Gloomhaven is amazing if you can get four people together. Truly one of the best board games ever. It's absurd how massive it is. Whereas similar games come with a scenario book of 10 to 20 quests, Gloomhaven has 50 for the main campaign and then almost as many sidequests in addition to that. What I like the most about it is that it doesn't use dice (I rarely have any luck in games with dice) as damage modifiers, but decks of cards that can be leveled up. This reduces random chance greatly and allows the game to be played with more strategy and that's what a turn-based strategy game should be about first and foremost.
What I find odd about the digital Gloomhaven, namely its product description on Switch, is the number of scenarios as well as the absence of the mention of the expansion Forgotten Circles whereas the stand-alone expansion Jaws of the Lion gets its honors. I'd hope that Forgotten Circles is fully integrated, because this should be a complete package on Switch.
None of this means that the poll results are legit. Just saying that people shouldn't be dismissive of it. A digital version that is a 1:1 conversion of the gameplay can be a godsend for people who don't know others in person who are into such games, because finding an online group is probably much more manageable. As is the ability of having a CPU manage all the stats and rules when you try to play the game alone. In my board game group we played Gloomhaven with the support of an app, because it made things a great deal easier when you have a dozen active enemies, each with their own HP, buffs and debuffs. If you have to manage all these things with the physical pieces the game comes with, it is quite a lot of work to place everything on exactly the spot where it belongs. Anyway, I am not sure myself if I'll buy this digital version. I know I wouldn't be playing online because I don't want to pay for NSO, but the idea of me alone controlling a party of four is tempting. Especially because I don't think that my board game group will return to Gloomhaven anytime soon; we have already preordered its sequel Frosthaven (German version).
Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.
