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Paintknight

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Go to the Gloomhaven page
 
Go to the Gloomhaven page

Gloomhaven

22 out of 23 gamers thought this was helpful

Gloomhaven right now is the pinnacle of what modern board games are trying to be, especially within the realm of fantasy / RPG / tactical, puzzle-style combat.

In a nutshell, it’s like Dungeons & Dragons in a box, but you don’t need a dungeon master.

What you’re getting:

A set of scenarios that could keep you busy playing one or two per session every weekend for a year. They’re honed to a razor edge in terms of balance and difficulty. It will make you think, and engage you. It has light legacy mechanics and an ongoing story. Certain elements such as the monster stat cards / sleeves are a remarkably elegant and brilliantly executed solution. Also, it’s TOTALLY diceless.

What you should expect:

1. To spend the night you get this sucker unpacking and sorting. You *will* want some kind of organizer (I’ve seen plans for a foam-core one on BGG; Google it).

2. Read the rulebook front to back, then read it again. Also, watch the two Gaming Rules! videos for it on youtube with Paul Grogan. They’re excellent.

3. If introducing anyone new to this game, leave *plenty* of time (i.e. don’t try this when folks are, or may shortly be, tired). You will spend hours on this.

4. You will have lots to think about, and analysis paralysis can be a thing, but it’s awesome. This comes in the forms of the class cards being not only what actions you can take, but also a representation of your character’s energy levels. Run out of cards and your character is exhausted and out for that scenario.

This game is a labor of love that would be worth $200. The fact that MSRP is $140 is a steal. The box has over 20 lbs of physical stuff in it, and it is all cool. This game has “Bang for your buck” written all over it.

Isaac, I can tell, put his heart and soul into this game to make it something really special. If you love board games, if you love fantasy, if you love tactics, if you love legacy games or even if you just love supporting excellent work from excellent people, you need to buy this.

Put this puppy in a place of honor, on it’s own shelf or on top of the bookcase where it can breath. It deserves it.

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