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Since its release in 2017, Gloomhaven has become an A-list celebrity among board gamers. Sitting unchallenged in BoardGameGeek’s coveted number one spot, it felt like there was nothing that could build upon such an incredible base game. Forever moving upwards, however, Cepholafair Games released Gloomhaven’s first expansion, Forgotten Circles. Not only is this expansion packed with a heap of new features but it even contains a new character class: the Aesther Diviner. So, let’s find out how Forgotten Circles compares to the original. This review won’t spoil any story elements or secrets but that will limit what I can discuss.
Love’s Divine-r
Die-hard fans of Gloomhaven may question the need for another character class on top of the stack already in the base game. The Aesther Diviner is something you won’t have seen before. She has some cool powers. But her cards seem to work in a different way to any other character I have played. You’ll notice that you have to modify your playing style significantly to play the Diviner.
This is especially true if like me you favour the brute force character classes like the Brute or Cragheart. Due to this need to change the style, it can make the first few scenarios quite clunky. Hold tight and you’ll get the hang of it. I was worried that it would be a little repetitive, but that was not the case.
Young and Brute-iful
Forgotten Circles adds some fresh mechanics to the game with a new status condition and event cards. Along with the whole book full of exciting new scenarios. As we’ve come to expect with Gloomhaven, these are integrated well into the game. Fitting with the Diviner’s backstory as you discover while playing. The Rift events are just like Road and City events. However, unsurprisingly, these are used when the characters are travelling by Rift. These aren't major additions but they set it aside from the base game. While the scenarios are new, it is these touches that remind you that you’re playing an expansion.
Hounds of Love
Unfortunately, it is the scenarios where Forgotten Circles trips up a little. First, I have to mention the layout of the scenario book. I’m sure some of you had the issue with Gloomhaven that when setting up a scenario you can see all of the rooms and enemies, and so you always know what’s coming. This means you must either choose to spoil the surprise and look yourself, or one player acts as a sort of Dungeon Master. Controlling enemies and keeping tabs on their health. Forgotten Circles remedies this conundrum. But it comes at a price.
The scenario book reveals only the first room. It gives instructions for which pages to jump to when you need to reveal a new room. This does keep the mystery alive and means you never fully know what to expect. However, with the amount of jumping around you need to do, it really takes you out of the fantasy of the scenario. You will have to mess around setting up a new room. The scenario book isn’t all that user friendly. It can feel like you need a degree just to work out the layouts of the other rooms. The wording of some scenarios’ set up is also incredibly confusing and has led to many a split end when playing.
Earth, Wind, & Fire (Demons)
On top of this faff comes the issue of the scenarios themselves. While I enjoy a challenge, the scenarios laid out in Forgotten Circles can be hard. At first, I put it down to getting used to the new character but as the story progressed, nothing eased up. Whereas Gloomhaven’s scenarios were challenging but doable with some thinking, those of Forgotten Circles are both trying and long, and often need resetting and redoing.
My games of the expansion go on considerably longer than most scenarios from the base game, and they frankly take too much out of me to be truly enjoyable. This rules out pretty much any thought of playing a scenario after work, as they are too exhausting to play. There’s also the distinct risk that you play for ages and still fail the scenario right at the very end. This can feel like you’ve wasted a whole evening, leaving you tired and frustrated. You can lower the scenario difficulty to ‘easy’. Yet as a seasoned Gloomhaven player, I frankly feel too disheartened at the thought.
The only way I can describe the scenarios accurately is by likening them to that one teacher who thinks good teaching is making their class so difficult that no one passes. It’s not, it leads to frustration and people losing motivation. And this is exactly what happens here. No one wants to take an easier option, especially after playing Gloomhaven on that difficulty for however long, and so it just loses the spark of joy that Gloomhaven has.
Whipping up a (Savvas Ice) Storm
In summary, Forgotten Circles adds some great new content to an already amazing game. The new character class provides a break from what we’re used to but is still at the high standard we have come to expect from Cepholafair Games. Unfortunately, due to the confusing scenario book, it is a bit of a swing and a miss for me. However, if you are a fan of collecting, soldiering through as far as you can is worth it just to have the Diviner as a playable character.
Plus, once unlocked she can be brought over to regular Gloomhaven. Where Jaws of the Lion is a game for Gloomhaven newbies, Forgotten Circles is an expansion for those who want the most challenging experience possible.
