Do you like tabletop role-playing games? If so, you probably heard of Gloomhaven. It is a massive box full of figurines, cards and other content. Jaws of the Lion is an expansion, but can be played standalone as well. This is great if you’re not sure if the game is for you or if you think the game is too big and overwhelming. I was not sure if I would really play the game and did not have the budget for the full game anyway, so I decided to try Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion. In this blog I will explain the idea of the game, content and my experience. Maybe I can help to help you make your decision.
About Gloomhaven
For a while, Gloomhaven was number one on board game geek and really populair. It is a thematic dungeon crawler and plays as a legacy game.
1-4 players | 30-120 min | 14+
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.
Jaws of the Lion expansion
This expansion includes four new characters, new scenario with artwork and more. You can play this on its own or use it in the original Gloomhaven game. This game is also made to be a little easier to set up and learn the rules for. You play on the scenario book itself instead of going through map tiles. The rules are simplified and there is a 5 scenario tutorial that teaches the game step-by-step. This is more suitable to new players and can be learned faster.
- Valrath Red Guard – Tank, crowd control
- Inox Hatchet – Ranged damage
- Human Voidwarden – Support, mind control
- Quatryl Demolitionist – Melee damage, obstacle manipulation
Playing the game
I really love big games like Gloomhaven. For example I enjoy games like betrayal at house on the hill, zombicide, Nemesis and Nemesis lockdown. Gloomhaven is one I really wanted to try and I had not bought a big boardgame in years. So, I chose to go for jaws of the lion. This is a great way to get to know the game and also saves money. If I want more, I can always buy the original as well, is what I figured.
There are lots of components and during the first play through you will have a little more work with sorting things. Unlike the full game of Gloomhaven, Jaws of the Lion has a five scenario tutorial to easy you into the game. Learning to play has never been this easy. Nevertheless it is still easy to lose to the first scenario. Each turn the players choose two cards to use in their turn, which also determine your initiative. You are not supposed to share this and this leads to hilarious but really difficult situations. Each card can be used in two ways, so this gives you a little versatility.
Planning can still be hard because you do not know each others initiative and ruin plans. This gets easier with more playtime as you get more familiar with your own and each other’s characters. Players continue this process until the scenario is completed or they are exhausted. You need to rest to get cards back and all in all this system requires good planning. Having an amazing card you cannot use at the moment and seeing it go to the discard pile while not being useful is something you will encounter more then you like.
Experience of the game
The scenario book and tutorial made it really easy to start and understand the game. It still takes some time to set up, find the right enemies et cetera but is easy to learn this way. The artworks look really cool and I like the scenarios. The mechanics or card picking, initiative and automated enemy attacks and turns work really well and do not get boring in my opinion.
The careful planning that is required to use your cards right and execute your plans can be frustrating. I like it, but had to get used to this, I really get that this might not be for everyone. This sometimes ment I could not do much in a round or whatever I did do just did not feel great because I had to save a cool effect or attack for later. This game takes patience and careful planning, I feel like its more so then with most other games in the genre. I do love the game but my party has a hard time playing it through and getting back to it.
Gloomhaven on steam
Did you know there is also a digital version of Gloomhaven? I was excited and started playing with a friend. I have played some turned based dungeon games and most of the time I either totally love them or I am unable to keep my attention there long. Sadly, for me Gloomhaven was the latter. It is really hard and confusing sometimes. There are also bugs sometimes, even after the game has been released for three years at this point.
This Gloomhaven has the advantage of not having to set up everything and just being able to play instantly. The graphics are a little more engaging and feel different then the tabletop version, as you would expect. It is great to play in combination with having the tabletop version and I enjoy the storytelling. Everything you do has impact and there are loads of details and small things that just work well. It not a cheap game, but for that price there is about 82 hours of content for the main story alone, that is carefully designed and really well put together. Playing from playstation can give issues though and playing together between pc and ps has not always worked amazingly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Gloomhaven is a really well made game. Jaws of the lion is way more polished and beginner friendly. It eases you into the game and I think starting with this one can be a really great choice if you are unsure the game is for you or just to save some money. I like the boardgame better than the digital one, although that does save all the setting up and taking down time. If you like boardgames, maybe you will enjoy some of my other blogs as well. For example: Betrayal at house on the hill. This is a haunted house co-op game, untill you enter the haunting phase and one of you turns against the others.