Customer Reviews

Talisman: The Magical Quest Game, 4th edition

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The board game "Talisman" has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best fantasy board games ever made. I have been a die hard fan ever since picking up the Second Edition boxset back in the late 1980s, and I couldn't even imagine how many hours I have spent vying for the Crown of Command. I still have all of the Second Edition expansions, from the Dungeon and City up to the Timescape and Dragons, including the cut-out special characters from Games Workshop's "White Dwarf" magazine.

Because I love the original so much, (I ignored the Third Edition, which tried to updated things to make the game more in-line with RPGs including things like "Experience Points" and connecting Talisman even further to the Games Workshop "Warhammer Universe.") it took me awhile to give this Fourth Edition of "Talisman" a try. I finally gave it a chance at a local gaming convention and was hooked again.

This Fourth Edition takes a basic "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach to this classic boardgame, keeping the Second Edition essentially intact but introducing some of the better fixes from the Third Edition. The board itself is identical, although enlarged and with updated artwork. The card text is almost unchanged (including characters who "plod off to the discard pile") although none of the original art was retained.

Probably the most notable change was making "Life" a variable starting number, just like Strength and Craft. Some of the characters start with five (Warrior) or even six (Troll) life instead of the standard four. The Prophetess, one of the most powerful characters in the Second Edition, has been de-powered a bit. She can now draw one card, and then chose to either keep that card or discard it and draw another, which she must encounter. That was a nice edition as in the old version The Prophetess was so powerful she was boring to play. An additional element called "fate counters" has been added which allow for the re-rolling of a single die if you pay a counter. Craft-defeated monsters can also be cashed-in now in the same way as Strength-defeated monsters.

Fantasy Flight games has done a tremendous job with the production values of this version of "Talisman." Aside from the updated artwork, the counters are all hard-plastic with the Strength, Craft and Life counters being colored cones that come in 1-count and 5-count versions. The cards are on laminated cardstock which will last through repeated shuffling and drink-spilling. Really, everything has gone through a major upgrade.

If I had any disappointments with this Fourth Edition they are minor. The game board itself is too huge, taking up my entire kitchen table, which means that when I pick up any future expansions (of which I hope there will be many after Reaper, The Dungeonand Frostmarch) I will have to move to the floor in order to have a space large enough to play.

I also would have appreciated it if Fantasy Flight had balanced out the gender ration of characters when commissioning the new artwork. This was something I wouldn't have noticed except when I was playing with my wife she wanted to play a female character and all that was available was The Sorceress and The Prophetess. Several characters, like the Assassin, the Thief, the Warrior, the Elf, etc...could have easily been made female in the artwork without changing the game-play in any way.

I have great hopes for this new Fourth Edition of "Talisman," and hope that great things are forth coming. I would love to see some old favorites appear, like the "Champion of Chaos" and the "Horrible Black Void," along with some new ideas and expansions.

Revisted this old favorite (played with the initial release many moons ago) as an addition to the game night choices. The game itself is basically same as I recall wrt content and playability. All the other points from other 3 reviewers syncs with my impression of this latest edition (4th).

What I will add are cautions around the game pieces themselves ...

Everything's been miniaturized

It's as if there was a top-down edict to shrink everything (saving material costs maybe?!?)
- The game cards are a third of the original editions making it hard to read
- The monochromatic gray plastic figurines are hard to distinguish (time to break out the old paint set)
- The provided dice are in a color that blends into the board (it's as if an invisibility spell
was cast on them as soon as you roll the dice) making it hard to see where the die is
- The cone counters are too small and the smooth plastic finish makes it almost as challenging to
pick up/hold as ice cubes

perhaps this is a reflection of my age (ugh) or the target market are dwarfs, halflings and other non-large creatures.

Don't get me wrong:

thumbs up for this game classic
*bzzzt* for trying to squeeze production costs out so much it distracts/detracts from game enjoyment

Talisman has undergone a lot of editions over a lot of years, but has a good grip on its essential charm.

The players (and you can have loads) take over the role of archetypical fantasy characters (Seer, Elf, Warrior, Wizard, etc. etc.) and meander around the gameboard, fighting beasties and trying to make it to the center of the board to claim the Crown of MacGuffin.

It isn't a particularly competitive game (although my Assassin did lay the smack down on my friend's Troll once), nor is it cooperative. Instead, everyone sort of benignly ignores the other players while on their individual quest for glory. A strange dynamic, but a fun one. The result is a pleasant, surprisingly absorbing, game that will swallow the evening without your noticing...

The Talisman 4th edition update adds a few features and some minor tweaks to a first rate game in preparation for a series of updates based on the newly released version of Talisman this will make your older (2007 version) compatible with all new releases from this point on.

Minor aesthetic changes including the design on the back of the cards, some card art, (my constantly drawing son gives it a thumbs up) and the cardboard figures are replaced by plastic figures which if painted can be kinda cool. There is nothing that prevents the use of the plastic standups if they are preferred and should be retained in your set in case you lose any of the figures.

The biggest change is the concept of "fate" as an attribute. Each character gets a Fate value along with his others. These are basically re-rolls that can be used to re-roll a single die OF YOUR OWN. It adds a twist to the game and will speed it up.

There are also modifications to the board, On the Desert squares you still lose a life but you also draw a card. Other minor modification allow you to acquire fate tokens.

If these are a prelude to a new release of Talisman City then this will be worth your while. Note that this update is only required if you own Talisman The Magical Quest Game (Newest Version 2007) however if you like the game the way it is and don't plan on using any future updates then you can live without it. The game seems just as good either way.

For players who like a meaty game, Talisman will give you hours of fun time. A typical game can last over two hours and the rules are more complicated than Monopoly but it isn't hard to master. For a modest investment in learning the game, you can have many afternoons and evenings of fun with kids age 10 and up, great for adults getting together for a game night as well. We play with all adults, mixed kids and adults, and all games are fun.

The large number of cards and races make for varied reply and the available expansions are well worth addeding for new races, cards and regions. There is a random component to the game but the focus is more on steady advancement of your character which favors good play over luck.

For those who play RPGs, this game could be considered "D&D lite", a good way to get a fantasy gaming fix in when you can't get your regular group together.

Materials are sturdy and the game holds up to lots of use.

First thing's first. I'll address the issue some have had with the size of the quest/spell/magical object cards. Due to the fact that you're supposed to be able to place the cards in the "region" in which your piece falls, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the cards are a bit small. Having played this game AFTER playing Exalted; Legend of the Unconquered Sun, with it's full sized cards (this took up A LOT of space) I was a bit taken aback at first, but was able to see the rational rather quickly.

The game is pretty fast paced if you actually just focus on it and not have something playing in the background. If you're used to games that take long amounts of time for a "turn" this isn't going to be like that at all. The miniatures are nice and have a bit of weight to them, which is always a good thing. The game makes sense, is easy to learn and follow, and fun for any fantasy game enthusiastic- whether you're used to table top RPG or MMORPG.

This was one of the games that started it all! I played it twenty years ago and longed to own it when it went out of print. Kudos to Fantasy Flight Games for reprinting it! I am sure they made lots of old school gamers very happy with this re-release.

This is a simple game of roll the dice, travel the board, beat the monster, and gather the treasure. It is not a game so complicated that only hard core gamers can enjoy it. There is little head to head conflict between characters unless you go out of your way to make it so. That does not take away from the fun to be had.

Luck may be more important than strategy with this game, but that is half the fun! Newbies may have just as much of a chance to win as experienced players do. So if you are looking for a game with hard thought, long term strategy, this is NOT it. This is a fun family style game of simple adventure.

This Edition is excellent. The board is VERY high quality and should last a lifetime. The cards are of a decent stock and do not seem to be the type that will fray at the edges after repeated shuffles and handling. This makes the game worth the price they ask.

I have only 2 problems with this game:
First, after repeated playings, you may find there may not be enough variation in the adventure card deck. It gets to be old hat. This is easily solved by buying one or more of the expansions to add a greater variety. I bought the Reaper, Dungeon, Frost March and Highlands expansions and love them all! They are ALL Quality products!
My second problem is the game time listed in the rules says 60-90 minutes. 90 Minutes is possible, but this game can take several hours to complete depending on luck and the aggressiveness of the players. I have never seen a game go only 60 minutes. This is not an issue to me as when I set down with my friends to play Talisman, I plan to make an evening of it.

I freely admit that I'm a "board game geek." I love unconventional, complicated games with boards the size of the table and hundreds of tokens and cards spread about. Most of my friends, however, are not. Talisman has proven to be fun for everyone and satisfyingly complex enough for the more serious boardgamers. It is very easy to play despite having so many choices and twists. As a Fantasy Flight Game, this version is up to the standards I have come to expect from the company- heavy cardstock, sturdy boxes, great artwork, and tons of tokens and other accessories. When you add in a few of the expansions you have enough material to never have the game play out the same way twice. This is a must-have if you're looking to broaden your boardgame horizons beyond Monopoly and Clue.

Just played our first game with the family. The kids loved it (Boy-11 Girl-13). We have zero experience with any previous versions. I found the rules easy enough to follow and the materials to be of solid construction. We will definitely be picking up some expansions in the future. Highly recommended.

I played this as a kid and am now playing it with my kid. It's just wonderful. My only gripe would be that I think the artwork in the second edition was better than this one's.