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Buttons & Bugs: Pub Crawlers
- 1 player
- 20–30 min
- 2026
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Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs
2024
Rules assistance for Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1 player
- 20 min
- 10+
- Complexity 3.3/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs is a board game released in 2024 for 1 player, 20 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Nikki Valens and Joe Klipfel and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Grid Movement.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 9.0
Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs – The Flames of Ashtar
- 1 player
- 20 min
- 2026
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About the game
Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs is a solo play game, with an original campaign story written by Isaac Childres, that features a playstyle similar to Gloomhaven in a fraction of the size. Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs is set after the events of Gloomhaven and Forgotten Circles. The Aesther recluse Hail has earned a reputation for being highly instrumental in saving the city from recurring disasters, and she absolutely hates it. Wannabe heroes are constantly barging in on her studies at the Crooked Bone, looking for help in becoming famous themselves — not to mention all the demons that come by looking for vengeance. She briefly considered moving, but as that would require effort, she instead just placed an enchantment on her front door: Anyone who attempts to open it becomes miniaturized and therefore is no longer a problem. Your character is one such wannabe hero. In an ill-advised attempt at fame, they try to visit Hail, and poof. Now they're the size of a mouse and have entered an entirely different realm of lawlessness and self-preservation. They must find a new way into the Crooked Bone to convince Hail to return them to their previous size. Each scenario is a single card, pitting one mercenary against a handful of enemies with simplified actions and AI. Each mercenary has a hand of just four double-sided cards, but they can be used twice — both the front and the back — before they are discarded. Attacks are resolved using a die in conjunction with a modifier table, and both the table and the mercenary ability cards can be improved as you level up throughout the campaign. —description from the publisher
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Galápagos Jogos
- Gémklub
- Geekach LLC
- Albi
- CMON Global Limited
- Lord of Boards
- Cephalofair Games
- Feuerland Spiele
- Albi Polska
- HIT Games
Questions and answers
Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs supports 1 player according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs is 20 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs has a complexity rating of 3.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Fighting. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Grid Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs are: Nikki Valens and Joe Klipfel. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.