On June 20, Cephalofair launched its Backer Kit crowdfunder for the second edition of Gloomhaven, generating more than $1.5m in a single day. The dungeon crawler game – known as the second (or third?) best board game on BoardGameGeek – is raising funds for an improved second edition of Gloomhaven, along with miniatures and a tabletop RPG.
Gloomhaven second edition was announced in June. In an interview with Wargamer, creator Isaac Childres explained there would be countless tweaks, including bringing in Frosthaven mechanics, and rewriting story content. It also aims to rebalance overpowered classes.
Along with the second edition, Cephalofair has created 259 miniatures compatible with the game. Meanwhile, the Gloomhaven RPG contains a 20-hour module, new maps and lore, and stat blocks and backstories for 30 different monsters.
Gloomhaven’s sequel Frosthaven ranks among the most successful Kickstarter board games ever (it raised $12 million) yet Cephalofair chose new crowdfunding platform BackerKit for the Gloomhaven second edition crowdfunder.
Childres tells Wargamer they made the decision to move from Kickstarter partly because of how slow it’s been in updating its platform. He adds that communication with BackerKit “has always been very easy”, and the platform has shown it’s willing to work on new functionalities. He does add that Kickstarter, perhaps prompted by the sudden competition, seems to be making changes now, but for Cephalofair it was “too little, too late”.
Based on Cephalofair’s own timelines, Gloomhaven Second Edition should be with backers around March 2024, followed by the Gloomhaven RPG in June, and the ‘Miniatures of Gloomhaven’ in January 2025.
Loved Gloomhaven? Not sure if you should splash out on the snowy sequel? Check out our Frosthaven review to find out. And if you’re a newcomer to the series, it’s worth taking a look at our Gloomhaven review.
Source: Wargamer
