Gloomhaven
| Gloomhaven | |
|---|---|
| Game data | |
| author | Isaac Childres |
| graphic | Josh McDowell, Alexandr Elichev, James Van Shaik |
| publishing company | Cephalofair / Tierra del Fuego |
| Publishing year | 2017 |
| Art | Fantasy board game, dungeon crawl, role play, legacy game |
| Teammates | 1 to 4 |
| Duration | 90 to 120 minutes |
| Age | 12
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| Awards | |
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Gloomhaven is a fantasy - board game with RPG -elements, which was realized through crowdfunding campaigns Developer Isaac Childre. Another characteristic of the game is that some of the decisions made by the players lead to permanent changes in the game (“legacy mechanism”).
Gloomhaven was released in 2017. The game was recognized internationally for its scope and quality and was also awarded several prizes.
Game world
Gloomhaven takes place in a fantasy world in which the players take on the role of individually motivated mercenaries. People live in many places in this world, but there are also other races, such as the Inox - a rather raw breed, or the Orchids - a contemplative, magical race. These sometimes live in peaceful coexistence, but also in open or subliminal conflicts.
The characters meet in a tavern in the fictional city of Gloomhaven and are supplied with their first order by a wealthy trader, which they have to leave the city for the surrounding area. Starting with the first mission, additional locations and tasks are earned. The town lies on the dealer bay of fog Sea , between the sick swamp and the dead grove . The game world also includes the Guardian Mountains in the southwest, the dagger forest in the northeast and the copper ridge in the north.
Game mechanics
Each of the players (1–4) has an individual character with their own game values and skills. This is represented by a plastic miniature that is positioned on a modular game board. This game board is divided by hex fields , which also contain the enemies and objects. Player decisions and achievements are preserved throughout all parts of the game, so some decisions result in constant changes in the plot.
The players collect experience points and gold through special actions - not, as is common in role-playing games, by simply defeating the opponent - which can be invested in improving equipment. Each character can rise up to level 9, the opponents become accordingly stronger. However, each player draws a task for his character that, when completed, will “retire” and leave the game. The player can then choose another character and continue the game with it.
As "dungeon crawlers", fights are an integral part of Gloomhaven. These are fought out using playing cards; opponents and each of the players each have their own cards, which are divided into class-specific sets. For players and opponents there each "Ability cards" ( skills cards ) and "Attack modifier cards" ( Attack modifiers cards ). While the modifiers change the damage to the opponent, i.e. increase, decrease or negate it, the abilities are complex and highly varied. Abilities can be simple movements or attacks, but also spells or special attacks that only develop their full effect in certain situations. The players' ability cards each have an upper and a lower area. Two cards are played per turn, with one action each from the upper and lower areas. Game characters can only start a scenario with a limited number of cards, but the number from which the individual number of cards is selected increases.
Scope of play
The second edition of Gloomhaven comprises nine kilograms of game material, which contains 17 characters, each with their own miniature plastic figures and their own deck of cards, 34 different types of opponents with their own playing cards and several cardboard displays. In addition, Gloomhaven consists of 13 cardboard displays for bosses , 155 cards for room design & 240 cardboard displays for opponents , as well as 30 floor plans printed on both sides. In total, Gloomhaven contains around 1,700 playing cards. These can be played in 95 scenarios of the basic game. About 50 of these scenarios make up the main quest, the other scenarios are optional and can also be played multiple times. Several single player missions are also freely available, but they should only be played when the characters have reached a certain level.
Funding and development
Gloomhaven was featured in a Kickstarter.com campaign on September 2, 2015 . This campaign had the target amount of 70,000 US dollars , which was exceeded many times over by the end of the campaign period. On September 30th, 4,904 backers had raised $ 386,104 - $ 50,000 was invested in the first 12 hours of the project. In the course of the financing beyond the actual goal, 27 of the 28 “additional goals” of the campaign were achieved, which were earned in ascending order through the sums of money reached by the supporters. This includes, for example, more elaborate game materials and additional, fan-made content. The first edition was delivered at the beginning of 2017. Due to the positive and international response, another campaign was initiated on Kickstarter.com on April 4, 2017. The target amount, set this time at US $ 100,000, was reached within 5 minutes, and a total of $ 3,999,795 was raised from 40,642 supporters in this campaign. Various details have been adjusted in terms of content, such as reformulating the rules or redesigning the display for the characters' life and experience points.
On the website of the manufacturer Cephalofair 2015 seven were from January blog entries published in which development and emergence Gloomhavens - English in 147 easy steps , in 147 Easy Steps' are shown -. Relevant aspects, for example, are options for the interactive design of an action versus a linear narrative, aspects of role-play design without a game master and the balance between a dice-based or a card-based game system.
reception
“Gloomhaven does without dice and works in an innovative way with several decks of cards to control the heroes and opponents as well as to determine the damage in battles. Every single move becomes a little puzzle in order to achieve a good, common result. "
“I could go on and on about the many little things that are so integrated into the game that you don't notice them from the game mechanics because they are logical, do not require any additional effort and are absolutely fun, but I would probably never find an end and am At the end there is still an exceptional game that is unparalleled. No ifs or buts, I have found the holy grail of dungeon crawlers for myself. "
"Overall [...] the game is really something special. Here's what I keep coming back to: Gloomhaven was designed by one guy and published without the backing of a major board game publisher. That's insane - and that it all fits together into a cohesive whole is even more impressive.
I've played a lot of dungeon crawl board games, but Gloomhaven has quickly become my new favorite. The game gives you a giant world to explore, and its tactical combat is innovative and best in class. "
Awards
- Won
- Golden Geek Awards 2017: Best Cooperative Game
- Golden Geek Awards 2017: Best Solo Board Game
- Golden Geek Awards 2017: Best Strategy Board Game
- Golden Geek Awards 2017: Best Thematic Board Game
- Golden Geek Awards 2017: Most Innovative Board Game
- Golden Geek Awards 2017: Game of the Year
- Origins Awards 2018: Best Board Game
- Origins Awards 2018: Game of the Year
- Scelto dai Goblin 2018: Goblin Magnifico
- SXSW Gaming Awards 2018: Tabletop Game of the Year
- Nominated
- Dragon Awards 2017: Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game
- Cardboard Republic Laurel Awards 2017
- Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming Nominee 2017
- International Gamers Award 2017: General Strategy: Multi-player
- Meeples' Choice 2017
Web links
- cephalofair.com/gloomhaven - website for the game
- Aaron Zimmerman: Gloomhaven review: 2017's biggest board game is astoundingly good , Ars Technica , April 29, 2017.
- CJ Ames: Gloomhaven: The Craze, The Creation, The Re-sellers, The Reprint , medium.com, May 17, 2017.
- Daniel Hoffmann: Review: Gloomhaven - Massive role-playing game without a game master, teilzeithelden.de , December 10, 2017.
- Oliver Grimm: Review: Gloomhaven: World-Building par excellence , attila-products.de, April 7, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b kickstarter.com/gloomhaven , the first crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.com . Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ↑ kickstarter.com/gloomhaven (second printing) , the second crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.com . Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ↑ Daniel Hoffmann: Review: Gloomhaven - Massives role-playing game without a game master, teilzeithelden.de , December 10, 2017. Accessed on August 2, 2018.
- ↑ Aaron Zimmerman: Gloomhaven review: 2017's biggest board game is astoundingly good , Ars Technica , April 29, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ↑ a b boardgamegeek.com/gloomhaven , Gloomhaven on the BoardGameGeek website . Retrieved July 27, 2018.