Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
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The FroGames Card
Some calculate movements by counting hexes. Others burn the best card too early. The door opens, the boss appears, and everyone realizes they had the wrong priorities. Then someone draws the right card at the right time, and the table explodes.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
A tactical dungeon crawler that doesn't ask you to read 40 pages before playing
Designed by Isaac Childres in 2020, Jaws of the Lion is the standalone prequel to Gloomhaven, the tabletop behemoth that redefined the dungeon crawler genre. Illustrated by Francesca Baerald, David Demaret, and Alexandr Elichev, the game brings the tactical depth of the original in a smaller box, with a 5-scenario integrated tutorial that teaches the rules as you play. Set in the city of Gloomhaven before the events of the base game, it follows four mercenaries investigating mysterious disappearances.
At the table, you manage a multi-use hand of cards to move, attack, and use special abilities. Each card has an initiative value and two actions: you choose one from the top, one from the bottom, then discard it or lose it forever. There are no dice. Damage is fixed, modified by a personal deck that evolves with experience. The campaign unfolds over 25 scenarios played directly on the scenario book (no modular map to assemble), with variable objectives, branching storylines, and characters that grow by unlocking new cards and abilities. You win by completing the objective before the mercenaries run out of cards. You lose if everyone exhausts their hand.
What they're saying abroad
"This is the best entry point into Gloomhaven, bar none."
This is the best entry point into Gloomhaven, bar none.
— Shut Up & Sit Down
The integrated tutorial is a masterpiece of design: it teaches you how to play without you even realizing it. By the fifth scenario, you already know all the rules and are thinking three turns ahead.
— FroGames
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
The game is designed for solo play as much as for groups. You control 1-4 mercenaries, enemy AI is on cards, and the narrative campaign works perfectly even alone. In fact, many players prefer solo play: no downtime, no discussions about priorities, and you can play a scenario on your lunch break without coordinating with anyone. The experience is 100% complete.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and gameplay sessionsThe Four Mercenaries
Who to bring on a mission
Red Guard
Valrath tank that absorbs damage and controls crowds. His cards generate shields, immobilize enemies, and create meat shields between monsters and the party. Dies last, if all goes well.
Hatchet
Inox Ranger specializing in ranged damage. Throws his favorite hatchet (which he must retrieve) or uses secondary weapons. High mobility, equally high fragility. Stays far away or it ends badly.
Voidwarden
Quatryl support with mind control and curses. Curses enemy decks, teleports allies, manipulates initiatives. Doesn't do much damage, but wins impossible scenarios with brains.
Demolitionist
Quatryl explosives expert who destroys obstacles and groups of enemies. Plants bombs, blows up walls, creates breaches. High risk, high reward. And yes, can hurt allies if calculations are wrong.
Recommended Sleeves 549 cards in 2 sizes ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting your cards with clear sleeves to make them last longer.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 44 × 68 mm | 375 |
| 63 × 88 mm | 174 |
| Total cards | 549 |
🎲How to playThe rules in four steps▼
How to play
The flow of each round
A system of intertwined initiatives where your card choices determine who acts first, what you do, and how long you stay standing.
Each player secretly chooses 2 cards from their hand. Each card has an initiative number (5-99) and two actions (top/bottom). You must choose which actions to use, in what order to act, and whether to discard or permanently burn the cards. Limited communication: you can talk but not say exactly what you will do.
Everyone reveals their cards together. The lowest initiative acts first (monsters included: they draw AI cards with variable initiative). This creates intricate situations: if you act first, you can stun the boss before it attacks, but you burn the slow card you needed for movement. Pure tactics.
On your turn, you perform the top action of one card and the bottom action of the other (in any order). Movement, attack, special abilities, placements. Attacks draw a modifier from your personal deck (+0, +1, -1, 2x, null). Monsters act according to the AI printed on their cards (focus on the closest target, attack/move, no dice).
Used cards go into the discard pile or the lost pile (gone forever, if you used the enhanced ability). When you have fewer than 2 cards in hand, you must rest: you recover all discards, but you lose 1 random card to the lost pile. When you have no useful cards left, your mercenary collapses, and you exit the scenario. If everyone collapses: defeat.
⏱️Your first gameThe chronicle, moment by moment▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Opening the book
Open the scenario book to the indicated page. The map is already there, printed. You place miniatures, obstacle tokens, door markers. Read the flavor text: someone is missing, something is off, the Vermlings are suspicious. Choose 10-12 cards for your personal deck (each mercenary has 15-20 available, you bring a subset). Shuffle the modifier deck. You're in.
The first card round
Everyone secretly chooses two cards from their hand. You reveal them together. The lowest initiative acts first. Someone opens the door, revealing the monsters hidden behind, and the board explodes with markers. Enemies act according to AI cards (no dice, everything deterministic). You move, attack, use special abilities. The card goes into the discard pile or the lost pile (gone forever). You already understand here: every turn is a subtraction.
Hand management
You're halfway through the scenario. You've burned 4 cards to the lost pile to use devastating moves. 6 cards remain in hand plus 4 in the discards. You do the math: how many turns do you have left before the mandatory rest? The Demolisher places a bomb that would hit three enemies BUT also the Red Guard. Everyone looks at the tank. He nods. Everything explodes. The tank loses 3 HP, the monsters 6. It was worth it.
The 2x moment
The boss draws the AI card. Someone reads: "Attack 4, target: lowest initiative." It's the Voidwarden, 8 HP. Draws the modifier: 2x critical. Eight damage. The Voidwarden collapses. Silence at the table. Then someone says: "We had the stun-card, we could have..." Too late. Now the party is down to three, the boss still has 12 HP, and the objective is two rooms away. This is the moment you'll remember.
Victory by a hair
Last possible turn. The Red Guard has 2 cards in hand, the rest are burned. The Hatchet is at 1 HP. The Demolisher collapsed three turns ago. The final objective is exactly 3 hexes away. Everyone reveals their cards. Initiative: 12 (Guard), 18 (monster), 25 (Hatchet). The monster attacks the Hatchet. Draws modifier: -1. The Hatchet survives with 1 HP. Moves, collects the objective token. Scenario completed. You mark the X's on the campaign sheet, unlock a merchant, level up. Next time will be worse.
🐸Good to know beforehandThree honest things, from friends▼
Good to know beforehand
Three things you need to know
The tutorial is slow on purpose
The first five scenarios introduce one rule at a time. Scenario 1: basic movement and attack. Scenario 2: special abilities. Scenario 3: status and elements. It's a brilliant system for learning, but if you already know Gloomhaven, it might feel restrained. You can't skip them: the campaign is sequential. If you're in a hurry, it's not for you.
Scenario setup is not immediate
Even without modular tiles, each scenario requires 10-15 minutes of preparation: placing miniatures, obstacle tokens, doors, condition tokens, shuffling scenario-specific monster decks. Then another 10 to pack up and track progress on the campaign sheet. It's not "open and play." If you're looking for a filler, look elsewhere.
After 25 scenarios, replayability decreases
The campaign is written and structured: fixed scenarios, predefined narrative beats, bosses in the same locations. You can replay some with different character builds or integrate them into the base Gloomhaven, but it doesn't have the infinite replayability of a procedural dungeon. It's a story to experience once (very well), not a sandbox to replay endlessly.
🏆Victory and defeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Each scenario has a unique objective printed on the page. It's never just "kill all monsters."
Victory
- You complete the scenario objective before all mercenaries collapse (e.g., collect 3 tokens, reach the final room, protect the NPC for 8 rounds)
- At least one mercenary is still standing when the objective is completed
- You mark the X on the campaign sheet, unlock new scenarios, earn gold and experience to power up characters
Defeat
- All mercenaries run out of cards and collapse before completing the objective
- The objective fails (e.g., the NPC to protect dies, time runs out, the boss escapes)
- You retry the scenario from scratch with the same characters (but the build choices made before defeat remain)
Jaws of the Lion is the best entry point into the world of Gloomhaven: tactical depth, narrative campaign, no dice, and a tutorial that actually works. If you're looking for a cerebral co-op that rewards planning, this is the game.
📦In the boxComponents and materials▼
- 2 scenario books comprising 25 scenarios, Game Guide and rules glossary, 4 playable miniatures, each with personal card decks and character sheets, 16 unique monsters, each with standees and decks, City map and stickers, 20+ event cards, 100+ tokens, Extra content revealed during gameplay.
💬Frequently asked questionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
Do I need to have played base Gloomhaven to understand Jaws of the Lion?
No, it is a complete standalone game. Chronologically set before the events of Gloomhaven, it tells a self-contained story with new characters. You can start here (it's even recommended: the integrated tutorial teaches you the system without reading 50 pages of rules). If you like it, you can then migrate the four mercenaries to the base game or vice-versa.
How long does a single game session last?
A single scenario takes 60-90 minutes once the rules are learned, including setup and teardown. The first tutorial scenarios are faster (30-45 min), while the final ones with complex bosses can exceed 2 hours. In solo play, times are halved (no discussions, no waiting). The complete campaign is 25-30 total hours.
Is the game truly cooperative or is there hidden competition?
100% pure cooperative. No secret objectives, no betrayal, no individual victory conditions. The only twist is limited communication during card selection: you can discuss general strategies but not say exactly which card you will play or your exact initiative. This creates moments of imperfect coordination ("I would stun the boss" "OK, I'll finish him" and then you find out you act after him and everything goes wrong).
What mechanics does Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion use?
The core is tactical hand management with multi-use cards: each card has two actions (top/bottom), an initiative value, and can be discarded or permanently burned. It combines with grid movement on hexes, line of sight, status and element management, deck construction (choosing which cards to bring on a mission), and a legacy-lite campaign with branching narrative choices. No dice: damage is fixed plus modifiers drawn from a personal deck.
Is the edition for sale in Italian?
Yes, complete Italian edition published by Asmodee. Rulebook, scenario book, ability cards, monster cards, all localized. Miniatures and components are language-independent (universal icons). No need for fan translations or English rules.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a cooperative tactical board game for 1-4 players, lasting 30-120 minutes, recommended age 14+. Designed by Isaac Childres and published by Asmodee, it is the standalone prequel to Gloomhaven with an integrated tutorial in the scenario book. The core mechanics are hand management with multi-use cards, grid movement on hexes, and a 25-scenario campaign with character progression. No dice: combat is deterministic plus deck modifiers. Official support for complete solo play. Weight 3.6/5 on BGG, ideal for experienced players looking for a cerebral dungeon crawler without a prohibitive entry barrier. Available on FroGames.it with immediate shipping.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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📦Does the content of the box match what is indicated?
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