Gloomhaven

1 Overview

Gloomhaven is a cooperative tactical dungeon-crawling board game for 1 to 4 players, designed by Isaac Childres and published by Cephalofair Games. Players take on the roles of mercenaries exploring a persistent fantasy world, completing scenarios from a branching campaign that spans 95+ scenarios. It is widely considered one of the greatest board games ever made -- it held the top spot on BoardGameGeek's ranking for years.

Gloomhaven is a heavy game with significant rules complexity and a massive box. Setup and a single scenario take 1.5 to 3 hours. The full campaign spans 100+ hours of play. It rewards players who invest time in learning its systems with one of the most satisfying cooperative gaming experiences available.

For a lighter alternative, see Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, which is designed as an introductory entry point.

2 Components

The Gloomhaven box contains over 1,700 components:

• 17 playable character classes (each with unique ability card decks)
• 95 scenario books and map tiles
• 457 ability cards
• 503 monster ability cards
• 150+ event cards
• Dozens of item cards, enhancement stickers, and city/road event decks
• Plastic character miniatures
• Monster standees and bases

3 The Living Campaign

Gloomhaven features a persistent, legacy-style campaign. Decisions made during play have lasting consequences:

• Locked content: New character classes, scenarios, and locations unlock as you play. Stickers permanently add them to the campaign map.
• Retiring characters: When a character completes their personal quest, they retire -- unlocking a new class and a permanent city enhancement.
• Prosperity: The city of Gloomhaven grows as you succeed, unlocking higher-tier items and more scenarios.
• City and Road events: Between scenarios, draw event cards that present narrative choices with mechanical consequences.

Unlike traditional legacy games, Gloomhaven does not destroy components. The campaign is repeatable, though the discovery experience changes after the first playthrough.

4 Scenario Setup

1. Find the scenario in the Scenario Book. Read the introduction (but not the special rules) aloud.
2. Lay out map tiles as shown in the scenario diagram.
3. Set up starting monster groups as indicated. Place monster stat sleeves on the relevant monster card.
4. Each player sets up their character: ability card hand (10 cards for most classes), attack modifier deck, character mat, and tokens.
5. Draw starting items and apply any persistent effects from previous scenarios.

5 Round Structure

Each round follows this sequence:

1. Card Selection: Each player secretly selects 2 ability cards from their hand to play this round, placing them face-down.
2. Monster Standees: Shuffle and reveal the top card from each active monster type's ability deck.
3. Determine Initiative: Each player's initiative is set by the top number on one of their chosen cards. Monsters act at their card's initiative number.
4. Take Turns: All figures (players and monsters) act in initiative order from lowest to highest number.
5. End of Round: Manage short rests, long rests, and card management.

6 The Card System

Cards are the core resource of Gloomhaven. Every ability a player has comes from their ability cards.

• Each card has a top action and bottom action. When you play two cards, you use the top of one and the bottom of the other.
• After use, most cards go to your discard pile. Some powerful abilities lose the card (remove from play for the scenario).
• When your hand is low, you can short rest (lose a random discard, return others to hand) or long rest (recover all discards, lose one card of your choice, refresh items).
• If you must rest but have no cards to lose, you are exhausted and removed from the scenario.

Hand management -- knowing when to spend vs. conserve -- is the central strategic challenge of Gloomhaven.

7 Combat

Attacks are resolved by drawing from your Attack Modifier Deck (20 cards). The deck contains multipliers (x0 miss, x2 double), flat modifiers (-2 to +2), and special effect cards. You start with a default deck and upgrade it with perks as you level up.

Monsters use their own modifier decks. Monster actions are determined entirely by their ability card draws -- they are fully automated.

Status Effects: Poison, wound, stun, muddle, disarm, and others create tactical complications. Managing status effects on enemies (and yourself) is a major layer of combat depth.

8 Retiring Characters

Each character has a personal quest -- a secret goal revealed at the start of their journey. When completed, the character retires:

• The player unlocks a new sealed character class
• A permanent prosperity sticker may be added to the city
• The player creates a new level-1 character for their next session

Retirement is not a loss -- it is how the city grows and how the campaign progresses. Most full campaigns involve 2 to 4 retirements per player.

9 Strategy Guide

Talk About Your Cards, Not Your Exact Plan

Gloomhaven allows discussion but not showing cards before selection. Say "I'm planning to be aggressive this round" rather than "I'm playing Devastating Hack on top." This preserves the hidden initiative mechanic.

Manage Your Hand Like a Resource

You will run out of cards before you run out of HP most games. Losing a card is a bigger cost than taking a hit in many scenarios. Calculate how many rounds remain and how many cards you need to survive them.

Focus Fire

Eliminating a monster entirely is almost always better than spreading damage across multiple enemies. Dead monsters deal no damage. Coordinate with teammates to focus the most dangerous targets first.

Read Scenarios Before Playing

The Scenario Book shows monster placement and objectives. Scouting the layout lets you plan approach routes, identify bottlenecks, and avoid walking into avoidable ambushes.

10 FAQ