For the past 2 years my nephew has enjoyed Dungeon and still does, but I have played more than enough of it.

I am looking for another dungeon delving game to offer him. Does Talisman play well for this age, or is there something that would be more recommended.

I am hoping for something that would be not longer than 2 hours at most.

Thank you so much for your time.

I think basic talisman would be just fine for him, it would get pretty complicated if you introduced too much.

Have you tried or seen this game? (not sure if this is the one you are referring to or not) http://sodapopminiatures.com/game-super-dungeon-explore/

I have a friend who plays it with his son of similar age, and they both really enjoy it.

I agree, basic. However, a number of posters, over the years, have mentioned that their younger (than yours even) children "play" with them (adults), so we can imagine getting a child to read cards that are encountered, for a year or so till they get a little older and use to the game, and possibly the concepts of some of the expansions.

Thanks for the responses.

The DUNGEON I am referring to is published by Wizards of the Coast (it was originally an old TSR boardgame)

I have never played talisman, but I must admit that it sounds fun.

What is the average play time with just the core game?

Talisman takes about one hour per player, so a minimum of two hours from my experience. Talisman is fun but can be a very long game as you add more players. The basic game is extremely fast to set up. Two decks to shuffle and deal out the characters. Setup time takes a lot longer as you add expansions.

I should add that Talisman is my Favorite game ever.

Just the core game would be perfect but you may want to see what characters your son would enjoy playing more to possibly buy a small expansion to add that would not change the game. I would think a 9 year old may enjoy having a werewolf or reaper floating around after they played a couple times.

I would stay away from the Dragon, Woodland, City, Firelands, Nether Realm, Deep Realms and Harbinger expansions for quite a long time with younger players. Those expansions add some more complicated mechanics to the game and/or are also quite unfriendly at times. Any of the other expansions would be fun to add into the mix as they just expand the game without changing much. That is once he learned the core game a few times! The Dungeon adds a new and quicker way to get to the Crown of Command so it may appeal to him......

Cheers and happy gaming!

Just the core game would be perfect but you may want to see what characters your son would enjoy playing more to possibly buy a small expansion to add that would not change the game. I would think a 9 year old may enjoy having a werewolf or reaper floating around after they played a couple times.

I would stay away from the Dragon, Woodland, City, Firelands, Nether Realm, Deep Realms and Harbinger expansions for quite a long time with younger players. Those expansions add some more complicated mechanics to the game and/or are also quite unfriendly at times. Any of the other expansions would be fun to add into the mix as they just expand the game without changing much. That is once he learned the core game a few times! The Dungeon adds a new and quicker way to get to the Crown of Command so it may appeal to him......

Cheers and happy gaming!

I would just put my 2 cents into this.

While Jedi is right in pointing out the most complex and game-changing of the expansions - I would still advise to stay away from all expansions for a bit. Just let him get comfortable with the base game first and once you feel you've mastered it, then venture into an easy expansion like the Reaper. Reasoning: Once you get into expansions, there are a lot of unwritten rules, interactions and character complexities that you need to begin interpreting. Many of us adults stumble through the contradictions and complexities and I think it would be even that much more difficult for a child to grasp.

In regards to time, it is commonly accepted that it is 1 hour per player - not including setup and tear-down. But in all honesty, I've never had a shorter game than about 3 hours which would especially be the case if you are just learning the game. So you just want to make sure that he would have the attention for it.

But overall - I think both you and him would enjoy this game.

My wife and I play epic games that last for hours. We take breaks, have dinner, come back - hoping the cats didn't destroy the table mixing up cards or playing with figures, lol.

We like them long, but there are clearly ways to shorten. You should be able to keep it to 1 to 2 hours. Have fun, above all.

My wife and I play epic games that last for hours. We take breaks, have dinner, come back - hoping the cats didn't destroy the table mixing up cards or playing with figures, lol.

We like them long, but there are clearly ways to shorten. You should be able to keep it to 1 to 2 hours. Have fun, above all.

When my wife and I play, we set up the game in the guest bedroom so that we can shut the door. This keeps the cats children from destroying the table, mixing up the cards, or playing with the figures.

We'll play for about an hour or two each night, after the children are in bed. Then we'll come back the next night and keep going.

Since we don't play very often, we each play three characters and we are very friendly to each other. This will last for about a week, and then we'll put it away again.

I play with my daughter 11 and my son 9 with all expensions. No problems at all. So three players, including me, but the game is never short with us. It can last up to 10 hours.

We began like two years ago, so my son was 7, and he understood immediatly, it's not much difficult. I don't think it's a problem if the game last more than two hours, as you can always come back later. We bought little by little other expensions, and he adapted without problem. Sure an adult should read the rules to explain, after that as long as he can read the cards it's fine. I don't know this game dragon, but it sounds as a similar universe as talisman, so talisman shouds definitly please him.

We all agree it's the best game ever. I will never play monopoly again. Strangely it's the adults that find the game complicated. My wife tried 5 minutes, my father's wife 5 minutes too, he suddenly forgot an appointement after the game started (lol). Also a young lawyer and an architect found the game "sooooo difficult". But it's not, and it's always an adventure.

What others have said I've also found to be true vis-a-vis length of game.

However, if you're looking for an actual "Dungeon" style delve, then I'd actually suggest Dragonquest, either the original edition, or FFG's revised edition. I've found that it doesn't take as long to play as Talisman does, but then I prefer Talisman to it.

My just-turned-10yo has been playing Talisman DE for a while now. This is a good "try before you buy" option.

Over the last couple of weeks it's been school holidays and finally we've had some time together without The Magpie (aged 3), so we at last broke out the IRL board. The first few times we played base game, Dungeon, Frostmarch, Blood Moon. I haven't played tabletop since 2nd Ed. (and that was a loooong time ago), so Blood Moon was new to me. 10yo had no trouble at all with the mechanics and he's pretty good tactically (just needs a bit more killer instinct to go for the win). It's his aging mother who keeps forgetting her special abilities and objects :-P We found the whole lycanthropy thing a bit ho-hum but we love the Blood Moon cards and the day/night switch. Today we removed Blood Moon and shuffled in Firelands -- I think we'll need a bit more practice with the fire tokens and keeping track of which cards get bonuses, but again the kid had no trouble keeping pace with the adult.

Our 7yo usually needs things read to him and we prompt him about good options, but he can hold his own as a player too. I'd take either of them as competition over their super-cautious father ("Don't go to the Tavern AGAIN!").

Timewise, we had a cut-off of about 2 hours each time due to the imminent return home of The Magpie. That wasn't enough to complete the game with a 'real' ending, even with only 2 players. However, the nature of the game is that it's heaps of fun even if nobody formally achieves a win.

Short version: buy the digital version and let your nephew try that out. If he likes it, invest in the tabletop game and as many expansions as you can afford.

Munchkin treasure hunt

Much the same as dungeon, with gags for kids.

My daughter has been playing talisman since four years old, no help needed after the first couple of games. Heroquest is great if your willing to spring for it. Its between dungeon and d&d.

My 11yr old daughter and 13yr old daughter hate the game... but my older boys love it! Talisman is a great game for boys and non-pubescent girls (pre/post). IMO, Talisman is good for 9+, but honestly below 13, they may lose interest quickly, so play with all alternative rules that speed up game-play.

I've been playing Talisman with my 7 year old son for a few weeks now, and he loves it. He needs help with reading some of the cards, but soon gets to know them. This is a bit of a problem with spells (which should be kept secret from your opponent), but he'll soon have learned most of them too. I've bought the Reaper Expansion, to bulk up the Adventure and Spell decks, and gain a few characters, but don't always play with the Reaper itself.

We also play Dungeonquest, but my son finds the "difficulty" (not the rules, but the low chance of success!) frustrating. I'd also like other ideas for similar games that work for kids of this age (7-8). I notice the recommended ages on fantasy games is often pretty high (14), but in Talisman's case this seems way too high, providing an adult can help out.

I notice the recommended ages on fantasy games is often pretty high (14), but in Talisman's case this seems way too high, providing an adult can help out.

It's not the gameplay difficulty, more the creepiness of some of the cards. My 10yo found the Ogre too yuck to look at. How well do your kids handle vampires, liches, etc.? And for some parents, are you comfortable with your kids being exposed to such things at a young age?

I notice the recommended ages on fantasy games is often pretty high (14), but in Talisman's case this seems way too high, providing an adult can help out.

It's not the gameplay difficulty, more the creepiness of some of the cards. My 10yo found the Ogre too yuck to look at. How well do your kids handle vampires, liches, etc.? And for some parents, are you comfortable with your kids being exposed to such things at a young age?