Gloomhaven, the dungeon-crawling epic that sat at the top of BoardGameGeek's rankings for years, has a tiny sibling, and that little game is finally getting more to chew on. Cephalofair has revealed Buttons & Bugs: Pub Crawlers, a new expansion for its pocket-sized solo Gloomhaven offshoot, unveiled during Origins Game Fair.
Run game nights? Backseat Gamer handles RSVPs, waitlists, date polling, and game voting so you can focus on playing.
Start organising for freeButtons & Bugs landed in 2024 as a clever shrinking of the Gloomhaven formula: a solo campaign you can set up in seconds and finish a scenario in under 20 minutes, all from a box that weighs under a pound. From Isaac Childres's studio Cephalofair, it was the easiest possible way into a series better known for enormous boxes and months-long campaigns.
Pub Crawlers leans into that bite-sized charm. It adds two new mercenary classes, the Whistlecry and the Fungal Monk, each arriving with a micro miniature, character cards and 10 double-sided ability cards. On top of that there are 17 new scenario cards, plus fresh foes and dice to throw at them. You will need the original Buttons & Bugs to play, so this is one for existing fans rather than newcomers.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeIf you want in, pre-orders are open at cephalofair.com now. You can collect a copy at Gen Con in August (booth #351) or have it shipped from September, with a wider retail release pencilled in for the end of the year. Pre-order customers also get a free Flames of Ashtar mini-expansion thrown in.
It is a small drop rather than a blockbuster, but that is exactly the appeal: a low-effort way to get back into Gloomhaven's world without clearing the whole table for a weekend. If the bigger boxes are more your speed, it is never hard to find a crew to crawl Gloomhaven with.
Sources: Cephalofair | Tabletop Sentinel
