I must say after playing my first full game of Talisman last night: this is my new favorite board game of all time!

I come from a gaming background of D&D since high school and so I own all of the D&D board games as well as DM campaigns for my friends. I went really far with the D&D mini skirmish game. A co-worker of mine introduced me to the X-wing miniature game about 6 months ago-- my first Fantasy Flight game, and love that.

So I was doing some research for a new board game because board games are typically what my wife and I play together. She isn't into the full RPG and I get that. and typically competitive games don't work out, but so far talisman is working out ( we just don't attack each other until someone has the crown). We have played through all the scenarios of my D&D board games so I wanted to find something similar. What a hidden gem!

What I think makes Talisman stand out above all of the others is the classic authentic fantasy experience it gives. I've read a decent amount of fantasy novels and Talisman captures the the epic high fantasy feel of Tolkien and Jordan, but also has some silliness like Tolkien (Tom Bombadil) or Piers Anthony (at least the one book I started). From the Valley of fire to the Crown I just imagine Frodo and Gollum going into the Heart of Mount Doom!

Can anyone recommend my first expansion?

Welcome aboard, Paul the First! I'm by no means an authority on Talisman, but my family and I thoroughly enjoy the game. We bought The Reaper first because we thought the whole idea of Death itself stalking you across the land was interesting and you get some cool characters in the box too. We then bought the Firelands expansion more recently but have only played one game with it - and got our arses kicked by some of the creatures in there. Again, some very interesting characters in this box. Now we're looking at getting either The City or The Dungeon but are undecided - so if anyone wants to recommend one of those for me while they're here then that'd be super! Cheers!

In the meantime, Paul1, enjoy your adventures towards the Inner Realm. May the crown of command never turn into a wreath of flames atop thy noggin.

Can anyone recommend my first expansion?

Sacred Pool. Ypou will LOVE the Misfortune Spell. And some other spells. Not to mention that the Sacred Pool features a lot of some other cards related to the Neutral alignment - something not seen in the base game at all.

Well, halloween is only a month or two away... How about the Blood Moon expansion?

Well, halloween is only a month or two away... How about the Blood Moon expansion?

A brilliant choice and perfect timing! I was going to suggest the Blood Moon myself. I have bought all of the expansions recently and have slowly been playing through them all. At the present time I have only played Blood Moon, Reaper and Firelands. I had similar experience with Firelands as Robin Graves did (got my ass royally kicked!), and really enjoy both others. The Blood Moon adds a really nice touch with its Time card (day and night) and also has a Non Playable Character.

In all fairness my only logically piece of advice would be to buy ALL the expansions ASAP!!!! :lol but failing that the Blood Moon will make you happy

Blood Moon is appealing. My wife was into the whole twilight series and vampire diaries so I might start there. I also do want the sacred pool it might be my second expansion thanks all!

The Reaper is a good one too, but at the end of the day, they are all good!

I agree with your comparisons to fantasy fiction, even Piers Anthony. I enjoyed his silliness, until he got raunchy. Defintitly seen in Talisman.

As for expansions...

1st Expansion City or Reaper.

City if you want an additional board. It is way different than the other expansions, adds a lot of new items and stuff!

Reaper expansion if you want a small expansion and no board. The Reaper adds more basic Adventure cards and a cool NPC character that runs around.

Next for an additional board I recommend the Highlands. Its great for beginning leveling and gets you gold for the city!

If you want a small expansion next, and already have the Reaper but don't have City, I recommend the Sacred Pool. As it gives not only great basic Adventure cards but also items from a stable deck you can purchase without having the city. If you do have the City I would recommend Frostmarch next as it also has a generic addition to the Adventure deck.

The next board expansion I recommend is the Dungeon. It is for higher level leveling. In our games it gets the least use.

If you have the small expansions I listed above, I next recommend the Nether realm. This is a new different kind of expansion and gives you a really cool alternate ending.

The rest I would get in this order:

Firelands: I have this, its new, and has some really cool effects. I don't have much experience with it yet.

Bloodmoon: A very Halloweenish type expansion. Very strong in theme. I like the theme but only in the fall. It also has a game changing effect of creating day/night. In the day players get a +1 in battle at night enemies get a +1. You also get a werewolf NPC and Lycanthropy effects. I use only about 1/3 of the expansion (I don't use day/nite nor Lycanthropy). Others like it, but there is a strong percentage who think its fiddly.

The Dragon Expansion: Perhaps the most controversial expansion. About half the people do not like it. So lots of people play it with variations or house rules. It comes with a board, but it is an overlay for the center replacing part of the main board. I hated the expansion until I created a new way to play it, and now enjoy it a lot!

BTW, I am new to the D&D board games. I own all 3, and bought them I think in Feb when they were all on sale. They haven't been played yet, though I finally tested and played Wrath of Ashardalon solo about a week and a half ago, and absolutely loved it.

I dislike solo board gaming, and have said so on several occasions when people discuss playing Talisman solo, but I actually quite enjoyed the solo play in the D&D game and can see myself doing it again.

Now that I have learned the game, when I can I will be introducing it to my group. I am excited to start playing these games.

If you like the D&D games, you might want to check out Descent.

http://new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=176&enmi=Descent : Journeys in the Dark Second Edition

Glad to see a new fan with such enthusiasm Yes- Talisman is the best and always will be!!

It's been said before. I'll say it again. The Reaper is really the perfect expansion to begin your foray into the extended Talisman world! Loads more cards, great new characters, including the infamous Dark Cultist , the introduction of alternate endings and, of course, the great Death himself. How can you go wrong?

When I was reviewing games and trying to decide which new ones to get I found Descent and the D&D games. While I was leaning more towards D&D because it did not require a GM, I still was heavily considering Descent. But when the 3 D&D games went on sale, it was enough for me to choose.

While there was and is an economical reason not to buy both, there also is the fact my friends & I just don't game as much as we would like. And as I shared, I have yet to even play this with them since having them since February.