Talisman: The Magical Quest 5th Edition Board Game Review

In Talisman, you and up to 5 friends prime from 12 imaginable characters successful this contention for the Crown of Command. These see a nimble thief, an arcane wizard, and a mighty warrior, among others. This latest variation of Talisman maintains a akin travel to erstwhile iterations – rotation dice, determination to a abstraction wherever you whitethorn gully an escapade paper that could spawn a monster, assistance you a magic item, oregon nonstop you to a tavern wherever a dice rotation determines your fate. Then it's the adjacent player's turn, and this rhythm repeats until a quality who has managed to assertion 1 of the titular Talisman relics passes done the Valley of Fire and defeats the almighty Elder Dragon, claiming the Crown of Command and winning the game.

This alternatively simplistic – oregon possibly aged – attack to escapade committee games is not a detriment but alternatively a constituent successful Talisman’s favor. Right now, determination is nary shortage of campaign-style committee games that diagnostic expansive adventures, similar Elden Ring oregon Divinity: Original Sin, and adjacent Avalon Hill’s different Games Workshop revival, HeroQuest, feeling similar evolved extensions of Talisman. However, galore modern examples tin beryllium intimidating and costly for younger players oregon those caller to the hobby. While it whitethorn not beryllium a crippled I scope for with my seasoned radical of gaming friends, I tin spot it being a large prime erstwhile hanging retired with my nephews oregon a radical of friends who are little experienced with committee games but unfastened to trying thing new.

While the actions you instrumentality connected your crook whitethorn look mundane compared to much modern escapade games, overmuch of Talisman’s entreaty lies successful the balancing enactment of Do I effort to get stronger, oregon bash I determination ahead? This tug-of-war – needing to turn almighty capable to decision the last dragon without falling excessively acold down – adds a furniture of second-guessing to each turn. How overmuch of a hazard bash you instrumentality by not going aft that adjacent force for its rewards successful favour of getting a leap connected the others by heading to the adjacent area?

For each your planning, Talisman is highly luck-dependent, with astir each facet determined by a dice roll. Calling it "Adventure Monopoly" wouldn’t beryllium wholly disconnected base, though fortunately, Talisman is acold much amusive (and overmuch quicker to play). You rotation a dice to find movement, with your lone determination being whether to determination clockwise oregon counterclockwise. The outcomes of antithetic spaces are dictated by different dice rotation oregon a random gully from a platform of cards, and combat is yet different rotation of the dice. This dense reliance connected accidental won’t beryllium for everyone, and the 5th variation includes a Fate assets which allows you to reroll dice oregon determination up to six spaces connected your turn, it doesn’t rather spell for capable and I would person loved caller mechanics that further mitigate the luck constituent and reward strategy more.

This latest variation makes immoderate changes that assistance velocity up the crippled and marque it little punishing for players. One illustration is the iconic Toad transformation, which turns a subordinate into a toad, reducing their strength, trade (magic), and movement. Previously, this effect lasted 3 turns, but present it lone lasts one. Character decease has besides been importantly adjusted. In past editions, erstwhile a quality died, each items, followers, gold, and different trinkets they had accumulated were dropped connected the abstraction wherever they fell, and the subordinate had to commencement caller with a brand-new character. In the 5th edition, you clasp each your items and simply determination to the Village space, wherever you tin wage for further lives astatine the commencement of your adjacent turn.

While this alteration makes the acquisition "nicer" and much forgiving, I consciousness it besides removes immoderate of the hostility and consciousness of information successful confrontations. As a astute inclusion, the rulebook features galore of the aged rules successful the backmost arsenic "Alternate Rules," with each caller fifth-edition changes marked for casual notation by returning Talisman fans.

Alongside the gorgeous redone artwork featured each implicit the game, overmuch of the remainder of Talisman Fifth Edition’s plan and aesthetic feels dated and could usage immoderate updates to assistance with accessibility. Text connected the committee and cards is precise small, and the information that each substance is ever facing outwards means that nary one, careless of wherever they are seated, volition ever beryllium capable to work each of the spaces connected the board.

Inside the regularisation book, determination are descriptions of each of the spaces, but a subordinate assistance – a reasonably communal constituent successful modern games – that has them listed alternatively would person been a large help, and is honestly thing I program to people retired and support successful my crippled box. Even the stat tracking cones – a hallmark of the Talisman bid – consciousness similar they could person benefitted from a spot of a refresh too.

Besides from a colorblind standpoint, being capable to archer the quality betwixt the ever truthful somewhat ample cones and the smaller ones was troublesome adjacent up adjacent connected your ain board, fto unsocial crossed the array to gauge the different player’s stats. I get that it’s portion of the game’s identity, but possibly having each stat beryllium a antithetic shape, adhd immoderate benignant of stylized texture, oregon adjacent conscionable making the quality successful size much easy distinguishable, would person gone a agelong way. Maybe a premium constituent add-on volition travel retired 1 time that tweaks this and gives america immoderate bully coins too; worst case, there’s ever 3D printing and the instrumentality community.

Speaking of add-ons, the Talisman games are known for their plethora of expansions (see our Talisman buying guide), and portion it's inactive aboriginal successful this edition’s lifecycle, its archetypal enlargement does thing nary different Talisman enlargement has done – present a co-op mode. Talisman Alliances (see astatine Amazon) transforms the basal crippled into a campaign/legacy-light experience, featuring 5 Trials that players enactment unneurotic to overcome, earning rewards they tin transportation forward.

With envelopes and tiny boxes to open, my friends and I enjoyed this tweak to the formula, arsenic it nudges the crippled somewhat toward strategy. We could program however to tackle objectives, commercialized amongst ourselves to optimize our chances, and ticker arsenic the Doom Track made the crippled progressively much challenging. I wasn’t arsenic fond of swapping retired cards from the main Talisman platform earlier playing, but it's a tiny inconvenience, and Alliances’ rulebook provides wide instructions connected however to reset your crippled to banal Talisman erstwhile you’re done.

Despite releasing successful 2024, Talisman Fifth Edition feels precise overmuch rooted successful the past – for amended and for worse. Some whitethorn find its mechanics outdated, portion others whitethorn presumption them arsenic faithful adaptations of what has kept Talisman live for implicit 40 years. I onshore determination successful the middle, wishing the crippled relied little connected dumb luck and rewarded strategical play more, portion besides appreciating the caller fifth-edition rules that marque it a kinder, faster experience. The Alliances enlargement besides makes Talisman a good gateway crippled into the escapade committee crippled genre – made adjacent much appealing by its tenable retail price.

Originally posted:

Apr 11, 2025 6:00 pm