Playing Talisman after a long week of working, studying, etc it is really great to just simply sit down friday evening with the guys and a couple of beers! Of course, one beer leads to another and so on, and with 6-8 players around the table accidents are bound to happen (which I now have bitterly experienced... -.- )

What happened was that one of the guys splashed a bit beer on one of the Plain spaces. Seeing this could lead to a disaster I simply dried the beer off carefully (since the gameboard itself is made of paper..) and doing nothing with the stain that was left on the Space and telling my friend that it was no problem; Just let the Stain Dry and it will OK.

Of course, being late in the game and all of us taken in amounts of alcohol regressing us back to childhood (usually makes the game more fun since we're all in twenty-thirty's.) my friend the spiller had a really bad conscience. To try making things better he starts sweeping his index finger lightly, but quickly across the wet stain on the Plains in order to dry it more quickly.

It did not take many seconds before some of the artwork on the Plains were ripped off by the moving index finger, and BAM, I got a really nice dark grey spot of missing artwork on the Plains where the stain had been.. Wonderful!!

Anyways, seeing that this had to happen sooner or later I am not angry. I am just left behind with a foul mood and a voice inside my head saying ''Nice planning, Stormcaller! Could have been avoided..''

And here I am with a couple of question to try to make things better.

a) Luckily no text was destroyed, do anyone here have some experience on how it would work to simply reconstruct the grey spot with some paint (use the gw brand)

b) To avoid future accidents, anyone have any suggestions on how to protect the board (was thinking on a glass plate or something, but seems expensive)

Many thanks to all Suggestions,

S

I feel your pain, something like this happened to me about 3 months ago. Talisman is a game that doesn't require a special attention to play and I also enjoy it with friends and some good beers. However, glasses can and spill liquid on your game. Unfortunately, Talisman board seems to be quite succeptible to damage from liquid.

A player spilt his beer on the Woods space near the Tavern (quite appropriate), then the liquid flooded some cards and the Dungeon board. We had a quick reaction and tried to dry everything immediately. Unfortunately the Woods space is near a cut that allows to fold the board and glued paper with artwork quickly lifted and ripped. I have a white spot where I should have a part of the scroll. Dungeon was also damaged, artwork was impregnated with beer and lifted. When dry, it displayed some frowns. Character cards and tokes survived with no damage, but some Adventure and Dungeon Cards where badly damaged (e.g. Flying Carpet).

I never tried to repair the artwork. I might try to repaint it but I'm afraid I don't have the skill (I paint miniatures but I have serious problems with drawing and painting on paper). I bought a whole new set of Talisman + Reaper + Dungeon, since some components of every piece were damaged. Since I'm afraid that accidents will happen again, I still play with the damaged board. I just wanted to keep a Talisman copy in mint condition to show it to my grandchildren, if I would have any in the future.

The only suggestion I can give you is: keep food and drinks well away from the game. You can make pauses, or put the glasses on a cupboard or something, but not on the play area. It's too easy to while rolling dice and passing cards around. Since the accident does ruin not only the game but also the atmosphere, it's better to avoid accidents at all.

Not that I have been of any help to you, but you have my sympathy.

If you can find a board image online, maybe you can print it onto sticker paper?

I advise that no one may drink while playing the game.

Make pauses after a hour, if everybody is thirsty.

I am also afraid if the board will be damaged. That's why i use this rule.

I also try to avoid eating/drinking around the board. However, most my friends all know I'm anal enough about keeping this game in as good quality as possible, that they are all very careful with drinks. It is sad when spills happen, though.

When I play Talisman there is water, soda, coffee and more. We are just carefull and so far there has been no accident. Maybe it is becouse we have a big table that makes it possible to put drinks away from the precious board. Maybe you could have something to place drinks/beer on instead of the table where you play.

cheer

I would not try a "touch-up" approach though, as you may make things worse... ink, paint, whatever will tend to bleed into exposed paper, and it will run and smear on the coated stuff. The best solution may be some attempt to scan the space, print it out on light-weight semi-gloss photopaper (NOT photo "stock"), and trim to fit and glue. That's a tricky process, but it is possible. I have done it one other material similarly damaged but not a on Talisman board.

Once you've settled on how you will handle repairs (if at all), considered coating your board with adhessive lamination / clear contact paper. This is the type of stuff you can find in most stores like Walmart or sometimes even a grocery store. It comes in rolls like sticky shelf paper (and is designed to be just that) but is clear. Putting it on without creating bubbles is tricky, so use some practice first. The side of cereal box is a good semi-batch for the board as far as texture and smoothness. Even if you get bubbles, you can puncture them with a sewing needle; pierce the bubble at one side at a 45 or greater angle, then the butt of a butter knife handle to gently work out the air and smooth the bubble flat.

Do coat your board, for certain, if you intended to have that many beers during a game. Anything over 1 beer a person and you will see this happen again. (Oh yes it will.)

In the days of playing 2E, one thing I did was to coat every single paper/cardboard component. It save me a couple of times when a guest player wasn't paying attention. I say guest because any schmuck who's that careless AND drunk never returned to my games.

Here's an example of stuff I'm talking about....

http://www.amazon.com/CLEAR-CONTACT-PAPER-18-YDS/dp/B000F8T5QM

Here's another at a better price....

http://www.amazon.com/Con-Tact-24F-C9D78-06-18-Inch-Multipurpose-Adhesive/dp/B001NPDFEY/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_b

yeah, tried once to banish all types of alcohol once, but to no use. Besides it adds a certain "aspect" of the game so I have given it up!

@ JCHendee;

Yeah, I know what kind of lamination you have in mind. I remember using it on my school books back in the days, and as you imply, those bubbles are simply hellish to work with!!! Feeling old anger resurface . I agree, though, with some practise it should be possible. One question, though. Any possibility that the glue on the lamination weakening and letting "new" air in as the years go by?

@Crimhead

I like your idea and will work with the thought of using JCHendee's approach. Painting is atm put on hold!

Thanks guys!

StormCaller said:

The 2nd edition version I did is in the possession of my daughter elsewhere in the states. Last I heard it was fine... after nearly 20 years. Once you lay down the lamination and work from the center outward in flattening it, it should last for a long while. It's not going to see the a lot of wear and tear as it would for something used daily like a shelf. Aside from the butt end of a table or butter knife (the cheap way), I use a folding bone for a lot of my paper projects, like the my handmade card boxes.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EIVGAQ?ie=UTF8&tag=origresocent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000EIVGAQ

http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Folder-Burnisher-Inch-Rounded/dp/B000EIVGAQ/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_a

Mine is like the second one and better for detail work, with a more tapered point on one end versus the other. The first design with a blunt end is better for large flat and hard surfaces. And don't think the squarish back end on the first one will work exactly like the broad back end of the first. Shape can effect the particular work you're doing and pattern of smoothing you have to use. Squarish is good for going long ways end to end. A round flat end is better for working outward in multiple directions. Narrow end for internal corners and detail folding.

If you want to invest in a special tool, that is.

One thing I didn't think about was how the board folds. The 4E board is perhaps a little thicker and heavier (?) than the old 2E boards. I'm wondering how the lamination might affect folding the board up. It's pretty thin stuff, but still leaves me wondering, now that I think about it. Perhaps I'll have to take the risk over the summer and give it a try myself, though we generally don't allow beverages on the table while playing (especially with more than 4 people).

I think the best fix is the 'find a scan of that space, print it, trim it and glue it over the bad spot' approach that others have mentioned.

You could do that fix, then maybe buy a new copy of the core game for ocd purposes to keep a perfect copy of the board safe in storage. But then you could keep using the old board when playing with these friends. That way you get to enjoy the beers and the game still, and can play with less fear of totally ruining the board since it's already been patched once and you'll have a perfectly new backup copy anyways!

Also, you could just leave it as it is. It kind of adds character and history to your board, and makes it seem more like a pirate map with missing holes or such. For example, I regularly buy replacement copies of games to replace the very worn parts of my favorites, but I'll usually stay with the original game board, as I like the history the game board has with all the marks, wears, creases, love, etc that it has received from the hundreds of plays my friends and I have used it for over the years. It makes it more like a precious artifact, with some of the marks serving as a reminder of the epic games or funny memories, which in itself is kind of neat. (Though with this approach I do still like to have a perfect extra copy in storage ).

We use a piece of plexy-glass from a cheep movie poster frame available at most art supply stores “Joann’s” is our local one and with a coupon it was about $15. It diverts most of the liquid away from the board. It is also very handy for folded maps and miniature games.

lovebug009 said:

Now that's an interesting option!

Or just follow one of my house rules (but only when playing Talisman) -

We've sort of wandered astray from what StormCaller really needed. SC, if you're still out there... have you found a way to do a repair? Is there any way you can show us a picture of the particular space? Perhaps we can offer more options or even in seeing the particular space help find some graphic overlay for you to print out.

I just have a "no drinks on the game table" rule. People can still imbibe what they want, but no fear of spills on the precious.

I'll throw in my +1 for the print out a new image idea. I'm personally a fan of sticker paper since I don't need to apply any glue to the other side, although I don't think that stuff comes in any kind of semi-gloss. Covering the board with a clear sheet of shelf lamination would be a great way to protect it from future mishaps.

Perhaps consider investing in a couple of TV dinner tables for people to keep their drinks on in the future, that way your friends can keep their beer at a safe distance from game elements while playing. I can certainly sympathize with the situation, although thankfully I haven't run into myself.

If you need someone to provide a scanned image of the space, I'd be happy to provide. Just let me know which space it is.

JCHendee said:

I have comed up with an idea. When I come around to get my butt in gear and fix it Ill post here on the forum.

Thanks for all the advices, guys.

SC

Like many others have mentioned, I ask my guests to keep their drinks on a table other than the game table. I usually play on my kitchen table where the counter is near by. I also have card sleeves for all of my adventure cards, spell cards etc. I would keep a dry cloth on-hand in case of any other minor spills. Just soak them up lightly and don't rub. I don't know what I would do about a major spill across the board...probably cry.

What do you all use to protect your character cards? I can't seem to find sleeves that fit.

Also, I'm having an issue with my board. Where the center seam is the top layer seems to be peeling. I think this is caused by sliding cards over the seam and catching them ever-so-slightly. I don't need to repair the damage, but I'd like to stop it from getting any worse. I've been considering trying clear nail polish but I'm afraid to. Any suggestions?

Panda said:

I have some of these sleeves (as do others on the forum now!) and have rather a lot spare after my initial order which was to get production started!

Shoot me an email (link in my sig) if you are interested in getting hold of some.

Those character card sleeves are excellent, by the buy!!!

You could always contact FFG directly, inform them of the damage and ask if they might be able to provide you with a replacement. They were kind enough to send me a new Runebound board when the front surface of my old one started to come off. For free I might add. And I live in the UK too. Can't fault their customer service really.