Gloomhaven has since spun off into a game telling the origins of the city, Founders of Gloomhaven, as well as a more beginner-friendly (and much smaller) introduction to its gameplay in Jaws of the Lion. There’s also whopping sequel Frosthaven on the way, with the hotly-anticipated upcoming board game due out in 2022. Until then, the original remains one of the best co-op board games of all time, offering the perfect replacement for a weekly D&D session in a single – but massive – box. We don’t have a gaming table so saving a game partway through is almost impossible. Some games make this easier than others however, Stuffed Fables is not one of those games. On several occasions, we had to leave the game set up, much to my wife’s chagrin as time simply got away from us which is an indictment of just how much fun the children can have with Stuffed Fables. Once you’ve used all your dice and the minions have activated (if necessary,) play passes to the next player. You continue like this, following along with the story throughout, until you have either completed your goal and win, or all Stuffies have collapsed and you try again another day. Various cards and effects can give bonuses to your die rolls. In most cases, these bonuses apply only to dice of a certain color. In all cases, bonuses are applied after effects that change a die result. If the surge resulted in minions coming into play, the minions will immediately take a minion turn.

If your child connects to the story, they may also be interested in reading the Toys Go Out series by Emily Jenkins. This is one of my absolute favorite bedtime read aloud books. Book 2— Book 3There are several mysteries included in each box, and as in Detective: City of Angels, the clues must be pieced together with careful observation and some measure of skill. It takes a clever person to work through these narratives, but the sense of satisfaction you get upon completing each story makes the process triumphant and always exciting.

Learning Stuffed Fables from the rulebook wasn’t as intuitive as we had hoped. (This could totally come down to our learning styles and may not be an issue for others.) There’s a lot to take in and prepare for in your first game so plan on reading the rules the day or so before you play. I’d also recommend watching the How to Play video from Rodney Smith as well, especially if you are a visual learner. There are several different characters to choose from, although you don’t have access to all of them at first. Each of the characters is a different stuffed toy, and each character has their own distinct story personalities and character designs. It speaks to the great writing that the characters are all memorable and that they all actually feel like different beings with different ‘character voices’. There’s the old hard-bitten toy who’s been passed down through the family, the jumpy and hyper rabbit, the heroic leader and the cowardly but muscular elephant. While some of the characters may seem like tropes or cliches, they all manage to work in the context of the game considering that these are very possibly the sorts of personalities that a small child might attach to their different toys. A real-time, dice-rolling co-op game about ancient treasure and traps Players must rush around the temple in search of jewels and the final exit.

Defending

Escape rooms, a card game alternative to it, costs about the same as a one-time entry but I like bringing the cards around to let other people play. My absolute favorite component in the box, perhaps surprisingly, is the spiral bound game board. This is such an incredibly smart design. Far superior to multiple double sided cardboard boards. It saves space, is easy to play on, and has all of the necessary information on the right hand side for players to read. The storybook also looks insanely gorgeous. The pictures are vibrant, colorful, and easy to read from across the table. The spaces for miniatures to move on are clearly defined without distracting from the gorgeous artwork that sets the scene. Example: Theadora is equipped with the Letter Opener. Theadora finds the Scissors item card. Since both cards have the paws icon, Theadora cannot equip both of these items. If Theadora would like to equip the Scissors she must discard the Letter Opener. Party Items

Pathfinder maker Paizo continues to release new expansions for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game every year, adding additional campaigns, characters and equipment. The publisher recently released an all-new core set that includes 12 characters and over 400 cards, making it the perfect entry point. The spaces containing a symbol are points of interest that can be explored. If a stuffy starts, ends, or moves over an explorable on its turn, end that stuffy's movement, pause that stuffy's turn, and read the matching entry in the Storybook.Each time you sit down to play Stuffed Fables, you’ll begin by choosing a story and reading from the storybook. Each story has its own unique objective and the choices you make during the game will impact how you achieve that objective, if at all.

The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Book Game is a gorgeous storybook-based adventure where you play through the events of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy across a number of chapters. Taking the reigns of the main Fellowship, you’ll work solo or with friends to navigate through the Shire, Mordor, and wider Middle-earth as story events, puzzles, and mini-quests pop up along the way.

Reliving Dreams and Nightmares 

Stuffed Fables is marketed as a game for families, but the 7+ rating might not reflect the required emotional maturity the game’s story demands; there are some very dark themes. The game might be suited more towards a 10+ range as the tactical nature of combat is fun but also challenging. This being a story book game, there will be a lot of reading, so groups will get out of the narrative what they put into it. Our group did different voices for each of the characters which helped to bring them all to life. Misfit Toys, Minis and Monsters Lumpy’s character card from left to right: Players can hold a die for defence or give one to another player, stuffing – the life force of the heroes, hearts – items that allow players to use a special ability, and items: each character can only have one per slot. Stuffies can be affected by a variety of conditions such as scared, angry or torn. When a stuffy "becomes" something it means to place the corresponding status card on that stuffy, e.g. when a stuffy becomes worried, place a worried status card on it. A stuffy cannot have two status cards of the same type placed on it. Sleep Cards Tabletop RPGs provide some of the most memorable experiences you can have at the table, whether it's cheering at a clutch dice roll, gasping after a dramatic payoff or laughing at the charming antics of Tim the Goblin. But tabletop RPGs require a substantial time commitment, a dedicated game master and proper planetary alignment for everyone's schedules. Tonally this feels like a much more grown-up Winnie the Pooh in a Tim Burton world, combined with the tension of the Dark Souls board game. The villain, Crepitus, has enslaved the lost toys of The Fall and makes them work in his factory. He is also the source of the little girl’s troubles, as his machines bring her nightmares and steal her favourite belongings.