Why does nobody talk about the rulebook for Gloomhaven being a total mess

I spent a whole weekend trying to figure out how monster focus works in Gloomhaven. Seriously, I sat there for maybe 8 hours across two days reading and rereading the same pages. The rules are scattered in like three different sections and none of them just say it straight. I ended up watching a 20 minute video from some guy named Ricky Royal just to get the basic idea. Then I found a BGG thread where people argued about it for 40 pages. Has anyone else had to spend that long just to learn one rule for a game that costs over 100 bucks?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade8853mo ago

Flip to the FAQ section in the back of the rulebook first, it actually lays out monster focus clearer than the main rules. Also grab the Gloomhaven Helper app, it handles all that stuff for you so you never have to look it up mid-game.

wesley_hart3mo ago

Does the app also track monster ability decks for you...?

charlesowens1mo ago

I mean is it really that deep lol. The monster ability deck tracking is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it, I just shuffle and flip when needed. I've been playing for like two years now and I still just use paper and sticky notes for most stuff and it works fine. Gloomhaven Helper is cool and all but sometimes I feel like people treat this game like it needs a whole IT department to run it. Half the fun is messing up and having to figure out where your brute went wrong with targeting lmao.