Yeah, I agree the flail is a game changer. But so is the Woodland. The last three games or so have seen a lot of players camping in the woods for us. The major reason is you have a large chance of surviving the Woodland and even if you don't, destiny cards transfer to your next character. Also, once you have a destiny card you will find it is much easier to manage your fate, which further increases your survivability in the Woodland.

In it's own way, I remember the Dungeon being very much a game changer as well, since defeating the Dungeon Lord can get you straight to the top even without a Talisman. In essence, I think any of the boards are going to have a pretty big impact on the game, even though like DomaGB says, some of them are suitable at different times in the game. The greater question would therefore be what flavour most interests a new player.

The two boards that probably change the basic game the least is the Highland and the Dungeon. Particularly the Highland sort of blends in with the main board, having a similar difficulty/reward. Perhaps a slightly higher reward rate for low-level characters actually, what with all those trinkets lying about. So, if you want the basic game but more of it, I'd get the Highland first and then the Dungeon. If you want somewhere to spend all your gold (on flails), get the City and if you want something that changes the game a lot, get the Woodland. Or the Dragon because that really changes the game a lot as well. Be aware that the Dragon is generally considered the least liked expansion even though it certainly has its charms.

As far as the smaller expansions go, they tend to blur together for me. The Reaper stands out because, well, the Reaper suddenly wanders around the board (which is one of the best additions to the game, period!). The Blood Moon, to me, feels a little like the Reaper's freaky cousin but if you're into werewolves and can't get enough NPCs, go for it. The Firelands changes things as well but I have the same experience as DomaGB: I play with everything so the Firelands has yet to make a big impression, being a bit lost in the hundreds of cards.

The two Realms expansions are really good but I can't quite shake the feeling that they are for more advanced play. It's not that they are difficult to play or understand but I suppose they are more subtle.

The remaining small expansions add a lot in terms of characters, spells, endings, etc. But if you are on a budget or timeline, they add less flavour and can therefore perhaps unfairly be picked up last.

Those are my thoughts anyway.

The reaper is bullshiit. Someone can just send his ass to you and then when you roll they can misfortune your roll and guess what you are killed. you can do nothing to stop it. what a fcuking great idea.

1. Dungeon

2. Highlands

3. dragon

4. Reaper

5. Sacred Pool

6. Woodland

7. firelands

8. Bloodmoon

9. Frostmarch

10. City

11. Deep realm

12. Netherrealm

1. Woodland

2. Firelands

3. Harbringer

4. Reaper

5. Dungeon

6. Sacred Pool

7. Frost March

8. Deep Realm

9. City (too many balance issues)

10. Highland (kind of an unoriginal dungeon clone, just easier)

11. Blood Moon

12. Dragon (if using house rules, bump it up a couple spots)

13. Nether Realm (I actually love this one but because I play random alternate endings it rarely sees any use)

Why does everyone hate the Flail?

I've only played with City once, and no one bought the flail, so I'm not sure why it is hated. Is it just really unbalancing? Should we remove it?

get the neathrealms, its cheap and take up no space! It can drastically change the game and the style of gameplay required to win!

other than that please get yourself the City, lots of new card decks and things to spend gold on!!! :D: D

Why does everyone hate the Flail?

I've only played with City once, and no one bought the flail, so I'm not sure why it is hated. Is it just really unbalancing? Should we remove it?

I despise the Flail because it is an unbalancingly powerful weapon which can be bought with GOLD in the city! It's like King Arthur picking up Excalibur at a medieval pawn shop! Furthermore, because it is so horrendously powerful, every game becomes a contest over which players can get the two Flails first and then use them to level up enough to win. I long ago removed the Flails from my City set and I would advise you to do the same.

1. Harbinger

2. Forest

3. Highlands

4. City

5. Dungeon

6. Dragons

7. Sacred Pool

8. Blood Moon

9. Frost March

10. Reaper

1. Reaper - Fills out the adventure deck much nicer than the basegame alone, and adds the well designed NPC character of The Reaper.

2. Dungeon - Challenging board with lots of high level monsters to gain xp from during mid to late game.

3. City - The best place to spend gold, which can go unused when not playing the City expansion.

4. Sacred Pool - Alignment themed expansion. Adds some nice balanced cards to the adventure deck including stables and ways to buy and sell spells.

5. Firelands - Has trickier to follow game mechanics such as fire tokens, burning cards and terrain cards but they are quite fun and work well.

6. Blood Moon - Decent gothic horror themed enemies and a Werewolf NPC. Day and night mechanic is easy to follow, not to game breaking or changing.

7. Harbinger - Makes the game quite dangerous quickly, whether to use it or not depends on what type of gaming experience you prefer.

8. Deep Realms - Adds some decent but not necessary new additions to the city and Dungeon boards, but requires both of those expansions to play.

9. Highlands - A bit weak, time spent here with characters to gain xp is usually better off just remaining in the outer region.

10. Frostmarch - A fairly weak but not completely useless expansion to the adventure deck.

11. Nether Realm - Adds a new deck of high level creatures to draw into as an alternative to the adventure deck, but players seem to rarely bother.

10. Dragons - Clunky mechanics that slow the game down make it to much of a hassle to play, I think Harbinger works out better as a way to make the game more dangerous for players seeking that type of game.

11. Woodland - Fairly poorly designed. Most of the time players get to the end and the rewards never match the challenge of getting through the forest.

9/10 Blood moon, The City, Woodland, Sacred Pool, Harbinger (very good, add cool new stuff but have that one annoying thing)

8/10 Highland, Frostmarch (very good, but doesn't contain anything unique)

7/10 Dungeon, The Reaper (solid, could use some improvement)

5/10 Dragon, Firelands (good ideas, disappointing execution)

9/10 Blood moon, The City, Woodland, Sacred Pool, Harbinger (very good, add cool new stuff but have that one annoying thing)

8/10 Highland, Frostmarch (very good, but doesn't contain anything unique)

7/10 Dungeon, The Reaper (solid, could use some improvement)

5/10 Dragon, Firelands (good ideas, disappointing execution)

I'm curious on what you think is annoying in Sacred Pool? I find that a very simple and solid expansion. I find the woodland solid as well, it is actually my favourite corner - but it does add a bit more complexity to the game, but it is a good addition.

I think the only aspect of Firelands that I do not like, is the burning of cards because it just adds unneeded complexity. But I would rate that much higher.

First, Dungeon with Reaper .
Second would Bloodmoon .
Third would Woodland with Highland
And the rest in any order.

The Nether Realm expansion works very well with small and light with an alternate ending expansion of Nether Realm .

I'm curious on what you think is annoying in Sacred Pool? I find that a very simple and solid expansion. I find the woodland solid as well, it is actually my favourite corner - but it does add a bit more complexity to the game, but it is a good addition.

I think the only aspect of Firelands that I do not like, is the burning of cards because it just adds unneeded complexity. But I would rate that much higher.

Sacred Pool's fault is a minor one - it's rather themeless.

I'm curious on what you think is annoying in Sacred Pool? I find that a very simple and solid expansion. I find the woodland solid as well, it is actually my favourite corner - but it does add a bit more complexity to the game, but it is a good addition.

I think the only aspect of Firelands that I do not like, is the burning of cards because it just adds unneeded complexity. But I would rate that much higher.

Sacred Pool's fault is a minor one - it's rather themeless.

Word to that

Interesting read @this topic. I initially purchased [all] expansions and proceeded to mix in all adventure and spell cards before my first play of Talisman so I have no idea what each expansion brought to the table other than the obvious (such as Warlock Cards and such). Having said that, Our favorite area as a group when starting off is definitely the Highlands, followed by the Woodlands, then we usually break for the Crown of Command without ever setting foot in the Dungeon, and the City is such a time sink/waste that by the time you find what you're looking for, everyone else will be so much more powerful that you'll be several turns behind them. We can never keep track of the Werewolf or Harbinger or Reaper figures so we don't use them, but we play with day/night cycles on events. I'd say the City is our least favorite, followed by the Dungeon, and all mini-expansions have something to add.