Gloomhaven unboxing

The "Bargain Ninja" (that's me), picked up the "mother of all bargains" this morning:

Gloomhaven for $50!!!!

Disclaimer: This post has nothing to do with playing. It was an experience in itself unboxing this one, and I wanted to share my adventures. (*Also the 50-page rulebook is also taking some time to go through before I get to playing 🤣... Read half after my unboxing adventures, and I did watch a bit of the setup video last night on YouTube*)

First off, I knew this was a BIG BOX. But holy!! I put it beside one of my two biggest boxes, Scythe, and this was the result. For those who aren't familiar with Scythe, it's pretty big. Even my Caverna box is dwarfed by this beast!

The containers on top of Gloomhaven were the "organizers" the game came with from the seller. Correction: 1/3 is an "organizer". The other two were tupperware containers loaded up. 🤣

*Not complaining - it's a dandy of a bargain!*

So then I unbox "the beast" and below is the aftermath .... 😮

Yes, there is a table there somewhere. Of all my games, even the big boys like Scythe and Caverna, I've always had the "Wow!" factor when I unbox them (still do), but I've never felt as lost as I did unboxing this. 🤣 After I got everything onto the table here, all I could think was; "Now what!? Where do I start?!"

*This is not a complaint - just an observation* This was the first bargain find that wasn't overly well organized. Nothing is damaged or anything, but some things were left out of boxes, the insert was a little disorganized with the cards somewhat all over etc... So this gave me my starting point;

Organize!

I took some time reading the components section of the rulebook, as I sorted things out and organized everything. I put the 3-minis that were out of their boxes (which are AWESOME!), back in their boxes and their player mats, card decks and score sheets back into their individual boxes as well. Good start!

Then I decided to see if I can get some of these giant ziplock bags and tupperware containers to become redundant. I took the 236 Monster Standees from their tupperware container, and organized them. Look at all the monsters!!!! Incredible! 😮

Here's an idea of how many are stacked up...

After about a couple hours, this was the final outcome... Much better. It was relaxing and fun actually. Although I still need to get another plano container for the 155 double sided map overlay tokens to eliminate another giant ziplock bag. The 30-double sided map tiles however, are big, awkward and heavy so they may need to stay in their giant bag.

I am happy to report, everything fits in "The Beast" now...

When I tumbled down the modern tabletop gaming rabbit hole towards the end of 2019, I still had the mindset that $50 was a lot for a game. Then I bought Scythe for $85 (new) and my mind was changed instantly as I unboxed and learned my favourite game. I get it! And boy is the price worth the fun, awesomeness and enjoyment! Then my thoughts changed to; "If Scythe is as awesome as it is at $85... What does a $100+ game look and play like??" Now that I am a Gloomhaven owner - I get it again! $120 price tag to me is worth it. Doesn't make it easy to afford all the time, but the value is there without question in my opinion. But I'm happy to have paid much less nonetheless. 🤣🤣

I am very excited to get into my campaign. My removable stickers should arrive tomorrow or Friday as well. 😃 I plan to play solo, but my brother-in-law is very excited about this game as well. Hopefully after lockdown, he and I (and if we can convince my sister to join us) can start a regular campaign together.