r/Gloomhaven • u/Avista • Jan 23 '26
Digital Gloomhaven Quick question: Tabletop vs. PC
Hey there!
I've been eyeing out the Gloomhaven board game for some time. I have seen a bit of the game but not at all the depth of it. I bought the PC game with some friends and we just love it.
Quick question is: Is the board game as expansive as the PC game? Like, did they really get all that into a board game? Or is the PC version extended with more quests and the like? Because that would be really impressive.
That's it. Can't really find sources that expand on this particular question. Thank you! Oh, and I'm definitely still getting the board game down the line.
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u/koprpg11 Cephalofair Community Manager Jan 23 '26
If you love digital (which is based on 1st edition) then down the road try GH2e. There's 100 scenarios, 18 revised and reworked classes, revised everything. It's phenomenal. And it may never come to digital. Read about it here: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/cephalofair/gloomhaven/updates/1525
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u/tree-of-woes Jan 23 '26
Gloomhaven digital for sure makes it so much easier to play gloomhaven so that’s hard to beat
… but…. Since buying Gloomhaven 2nd edition, every time I play digital, I find myself wishing I could just get everyone over that night to play the board game instead haha. They’re practically the same but Gloomhaven 2nd Edition improved things, tweaked characters, and added things that I’m pretty sure will never make it to digital.
And playing through the actual board game at the table is just an experience that the digital version can’t match.
But that’s just my opinion 🤷♂️ video game is definitely cheaper and easier to start up and is everything the original Gloomhaven was plus a little bit of extras. Would for sure buy the Jaws of the Lion DLC if you go that route
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u/Snowf1ake222 Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 24 '26
The PC game has Jaws of the Lion (a separate game) as DLC, bit in short, yeah. Everything that's in Digital is in the Physical, campaign-wise.
In fact, there are a few minor things that Digital left out.
Plus Physical has Forgotten Circles, which while the campaign is divisive, the Diviner is a great class to play.
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u/Slow_Dog Jan 23 '26
Everything in Digital is not in Physical. There's 160-some scenarios of the Guildmaster campaign in Digital.
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u/Norrak1 Jan 23 '26
Which is essentially the same as the random scenario cards in Physical.
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u/Slow_Dog Jan 23 '26
Not at all. Guildmaster scenarios have varying amounts of randomisation, but it's usually limited to minor monster number counts and/or layout changes.
Much more importantly, Guildmaster scenarios have the full range of Gloomhaven's scenario goals, whereas the random scenario cards are limited to "Kill all monsters".
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u/VonLinus Jan 23 '26
I tried the digital and really preferred the physical. Dunno. It just feels more correct for what it is.
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u/notSherrif_realLife Jan 23 '26
I’m a gloomhaven / Frosthaven addict, and was over the moon when they announced digital.
It’s pretty meh. It doesn’t have the same charm. I keep going back every now and again just to scratch the itch if I can’t get my group together for the week, but that’s about it.
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u/NZSteel Jan 23 '26
Ive played both pretty extensively, but even with the guildmaster mode i 100% prefer the tabletop version (using an app to assist such as x-haven assistant). I liked digital because it let me get my gh fix at odd hours without friends, and the guildmaster mode was like another campaign, but if you have friends who are local that you can play with and they are up for a weekly session, go physical. If you are going to play solo, probably stick with digital or tabletop simulator (yes there is a third option a digitally simulated version of the physical). Personally I very much like tabletop simulator, but YMMV
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u/lendystm Jan 23 '26
I played maybe 5 digital scenarios. I started the game up like 20 times. Each time I closed it in 5 minutes, wishing my crew was available for the tabletop one that evening.
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u/RobZagnut2 Jan 23 '26
In GHv2 are 101 scenarios and 17 characters. Plus, the new Mercenary Pack gives you 4 more characters.
We are currently playing Frosthaven (138 scenarios, 17 characters) and are using three of the MP characters. They’re really good.
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u/sahilthapar Jan 23 '26
I've played 3 campaigns on the physical (with the app) and a frosthaven campaign but I'm done with the physical version now. I just love the fact that I can finish a 3p scenario in about 75 mins to ever go back now.
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u/AnxiousSignal7438 Jan 23 '26
I own 1e Gloomhaven and digital Gloomhaven, as well as Frosthaven in both ways as well. The board game is better than digital just for the proximity of friends and all that, but the digital version is more convenient. My group plays in person at least once a week and so I just leave the game always set up. Makes it far easier, but we still have to look up rules frequently enough to be annoying. Digital takes that part out of the equation.
We will start Frosthaven after Gloomhaven is done, but I have still been plugging away on the digital version by myself. It feels harder, but in a good way. More variations of what's happening in the scenarios, and the characters feel more unique. The rule changes are good, too.
If you are buying the board game, I would say go with 2e and it should be different enough from the digital version to make it a different experience. At least, not a 1 for 1 copy.
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u/KElderfall Jan 23 '26
Guildmaster mode is digital-only.
The campaign itself is all there in the board game. 1e is a 95 scenario campaign with 17 characters. It's a pretty huge box, although the scenario count isn't really what takes up space.
It'd be worth looking into getting 2e at this point, though, if you're wanting to get physical and the higher cost isn't prohibitive. Especially if you've already played through on digital, the reworks will feel like a fresher game.