Full disclosure here: my wife and I have only completed six missions. In those first couple of missions, there are not many complications. We hit the bad guys, they fell over, we took their stuff. These are not very challenging scenarios. But then we got to scenario three, and I died. Well, you never die in Jaws, but I (the Hatchet, an axe-throwing highwayman) was knocked out of the game about half-way though. Once the game decides you’re ready for a real challenge, it gives it to you. I’ll admit, it was my fault that I was defeated, and my wife (The Demolitionist, a diminutive tinkerer with a penchant for exploding things) was still able to win the scenario without me, but that doesn’t explain the last scenario we played, where dumb luck took me out in round two.
In other words, even though this is entry-level Gloomhaven, it’s not easy. And even though the game walks you trough its first few missions, the rules are complex enough that we still had to go to the internet for a ruling on a few issues.
And that’s all fine and good, but am I having fun?
The answer to what is probably the most important question raised by this review is: Yes. Definitely. Absolutely.
While the fights are very mechanical, with you trying to work out where the enemy is going to go and if it can hurt you from that range and if you can hurt it from that range, they are also very tactical. You can estimate where you might act in turn order to try to get the upper hand on an enemy. You can try to keep obstacles between you and those zealots who keep showing up. You can decide not to play a card that would be really useful now for its movement action because you think you’ll need its attack action next round. You always feel like you’re playing the game, rather than it playing you.
And leveling up. I love leveling up. I LOVE leveling up. You’ve got character levels, and you have a separate-but-related system of leveling up your attack deck. This makes every little change you make to your character seem meaningful, something that other campaign games, like Paizo‘s Pathfinder Card Game sometimes fail to do. And the leveling makes you even more invested in the character as you customize them to play more to your style. It all comes together to make Jaws one of the most immersive role-playing-game-in-a-box board games I’ve ever played.
I do have a couple of complaints, but only a couple.
Even though the rule book walks you through the game mechanics, and even though there is a handy rules reference guide, I’m still not sure of a few things. Why does the Hatchet’s “The Favorite” card have a “Lost” card icon on it? Why does a target suffer “conditions” from an attack if that attack is reduced to zero? (Note to Em: We’ve been doing this wrong!)
Also, when a couple of unlucky enemy card draws leads to player elimination 10 minutes into an hour-long game, it’s…not much fun for the eliminated player. If I’m going to be eliminated, I’d much rather have it be my own fault (like the first time I was knocked out).
So, based on my couple of weeks with Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, I’ll give it a 9 Victory Points out of 10. It’s a solid game that’s just a bit too heavy to be a truly entry-level experience, but people like me who love this type a game will find what they are looking for at a much lower initial investment than Gloomhaven.
Jay’s score: 9/10 Victory Points.