Frosthaven Board Game Review

Written by Alexandra Sonechkina

It must be just like Gloomhaven, only better, with more things to do, more stories and more decisions with consequences! It must have more monsters, but also bring back some of the old ones, and more cool boss fights, please! But less Oozes because Oozes are the worst! (Spoilers: Oozes make their return; they are just as happy to be endlessly multiplying in Frosthaven’s cold) Also more characters! With different abilities! And powers! And items! And more classes! And playstyles! And more map stickers! And more secret envelopes and boxes to unlock! MORE! Oh, and can it be in a smaller box that doesn’t need weightlifting training to pick up, please and thank you.

It would be impossible to satisfy all these requests while delivering a game that is functional and fits into this physical dimension. Yet that didn’t seem to stop the game’s designer, Isaac Childres. His love for this universe is palpable in all aspects of the gameplay, and, perhaps, is one of the reasons the game goes above and beyond expectations. This doesn’t mean Frosthaven is perfect – no game of such size and scope can get away without some oddities or clumsiness – however it is also a sequel that matches the ambition of the original and improves on it in almost every way. We're reviewing a Kickstarter copy here. 

What is Frosthaven?

A small outpost in the frozen north, Frosthaven is under constant assault, if not from the merciless weather, then by the enemy forces.  So, of course, there are plenty of things to do for a mercenary group. Around a hundred hours’ worth, at least.

The general setup of the game’s structure is similar to Gloomhaven. The party ventures outside of the outpost walls to complete various missions, returning to Frosthaven, the base of operations, to level up, gain equipment and resolve events. However, an important new step has been introduced into this arrangement: the outpost phase, which includes the construction of buildings. These offer players more things to do while in Frosthaven, from crafting potions to trading resources, and many other exciting things that shall remain unspoiled. Buildings also let players make Frosthaven their own as actual building stickers are added to the map, beautifully illustrated by Francesca Baerald. Based on various decisions throughout the game, everyone’s Frosthaven will end up looking different.

Gloomhaven to Frosthaven

Whereas in Gloomhaven the map felt a little like an afterthought, in Frosthaven it is the centerpiece of the game. Although most of the game’s action still takes place in dungeon-like environments constructed out of modular tiles, the map brings the whole campaign together, tracking your journey and showcasing the evolution of Frosthaven through time. In fact, Frosthaven tracks and ties all the events of the game a lot better than its predecessor. For example, the campaign sheet tracks the passage of time by weeks and any events can be marked on its timeline. In Gloomhaven, when a new card was added to the event’s deck, it could show up on the following play session or in three months (by which time you likely have forgotten everything about it). In Frosthaven, you note the event on the timeline and read it when you reach that point. This not only makes you more excited for future sessions as you can see what is coming up, but also creates a sense of passage of time with a clearer and more immediate understanding of how your actions affect the world. 

Even better, however, are the campaign flow charts. These are advent calendar-like boards that hide stickers that represent next missions on the map. However, even after each location is revealed, the boards serve as a reminder of the journey so far. It shows how each quest is connected, which part of the storyline the quest belongs to and if there are any prerequisites to unlocking a new mission. There are so many things to do in Frosthaven that these boards become essential to easily keep track of the story, especially if your gaming group is returning to the game after a hiatus and needs a little reminder of where things stand.

The one aspect of the game that remained unchanged is the combat. Here, players still select two cards to play each turn and choose a top and a bottom action to perform. Each battle is still incredibly strategic and rewards those players who plan, coordinate and time their moves carefully. Frosthaven demands even more tactical thinking than its predecessor did, because many of its missions, on top of throwing a bunch of deadly monsters at players, have a secondary objective or a puzzle. Simply Brute forcing it, isn’t always the best plan…

The characters have also evolved in complexity. Their abilities tend to be more nuanced than simple ‘attack’ or ‘move’. Status effects or elements charging up powerful attacks typically supplement the basic actions. Each character also has special overarching power that makes their gameplay unique but also ties back to their origin or story. One of the biggest enjoyments of the game is unlocking a new character and finally opening boxes containing their miniature and ability cards. Unlike its predecessor, in Frosthaven, most characters are unlocked through completing certain missions or events rather than fulfilling personal quests. This allows some character classes to be unlocked at the early stages of the campaign, which gives players more choices almost from the onset.

Frosthaven Storage

All this delicious variety and exciting mysterious legacy-style goodness comes with a large box-shaped ‘but’. With more variety comes more stuff, and with more stuff comes a need for more storage, and this can quickly get out of hand if players don’t keep themselves organised. The base box comes with some inserts, but while they improve certain aspects of storage, not all are entirely successful, so alternatives may need to be purchased. A whole host of apps, some official and others fan made, could be used to simplify the more clunkier aspects of the gameplay, for example enemy decks.

Frosthaven Review

Yet even still Frosthaven is a whole day affair, in large part due to its set up. Its components will easily hog your table, and the side table, and that extra chair you never used before, and any flat surface in arms reach of the table too. Rule learning will also take some time, even for those who played Gloomhaven before, as there are a bunch of new mechanics and some rule alterations (but these, thankfully, are nicely signposted). For newcomers this onslaught of rule information could be outright overwhelming, so they might need to persevere through a sluggish start of the campaign, until the rules will become second nature. And, please persevere, because it will be absolutely worth it! 

We consider Frosthaven to be a must-play game – as Isaac Childres and team did it again! Frosthaven manages to retain everything that was excellent about Gloomhaven and add loads more. As for the unwieldy box, trust me, you will want to find a space for it on your shelf!

You should try it if you liked Jaws of Lion, as it is a perfect starting point for a newcomer to the universe: it has a much easier set up and great tutorials to learn the basics. Then, when you are absolutely hooked, Frosthaven awaits you.

Buy your copy of Frosthaven on Amazon

About Frosthaven

Designer: Isaac Childres

Publisher: Cephalofair Games

Time: 30-120 minutes

Players: 1-4

Ages: 14+

Price: £250

What’s in Frosthaven?

• Map board
• 2 Scenario books
• Puzzle book
• 7 Sticker sheets
• Element board
• 5 Scenario flowcharts
• Advent calendar alchemy chart
• 4 Hit point & experience dials
• 17 Character miniatures and tuck boxes
• 30+ Map tiles
• 24 Plastic stands
• 6 Monster stat sleeves
• 6 Attack modifier decks
• 36 Personal quests
• 160 Event cards
• 40 Battle goals
• 30 Dungeon cards
• 48 Loot cards
• 15+ Random scenarios
• 250+ Tokens (conditions, loot, damage)
• 50+ Monster groups,
• stat cards, and ability Decks
• 100+ Overlay tiles
• 200+ Item cards
• 16 Mystery envelopes
• Other items not listed for spoiler reasons

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