u/alantima25

I want to get immersed into a campaign dungeon crawler game, and since last year I decided to get into GH. I have a friend very much into it that has the core game + JOTL, but has no one to play with. The idea is to play together, starting with JOTL, but he just moved to my city two months ago and couldn't bring the games yet. He will get them sometime this year, but it is unclear when (hopefully around summer?) and it is a bit of a waste to buy a second copy of JOTL to play with him.

My question is, as an intro to Gloomhaven, is it better to wait till we have JOTL to get started, or should I just start with Buttons & Bugs solo in the meantime? I did play a couple of scenarios with the digital version of GH but didn't like the brain burning sensation of playing two handed solo.

I originally thought of waiting while playing a different campaign game till then either solo or coop, thinking Oathsworn at the moment. But just noticed how cheap and quick to play Buttons & Bugs is (and true solo), which is now making me reconsider my plan.

I'm fairly new to solo board gaming (currently loving Too Many Bones) and I've been looking at bigger campaign games like Oathsworn and Elder Scrolls: BOTSE. Before buying anything I wanted to hear from people who've tried both.

I used to play a lot of video game campaigns like Zelda, God of War, Gears of War, Skyrim, Halo, Assasin's Creed, that kind of thing. Games where you get pulled into a world, feel real momentum from one chapter to the next, and just don't want to put it down. It's been a long time since I've had that feeling, and I miss it.

Can a board game campaign actually give you that same immersion, or is it just a different thing altogether?

Some things I keep thinking about:

• Video game campaigns are continuous: you can just play for hours without stopping. Board game sessions feel more discrete. Does that get in the way of feeling truly "in" the world?
• In a video game the story just carries you along. In a board game you're also juggling rules the whole time. Does that pull you out of it, or do you stop noticing after a while?
• Is the story in something like Oathsworn or Elder Scrolls: BOTSE actually gripping, or does it feel more like a backdrop to the gameplay?
• Has any board game campaign ever given you that "just one more session" pull?

Would love honest takes, including from people who tried it and found it didn't scratch the itch at all.