Note: I’m reviewing this game as a standalone experience, and not how well the game was adapted to the digital format (although it seems it was well adapted).

Gloomhaven is a highly tactical game with no dice rolling, and one of the most UNIQUE card games on the market. It has many systems that even veteran card game fans will find unfamiliar. Luckily, the systems, though novel, work very well together to produce a complex, grand tactical card game where it's very easy to spend countless hours on. Be warned! It IS difficult, and I would say it’s the card game equivalent of Dark Souls. With practice though, the seemingly insurmountable challenge becomes much more manageable.

Rather than explaining all of the many systems, I will only discuss the ones I loved, and the ones that I' didn't love as much.

You control up to 4 mercenaries, each with their own deck of cards that can be expanded on level ups. You complete missions through a fairly large campaign following the story.

One of the coolest systems of the game is that each card can be used in 4 different ways. This gives a LOT of flexibility but the twist is that you can only play two cards per turn and have to play the opposite sides of the cards (top and bottom). This is such a unique mechanism that takes tactical decision making to a whole new level.
On top of that, selected cards determine your initiative order. You may want to select one of the "weaker" cards just to play earlier and get the first strike, but at the same time this means that you will be a prioritized target. These two mechanics alone already provide a ton of depth and it’s easy to spend a lot of time just thinking about which cards to choose for the turn.

I also loved the hand management aspect. You don't draw cards, but rather play any card of the pool of cards you selected beforehand. However, once you play them they go into your discard and in order to get them back you need to rest which "burns" a card, meaning they are out of play. What this does is shrink your pool of cards and once you are out of cards OR health, your mercenary is exhausted.
Some powerful cards are burned outright but cards can also be burned to avoid damage. This is absolutely awesome, as provides yet another layer of flexibility, but also solves one big problem with a game with crits - getting one shot.

Speaking of RNG, it's minimal in this game, but still present. It has no dice, but instead it uses a deck of attack modifiers that you and the enemy draw from when they attack. This is strictly better than dice because you will have to go through all of the attack modifiers (+ or - attack and miss, crits) before drawing the same one. Which means it is extremely unlikely to miss two times in a row. Drawing them is still RNG, and for me is the weakest aspect of the game as some attacks need setting up, only to then draw a miss. Luckily, this negative point is offset by perks which let you improve this attack modifier deck and even add more effects to the cards you play.

The campaign game is fairly long and each mission takes about 1h to complete. Between missions you can equip your mercenaries with items, permanently upgrade cards (later in the game) and level up adding new, more powerful cards. One cool aspect of the game is that your characters are NOT permanent. They retire after a while leaving their adventuring days behind them. This is not a sad event as they unlock new classes making the game feel fresh as they can play quite a bit differently and the game rewards you for switching up strategies and play styles.

Ending on a low note, I wished there was a bit more variety in missions as they can feel same after a while. Other than that, the game is must play for any card game or turn-based strategy fan that is willing to preserve through the “a bit rough” difficulty and learning curve.


+ Many unique systems that are both innovative and super fun. If you love playing card games, it’s very likely you will still be surprised as this game does not follow any standard formula but manages to make it work nonetheless.

+ Flexible card design. The game laughs at cards with a single use and has not 2, but 4 different uses for each card.

+ Highly tactical. Which cards to pick or burn, when to rest, who to attack and where to move and which cards to choose on level up are only some of the many strategic decisions you will have to make, if you want to get out alive that is.

+ Progression system. Level ups, perks and unlocking new mercenaries through retirement of previous ones all feel very exciting. As much as I missed my old mercenary, I am always excited about the next one I will unlock and think about strategies to build around them.


* Difficulty pacing. The first mission for many new players can be a point of frustration as it can feel impossible to win. For those willing to learn the game, they will find that the impossible turns to challenging, but at that point a lot of people may have already given up. Heck, you can lose even in the tutorials. I wished that the game was more tactful in leaning players into the game, rather than smacking them with a rock as soon as they open the door of the next room.

* Time devotion. If you are looking for a brief experience, Gloomhaven is not for you. While it has a good save system, don't expect to breeze through the game.



- No undo. It's so easy to make mistakes that the absence of a simple undo button is maddening. Yes, it can be exploited by players too lazy to save scum, but it is highly inconvenient. There is a button to reset the round, but this wastes more time than an undo.

- Mission rewards and scenario variety. Finally overcoming a difficult mission, often yields subpar rewards. There are other satisfying reward systems in place, but it's a missed opportunity for mission rewards. Scenarios are battle-centric, and while some do try to spice things up with different objectives, it can feel very samey after a while.

- Attack modifier deck. The game was so close to not having any RNG due to no card draws or dice rolls, but still went with some RNG. It is better than dice but it can still undermine any tactical decisions you make simply because luck was not on your side in a critical moment.

- Resource hungry game. Older systems may struggle running the game and at times it's hard to see justifications for it.

An excellent tactical and card game, that is one of the most unique games I have ever played (and I have played quite a bit of those). While I didn't enjoy all of its features, the good far outweigh the bad and Gloomhaven is one of the rare games that is earning our Royal seal of approval, given only to the best card games.

[code] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/36948155-Card-Game-KING/] FOR MORE REVIEWS ABOUT CARD GAMES, CHECK OUT OUR CURATOR PAGE: [b]CARD GAME KING [/b][/url] or [url=https://twitter.com/TheCardGameKing][b]TWITTER[/b][/url][/code] [b]Note[/b]: I’m reviewing this game as a standalone experience, and not how well the game was adapted to the digital format (although it seems it was well adapted). Gloomhaven is a highly tactical game with no dice rolling, and one of the most UNIQUE card games on the market. It has many systems that even veteran card game fans will find unfamiliar. Luckily, the systems, though novel, work very well together to produce a complex, grand tactical card game where it's very easy to spend countless hours on. Be warned! It IS difficult, and I would say it’s the card game equivalent of Dark Souls. With practice though, the seemingly insurmountable challenge becomes much more manageable. Rather than explaining all of the many systems, I will only discuss the ones I loved, and the ones that I' didn't love as much. You control up to 4 mercenaries, each with their own deck of cards that can be expanded on level ups. You complete missions through a fairly large campaign following the story. One of the coolest systems of the game is that each card can be used in 4 different ways. This gives a LOT of flexibility but the twist is that you can only play two cards per turn and have to play the opposite sides of the cards (top and bottom). This is such a unique mechanism that takes tactical decision making to a whole new level. On top of that, selected cards determine your initiative order. You may want to select one of the "weaker" cards just to play earlier and get the first strike, but at the same time this means that you will be a prioritized target. These two mechanics alone already provide a ton of depth and it’s easy to spend a lot of time just thinking about which cards to choose for the turn. I also loved the hand management aspect. You don't draw cards, but rather play any card of the pool of cards you selected beforehand. However, once you play them they go into your discard and in order to get them back you need to rest which "burns" a card, meaning they are out of play. What this does is shrink your pool of cards and once you are out of cards OR health, your mercenary is exhausted. Some powerful cards are burned outright but cards can also be burned to avoid damage. This is absolutely awesome, as provides yet another layer of flexibility, but also solves one big problem with a game with crits - getting one shot. Speaking of RNG, it's minimal in this game, but still present. It has no dice, but instead it uses a deck of attack modifiers that you and the enemy draw from when they attack. This is strictly better than dice because you will have to go through all of the attack modifiers (+ or - attack and miss, crits) before drawing the same one. Which means it is extremely unlikely to miss two times in a row. Drawing them is still RNG, and for me is the weakest aspect of the game as some attacks need setting up, only to then draw a miss. Luckily, this negative point is offset by perks which let you improve this attack modifier deck and even add more effects to the cards you play. The campaign game is fairly long and each mission takes about 1h to complete. Between missions you can equip your mercenaries with items, permanently upgrade cards (later in the game) and level up adding new, more powerful cards. One cool aspect of the game is that your characters are NOT permanent. They retire after a while leaving their adventuring days behind them. This is not a sad event as they unlock new classes making the game feel fresh as they can play quite a bit differently and the game rewards you for switching up strategies and play styles. Ending on a low note, I wished there was a bit more variety in missions as they can feel same after a while. Other than that, the game is must play for any card game or turn-based strategy fan that is willing to preserve through the “a bit rough” difficulty and learning curve. [h1][b]The positive[/b] [/h1] + Many unique systems that are both innovative and super fun. If you love playing card games, it’s very likely you will still be surprised as this game does not follow any standard formula but manages to make it work nonetheless. + Flexible card design. The game laughs at cards with a single use and has not 2, but 4 different uses for each card. + Highly tactical. Which cards to pick or burn, when to rest, who to attack and where to move and which cards to choose on level up are only some of the many strategic decisions you will have to make, if you want to get out alive that is. + Progression system. Level ups, perks and unlocking new mercenaries through retirement of previous ones all feel very exciting. As much as I missed my old mercenary, I am always excited about the next one I will unlock and think about strategies to build around them. [h1][b]The neutral[/b][/h1] * Difficulty pacing. The first mission for many new players can be a point of frustration as it can feel impossible to win. For those willing to learn the game, they will find that the impossible turns to challenging, but at that point a lot of people may have already given up. Heck, you can lose even in the tutorials. I wished that the game was more tactful in leaning players into the game, rather than smacking them with a rock as soon as they open the door of the next room. * Time devotion. If you are looking for a brief experience, Gloomhaven is not for you. While it has a good save system, don't expect to breeze through the game. [h1][b]The negative[/b] [/h1] - No undo. It's so easy to make mistakes that the absence of a simple undo button is maddening. Yes, it can be exploited by players too lazy to save scum, but it is highly inconvenient. There is a button to reset the round, but this wastes more time than an undo. - Mission rewards and scenario variety. Finally overcoming a difficult mission, often yields subpar rewards. There are other satisfying reward systems in place, but it's a missed opportunity for mission rewards. Scenarios are battle-centric, and while some do try to spice things up with different objectives, it can feel very samey after a while. - Attack modifier deck. The game was so close to not having any RNG due to no card draws or dice rolls, but still went with some RNG. It is better than dice but it can still undermine any tactical decisions you make simply because luck was not on your side in a critical moment. - Resource hungry game. Older systems may struggle running the game and at times it's hard to see justifications for it. [h1][b]Conclusion:[/b] [/h1] An excellent tactical and card game, that is one of the most unique games I have ever played (and I have played quite a bit of those). While I didn't enjoy all of its features, the good far outweigh the bad and Gloomhaven is one of the rare games that is earning our Royal seal of approval, given only to the best card games.