about 3 months ago i got runebound, now i'm looking for another game. One that wont take longer than 2 hours to play after setup, one whith a better board perhaps, some more categories of cards, one not so serious whereas you can laugh and socialize, maybe some cool looking dice (runebounds wherent bad but got old pretty fast) and not to complicated like (runebound was fine in terms of complication.) its either this game (dungeonquest) or talisman. Also i dont like games where you need expansions to enjoy the game for at least within two weeks of just the regular game set which im afriad might happen after i buy talisman if i do.

so dungeonquest or talisman

please help

"not to complicated like " the world like was a mistake

hrm..... that's tough.

I like Talisman a lot - but I have had games go for more than 2 hours. That one is fun for the fact that there is some character interaction. You can play this with no expansions - but you will want them once you get into playing it.

In DungeonQuest - there is a really small chance of success (not sure the odds yet of coming out alive and with treasure - but with the games I have played we are at 20% after 5 games... the original was 15%) - so essentially - you are competing against the other players in that you want to get out with more treasure - but you are not competing with them in the sense that you can effect their game in anyway... Unless you use the character PvP rule adjust in the back of the book.

Well, I own Talisman without any expansions as yet (except the conversion box since I bought the BI version of 4th ed) and it's still a blast to play. I do want to get some of the expansions, but that's my personal preference. They aren't needed, the base game is complete and enjoyable for an indefinite number of plays, IMHO.

DungeonQuest is likewise standalone (at least the old version was and it sounds like the new version is pretty much the same in terms of over-arching play.) Some individual mechanics are different, but it's the same random, deadly chaos we all know and love. =)

Of the two, DQ is definitely a shorter play. 10-60 minutes depending on how long you can all survive. DQ is also more random, I think. Talisman has random encounters but a fixed board. You can theoretically play forever if no one really tries to go for the crown.

If you're thinking DQ might offer less temptation because it has no expansions, just wait. It may or may not start accumulating them, too. Hard to say at this juncture, although FFG is certainly fond of the expansion marketing strategy.

I say get DungeonQuest. You will come up with lots of crazy images of the character being harassed that will lead to many laughs at the table. The last words out of my mouth today when I walked away from winning with just 10 gold were "Man this is going to be the Talsiman of Talisman for play time". Basically meaning, because of simple rules, setup, and length, I see Dungeon Quest and Talsiman competing for table time.

Talisman is the same, I mean its a simple roll of dice and see what board does to you. I think Talisman is the only game I could ever hear myself saying "my dwarf will ride his trusted unicorn into battle with his trustee leprechaun sidekick, PREPARE YOURSELF!!!"

Both are way too close to decide on, so in my opinion get both. DungeonQuest is simple setup and short game time. Combat in DQ is slower and more guessing/bluffing than Talsiman.

Curator said:

I agree a lot with this point. I would add however - Talisman while some games can be really played under 2 hours - I have SEVERAL 4-5 hour games of Talisman.

Whereas with DungeonQuest - if your game takes over 1 hour - with 4 players - you are just playing slow.

You are likely to get 3-4 games of DQ in if you are playing for 2 hours.

Hi,

I play Runebound a lot and I like the way the main characters can transit through the different expansions. However due to my work schedule I need to have this game setup as it will last over several nights. I also enjoy Talismen and have the original game and expansion sets but some of these games can take you past the 2 hour mark quite easily. For a short game that is fun and exciting to play Dungeon Quest fits the bill. The original had a supplement of some excellent characters and I am sure there will be at least one following supplement to the re-released game that should keep you going back for more.

Best regards,

Raven

I am intrigued to read the Dungeon Quest learning curve is similar to Talisman's. Are you serious?! Talisman can be learned in 10 minutes maximum. Dungeon Quest? It seems pretty complicated to me. Certainly not Arkham Horror or Android but still... Well, yes, I am also a very slow pupil and usually takes me days to learn a game.

Foligatto said:

talisman can be learned in 10 minutes? I've written about 20 page of FAQS picked from this forum...Talisman is simple at the beginning but there are a lot of situation to explain.

Foligatto said:

DQ is in no way more complicated than Talisman. Combat needs maybe 2 read throughs real quick - but we have had more quirks with Talisman than with DQ.

The are both easily accessible.

In my experience the shortest game with talisman was around 3 hours. Usually averaging 1 hour / player attending. We've been 4-5 each time, so 4-5 hours spent playing each game. This should point out that dungeonquest might be a good choice conserning the shorter duration of the game. I also suspect you might get a bit disapointed choosing talisman as these games seems quite similar.

Anyways, to bring something new to the discussion. Choosing DungeonQuest; Doesn't this edition of the game contain a bonus with extra characters for Descent and Runebound ?

If so, by buying DQ you also expand your current game.

SC

StormCaller said:

Dungeonquest does indeed contain versions of the game's characters for use in Descent and Runebound.

I found the combat a breeze - fast and it actually creates somewhat of a narrative.

For fun light dungeoneering excitement I'm a fan - so I say a resounding YES!

(it's ripe for card expansions too!).

Cost too many be a factor.

here in the U.k:

Taliman £38.99 delivered

Dungeonquest £47.37 delivered

Replayability will be a factor too i imagine.

I've got and played Talisman and the replayability is high, and will still give you lots of fun 12 months down the line. the game doesn't need expansions. But of course there are expansions and a small one will cost you £18.50 in the U.K and really add to the game experience.

Dungeon quest, I haven't got or played but i have spent considerable time reading reviews and watching video reviews. they all say that the game will or has become repetative very quickly and will need expansions to revitalise the experience.

so i say that Expansions for talisman are optional but expansions for dungeonquest will probably be essential.

Man, a lot of slowpokes in this thread . Talisman taking 2+ hours??? Average is around 75 minutes (for 3-p), under one hour isn't unheard of. Going past 90 minutes only really happens with Ice Queen (and presumably Eagle King) alternate ending, because they require more boosting up than normal. Standard approach is: get main stat to 9 + Talisman -> go for the win. At least around here. Talisman to me is a race game, just not one where the first player to the finish always wins. In 113 plays of R4th to date, I won't be too far off in saying 2 hours has been reached under 5 times, never 3 hours.

Based on a reply I got over on BGG, DQ is pretty much 99.9% multiplayer-solitaire, no interaction between the characters. Talisman has PvP right in the rules and because it's not too deadly, it happens quite a lot, again, at least in my games. Then again, nothing quite like killing off another player's character in my book .

Dam said:

Hy Dam! I usually agree with you but not this time... I always play a 4-5 players game, and I never play a game less than 2.5-3 hours. 75 min? only if all players knows perfectly rules and cards,even with 3 players. anyway it's impossible for my group to make a so fast game even after 1 year of talisman (and I know rules and faqs quite well).

We play Talisman every week on a Wednesday night with 4 expert players. We start at 19.45 and normally finish 50% of the games by 22.45. In the other 50% of games we decide the winner according to which character has gained the most stuff (in rulebook). The unfinished games would all of finished within a further 30 minute time frame.

Therefore 3-3.5 hours to finish 4 player games. We have played 61 games to date on the Wednesday. I have won 65% of the games! We record all stats!!!

Ell.

With regard to Talisman, I'd say on average a player is looking at no more than 50 turns in a game (only time I kept actual track of individual turns, Crown of Command was reached on turn 35) unless the end stretches. A turn takes maximum of 20 seconds (if there is no combat, no more than 10 seconds I'd say), 50 turns comes to under 20 minutes per player (three turns in a minute). Even a 90-turns per player games would come in at 30 minutes per player. At that stage, 4-player would reach 2 hours, but something has gone horribly wrong for all characters concerned if nobody has reached "Crown-level" in stats. Frostmarch probably added a bit more turns because it diluted the Adventure deck with weak monsters, same goes for the Highland deck, though it has its share of big hitters and the board has draw 2 and 3 spaces.

Dam said:

As much as I like math, and I do, it's hard to calculate the time it takes to tell jokes, laugh at the player next to you that has to face a dragon second round into the game etc etc. I agree that expansions like frostmarch added some extra turns into play. I am curious if future expansions will affect gameplay this way as well.

Anyways, the nice thing about talisman is that you can both prolong/shorten the game by adjusting the trophy exchange rewards ratio (how much fighting xp is needed to advance in fighting stats)

StormCaller said:

Bah, if you can't do those things while rolling the die, moving you character (since we know the board so well no counting spaces is needed) and drawing cards, while already planning ahead and remembering what Spells you have, etc., you're not multi-tasking properly .

StormCaller said:

Should've probably mentioned that my 75 minute average is on the default 7-point trophy ratio.

Dam said:

All our games last between 3 - 3.5 hours due to the fact we have at least 3 coffee/beer/*** breaks during a game (that's cigarettes to you yanks) and we play in a relaxed manner with humour and sarcasm. In addition, we chat about life, love, money, sex, news and religion!

Ell.

3 coffee etc. breaks adds 30-45 minutes right off the bat?