Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

If someone asks me where to start with the Gloomhaven system, the answer is always this one, no hedging. Jaws of the Lion strips out the parts of the original that were pure friction, hunting through a hundred identical tokens to find the three the scenario book needs, flipping between a rulebook and a scenario book and a monster manual simultaneously, and replaces the whole setup process with printed map books you flip open and start playing from.

The teaching structure is the best I’ve seen in a tactical game, full stop. The first scenarios strip the action cards down to six bare-bones effects and layer in pushing, pulling, and elemental interactions one system at a time instead of dumping the full rulebook on you in scenario one. By the time the training wheels come off you genuinely understand the hand-management-as-hidden-initiative core instead of just having had it explained at you.

The new classes are more approachable than the original’s cast, which is exactly the point, but I noticed a real tension in how I felt about that as someone who already owns most of the base game’s envelope classes. Watching a fourth entry point ship its own new starter classes does something to the specific thrill of cracking open a locked envelope in the original, it’s a personal gripe more than a design flaw, but it’s real. On a more physical note, the box is stuffed close to the seams with everything it includes, and I’d have happily paid for a slightly bigger box in exchange for an easier repack after every session.

None of that changes the verdict. This is a tighter, smarter, more teachable version of one of the best tactical combat systems on the market, sold at a fraction of the price and time commitment of its bigger siblings. Five stars, no hesitation, and the one I actually hand to people who say they’re curious about the hype.