Gloomhaven - sort of a digital boardgame - RPGlite - with co-op

Tombstone · 12 Oct 2020 at 22:13

Every so often a little known game comes along which I try out and utterly fall in love with and just have to spread the word about.

This game is one such title. Its in early access but has a lot of content already (17 playable characters, 100s of abilities, 100 quests and fully co-op if so wanted). Apparently its based on a boardgame (oddly enough called Gloomhaven) though I have never played the boardgame.

The artwork is gorgeous (imo) and the playability is fantastic, especially in multiplayer. Its one of these games which at first glance seems perhaps shallow but once you start playing you realise just how deep it goes.

Its about £19 on steam but I highly recommend it if you are at all interested in boardgames or turn based tactical games. Quill88 did a fairly useful video on it but bear in mind that this video is a year old and a lot has been added to the game since he made this.

GTanny · 13 Oct 2020 at 00:33

Picked this up on day 1 but I'm a big board gamer who doesn't have time to play the fully fledged version of Gloomhaven.

The board game is rated as one of the best board games ever made btw.

Haven't played in a while so I'll have to see how much they have added, thanks for the reminder.

Tombstone · 13 Oct 2020 at 01:39

GTanny said:
Picked this up on day 1 but I'm a big board gamer who doesn't have time to play the fully fledged version of Gloomhaven.

The board game is rated as one of the best board games ever made btw.

Haven't played in a while so I'll have to see how much they have added, thanks for the reminder.

Ah, didnt know the boardgame was so well known, I initially was impressed with the visuals which I felt really captured the boardgame aesthetic. I watched a couple of videos of it and it reminded me of a boardgame I played in my youth in the 80s which I *think* was called Dungeon. Picked the game up on a whim and have so far absolutely loved it. Looks like the main campaign isnt in yet but there is a 100 quest Guildmaster mode with 17 playable "hero" characters (of which you start with 6 and have to unlock the others via the quests), which in turn sort of reminded me a little of the different characters you get in something like Darkest Dungeon. Tried it co-op with some friends last night and it was superb fun and worked flawlessly in co-op

unwashed potato! · 13 Oct 2020 at 03:02

Currently playing the board game version of this. Good fun though does require a lot of time committed to it from your party

GTanny · 13 Oct 2020 at 03:42

Tombstone said:
SNIP

Dungeon! Is one of my daughter's favourite games

Glad to know they've added a lot more as it just had a few heroes and a couple of scenarios to beat.

I'm playing through the physical copy of Gloomhaven; Jaws of the Lion right now which is a shorter campaign than the full fledged version, but more importantly also doesn't have the setup time either.

TNA · 13 Oct 2020 at 11:24

A board gamer myself, picked up the board game but never got around to playing (looked very time consuming) so decided to sell it and buy the digital version on Steam a while back for a nice discount.

Not touched it yet as I fancied waiting for the full campaign experience. I assume that is not ready yet?

Tombstone · 13 Oct 2020 at 13:32

TNA said:
A board gamer myself, picked up the board game but never got around to playing (looked very time consuming) so decided to sell it and buy the digital version on Steam a while back for a nice discount.

Not touched it yet as I fancied waiting for the full campaign experience. I assume that is not ready yet?

Full campaign isnt in yet no, but there is the guildmaster mode, which has sort of a 100 quest "campaign" and 17 playable characters.

TNA · 13 Oct 2020 at 14:10

Tombstone said:
Full campaign isnt in yet no, but there is the guildmaster mode, which has sort of a 100 quest "campaign" and 17 playable characters.

Oh cool. Will give that a go then. That way I will not be a complete noob when the proper campaign is out. Thanks

Spacedeck · 13 Oct 2020 at 21:03

Can this be played solo? I would have purchased the board game had it not been for the price tag!

I did find a mod on Tabletop Simulator but that seemes overly complicated to get started.

Tombstone · 13 Oct 2020 at 22:09

Spacedeck said:
Can this be played solo? I would have purchased the board game had it not been for the price tag!

I did find a mod on Tabletop Simulator but that seemes overly complicated to get started.

Yes, its 1-4 players, so you can play solo perfectly fine. When you play solo you just control all of the characters, when you co-op with 2, 3 and 4 players you choose who is going to control whom.

loftie · 14 Oct 2020 at 11:13

From what I've read it's not a digital version of the board game, but I've been interested in both tbh.

Tombstone · 14 Oct 2020 at 11:36

loftie said:
From what I've read it's not a digital version of the board game, but I've been interested in both tbh.

Its pretty close it seems, close enough that I see a lot of people saying its a "faithful adaptation" but I've never played the boardgame myself so not sure what differences there are

loftie · 14 Oct 2020 at 13:40

Tombstone said:
Its pretty close it seems, close enough that I see a lot of people saying its a "faithful adaptation" but I've never played the boardgame myself so not sure what differences there are

Think it was this I read https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/news/gloomhaven-is-now-on-pc-but-it-might-not-be-what-you-expect/

Edit: It's ~£15 on humble store at the moment

Tombstone · 14 Oct 2020 at 15:09

loftie said:
Think it was this I read https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/news/gloomhaven-is-now-on-pc-but-it-might-not-be-what-you-expect/

Edit: It's ~£15 on humble store at the moment

Hmm, quite a vague article, they say it might not be what you expect but then dont at any point in the article actually say whats missing/different. Could be an older article too as it mentions that..

"only a handful of classes, enemies and bosses are in the Early Access version of the game at the moment, but the developers have said they’re working towards a full roster of more than a dozen playable heroes and nearly 50 different foes for the full release, with new content due to be added over the coming weeks and months. The complete game is set to include the entire campaign from the board game with nearly 100 scenarios, which can also be tackled in multiplayer co-op – for now, you can only play single-player."

There are 17 playable heroes and almost 50 different foes now. Co-op is in and there are 95 scenarios.

Destination · 14 Oct 2020 at 15:31

I think that article is over a year old. As it talks about major updates before 2020.
Strange it isn't dated.

loftie · 14 Oct 2020 at 17:02

Yea i thought it might be as they mentioned no cards, and the youtube video i was watching earlier mentioned cards so. And no date on the article is unhelpful. I read it a while back, but honestly can't remember when.

Draven · 15 Oct 2020 at 23:38

I have been looking at this game since early access on steam and have read so many great reviews on steam about it but never seemed to get round to a purchase as always bought something else instead,definitely interests me.

8myers8 · 16 Oct 2020 at 01:00

Wow had not heard off the game, but now am going to read up on it as looks and sounds great, just up my alley.....

DampCat · 16 Oct 2020 at 10:53

Gloomhaven the boardgame was one of the most successful Kickstarters of all time, and it's impossible to find a copy for sale as they get pre-ordered long before arriving in a shop. I literally had to fly to the US to get mine (I was going anyway....)

There's a current kickstart for its sequel, Frosthaven, that's also raised millions.

There's a smaller version of Gloomhaven for the table called Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion designed to get you into it so if you do fancy the game but it looks a little gargantuan, give that a whirl.

jamman · 9 Nov 2020 at 19:20

DampCat said:
Gloomhaven the boardgame was one of the most successful Kickstarters of all time, and it's impossible to find a copy for sale as they get pre-ordered long before arriving in a shop. I literally had to fly to the US to get mine (I was going anyway....)

There's a current kickstart for its sequel, Frosthaven, that's also raised millions.

There's a smaller version of Gloomhaven for the table called Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion designed to get you into it so if you do fancy the game but it looks a little gargantuan, give that a whirl.

It can be tricky sometimes but you can get hold of it, it is over £100 though.

I had Frosthaven backed but got a refund as wanted money for my PC build in the end. One of our group is getting it anyway so no point having two copies, will never get played.