In converting the mammoth board game Frosthaven into a PC dungeon crawler, Snapshot Games didn't make any sweeping changes. This is still a co-op puzzle of turn-based exploration and combat, with some story and base-building sprinkled in. It's still the Frosthaven I've spent months with at the tabletop. So, why, after completing the initial tutorial and mission, does digital Frosthaven feel so much harsher than the original?
Frosthaven may be a mainstay in our best board games guide, but its size remains an off-putting feature for many. The rulebook is an imposing 83 pages, and even if you don't sit down for a pre-game readthrough, you'll be flipping through it constantly in your early games, searching for clarity. That about doubles the playtime of the already lengthy dungeon crawls.
A digital adaptation would naturally want to streamline the cumbersome process of learning to play. However, in attempting to condense early sessions of Frosthaven, the PC version has actually made it harder to onboard newbies.
Frosthaven PC does have a rules compendium that you can open mid-game, but it's far from complete. It's extremely tricky to find information on small yet crucial details like conditions and elements. Active bonuses are briefly addressed in the game's tutorial mission (which is unique to the digital game), but if you want to refer back to these rules, it's a struggle to find an explanation.
An even bigger problem for strategy board game lovers is that Frosthaven PC doesn't start by explaining how its most important mechanic works. The power of player and enemy attacks is determined by an attack modifier randomly drawn from that character's personal deck. This can be modified in various ways during and between scenarios, changing the odds of a hit or a miss dramatically.
Because Frosthaven PC shuffles and draws from these decks automatically behind the scenes, it doesn't dedicate time to explaining the process in the tutorial or first mission. That doesn't stop you from being able to play, but it does limit your capacity for strategy.
In the board game, you have a good idea of what these decks contain, and you can use it to predict your chances in a fight. You know what your enemies are capable of, because you're the one drawing and resolving their abilities turn after turn. This is all information that you can use.
When you don't have perfect information, you start making guesses. Experimenting is a natural part of Frosthaven, as each of the classes plays differently, and you can only really understand their style by spending time with their action cards. The problem is that Frosthaven PC doesn't give you much wiggle room for figuring things out. If you make a mistake, Frosthaven digital does not forgive.
In a tabletop game of Frosthaven, it takes mere seconds to let your party know that you've made an error. 'Can we rewind my turn quickly and do that over again?', you might ask. Most sensible players will allow a newbie this grace, particularly in a co-op board game. The blunder is erased, and play carries on.
Frosthaven PC lets you cancel a turn half-way through performing it, but once you've passed that turn, you're locked in. If you realize your tactics were topsy-turvy after the last sword swing falls, there is only one way to rectify things. You must reset the entire round. Everyone must choose their action cards again and replay any turns that led up to yours.
It's a lengthy process of reloading that's bound to piss off your fellow players. Presumably, this is to prevent cheating, and we can't fault Snapshot Games for trying to avoid relentless save-scummers. However, it does add a new level of frustration to Frosthaven.
Frosthaven PC removes the board game's tedious setup, its repetitive rules-checking, and its complex board maintenance. Despite this, scenarios are still chunky, and they'll take a significant amount of time to complete.
When you fail a scenario and have to retry from the beginning, it can be irritating to know this was caused by a mistake that the game itself would not let you resolve. It encourages analysis paralysis, painstaking decision-making that extends the length of playtime even further.
Frosthaven digital is still in Early Access, so there's still time for further quality-of-life improvements. I'm hopeful that Snapshot Games will make the rules easier to access, but I wouldn't be surprised if it remains tough to tweak your turns.
Part of me thinks that perhaps this is a complaint that doesn't even need addressing. Maybe, as someone coming to Frosthaven PC having only played tabletop versions of it and Gloomhaven, I simply need to 'git gud' and adjust to the new normal.
In that case, this article serves as a warning rather than a call for change. Frosthaven in all formats can be tough for newbies to parse, but the digital version might be even tougher. Expect a higher challenge level, for better and for worse. Adjust your expectations (and scenario difficulty levels) accordingly.
Want to share your thoughts on Frosthaven PC? Tell us all about them in the Wargamer Discord. You can also check out my Frosthaven review to see everything I love about the board game.