GUIDE

GLOOMHAVEN BEGINNERS GUIDE

Gloomhaven is a cooperative, campaign-driven tactical dungeon crawler for one to four players. Parties clear scenarios by meeting each map's goal while managing a limited hand of ability cards, and the story branches based on their choices.

DIFFICULTYADVANCED

PLAYERS1-4

PLAY TIME60-120 min

AGE14+

STRATEGY CAMPAIGN GLOOMHAVEN

STEP 1

SETUP

1Read the current scenario entry in the scenario book and note its goal, starting tiles, and any special rules.
2Build the map by connecting the listed map tiles, then place doors, obstacles, traps, treasure tiles, and monster standees as the scenario shows.
3Have each player choose a character class and take that class's board, miniature, and full ability card deck.
4Set each character's level, then build a hand of ability cards up to that class's hand-size limit.
5Place each player's health and experience dials at their starting values based on level.
6Shuffle a monster ability deck for each monster type in play and set the round's monster and player initiative area.
7Set out the element board, damage tokens, condition tokens, money tokens, and the city and road event decks within reach.
8Adjust the scenario level for your desired difficulty, which scales monster stats and rewards.

STEP 2

HOW TO PLAY

CHOOSE TWO CARDS

There are no dice for your actions. Each round every player secretly selects two ability cards from their hand and reveals them together. One card's number sets your initiative for the round, deciding when you act relative to the monsters. This hidden selection, done without table talk about exact cards, is the core puzzle of every round.

TOP AND BOTTOM

When your turn comes, you perform the top action of one chosen card and the bottom action of the other, in either order. Most cards also offer a default bottom move of two or a default top attack of two if you would rather use their basic option. After use, cards go to your discard pile unless the ability was consumed or lost.

FIGHT SMART

Monsters act on their own initiative using an ability deck and focus on the closest enemy along the shortest path. Every attack draws from an attack modifier deck that swings the value up or down, adding controlled randomness. Positioning, line of sight, elements, and conditions matter far more than raw numbers, so coordinate your party's movement and targeting each round.

REST AND RECOVER

Your discarded cards only return when you rest, and each rest permanently loses one card, shrinking your future rounds. A short rest recovers cards at the cost of a random loss, while a long rest lets you choose the lost card, heal, and refresh items. Managing this slow card burn is what keeps every scenario tense.

★ WIN CONDITION

Each scenario is won when the party completes the printed goal, most often defeating all enemies or reaching a specific tile, before the party is defeated. A character is exhausted and leaves the scenario if they cannot draw two cards to play or reach zero hit points, and if every character is exhausted the party loses and must retry the scenario.

STEP 3

QUICK TIPS

▸Track your remaining cards constantly, because running out of cards, not losing health, is the most common way characters get exhausted.
▸Avoid burning loss cards early, since every lost card brings your inevitable rest and card shrink closer.
▸Coordinate initiative as a party so healers and tanks act before the monsters that would punish a squishy ally.
▸Grab loot the round you can, because uncollected gold and treasure vanish when the scenario ends.
▸Play the element board deliberately, timing infused elements for the abilities that consume them the very next round.
▸Do not chase every kill; completing the scenario goal quickly is worth more than clearing an entire map.

DEEP DIVE

STRATEGY NOTES

Gloomhaven is a huge cooperative campaign in a box, designed by Isaac Childres and published by Cephalofair Games. You and up to three friends take on mercenaries in a grim fantasy world, clearing tactical dungeon scenarios that chain together into a branching story. Choices you make between missions unlock new locations, characters, and events, and permanent stickers and sealed boxes mean your copy of the game slowly becomes uniquely yours.

What sets Gloomhaven apart is that it has no dice for your own actions and no traditional hand of options refilled each turn. Instead, each class plays a small deck of ability cards, and every round you commit two of them face down before knowing exactly what the monsters will do. One card sets your initiative, and on your turn you use the top action of one card and the bottom action of the other. That simple structure hides enormous depth, because your hand is a finite resource that only shrinks over a scenario.

The tension comes from that shrinking hand. Cards go to your discard pile when used, and the only way to get them back is to rest, which permanently removes one card for the rest of the scenario. A short rest is fast but random, while a long rest lets you choose what to lose and heal up. Run out of cards to play and your character is exhausted and out of the fight, so the real clock is not your health bar but your dwindling deck.

Combat rewards planning over luck. Monsters follow predictable focus rules, targeting the nearest hero along the shortest path, while an attack modifier deck adds just enough swing to keep things sharp. Positioning, line of sight, the shared element board, and status conditions decide fights far more than a single big attack.

Win a scenario by completing its goal, usually clearing every enemy or reaching a target tile, before your whole party is exhausted. Between missions you level up, buy gear, retire characters who finish personal quests, and steer the campaign. Take it slow, learn your class, and let the story of Gloomhaven unfold one scenario at a time.

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