Snapshot Games aimed for a faithful digital recreation of Isaac Childres’ renowned dungeon-crawling board game, Frosthaven. To achieve this, game director Hristo Petkov explained that his team immersed themselves in the source material. Developers were divided into groups of four, each dedicating several workdays weekly to playing through a Frosthaven campaign. These groups spent between three and six months grappling with the game's intricate rules, with regular consultations with designer Isaac Childres to clarify any ambiguities.
Petkov emphasized that the team's playtime was focused on understanding the underlying design rather than simply achieving victory. Frosthaven entered early access in July 2025, with a full launch scheduled for October 15. While the game has received largely positive reviews, some players have expressed frustration with its high difficulty level.
"The digital version is harder just because it follows the rules of the board game, and a lot of board game players don’t really understand the rules well, so sometimes they just make mistakes, and they go with it," Petkov stated. "That’s why we are getting a lot of comments on Steam that we did something wrong. It’s not wrong. It’s exactly like it is in the board game, but they played it wrong in their physical game."
To address player feedback and make the game more approachable, Snapshot introduced an undo function. The developers are also exploring the inclusion of "house rules" options to further enhance the simulation of the physical board game experience. Petkov noted the delicate balance required, stating, "The tricky part was if we give too many choices, this will break the game too much." The goal is to offer flexibility, allowing players to opt for a precise board game experience or a slightly more forgiving, fluid gameplay.
Drawing inspiration from the successful digital adaptation of Childres’ first game, Gloomhaven, by Flaming Fowl Studios, the Snapshot team sought to integrate Frosthaven’s more complex mechanics. Their efforts were geared towards satisfying existing Frosthaven board game players, fans of Gloomhaven digital, and newcomers to tactical role-playing games. A free demo featuring a four-mission campaign titled "The Road to Frosthaven" has been developed to introduce players to the sequel's new mechanics, building upon the foundation established in Gloomhaven. This introductory campaign was devised in collaboration with CEO Julian Gollop, creator of XCOM.
A significant change in the digital version addresses Frosthaven’s card-based ability system and the resource management tied to resting. In the board game, resting allows players to recover some cards but permanently loses one until the scenario ends, limiting the number of breaks a character can take. With Childres' approval, Snapshot has implemented a story game mode that removes this core mechanic, offering a less punishing learning curve. "It allows you to learn the game as a new player without the time pressure," Petkov explained. "We found that if players play a couple of scenarios, they understand how the game works and can easily switch to the next difficulty. It’s not intended to play the whole campaign like this. It gives you a stepping stone that you can learn the mechanics without the punishment."
Snapshot is also focused on simplifying the presentation of Frosthaven’s rule set. Information such as enemy card abilities is accessible with minimal clicks, maintaining a streamlined user interface. Petkov highlighted a common mistake among solo players: attempting to control all four characters simultaneously. Given that each character begins with 10 cards, a four-character party can execute up to 80 distinct actions, potentially leading to lengthy first turns and tactical errors. "This is so overwhelming that we really need to put some disclaimers," Petkov advised. "Please don’t do that or do it at your own risk. What I normally recommend is just start on either the easier or the second difficulty and start with two characters. Gradually, if you feel confident with controlling two, you can add a third and maybe a fourth later. But never start with four."
While most Gloomhaven digital players engaged with the game solo, Snapshot is actively developing features to improve multiplayer accessibility. These include matchmaking systems and a save editor that will allow players to seamlessly transition between digital and physical versions of Frosthaven. The team is also collaborating with Childres on a post-launch roadmap, which may incorporate characters from expansion packs such as the Mercenary Packs and Gloomhaven: Second Edition. "There’s a world of possibilities to create more content," Petkov concluded.