded the hype. You and your friends grab one of the starting character classes, run through dungeons, do cool stuff with your cards, fight monsters, and hopefully win. At some point your character will reach their secret goal and decide they've had enough of this adventuring game and retire, at which point you get to open up a new character class box, which are initially only known to you by their box symbol. So there are elements of a living world within the Gloomhaven box - your decisions and such will impact the map and inform future events.

So how does this game play, exactly?

Here's a video for a random dungeon (so no campaign spoilers) playthrough. Apparently there are some rules mess-ups that they call out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC5B3Z6ieVg

Here's a more dry rules overview that's pretty thorough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSWMvXT6jCw

How does the game handle inconsistent participants and people dropping in and out of the campaign?

Mister Sinewave posted:

Not only are the quests scaled gracefully to the number of players and their levels (it handles someone retiring a character at level 9 and starting a new one at baby level as a matter of course after all) but dropping party members in and out is otherwise fine. Scenarios can be replayed, but any loot chests or scenario rewards are gotten only once and not again.

The party itself has party-level achievements which are written on the party sheet, so a party can gain and lose members just fine without impacting the campaign. Again, the game is centered around the idea of co-operating but ultimately self-interested party members joining and retiring and coming back as new other players as a core mechanic.

There is also a simple and effective scenario generator in the game. Make a map and populate it with baddies and have a goal. You can do these whenever you like or run them as one-shots with anyone at all with no effect on the main campaign. Past scenarios can also be re-played, but any treasure tiles can be looted once only (there is a checkmark for each unique loot to keep track.)

How can I make this game faster/easier to play?
A REALLY loving COOL thing I found on BGG is an interactive scenario PDF that has hidden sections you can reveal as you get to the necessary part. This can help you avoid spoilers as you are setting up the campaign and whatnot. https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/146896/interactive-scenario-pdfs-hidden-sections-pcmacios. Also an app on Android and iOS so get that.

Replace a whole mess of bookkeeping bits and pieces (monster ability card decks, monster stat sheets and sleeves, the monster attack modifier deck, monster damage tokens, condition tokens, the element infusion board, element discs, round tracker, character HP/XP dials) with this Android, PC, Mac, or web-based (NO iOS, but again can be run on the web perfectly) app called Gloomhaven Helper

Get some aftermarket organizers, made by Broken Token, Daedalus, and Meeple Realty. Based on my research the Broken Token one was the most highly regarded. People also successfully use Plano cases, card binders, and file folders for a homebrew solution.

SPOILER CHAT!
So there are a lot of things within Gloomhaven that people don't want spoiled. The community is very good about avoiding spoilers, even avoiding using the names of sealed classes. Refer to sealed classes by their symbol or perhaps their order number. Don't talk about the smaller sealed envelopes. Reference items by the number on the back of the card. Refer to scenarios by their number. So basically be liberal with your spoiler tags, or perhaps be more crafty and use item numbers, class symbols, etc, and don't spoil stuff for people.

All the starting classes for Gloomhaven, Forgotten Circles, Jaws of the Lion, and Frosthaven are considered fair play when it comes to spoilers. Anything not part of the starting content for any of these games should be considered spoiler material and tagged as such.

Essentially read this "new to Gloomhaven" post on reddit, it's pretty good: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gloomhaven/comments/62g5s8/new_to_gloomhaven_read_first/

GOOD RESOURCES:

Easy to miss rules:https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1727703/easy-miss-rules
Official FAQ: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1897763/official-faq-game-revs-1-and-2
Reddit FAQ: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gloomhaven/wiki/game/official_faq
First game setup guide: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/143354/first-game-setup-guide
An useful rules summary to potentially streamline or summarize the rulebook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bze24YskmJNeT1VnNUJHdWpwWDQ/edit
Remove play guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gloomhaven/comments/fvzj84/remote_play_guide/

EXPANSIONS AND SEQUELS:

As I mentioned earlier, there was a small expansion released in 2019 called Forgotten Circles, which:

quote:

features twenty new scenarios that take place after the events of the original Gloomhaven campaign and involve one new character class � the Aesther Diviner � and her attempts to prevent an approaching calamity. The accompanying scenario book breaks these scenarios up across multiple pages to create more dynamic and surprising encounters.

The expansion also features seven new monster types (including three new bosses) and fourteen new items.

Apparently if you own the original printing of Forgotten Circles, there were a number of significant changes made that are outlined here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2450666/second-printing-changes

In the summer of 2020, a new standalone game in the Gloomhaven universe was released, called Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion.

quote:

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a standalone game that takes place before the events of Gloomhaven. The game includes four new characters � Valrath Red Guard (tank, crowd control), Inox Hatchet (ranged damage), Human Voidwarden (support, mind-control), and Quatryl Demolitionist (melee damage, obstacle manipulation) � that can also be used in the original Gloomhaven game.

The game also includes 16 monster types (including seven new standard monsters and three new bosses) and a new campaign with 25 scenarios that invites the heroes to investigate a case of mysterious disappearances within the city. Is it the work of Vermlings, or is something far more sinister going on?

Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is aimed at a more casual audience to get people into the gameplay more quickly. All of the hard-to-organize cardboard map tiles have been removed, and instead players will play on the scenario book itself, which features new artwork unique to each scenario. The last barrier to entry � i.e., learning the game � has also been lowered through a simplified rule set and a five-scenario tutorial that will ease new players into the experience.

This was very well received and has been somewhat challenging to get at first (surprise!).

Finally, we come to Frosthaven, a full sequel that was an enormous Kickstarter success, of course.

quote:

Frosthaven is a standalone adventure from the designer and publisher of Gloomhaven that features sixteen new characters, three new races, more than twenty new enemies, more than one hundred new items, and a new, 100-scenario campaign.

In addition to having the well-known combat mechanisms of Gloomhaven, Frosthaven will feature much more to do outside of combat, such as numerous mysteries to solve, a seasonal event system to live through, and player control over how this ramshackle village expands, with each new building offering new ways to progress.

Characters and items from Gloomhaven will be usable in Frosthaven, and vice versa:

As revealed during PAX 2020, Frosthaven will be interchangeable with the original Gloomhaven board game. To an extent, anyway. Namely, you can use Gloomhaven's characters in Frosthaven and vice versa. What's more, some of the first game's items will become available throughout the sequel.

Frosthaven has a whole new set of items but there is a mechanic for bringing items over from 'Gloomhaven'. However, as it is a remote location, these products get imported and are not there as standard. Resources are much more valuable and you have to build items through a crafting system rather than just buy them.

This will be coming out hopefully in 2021, but who knows when you will actually see your copy!!

Enjoy this crazy-rear end huge world of content!

ShaneB fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Jul 19, 2020

# ¿ Nov 10, 2017 18:52

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 10:29

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

I own the Broken Token insert, and assembled it, for a game I do not yet own. But it's pretty conclusively the best aftermarket one that isn't just a stack of Plano cases.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2017 19:21

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Doorknob Slobber posted:

How does the broken token insert handle the monsters? I just tossed everything into a ziplock bag. There is so many I can't think of a good way to organize them that would make it easier to find specifically what I'm looking for.

The BT one has small, labeled, tuck boxes for each individual monster in a large custom tray. It's probably the biggest draw to that one I think.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2017 19:48

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

BrainBot posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC5B3Z6ieVg is a long video, but you can just watch a turn or two to get the idea. There are a fair few rule mistakes, but they're all called out nicely.

I'll throw stuff like this in the OP

# ¿ Nov 10, 2017 20:26

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

You can always just open the next sealed wife box once you retire her

# ¿ Nov 11, 2017 17:47

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Bombadilillo posted:

Wow. This game is great.

This is going to live on my game table for a long time. Playing with my daughter's. We got.

Rockman the Crabheart
Bubon the Mindfreak
SuperPunch the Brute

Right now I have enough room for everything but it seems like quickly the scenarios are going to get bigger.

Do you guys only pull out the Gloomhaven map when you go back? I have a wild idea of framing it and hanging it on the wall...like a map. You don't do more with it later other then a sticker reference sheet right?

I'm half in the bag and can only read this as a drunk persons post and love it.

Where is my copy, cardhaus?

# ¿ Nov 12, 2017 06:27

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Bombadilillo posted:

Yeah there were times that I looked back and went. drat we should have all long rested before kicking in that door.
Also I am squarely in the "OMG camp"

So rooms aren't revealed till you kick a door in. But you can really see it if you have the campaign book. Do you try not to peak at the rooms? Its hard when there are 2 side rooms and one has a chest in it. Real hard to not go that way.

You can use the PDF or app in the OP that allows you to reveal rooms as you advance.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2017 18:22

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Sooooo.... people without the game yet. What are you playing in the mean time to take the edge off?

# ¿ Nov 14, 2017 19:29

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

KingKapalone posted:

I'm extra hyped for the game now that I've finished staining and assembling my Broken Token organizer.

Just did one coat of a Minwax Chestnut stain.

Saw that on Reddit and was immediately sad I didn't stain mine before assembly.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2017 22:57

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

ChiTownEddie posted:

Not to be that guy. But I'm okay with being that guy. Shipping notification for Chicago. Eta 21st.
My body is ready.

Can I come over?

# ¿ Nov 17, 2017 16:16

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Can anyone work up "common ways to play this wrong u dummy" stuff I can add to the OP?

Also I wasn't sure this thread would gain traction and I'm glad a side thread turned out to be valid. Good work y'all.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2017 22:31

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

KingKapalone posted:

Just got this email from Boardlandia. Bummer.

"We just heard from our distributor about the ETA of Gloomhaven. The current ETA is Mid January. This is due to the shipments landing at all distributors at various times.

I'm sure you have been seeing people getting their copies of the game already. Keep in mind that those are the people who backed the kickstarter. Our copies are coming from distribution so they do not receive the copies until after the people who backed it.

Thank you for your patience. We know that it's a bummer that it will not make it in time for Christmas. We too are waiting for our personal copy so we understand the disappointment. Unfortunately situations like this are completely out of our control."

Fffffffffff

# ¿ Nov 20, 2017 22:52

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

ChiTownEddie posted:

Got my copy and punched it! I had only extremely minor issues, a bit of sticky spray stuff to rebind a map tile and a few spots where i had to use a knife to cut where the punch wasn't done well.

I didn't seem to get my invite to the opening play so get that to me thanks

# ¿ Nov 22, 2017 22:38

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

ChiTownEddie posted:

hahaha
Did you get a KS copy or a pre-order?

Pre order but I am in Chicago. You need a player I'm your dude.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2017 02:13

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

So based on current news, all those copies that retailers sold as preorders and expected in November aren't going to see the light of day until like Jan/Feb at the earliest, right?

# ¿ Nov 28, 2017 16:25

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Megaman's Jockstrap posted:

Thanks to Bomb and Jordan and misguided rage for the constructive advice. Probably won't post in this thread anymore but any interested parties should check SA mart in a couple of weeks in case I drop a used copy.

If you are in Denver or Chicago we can make something happen.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2017 01:55

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

We ain't seeing anything from any retailer until like late January at the earliest, I bet.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2017 17:14

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

I own them, they look great. Don't have my copy yet so I can't say more than that.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2017 18:31

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Subjunctive posted:

I am experiencing some disappointment when reading this post. (I�m going to stain and assemble my BT this weekend.)

I mean you saw the same videos I did before purchase, I imagine. The map trays are not organized in that top bin in any way besides "make them fit just right". I didn't really think it would be that great for actually using the tiles.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2017 17:34

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

food court bailiff posted:

What video is that?

And I'll probably eat my words here but honestly searching through 30 double sided map tiles doesn't really seem like the end of the world, especially when there's so many other components to set up. It's less map tiles than Descent 2E (hell it's about half as many map tiles as ImpAss), and I think I'd much rather fit everything back in the box if at all possible even if it means sacrificing the quick alphabetizing job I did last night with the folio.

Stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW4XlmZOwtk

# ¿ Dec 7, 2017 17:46

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

KingKapalone posted:

Saw this retail update from last week: http://www.cephalofair.com/2017/12/whats-happening-gloomhaven-retail.html

January release

Thanks for posting this. I somehow missed it.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2017 20:52

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Cobaltshift posted:

Is there any word on when this will hit retail yet? Msrp around 120$?

OP still up to date. Jan/Feb at latest (lol right). I'd wager it will be $120-140.

# ¿ Dec 28, 2017 20:18

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Cardhaus better get me my preorder copy stat. OP needs his games.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2018 17:24

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

OP just got his today. At work. When he's traveling for work. Why God.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2018 16:58

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Yer boi got his copy finally. I can't believe i was considering taking this home from work via the train. Jesus christ.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2018 19:06

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

deathbagel posted:

So, I figure since I've now spent $300 on this board game, I may as well go all out. I have the Broken Token organizer and I see people staining them and figure I'm going to give it a shot. Any tips for someone who has never stained anything before? I watched the Broken Token staining videos on Youtube that I could find, but wondered if any goons had experience with staining this kind of stuff as well.

wipe on wipe off before assembling pretty easy

# ¿ Jan 24, 2018 20:13

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

food court bailiff posted:

printed on them in bold text to better fit my wargame calipers!

My responses, in order, were:

"wargamers use calipers??"
"of course wargamers have calipers..."

# ¿ Jan 24, 2018 20:57

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Gort posted:

The best part is when you decide it's not heavy enough and decide to add a couple of pounds of wooden boxes to the mix.

already doing that tonight. can't wait.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2018 22:12

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

All the paper is curling up once I opened the box. The sticker sheets are in a tube shape now and the rulebook/scenario book are bowing. Is this a Known Issue?

# ¿ Jan 24, 2018 22:27

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Is there any (good) way to run through the game solo to get my feet wet with it? The solo scenarios look like you need to get through some of the normal game content first.

# ¿ Jan 25, 2018 23:58

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

How can I tell what prosperity level an item is?

# ¿ Jan 26, 2018 03:56

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Is the kickstarter 10-part campaign a good way to learn the game before diving into the real campaign worldbook?

# ¿ Jan 27, 2018 19:53

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Cauldron Moose posted:

Where can you even find the mini campaign?

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1765807/mini-scenario-links-summary

# ¿ Jan 27, 2018 20:12

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

So the website controls enemy decks and attack modifiers, but can anything replace player attack modifiers?

ShaneB fucked around with this message at 15:53 on Feb 1, 2018

# ¿ Feb 1, 2018 15:26

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

If I want to play a somewhat interesting 2 character solo campaign what are classes that go together well? Is brute more interesting than just a beater / tank?

# ¿ Feb 3, 2018 16:24

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

Any suggestion for how to play this as a one-off session and not as a campaign? I'm visiting my brother for a few days and we want to re-live our HeroQuest days. Note I have not been able to play my copy at all besides looking at it and setting it up and pretending I have the time to devote to boring solo sessions.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2018 15:43

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

NmareBfly posted:

I'd say just run the first scenario. If you have time for more you can do #2 and on. Then decide yourself if you want to replay the first couple once you have a regular group. Or maybe you'll want to immortalize your brother's accomplishments forever!

Random scenarios work but you run the risk of finding more complicated monster setups and unbalanced stuff. The only thing 'wrong' with starting at the beginning is that you personally might want to replay it later.

The first scenario doesn't exactly look mindblowing in terms of content or surprises (but I could be wrong!) so it might be fun to learn how to blow up mobs and jam a mission or three all day Friday night and Saturday.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2018 18:10

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

OmegaGoo posted:

Gloomhaven is different enough that you really don't want anything "mindblowing" in your learning game.

No, I was saying that as a positive thing. I know I'll be doing a real campaign once I move in a few weeks, so I don't want to re-do anything surprising/cool.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2018 18:18

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

it's clearly the pyoomahmin

# ¿ Feb 6, 2018 19:26

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 10:29

ShaneB: Oct 22, 2002

CaptainRightful posted:

He flies like a moron.

Thank you.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2018 20:23

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