Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
There's mystery and murder afoot at Hemlock Hall, but this isn't a story about the dashing detective — it's the tale of the unfortunate victims. Compete to tell the most tragic tale, while keeping your opponents healthy and alive.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Layering
Place components over earlier pieces so their order and overlap affect play.
Storytelling
Create or extend a narrative in response to prompts or game events.
Take That
Direct negative effects at selected opponents.
Read the full game description
There's mystery and murder afoot at Hemlock Hall, but this isn't a story about the dashing detective — it's the tale of the unfortunate victims. Compete to tell the most tragic tale, while keeping your opponents healthy and alive. Will you be detained in the dungeons or be poisoned while pruning? Gloomier uses transparent cards, allowing a character's story — and score — to evolve as cards are stacked upon them. Only the information that's currently visible counts. Modifier cards tell of terrible happenstances and give characters negative points. Untimely death cards end a character's depressing tale. You win if your family is the most miserable when an entire family is killed off. You don't have to have any prior experience to play Gloomier, but if you are familiar with Gloom, you'll find six new stories and fourteen new guests that can be used with any edition of Gloom! So come to Hemlock Hall, and see what delightful misery awaits! —description from publisher