Comments on: Gloomhaven And The Skinner Box https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2018/06/04/gloomhaven-and-the-skinner-box/ Board Game Reviews, Analysis, and Strategy Mon, 04 Jun 2018 22:09:06 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 By: Marc Davis https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2018/06/04/gloomhaven-and-the-skinner-box/#comment-238 Mon, 04 Jun 2018 22:09:06 +0000 http://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=1446#comment-238 In reply to Craig.

Honestly I haven’t been particularly impressed by the story elements too much so far. But the game itself has held up tremendously and all the little rewards–treasures and new encounters and new items–are certainly keeping my interest. I wouldn’t downgrade the score I gave in my first impression but I do want to see if the story elements still get better. I think I’m about 25-30 scenarios in, and my group has retired two characters. We’re not going to open the mystery package until all 4 of our primary characters retire, though it’s been tempting to cheat.

]]> By: Craig https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2018/06/04/gloomhaven-and-the-skinner-box/#comment-237 Mon, 04 Jun 2018 21:56:06 +0000 http://thethoughtfulgamer.com/?p=1446#comment-237 I like your analysis a lot and agree that, consciously or not, Gloomhaven is using operant conditioning about as effectively as a board game possibly could. Its massive scale helps, as well … there is plenty of room to allow for gaps in-between larger rewards, as well as a wide diversity of the types of rewards attainable on a session-by-session basis. My one question to you, seven months after your first impression article, is do you feel that the narrative has held up for you over time? I love the way city and road events get added and removed from the deck based upon decisions, and that even the same events will have different outcomes for every group (based on, among other things, party composition and reputation). So unlike, say, Pandemic Legacy, which has surprises which are largely identical in chronology and in-game consequences for everyone who plays it, my party’s Gloomhaven experience may look very different from someone elses, even within the confines of the main storyline. My group has not gotten to our first retirement yet, and we eye the Town Record booklet (which can’t be opened until then) with anticipation and we wonder whether and how it will change the game. I suppose that’s the whole idea…

PS. I also love the idea of one “mystery” where you completely control when it is revealed, which creates with it a whole different set of interpersonal dynamics. We have not yet succumbed to the “open this envelope when you feel you deserve it” temptation, but after every scenario it creates a robust (and entertaining debate). Fantastic.

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