I was reminded that I haven’t posted a Gloomhaven update in a while, and I am here to let you know that we have finished the base game! “Finished” in GH means completing the scenario that is the end of the story; you’re never going to finish every scenario or open up every unlockable in a typical playthrough. So how do I feel about the game after a year and a half long campaign? Read on to find out!
We ended up playing a total of 70 scenarios out of a possible 95 (actually, we’re going to play another one this weekend, and we have 1 other available one, plus we can always go back and play any others that open up). We’ve unlocked all the characters except one (the Saw character; we’ve had Personal Quests to open him up twice but didn’t come close either time). The players never changed; we still have the same 4 we started with. Almost all games were played with all 4 of us until the last month or month and a half; peoples’ schedules have been packed this summer.
We’re now playing Forgotten Circles, we’re maybe halfway through it. I’ll give some impressions of that expansion in another post. Everyone is still very enthused to play and seems to be enjoying themselves. As for the game itself, it’s still massively fun, but the best part was definitely the first part of the game, maybe the first third or first half, something like that. When you get to the end it’s not as amazing not only because you’ve been playing it for a long time and everything isn’t as novel, but also because the game gets so easy there’s no challenge and that makes it not as much fun. Knowing (early on in the campaign) that you might or might not make it through a scenario puts so much good tension into the game that it makes it incredibly intense and exciting. Once you get to the endgame that tension is totally gone, and while the game is still fun, it’s not the same.
While there are lots of minor things I could nitpick about the game, that to me is the biggest flaw: the game just gets so easy in the second half. Why does it get so easy? There are a number of reasons:
- Some of the unlockable characters are extremely powerful. Of course the unlockables need to be at least a bit more powerful so that you’re excited to play them, but a few just trivialize the game (especially so in certain combinations).
- Items get increasingly powerful as the city levels up in Prosperity. Some of them are so ridiculous that we as a group sort of decided to not buy them without even talking about it; we just never buy them. If you want to cheese things up with items it can get really out of hand.
- Not only do the characters get better as you play through the campaign, the players do as well. As you get better at mitigating damage, using your losses wisely, positioning, using initiative, etc., things like dying from damage or running out of cards become less and less of a concern.
- While you and your characters are getting exponentially more powerful, the monsters only level up slightly and linearly. Even bumping them up 2 levels doesn’t make them much more threatening to your group of mighty demi-gods.
Still, it’s easily the best board game I’ve ever played. And like i said our group is still totally into the game. Frosthaven (the sequel) has been delayed until “early next year” but everyone is up for playing whatever we can while we wait (and have presumably finished Forgotten Circles), whether that is Jaws of the Lion or some of the custom stuff that’s out there. I definitely recommend this game to anyone who is interested, even if the endgame isn’t quite as good as the beginning. The gameplay is just so fun and addicting, there’s nothing else like it.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Dan...on games! 
Wow… 70 of the 95 possible scenarios to reach “the end”. I am kinda sad to hear that at about the half way point things get less challenging. I have seen that though with games like Zombicide, where after the players get a few certain items in any session then there is really no stopping them.
With all the stickers and tags and such that come with Gloomhaven, what is the possibility of replay? I know after 70 sessions replay may be the last thing on your mind. However I have seen things like add on packs that make the stickers more like the static than adhesive kind so you could have an easier time doing a replay. And I wonder if they would be worth it.
Lastly sort of wondering about house rules, and what you might want to do to amp up the challenge level. Like maybe bring back some of the retired characters as NPCs in encounters… or maybe home brew monsters… or designing your own encounters? Would there be any draw for that sort of thing in your group? And do you think it might bring back some of the challenge that you feel like you lost in the second half of the game?
Thanks for keeping folks in the loop about your sessions and impressions. I have enjoyed them immensely.
Thanks man, appreciate it! As to your inquiries…
– 70 sessions includes some stuff after the final story scenario, so it’s probably around 60 to get to the end, depending on the choices you make. Replaying with the same group doesn’t hold much appeal, but if 3 new people wanted to play (and I had time, which I wouldn’t) I’d be down. If I were to start fresh with a new copy I wouldn’t even bother with the stickers; they don’t do much and it’s easier to keep track of the campaign on paper/Excel/app.
– I don’t think it would be very feasible to make the end game more balanced from a “demand” (monster) side of the equation, I think you’d have to nerf the supply end (players). The only was I’ve thought of is giving each item an “equip cost”, then saying you’re limited in how much you can bring. Want to bring that fancy overpowered helmet? Well, that’s 5 of your 10 equip points, no fancy boots for you! But then that’s more rules and fiddling, which is not exactly what this game needs…
– The thing I’m actually looking forward to is trying some of the homebrew mini-campaigns that are out there. People have made campaigns of anywhere from 3 to 20 scenarios and some of them are supposed to be quite good. And you start with brand new level 1 characters (and Prosperity restrictions) so you can get back to that base feel. I don’t know if we’ll get a chance to try any before Frosthaven comes out, but the way games get delayed forever, there’s a pretty decent chance 😉 There’s even an entire homebrew box called Crimson Scales which is an entire new box 0_o but I don’t think we’ll go that route.
Very cool 🙂
Good post! It must be a good game considering how into it you guys are after all this time. I’m glad you have more material until Frosthaven finally shows up!
Thanks! It seems like the boys are enjoying it 🙂
I agree that the first half of the game was more enjoyable. In the later stages of the game characters start out really strong and you miss their development. If I were playing through again, I would house rule changes after retirement. First, I would not give characters additional gold if you skip levels due to prosperity. Items make overpowered characters ridiculous and starting out with 100 less gold might help. Also, I would not give free perks to new characters. Due to rolling modifier issues, a new character starts out with most of the perks you already want. I can’t remember the last time I really put effort into battle goals (a way to earn perks during scenarios).
A couple ideas about how to try and balance the end of the game.
I like both of those ideas a lot. Maybe make a houserule that post-retirement characters all start at level 3 with no extra perks and the usual gold for that level (60). Solves the perk problem, the gold problem, and makes people actually play the character; when you start at a high level (5-6+) you don’t really get to know the character that well, especially when you’re throwing down with high level items.