Cephalofair Games: Jaws of The Lion Strategy Boxed Board Game for Ages 14 and up, 2+ players

"Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion" is a solo / co-op fantasy campaign for 1 to 4 players, the little brother to the very popular "Gloomhaven" campaign released several years ago. While definitely a fantasy game, it eschews many of the tropes of that genre. The clever game system uses cards to plot out characters' turns.Pros:- First rate physical components; attractive and sturdy.- Meaningful and interesting choices every turn.- The programmed learning format (gradual introduction of the game's rules) over the first five scenarios helps players learn the game.- The four included characters and interesting and each offers some unique options.- Strong player progression - 'leveling up' will give player's new options for their characters' decks.- The combat resolution system, using a deck of modifier cards, is less random that a dice-based system.- Each monster type has its own unique deck of activation cards that alleviates the need for an overlord/gamemaster while providing some theme and individuality to each type of enemy.Cons:- Nominally a 'legacy' game (components are altered as the story progresses) so theoretically the game can only to played once. However, I've found that a little extra record keeping can allow you to by-pass this.- While the rules are pretty clear, the increasingly complicated card abilities can be a little tricky to parse sometimes.- The spiral-bound map book replaces a mapboard or map pieces that are fit together. It's a simple alternative but somewhat limited.- Gameplay is strongly focused on combat.Recommendation:This is a great game for experienced gamers willing to commit to a long campaign over many play sessions. The game is 'thinky' and requires some real thought when selecting the cards for each character's turn. The storyline plays out over multiple scenarios and each will take several hours to play.This is not a game for young kids. Not only are the rules and game play too difficult for young ones, the story line is decidedly dark.

If you are on the fence thinking that it will be too complicated and overwhelming, it’s not, just get it. This is the perfect way to introduce a new player to Gloomhaven. The tutorial missions are very well narrated and explained and the game mechanics are engaging and fun for the whole group of adventures. The amount of content is very hefty, but not as overwhelming as the larger game; about a quarter of the scenarios. Within two scenarios I can already tell I want the larger game. My kids knew they liked it after the first scenario and were naming their characters and looking forward to seeing them grow and develop.It’s basically a RPG video game in a box. Pick your favorite character and you and your friends or family will embark on an epic campaign in which you don’t finish the game each time you finish a scenario. Your character will level up, get stronger, earn rewards, and unlock new abilities and game features as the story progresses. Each scenario leads into the next so the game feels continuous rather than just a bunch of independent missions. Each game session seams to play out in an hour to an hour and a half which I think is rather good.If you like adventure dungeon crawling with a D&D like flair, but don’t like heavy dice rolling and checking against multiple tables to see how things resolve, then this game is for you. Your family or gaming group will not regret it and will eagerly look forward to each successive game night as you dive deeper and deeper into the murky streets and dark alleyways of the city of Gloomhaven, seeking gold, glory, and the right to brag at the local inn. Good luck, and happy gaming.

This is one of the highest ranked games on BoardGameGeek.com.The game is a slightly simplified version of the full Gloomhaven game.It does a great job simplifying the game in multiple ways.1. You play on the actual book, instead of putting together cardboard map pieces. Also the book includes objects identified on certain spaces. This saves an incredible amount of setup time. It takes so long in the original game to set up all the map pieces, the doors, the rocks, the water hexes, etc. This eliminates all that!2. It actually teaches you how to play the game while you are playing it. You start off with simplified versions of the cards. As you play through the scenarios, you replace the simplified cards in your hand with the actual cards that you will continue with throughout the rest of the game. It is so easy to play through AND learn the game as you are doing it. There are quite a few learning scenarios included. By the time you are through those scenarios, you are ready to play the actual game.This is a MUST for any person interested in D&D or other rpgs. You get to create and level a character, gaining experience and new abilities, acquiring new items and developing strategies to get you and your party through the scenarios. There is normally no permanent death (unless you choose to play that way) - your character just gets "knocked out".An incredible amount of fun! Easily worth the price!