Gloomhaven...
Started setup at about 11am, actually started playing our first game around noon. Played till around 10pm (with breaks for food and Overcooked sessions) 3 Scenarios completed.
Initial thoughts:
The initial setup is long, very long. Punching out all the pieces, organising everything, setting up your first characters etc... Not helped by the rule book being crap. Luckily some folks online have done a starter guide to get you going, which helps a lot. Do this in adanvce of your first game if possible, and make sure you have lots of bags to put stuff in. Once everything is punched out, without bags, you just have to dump the whole lot back into the box at the end, which would be a nightmare to sort out. There must be 600+ pieces in total, not including cards etc...
The rule book is just rubbish. It's basically a reference manual written by someone who knows the game inside and out, there is no guide to how to start, or what's important. It mentions rules in passing that aren't explained yet, but doesn't tell you where in the 50 page book the rule is to go look it up. In a lot of places it is ambiguous or just poorly written, so searching online for what people think it means is essential. In other places there are things that happen in the game, or are written on cards, that simply aren't explained at all, anywhere in the rule book!
We did the "pick your character by the icon" thing, which ended up with me as a Mindthief (psychic rogue), D as a Brute (tank) and J as a spellslinging flower thingy, who's role is to fuck shit up, then have a nap to recover. No healer in the group, but that didn't seem to matter.
The first scenario is quite easy in terms of the rooms and monsters, but there is no easing you in gradually to the rules, everything is in play right from the off, so make sure you are playing with people who either know the game already, or won't be put off by a fair amount of waiting around while you work out what actually needs to happen, made worse by the shit rule book.
Once you get going, the game is really good fun, and plays really well, the mechanics are nice and the pieces and artwork is really good quality.
The rule book is atrocious.
You need a big table! There are a gazillion pieces and cards in play. (bonus Lady Wiggleton under the table)
Attachment:
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The scenario book has spoilers in it for the person who is running the game, but there is an app on the play store that dynamically hides the setup of all the rooms until you progress through the dungeon, which is really nice. It meant I could be as surprised as to the other players as to what was in the next room.
The rule book could be better.
Even with the above, we really enjoyed the experience and are itching to get back into the world and explore more, as the actual game itself is just lovely, and the persistant nature of growing your characters and the town itself will draw you back in.
All in all, two thumbs up.
p.s. the rule book is shit.