11 Best Board Games Like Gloomhaven: Closest Alternatives

The best board games like Gloomhaven are Frosthaven for the closest overall experience, Oathsworn for cinematic boss battles, Slay the Spire for a shorter card-driven adventure, and Earthborne Rangers for open-world campaign exploration.

Not every heavy board game is a good Gloomhaven alternative.

For this list, I focused on games that preserve at least one of the things that makes Gloomhaven special: cooperative tactical decisions, character progression, campaign play, difficult card or ability choices, and the feeling that your group is building a shared adventure over time.

If what you really want is simply another complicated board game, there are dozens of options. If you want something that can actually scratch a Gloomhaven itch, these are the 11 I would start with.

If you want a refresher on the original before comparing alternatives, read my Gloomhaven review.

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Quick Comparison: 11 Games Like Gloomhaven

Frosthaven is the closest overall match to Gloomhaven, while Oathsworn is strongest for boss battles, Slay the Spire for shorter card-driven play, and Earthborne Rangers for open-world campaign exploration.

The scores below are relative to Gloomhaven, not overall ratings of the games. Five stars means a game strongly preserves that part of the Gloomhaven experience.

Game	Overall Match	Tactical Combat	Campaign / Progression	Easier to Get to the Table	Best For
Frosthaven	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★☆☆☆☆	The closest possible follow-up
Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★☆☆☆	Big cinematic boss battles
Descent: Legends of the Dark	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	App-guided dungeon crawling
Too Many Bones	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	Character builds and tactical fights
Slay the Spire: The Board Game	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	A shorter card-driven campaign
Spirit Island	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★☆☆☆	★★★★☆	Deep cooperative problem-solving
Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★☆☆☆	★★☆☆☆	Solo hand-management puzzles
Earthborne Rangers	★★★★☆	★★☆☆☆	★★★★★	★★★★☆	Open-world cooperative exploration
Sleeping Gods	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★★	★★★☆☆	Story, exploration, and discovery
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon	★★★★☆	★★☆☆☆	★★★★★	★★☆☆☆	Dark narrative campaign play
ISS Vanguard	★★★★☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★★	★★☆☆☆	A huge sci-fi campaign

Overall Match asks how much of the complete Gloomhaven experience carries over.

Tactical Combat measures how strongly the game recreates the feeling of solving difficult encounters through positioning, abilities, cards, or character-specific powers.

Campaign / Progression looks at persistent characters, story development, upgrades, unlocks, and reasons to return across multiple sessions.

Easier to Get to the Table works in the opposite direction. A higher score means less friction from setup, campaign administration, storage, or very long sessions.

That last score matters more than it might seem. Frosthaven is the closest game here, but it is also one of the hardest to casually bring back to the table.

Closest Board Games Like Gloomhaven

Frosthaven, Oathsworn, Descent: Legends of the Dark, and Too Many Bones are the closest choices if you want tactical encounters, character development, and an RPG-like adventure.

These are where I would start if what you want is another cooperative adventure with tactical encounters, progression, and a campaign or RPG-like structure.

1. Frosthaven: The Closest Game to Gloomhaven

Frosthaven is the closest board game to Gloomhaven because it keeps the card-driven tactical combat, cooperative scenarios, character progression, and persistent campaign structure.

This is the obvious first answer when somebody finishes Gloomhaven and says, “I want more of that.”

Frosthaven keeps the multi-use ability cards and tactical scenario combat, then builds a larger campaign system around them. Between adventures, your group develops an outpost, gathers resources, crafts items, and deals with seasonal events.

The important warning is that Frosthaven is not the streamlined sequel.

It adds more systems and more campaign management. If the amount of setup, rules, and administration in Gloomhaven already felt like too much, Frosthaven is unlikely to solve that problem.

Choose Frosthaven if: your group wants the closest possible continuation of the Gloomhaven formula and is happy to take on even more game.

Choose something else if: your real goal is to reduce setup, campaign bookkeeping, or session length.

2. Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood for Bigger Boss Battles

Oathsworn is one of the best Gloomhaven alternatives for players who want cooperative tactical combat and character progression built around large cinematic boss fights.

Oathsworn shifts the emphasis away from clearing ordinary dungeon rooms and toward major encounters.

Each chapter combines story progression with a tactical battle, and those fights are designed to feel like events rather than another routine scenario.

The trade-off is physical commitment. This is another large game that asks for storage space, setup time, and a group willing to make campaign night an event.

Choose Oathsworn if: the boss encounters were the moments you remembered most from Gloomhaven.

Skip it if: you are trying to escape giant boxes and long setup.

3. Descent: Legends of the Dark for Guided Dungeon Crawling

Descent: Legends of the Dark is a strong Gloomhaven alternative if you want fantasy heroes, tactical encounters, exploration, and campaign progression with an app handling part of the administration.

Descent still gives you recognizable fantasy dungeon crawl ingredients, but its app manages enemy behavior and much of the scenario bookkeeping.

That can be a real advantage for a group where one person usually ends up becoming the rules engine.

The downside is just as clear. The screen is part of the experience. If moving away from phones and tablets is one reason your family plays board games, this is not the alternative I would pick.

Choose Descent if: you want dungeon crawling with more guidance and less manual scenario management.

Skip it if: screen free play matters to your group.

4. Too Many Bones for Tactical Character Building

Too Many Bones is a good Gloomhaven alternative for players who care more about asymmetric characters, tactical battles, and building a hero than about a long story campaign.

Instead of Gloomhaven’s multi-use cards, Too Many Bones builds its characters around custom dice.

Each Gearloc develops differently as you add skills and improve abilities across an adventure. That gives it a strong RPG-like progression loop without asking you to maintain one giant narrative campaign.

The individual adventures are also more modular than Gloomhaven. What does not get smaller is the component footprint. There are plenty of dice, chips, mats, and pieces to organize.

Choose Too Many Bones if: character builds and tactical encounters are more important to you than a persistent story.

Skip it if: you want the campaign narrative to be the main reason everyone comes back.

Games Like Gloomhaven for Tactical Card Play

Slay the Spire, Spirit Island, and Mage Knight are the strongest alternatives if Gloomhaven’s card decisions and cooperative tactical puzzles matter more to you than dungeon crawling.

If the best part of Gloomhaven for you is staring at a hand of cards and trying to turn limited options into one clever turn, these are stronger matches than simply buying another dungeon crawler.

5. Slay the Spire: The Board Game for a Shorter Campaign

Slay the Spire: The Board Game is one of the best shorter alternatives to Gloomhaven, keeping cooperative combat, asymmetric characters, progression, and difficult card decisions in more manageable sessions.

Slay the Spire replaces Gloomhaven’s multi-use ability system with deckbuilding. Your group chooses different characters, improves decks, collects relics, follows branching paths, and fights increasingly difficult enemies.

What I like about it is that it keeps the feeling of solving combat through cards without demanding another sprawling campaign.

Choose Slay the Spire if: you want tactical card decisions and progression with an easier campaign commitment.

Skip it if: persistent world building is what you loved most about Gloomhaven.

6. Spirit Island for Deep Cooperative Strategy

Spirit Island is the best fit here if you loved Gloomhaven’s cooperative planning but do not actually need dungeon crawling or a persistent campaign.

Each player controls an asymmetric spirit defending an island from invaders.

The theme and board structure are completely different, but the shared puzzle is familiar. Everybody has different powers, threats escalate, and the group needs to coordinate without one player simply taking every turn for everybody else.

There is no traditional campaign to maintain. That makes Spirit Island easier to return to after a busy week, while still offering enough complexity to keep an experienced Gloomhaven group occupied.

Choose Spirit Island if: your favorite part of Gloomhaven was solving difficult cooperative turns together.

Skip it if: unlocking characters, following a story, and changing a persistent world are essential.

7. Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition for Solo Gloomhaven Fans

Mage Knight is the strongest alternative on this list for a Gloomhaven fan who wants an extremely deep card-driven fantasy puzzle, especially for solo play.

Mage Knight gives you scenario based exploration and conquest where every card can become movement, attack, defense, or another resource you desperately need.

That creates the same satisfying feeling of staring at a mediocre looking hand and somehow turning it into an excellent turn.

The catch is complexity. I would not recommend Mage Knight because somebody wants an easier Gloomhaven. Its rules and turn optimization can be even more demanding.

Choose Mage Knight if: the hand management puzzle was your favorite part of Gloomhaven and you often play solo.

Skip it if: you want a more accessible game for a group.

Campaign Games Like Gloomhaven Without the Same Dungeon Crawl

Earthborne Rangers, Sleeping Gods, Tainted Grail, and ISS Vanguard keep the long form campaign experience while replacing Gloomhaven’s dungeon combat with exploration, story, or world management.

These games keep the long form shared adventure but take it somewhere other than another hex grid dungeon.

8. Earthborne Rangers for Open World Exploration

Earthborne Rangers is a strong Gloomhaven alternative for players who want a persistent cooperative campaign and character decks but would rather explore an open world than clear another dungeon.

Earthborne Rangers is built around traveling through a living wilderness, investigating problems, developing your ranger deck, and carrying decisions through the campaign.

There is less emphasis on optimizing attacks against enemies on a tactical map and more emphasis on exploration, preparation, and deciding what deserves your attention.

Choose Earthborne Rangers if: the continuing adventure matters more to you than tactical dungeon combat.

Skip it if: positioning and combat are the main reasons you play Gloomhaven.

9. Sleeping Gods for Story and Exploration

Sleeping Gods is a good Gloomhaven alternative for groups that want a cooperative campaign, exploration, character management, and meaningful choices with less focus on tactical dungeon combat.

Your group sails through an open archipelago, choosing where to explore and which encounters to pursue. The atlas gives the campaign a strong sense of place, while your crew, resources, and decisions carry forward.

Compared with Gloomhaven, combat takes less of the spotlight. Exploration and story decisions do more of the work.

Choose Sleeping Gods if: discovering a world and making choices together was more important to you than optimizing every battle.

Skip it if: you mainly want another crunchy combat system.

10. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon for Dark Fantasy

Tainted Grail is a Gloomhaven alternative for players who want a long cooperative fantasy campaign with progression and difficult choices but prefer narrative exploration and survival pressure over tactical grid combat.

Its Arthurian world is considerably darker, and the campaign leans heavily into exploration, consequences, and keeping your group alive.

I would also reserve this one for adults or mature teenagers. The tone is far removed from a typical family game night with younger kids.

Choose Tainted Grail if: story, atmosphere, and difficult campaign decisions are your priorities.

Skip it if: tactical combat is the reason you are searching for games like Gloomhaven.

11. ISS Vanguard for a Huge Sci Fi Campaign

ISS Vanguard is a strong alternative for Gloomhaven groups that want another enormous cooperative campaign but are ready to trade fantasy dungeon combat for science fiction exploration and ship management.

The group manages an interstellar ship, develops crew divisions, explores alien worlds, and follows a branching story across many sessions.

Mechanically, they are quite different. ISS Vanguard puts more emphasis on exploration, crew and ship management, and campaign administration.

Choose ISS Vanguard if: your group wants a huge campaign in a completely different setting.

Skip it if: another large campaign sounds more exhausting than exciting.

Games Like Gloomhaven vs Games Like Frosthaven

Most games that appeal to Gloomhaven fans also work as Frosthaven alternatives, but Frosthaven players are more likely to be looking for something lighter after an even larger campaign.

If you want less campaign management, start with Slay the Spire or Spirit Island.

If you still want a major campaign but want different combat, look at Oathsworn, Earthborne Rangers, or ISS Vanguard.

If you want to keep a hard tactical puzzle but play mostly solo, I would go toward Mage Knight.

Which Gloomhaven Alternative Is Best for Families?

For families with experienced older kids or teenagers, Slay the Spire, Spirit Island, Sleeping Gods, and Earthborne Rangers are the alternatives I would investigate first.

Most of this list sits well above the complexity level I would recommend for younger children.

The bigger barriers are long sessions, large amounts of reading, independent planning, complicated setup, and the possibility of one experienced player taking over the group’s decisions.

For older kids who already make their own strategic decisions, I would start with the game whose theme excites them rather than automatically choosing the one with the highest similarity score.

Best Gloomhaven Alternative for Two Players

Mage Knight, Spirit Island, Too Many Bones, Slay the Spire, Sleeping Gods, and Earthborne Rangers are the strongest two player options from this list.

For the toughest card puzzle, I would look at Mage Knight. For cooperation without maintaining a campaign, Spirit Island. For character building and tactical encounters, Too Many Bones. For a continuing adventure, Sleeping Gods or Earthborne Rangers. For something easier to fit into regular evenings, Slay the Spire is particularly attractive.

Final Verdict: What Should You Play After Gloomhaven?

Frosthaven is the best choice if you simply want more Gloomhaven, but Oathsworn, Slay the Spire, Spirit Island, and Earthborne Rangers are better choices when you want to keep one part of Gloomhaven and change another.

My shortlist would be:

• Frosthaven if you want the closest possible successor.
• Oathsworn if you want tactical combat built around spectacular boss fights.
• Slay the Spire if you want card driven cooperation with a smaller commitment.
• Spirit Island if you want a deep cooperative puzzle without a campaign.
• Earthborne Rangers if you want another persistent adventure but are ready to leave the dungeon behind.

The right Gloomhaven alternative is not necessarily the game with the biggest box or the highest complexity rating. It is the one that preserves the part your group actually misses.

Frequently Asked Questions About Games Like Gloomhaven

What board game is most similar to Gloomhaven?

Frosthaven is the board game most similar to Gloomhaven because it directly continues the same core card driven tactical combat and campaign structure.

What should I play after Gloomhaven?

Play Frosthaven if you want more of the same system, Oathsworn for boss battles, Slay the Spire for a shorter card campaign, or Earthborne Rangers for open world exploration.

Are there shorter games like Gloomhaven?

Yes. Slay the Spire, Spirit Island, and Too Many Bones provide challenging cooperative or tactical play without requiring another Gloomhaven sized campaign.

What is the best solo game like Gloomhaven?

Mage Knight is my strongest pick for solo players who love Gloomhaven’s difficult card decisions, fantasy exploration, and turn by turn optimization.

What games are like Frosthaven?

Oathsworn, Slay the Spire, Spirit Island, Earthborne Rangers, Too Many Bones, and ISS Vanguard can all appeal to Frosthaven players depending on whether they want combat, campaign play, progression, or a shorter commitment.

Which Gloomhaven alternative has the best story?

Sleeping Gods and Tainted Grail put more emphasis on exploration and narrative, while Oathsworn combines a long story with large tactical boss encounters.

Which Gloomhaven alternatives do not require an app?

Most games on this list can be played without an app. Descent: Legends of the Dark is the major exception because its app is part of the core experience.