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Choose Gloomhaven Digital if you want the original campaign and its digital-exclusive Guildmaster mode. Choose Frosthaven Digital if you want the newer, larger and more system-heavy sequel, with a complete 1.0 story, an introductory adventure and a Story difficulty option. Both games can be played solo or online with up to four players, so the deciding factors are campaign scope, complexity, onboarding and the kind of progression your group prefers.

Frosthaven Digital and Gloomhaven Digital at a glance

These are not two editions of the same campaign. Gloomhaven Digital adapts the original board-game campaign and adds a separate digital Guildmaster adventure. Frosthaven Digital adapts the sequel’s full tabletop campaign. Frosthaven is designed as an evolution of Gloomhaven: it keeps the card-driven tactical combat foundation but adds deeper systems and more resource management.

Decision point Gloomhaven Digital Frosthaven Digital
Campaign Original Gloomhaven campaign Complete Frosthaven sequel campaign, including its final chapter
Digital-only content Guildmaster adventure with more than 160 digital-exclusive missions No separate digital-only mode is identified in the available launch information
Rules and scope Established Gloomhaven ruleset Deeper mechanics and resource-management systems; the tabletop game is described by its developers as about 50% larger than Gloomhaven
Onboarding Original campaign structure plus Guildmaster mode Introductory adventure and Story difficulty were added for the digital version
Solo play Supported Supported
Online co-op Supported; Guildmaster is documented for up to four players Official site documents online multiplayer for two to four players
Tabletop fidelity Asmodee describes the digital differences as very minor and discussed with Isaac Childres Snapshot Games representatives described the adaptation as 99% faithful, with small changes made with Isaac Childres
Current price, regional availability and system requirements Not stated in the available evidence; check the live storefront listing Not stated in the available evidence; check the live storefront listing

Frosthaven Digital’s complete 1.0 PC adaptation launched on October 15, 2026, on Steam and the Epic Games Store. The Frosthaven official site advertises online multiplayer for two to four players. Storefront prices, regional availability, system requirements and any downloadable content can change, and should be checked in your region before purchase.

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What you get in each game

Gloomhaven Digital: the original campaign plus Guildmaster

Gloomhaven Digital is the starting point if you want the setting, campaign structure and character journey of the original Gloomhaven board game. Its principal mode follows that campaign rather than retelling the sequel. You unlock and manage a party of mercenaries, make tactical decisions each scenario and advance through the original game’s progression.

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  • Award-winning base game in the Gloomhaven universe that includes everything you need to have 90+ thematic roleplaying sessions with tactical combat.
  • Play together with up to 4 players or tackle the campaign alone as a solo mercenary. Decide and shape how your character grows and their story progresses.
  • No GM or Gamemaster needed! Everyone is a player and there's no homework before game sessions. Turn to your next scenario and start playing immediately.
  • Includes miniature figures for each character and detailed standees for all monsters and creatures in the game. Use the immersive map tiles and tokens included to get a real feel of the fight.
  • Unique card based fighting system that allows you to have more control over your choices each round than just dice would allow.

Its major digital distinction is Guildmaster mode. Flaming Fowl Studios’ 2021 Steam announcement described more than 160 digital-exclusive Guildmaster missions. That is not simply a short tutorial or a handful of challenge maps; it is a substantial second stream of content for players who want additional objectives after, alongside or instead of the original campaign. Asmodee’s help information says Guildmaster is fully playable solo and in online co-op for up to four players.

Guildmaster therefore changes the value proposition of Gloomhaven Digital. Someone seeking only the canonical campaign can stay in the original mode, while a player who wants a longer digital journey gets a large set of missions unavailable in the tabletop campaign. The two modes should be treated as different campaign experiences rather than as two names for the same progression.

Frosthaven Digital: the complete sequel campaign

Frosthaven Digital is the sequel/evolution route. Its launch information promises the complete Frosthaven tabletop story, including the climactic final chapter, rather than an early-access slice or an incomplete adaptation. The game begins from Frosthaven’s broader rules and content footprint, so it is aimed at players who want the newer campaign’s additional systems as part of the main experience.

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Snapshot Games game director Hristo Petkov described the tabletop content as 50% bigger than Gloomhaven when discussing the adaptation’s production challenge. That figure is a developer characterization of tabletop scope, not a guaranteed measurement of mission count, playtime or file size in the digital edition. It is useful as a warning that Frosthaven is the larger commitment, but it should not be read as a promise that every player’s campaign will take exactly half again as long.

The Frosthaven adaptation also adds an introductory adventure and Story difficulty. Those options are important for a sequel whose rules and resource demands can otherwise make the first hours demanding. Story difficulty is an onboarding and accessibility choice; it does not turn Frosthaven into a different campaign.

Which game has the longer campaign?

There is no single official hour estimate in the available information, and campaign length depends on party size, failed scenarios, optional content and how much time you spend managing the settlement and characters. The safest comparison is about content structure: Gloomhaven Digital combines one complete original campaign with more than 160 digital-exclusive Guildmaster missions, while Frosthaven Digital presents the complete sequel campaign and the sequel’s larger tabletop content footprint.

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If you define “longer” as the amount of distinct digital mission content available, Gloomhaven’s Guildmaster mode gives it a strong claim because the announcement specifies more than 160 additional missions. If you define “longer” as the scope of the principal sequel campaign and its surrounding systems, Frosthaven is the larger undertaking according to Snapshot Games’ 50%-larger tabletop comparison. These are different measures, so neither game can be declared universally longer without specifying whether you mean main-story length, optional missions or total available content.

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Is Frosthaven harder or more complex than Gloomhaven?

Frosthaven is the more complex choice. It is presented as a sequel with deeper mechanics and more resource management, and its larger content footprint creates more systems to learn and maintain. Complexity appears not only in individual fights but also in the decisions surrounding progression, resources and the broader campaign structure.

That does not mean every scenario is automatically more difficult or that a Gloomhaven veteran will lose every early mission. Difficulty varies with party composition, card choices, scenario objectives and how efficiently a group learns the rules. The practical distinction is cognitive load: Frosthaven asks you to track more categories of decisions, while Gloomhaven gives a new player the comparatively more established ruleset.

Why the extra Frosthaven systems matter

  • More campaign administration: resource management adds decisions outside the battle map, so the group must plan beyond the next room.
  • A broader rules footprint: the sequel’s evolution means more interactions to learn before turns become automatic.
  • A larger commitment: a group that meets irregularly may spend more of each session reacquiring context.

For a group that enjoys optimization, settlement decisions and learning a dense system, these additions are the reason to choose Frosthaven. For players who primarily want tactical card combat with less overhead, Gloomhaven is the safer first campaign.

Onboarding: which game is friendlier to newcomers?

Frosthaven has the more explicit digital onboarding package because it adds an intro adventure and Story difficulty. The introductory adventure gives a new party a controlled way to learn the turn structure and campaign expectations before confronting the full sequence. Story difficulty offers a lower-pressure entry point for players who are learning the sequel’s systems or playing with an inexperienced group.

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Gloomhaven Digital does not need to be treated as inaccessible. Its original campaign is a well-defined path, and Guildmaster provides a separate mode for players who prefer a different mission structure. However, the available evidence does not identify a comparable new-player intro adventure or Story setting for Gloomhaven. If your group has never played a Gloomhaven-family game, Frosthaven’s explicit onboarding tools reduce the risk of an overwhelming first session, while Gloomhaven’s simpler scope reduces what must be learned overall.

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  • This is the first expansion for Gloomhaven featuring twenty new scenarios that take place after the events of the original Gloomhaven campaign which involve one new character class the Aesther Diviner and her attempts to prevent an approaching calamity.
  • Players will delve into twenty new scenarios that take place after the events of the original Gloomhaven campaign. These new adventures will involve one new character class—the Aesther Diviner—and her attempts to prevent an approaching calamity. The accompanying scenario book breaks up these scenarios across multiple pages to create more dynamic and surprising encounters.
  • Expansion also features seven new monster types (including three new bosses) and fourteen new items.
  • 1-4 players, Ages: 12+ 60–120 play time

Solo play and online co-op

Both games support solo play, so you do not need a permanent group to use either campaign. Solo players can learn the systems at their own pace and avoid coordinating schedules, but they still face the full decision load of controlling a party.

Both also support online co-op. Asmodee specifically states that Gloomhaven Digital’s Guildmaster adventure works in online co-op for up to four players. Frosthaven’s official site says, “Play with up to 2 – 4 players in online multiplayer mode to tackle the hardest challenges with your friends.” In practical terms, a remote group of two, three or four people has a documented multiplayer option in either game.

Choosing for a remote group

  • Pick Gloomhaven when some players are new and you want the original campaign’s more familiar scope, or when the group is excited by Guildmaster’s additional missions.
  • Pick Frosthaven when everyone is comfortable learning a sequel’s deeper systems and the group wants the complete newer story.
  • For a mixed-experience party, use Frosthaven’s intro adventure and Story difficulty if the sequel’s systems are the attraction; otherwise begin with Gloomhaven and move to Frosthaven after the group understands the shared combat foundations.

Before scheduling a campaign, have every player check the same storefront edition and confirm their regional availability. The evidence establishes the multiplayer modes, but it does not provide current connection requirements, cross-storeplay details or platform-specific networking limitations.

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How faithful are the digital adaptations?

Frosthaven’s stated fidelity

In a 2025 interview, Snapshot Games CEO Julian Gollop and game director Hristo Petkov described Frosthaven Digital as “99% faithful” to the original game, with very small changes made in collaboration with Isaac Childres, Frosthaven’s creator. The percentage is the developers’ characterization, not an independent audit or a guarantee that every interface, timing rule or presentation detail is identical to a physical table.

The same interview explains why the adaptation was difficult: the game contains substantially more content than Gloomhaven by the developers’ estimate. The practical implication is that the digital version aims to preserve the sequel’s breadth while automating bookkeeping that would otherwise be handled with cards, tokens and a physical campaign board.

Gloomhaven’s stated fidelity

Asmodee says the differences between Gloomhaven Digital and the board game are very minor and were discussed with Isaac Childres. That supports treating the digital campaign as an approved adaptation rather than a loosely inspired spin-off. It does not mean the interface or every presentation choice reproduces the tabletop experience; digital games necessarily automate setup, enemy management and rules enforcement.

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For either title, “faithful” should be read as rules and content fidelity within an authorized adaptation. Balance patches, interface changes or platform updates can still occur after launch. If a particular tabletop rule is critical to your group, check the current in-game explanation or patch notes rather than assuming that a remembered physical-game procedure is unchanged.

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Which one should you start with?

Start with Gloomhaven Digital when…

  • You want the original setting and campaign rather than a sequel’s larger management layer.
  • You are new to the series and prefer to learn the established ruleset before adding Frosthaven’s systems.
  • You specifically want Guildmaster’s more than 160 digital-exclusive missions.
  • Your group wants a substantial campaign but does not want its first experience to be the more complex sequel.

Start with Frosthaven Digital when…

  • You have finished Gloomhaven or already understand its card-driven combat and campaign flow.
  • You want the newer sequel’s deeper mechanics and resource management.
  • You value an intro adventure and Story difficulty as part of the learning process.
  • Your group wants the complete Frosthaven story, including its final chapter, and is willing to manage a larger campaign.

Starting with Frosthaven without playing Gloomhaven

You do not need to complete Gloomhaven first to access Frosthaven’s campaign. The available launch material presents Frosthaven as a sequel/evolution, not as an expansion that requires an imported Gloomhaven save. A new group can begin with the intro adventure and Story difficulty, then decide whether the sequel’s systems suit them. The trade-off is that references, terminology and the overall design will make more sense to players familiar with Gloomhaven’s foundations.

Moving from Gloomhaven to Frosthaven

Players who have completed or understand Gloomhaven are the clearest audience for Frosthaven. They can spend their attention on the sequel’s new resource and campaign decisions instead of learning the basic card and initiative loop at the same time. Your previous experience does not make Frosthaven automatically easy; it simply removes one layer of unfamiliarity.

A practical decision framework

Use the first answer that matches your group, rather than trying to rank the games on a single scale:

  1. Do you want the original campaign? Choose Gloomhaven Digital.
  2. Do you want the sequel’s complete story and larger systems? Choose Frosthaven Digital.
  3. Are Guildmaster’s extra missions the main attraction? Choose Gloomhaven Digital.
  4. Does your group need explicit onboarding? Frosthaven has the documented advantage through its intro adventure and Story difficulty.
  5. Do you need online play? Either works for solo and online co-op; both have documented four-player support, with Frosthaven’s official wording specifying two to four players.
  6. Are you deciding on value from price alone? Do not assume one is cheaper. Current prices and regional storefront terms are not established here, so compare the live Steam or Epic listing for your region.

Buying and technical checks before you commit

Frosthaven Digital’s complete 1.0 PC adaptation is available from October 15, 2026 on Steam and the Epic Games Store according to its launch news. The available material does not provide a current price, a complete system-requirements list, regional restrictions or a confirmed downloadable-content roadmap for either game. Those details are volatile and should be verified on the storefront page you will use.

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  • Confirm that every member of an online group owns a compatible PC edition and has access in the same region.
  • Check the current minimum and recommended hardware requirements, especially if one player is using an older laptop.
  • Review the storefront’s refund window before starting a long campaign.
  • Look for the exact edition name and included modes so you do not mistake a base listing for a bundle or future content.
  • Read current patch notes if you are comparing a recent digital update with an older tabletop rule reference.

There is no verified like-for-like current price in the available evidence, so a price-based verdict would be speculative. Campaign scope and complexity are the more reliable ways to choose between them.

Bottom-line recommendation

Gloomhaven Digital is the better first purchase for the original campaign, a more contained rules introduction or the large Guildmaster mission set. Frosthaven Digital is the better choice for experienced players who want a complete sequel campaign, deeper resource management, stronger built-in onboarding and a larger overall content commitment. For an online group, neither loses on basic access: both support solo play and up-to-four-player online co-op. Choose the campaign and complexity your group will actually finish, not simply the game with the newer release date.

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