Gloomhaven – The Greatest Dungeon Crawler Ever Made

Nearly 100 scenarios, a living campaign world, and tactical combat that rewards every decision — the pinnacle of cooperative board gaming.

Gloomhaven is the #1 rated board game on BoardGameGeek — a distinction it has held for years, and one it has fully earned. Designed by Isaac Childres and published by Cephalofair Games, it is a cooperative, campaign-driven dungeon crawler that sets the standard for the genre in every possible way.

With nearly 100 scenarios, 17 playable character classes, hundreds of miniatures and standees, and a branching narrative that reacts to every choice your party makes, Gloomhaven is less a board game and more a world. A world you'll want to spend months inside.

Long-term players consistently describe Gloomhaven as a game they started thinking would last a few sessions — and ended up playing for months, still discovering new things.

What Is Gloomhaven?

Gloomhaven is a cooperative legacy-style dungeon crawler for 1 to 4 players. Set in a dark fantasy world, players control mercenaries with unique abilities, venturing through a series of scenarios to complete objectives, fight monsters, and uncover an evolving story.

Unlike traditional dungeon crawlers, Gloomhaven has no dungeon master. The game runs itself — monsters move and attack according to a clever AI system driven by ability cards, creating consistent but unpredictable behavior that keeps combat fresh across hundreds of hours of play.

The legacy element means the world changes permanently. Locations are unlocked and retired. Characters grow, gain perks, and eventually reach personal goals that cause them to leave the party. New characters join. The city of Gloomhaven itself evolves. Every decision leaves a mark.

How Does It Play?

Each scenario takes place on a modular map built from double-sided tiles. Players set up rooms according to a scenario book, populate them with monsters, and then attempt to complete the scenario's objective — reach a location, eliminate a target, survive a certain number of rounds.

On each turn, every player secretly selects two cards from their hand. Cards have a top action and a bottom action — attack, move, heal, stun, create obstacles. You use the top action of one card and the bottom of the other. This dual-card system is the heart of Gloomhaven — it forces constant strategic decisions and creates meaningful trade-offs every single turn.

Cards are not replenished between turns. They're lost when you use their powerful actions or when you rest. When your hand runs out, you must rest — losing cards permanently for the scenario. Managing your hand is a constant tension that makes every decision feel weighty and consequential.

Between scenarios, the party returns to Gloomhaven city to buy equipment, upgrade abilities, and advance the campaign. New scenarios unlock, new characters become available, and the story branches based on what happened in the dungeon.

Rating Breakdown

Pros & Cons

Who Is This Game For?

New to Gloomhaven? Start With Jaws of the Lion

If you're intrigued by Gloomhaven but worried about the complexity, there's a perfect entry point: Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. It's a smaller, more accessible version of the full game — fewer scenarios, simplified setup, and a built-in tutorial that teaches the system gradually.

Jaws of the Lion costs significantly less and takes up much less space. It delivers the core Gloomhaven experience in a package that's approachable for newer players. Most people who finish Jaws of the Lion immediately want the full game — which is exactly how it was designed.