Like many of you, once we first started adventuring in the world of Gloomhaven we were hooked. As great as the game is, after a number of lengthy gaming sessions we were wondering what to play next. Luckily there’s tons of great adventure board games out there.

Gloomhaven is a fairly unique game that’s often praised for it’s deep game-play and story-line. Created by Isaac Childres, an avid Dungeons and Dragons fan, this game is a fleshed out dungeon crawler board game in a box. Although there may not be many games exactly like Gloomhaven out there, there’s plenty that will scratch the itch for cooperative adventure.

Mage Knight

Mage Knight Box Art
  • Players: 1-4
  • Time: 60-240 Minutes
  • Designer: Vlaada Chvátil
  • Publisher: Wizkids
  • Setting: Fantasy
  • Mechanics: Co-op, Drafting, Dice Rolling, Grid Movement

Fans of Gloomhaven will feel right at home in Mage Night’s fantasy world setting. Mage Knight puts players in control of a powerful mage, building up their armies and fine tuning their spell decks in order to take over the Atlantean Empire.

Mage Knight plays a bit more like a classic board game than Gloomhaven does. Being less story-driven, Mage Knight focuses on single play sessions rather than continuous campaigns. Another great benefit to Mage Knight is the extensive list of expansions, available all together with the Ultimate Edition.

Nemesis

Nemesis Box Art
  • Players: 1-5
  • Time: 90-180 Minutes
  • Designer: Adam Kwapiński
  • Publisher: Awaken Realms
  • Setting: Sci-Fi Horror
  • Mechanisc: Co-Op Campaign, Card Driven, Hidden Roles

If you’re looking for a game with similar depth and complexity to Gloomhaven, Nemesis is a good choice. This story driven horror game offers many unique objectives and scenarios to ensure you’ll always have a one-of-a-kind gaming experience.

Unlike Gloomhaven’s traditional fantasy setting, Nemesis takes place on a rogue space ship being overtaken by alien intruders. Each player is has unique skills and a secret set of objectives so learning who to trust can be the key to survival.

Shadows Of Brimstone: City Of The Ancients

Shadows Of Brimstone City Of The Ancients Box Art
  • Players: 1-4
  • Time: 120 Minutes
  • Designer: Jason C. Hill
  • Publisher: Flying Frog Productions
  • Setting: Fantasy
  • Mechanics: Co-Op, Dice Rolling, Grid Movement

This fast paced cooperative dungeon crawler board game combines elements of Old Westerns and occult Horror. Fans of adventure games will welcome the fully cooperative gameplay as they work together to seal portals and defeat ancient demons.

Much like in Gloomhaven, Shadows Of Brimstone has a fleshed out campaign system for players to continue their progress across multiple play sessions. The unique theme of this game sets it apart from other titles on this list.

Descent: Journeys In The Dark

Descent Journeys In The Dark Box Art 1
  • Players: 1-5
  • Time: 120 Minutes
  • Designer: Daniel Clark, Corey Konieczka, Adam Sadler, Kevin Wilson
  • Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
  • Setting: Fantasy
  • Mechanics: Action Points, Hand Management, Dice Rolling

Unlike a lot of the co-operative games on this list, Descent: Journeys In The Dark is a One vs Many game. One player takes on the role of a dark overlord, and the rest are the noble heroes. The heroes must embark on a dangerous quest to stop the dangerous overlord before it’s too late.

As the hero players hack and slash their way through a series of fantasy themed dungeons, they collect dice to add to their dice pool. This dice pool is used to determine their attacks in combat and trigger unique special effects. Meanwhile the dark overlord plays cards from their hand to ensure the demise of the heroes.

Legends Of Andor

Legends Of Andor Box Art
  • Players: 2-4
  • Time: 60-90 Minutes
  • Designer: MichaelMenzel
  • Publisher: KOSMOS
  • Setting: Fantasy
  • Mechanics: Co-Op, Movement, Dice Rolling

Another great fantasy adventure game to consider is Legends of Andor. In this game players focus on defending the land of Andor as hordes of monsters slowly threaten the borders.

Through a series of legends and random events, Legends of Andor offers a lot of replay value. The constant threat of enemies breaching the castle walls makes for a rewarding and difficult gaming experience.

Mice and Mystics

Mice And Mystics Box Art
  • Players: 1-4
  • Time: 60-90 Minutes
  • Designer: Jerry Hawthorne
  • Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
  • Setting: Fantasy
  • Mechanics: Co-Op, Area Movement, Dice Rolling

For a unique twist on the dungeon crawler board game genre, Mice and Mystics has players control a group of field mice. As a last ditch effort to escape unharmed, a loyal band of heroes is transformed into a group of mice. Now it is their job to evade foes and warn the king before it’s too late.

Through a cheese-crumb based skill system, players will gather the abilities they need to complete their quest. Mice and Mystics easy to play and understand, making it a great game for the whole family.

Arcadia Quest

Arcadia Quest Box Art 1
  • Players: 2-4
  • Time: 60-120 Minutes
  • Designer: Thiago Aranha, Guilherme Goulart, Eric M. Lang, Fred Perret
  • Publisher: CMON Limited
  • Setting: Fantasy
  • Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Grid Movement

Arcadia Quest is a story driven board game where a number of guilds race to restore order to Arcadia. Each player controls a unique guild of 3 heroes as they embark on a quest to dethrone the vampire lord and claim Arcadia for themselves.

Unlike other cooperative board games like Gloomhaven, Arcadia Quest has only one winner. So players need to compete with each other as well as the foes on the game board. Arcadia Quest also has a number of great expansions that add new campaigns and factions.

Arkham Horror : LCG

Arkham Horror The Card Game Box Art 1
  • Players: 1-2
  • Time: 60-120 Minutes
  • Designer: Nate French, Matthew Newman
  • Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
  • Setting: Lovecraft Horror
  • Mechanics: Co-Op, Deck Construction, Action Points

For fans of the horror of H.P. Lovecraft, The Arkham Horror living card game offers a challenging RPG experience. Delve into the world of the occult as you play through a series of unique scenarios that will leave lasting effects later on in the campaign.

Each character is equipped with a set of strengths and weaknesses represented in their custom deck of cards. Adding a layer of difficulty as you try to keep your deck from being filled up with cards that will hinder your success or maybe even drive your character insane.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Star Wars Imperial Assault Box Art 1
  • Players: 2-5
  • Time: 60-120 Minutes
  • Designer: Justin Kemppainen, Corey Konieczka, Jonathan Ying
  • Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
  • Setting: Star Wars
  • Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Grid Movement

From the designers of Descent, Star Wars: Imperial Assualt takes the dungeon crawler genre into the Star Wars universe. The game takes place after the destruction of the death star as a civil war breaks out between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire.

What’s great about Star Wars: Imperial Assault is that it can be played as a cooperative campaign or as a competitive skirmish. In the campaign one player controls the massive armies of the Empire and the remaining players control Rebel heroes seeking to thwart their plans. If you’re looking for a more competitive experience, the Skirmish mode offers head-to-head tactical combat for 2 players.

Frosthaven

Frosthaven Box Art 1
  • Players: 1-4
  • Time: 30-120 Minutes
  • Designer: Isaac Childres
  • Publisher: Cephalofair Games
  • Setting: Fantasy
  • Mechanics: Co-Op Campaign, Deck Building, Hand Management

This isn’t just a board game like Gloomhaven, it’s actually a stand-alone expansion. Set to release in 2021, Frosthaven takes place in a small frozen outpost facing destruction from the elements and far more dangerous monsters.

Boasting 16 new characters, 25 new enemies, 100 new scenarios and 100 new items, Frosthaven is more than just an expansion. It’s about as big as the original game. With a nearly limitless set of scenarios, Frosthaven promises to be the next logical step for fans of the Gloomhaven board game.

It might be a bit of a stretch to include game that hasn’t been released yet, but it seems like it would be a misstep to have a list of the best games like Gloomhaven without including this, right? If it doesn’t live up to expectations, you can bet that we’ll come back and update this list – but for now, we’re willing to take the gamble that Frosthaven will be fantastic.

What are the Best Dungeon Crawler Games Like GloomHaven?

What did you think of our list, are there some games on here you’re going to check out? You can find most of them on Amazon, and many of them at your FLGS (your friendly local game store). It’s always cool to support local, but saving money means you can buy more games, and the nice thing is that the publishers and designers of these games are supported regardless of where you purchase them.

In any case, did we miss any of the best dungeon crawler games that should have made the list?

10 Best Dungeon Crawler Board Games Like Gloomhaven