Cephalofair Games have now launched their BackerKit campaign for the Gloomhaven Grand Festival. There are not one, not two but three different options available to backers who want to get involved. At the heart of this is the new 2nd Edition of Gloomhaven but you've also got the new Roleplaying Game and cartloads of miniatures for the different 'Haven games in the collection.

Gloomhaven Grand Festival // Cephalofair Games

We start things off for the Grand Festival of Gloomhaven with the 2nd Edition of the original game. The folks at Cephalofair have gone through the process of revamping and updating the original game to tighten it up and provide folks with another way to dive into playing through those initial quests.

Gloomhaven Second Edition // Cephalofair Games

As mentioned above, the original game has been rebalanced and redesigned so that it's a more cohesive experience that fits with the way that the 'Haven games have grown and developed over the years. You'll find redesigned characters, monsters, scenarios and a tweaked story which then features all-new artwork and more.

Gloomhaven - Second Edition Characters // Cephalofair Games

As someone who has played through all of the original Gloomhaven, I have no particular need to dive in and pick up this Second Edition of the game. I've played through Jaws Of The Lion and I have the hefty Frosthaven sitting on my shelf. We've barely scratched the surface of Frosthaven and it's already feeling like it's going to be a multi-year experience. However, I can see why Cephalofair would want to do a Second Edition of Gloomhaven from a design point of view as well as a commercial one.

Jaws Of The Lion is still going to be the best entry point for anyone wanting to play a 'Haven game in my opinion but if you've already enjoyed that game and you want to take the next step, it might be worth considering the Second Edition of Gloomhaven, especially if it has been revamped in such a way that it makes the game experience all the more fluid.

Gloomhaven Role-Playing Game

As well as the Second Edition of Gloomhaven, this will also be your chance to dive into some roleplaying in the world that Childres and his team have created. You can snag yourself the new core book alongside a bunch of accessories which are going to be handy when playing.

Gloomhaven Role-Playing Game // Cephalofair Games

Having everything coming out of one book seems like a great idea meaning that you're not having to snap up multiple tomes in order to play your games. Another thing that's quite interesting about the roleplaying game is that it uses a similar system of card play in order to get stuck into your combat encounters and beyond.

The card decks that you'll know from Gloomhaven are still being used in order to work out the kind of actions you'll take on a turn and when you'll act. The process will feel very familiar to regular 'Haven players which is handy for when you're trying to bring people over from the board game to try something new. Additionally, you have a bunch of freedom for you to create whatever kinds of characters you like where you mix together an Ancestry and a Class in order to create the kind of character you've always wanted to play.

I am very intrigued by the idea of the Gloomhaven Role-Playing Game and I really like that it shares the same core DNA as the board game. I think a lot of folks will be backing to get this in particular from the BackerKit campaign, especially with the ability to use a lot of the components from the various 'Haven games in order to play out their adventures.

Loads Of Miniatures!

Finally, there are a LOT of miniatures that the Cephalofair Team have been working on for Gloomhaven, Jaws Of The Lion and Frosthaven. If you'd prefer not to use the cardboard standees then you can now get your hands on loads of miniatures covering the different creatures you'll meet during your adventures.

Gloomhaven Base Set // Cephalofair Games

Gloomhaven Bosses // Cephalofair Games

Gloomhaven Summons // Cephalofair Games

This is by no means all of the miniatures from the folks at Cephalofair for any of their different 'Haven games. All of them are in plastic and have been designed to make someone who loves painting board game miniatures very happy. I for one will not be using these in my games as I am a proper lover of the standee. If my friends didn't want to play with their miniatures in Frosthaven, I would have been more than happy to just use the standees provided in the character boxes!

Forgotten Circles Miniatures // Cephalofair Games

As well as the original Gloomhaven, there are also miniatures for all of the Forgotten Circles characters as well as Jaws Of The Lion. I think a lot of folks are potentially going to be picking these up more for the roleplaying game than the board game. It could be very handy to have these as another option that you use specifically for the roleplaying game and the different encounters you get into.

Jaws Of The Lion Miniatures // Cephalofair Games

In a way, this would help differentiate your experience on the tabletop with the board game and the roleplaying game. You could also just paint up the miniatures bit by bit, matching them to the scenarios that you're going to run week by week. It would be a lot more manageable and perhaps a bit of fun too.

Frosthaven Miniatures // Cephalofair Games

Frosthaven Bosses // Cephalofair Games

Frosthaven Summons // Cephalofair Games

Still, it's nice to see that it's all there for people to dive into. As a standee person, whilst I won't be diving in, I hope miniatures lovers are going to have a lot of fun with these and get them painted up. I am looking forward to seeing the projects that pop up where people have painted ALL of them.

From the sounds of it, this is going to be quite a hefty crowdfunder with a lot of backing. Some of the folks who have playtested the 2nd Edition of Gloomhaven have said it's well worth diving in, even if you've played the original game. Hopefully, everything comes to retail further down the line (which I'm sure it will) and folks will get a chance to add this to the list of aspirational board games they get to play in the future.

Will you be diving in?