From the publisher’s rulebook
Who goes first in Gloomhaven?
Cephalofair English original edition
Players secretly choose two cards and select one as their leading card. Reveal those initiatives and a card for each monster type present; the lowest initiative acts first.
Official tie-break or fallback
For tied players, compare their non-leading cards; if still tied, the players decide. A player acts before a monster type with the same initiative. Players decide ties between monster types.
If your rules call for a random choice, use the player picker.
Rule details
Initiative is determined again each round. A long rest has initiative 99; it can only be chosen when the character has at least two cards in their discard pile.
Source & edition
- Gloomhaven — English rulebookCephalofair Games · Round Overview; Card Selection; Determining Initiative · Checked 2026-09-26
Related games and editions
- GloomhavenCephalofair Second Edition English rulebook
- Gloomhaven: Jaws of the LionCephalofair Games English Learn-to-Play guide, 2020
Found a different instruction in your edition? Send a correction with the game, edition, and source.