Hey ho!!!!!!

I'm currently "shopping" (in fact, i'm always shopping) for a new board game. My current collection include Tannhäuser and many of the single packs, equipement cards and Daedalus, Twilight Imperium and SE, Castle Raventloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, Pandemic, Through the Desert, Battlelore with 5 expansions, Space Hulk Death Angel card game with it's 2 POD expansions and Munchkin Cthulhu.

I'm currently looking at a GREAT fantasy heavy theme board game to play mostly with 2 or 3 players, including me. At first (exactly like TI), Talisman was not even on my list...it looked kind of wierd. But now, the more I read about it the more fun it looks.

I'm currently thorn between 2 games from FFG: Runebound and Talisman.

2 completely different games that's for sure but the next one i'll buy will have to suit a 2 or 3 player setup, some cool interactions between players so the waiting ones won't get sleepy, heavy fantasy theme, lots of replayability and meaningful expansions that add lots of goodies.

So, which of those 2 would you recommend or do you play regularly?

SolennelBern said:

Talisman is fun.

Runebound is boring.

SolennelBern said:

Hello, I own and play both games regularly, with all expansions. I'll use your criteria to give you advice.

SolennelBern said:

Both games can be played with this number of players and don't require too much time to be set up. Runebound is preferably played with 2-3 players, while Talisman is most fun with 3-4-5.

SolennelBern said:

Talisman is way more interactive than Runebound, but with 2 players the board is too big to get some heavy interaction. Runebound has less or no PvP, it's more a game of planning, probabilities, calculated risks. Talisman is 100% random so you'd better don't make long term plans. It is also a game that can be irritating sometimes, when dice and other players struck you down at random and not according to a strategy. But if you don't care, Talisman is gonna be fun

SolennelBern said:

Talisman is more "basic Fantasy", with classic setting, Characters and goodies. Runebound is in FFG proprietory Terrinoth setting and the game unfolds story and adventure with an immersive feel. I like both, but still prefer Talisman because it's generic & quintessential.

SolennelBern said:

Talisman is so different from one game to the other that I always see some card combo or oddities that I never saw before. Runebound is more predictable and balanced; there are many different ways to get victory but the basic strategy is the same. Cards have less variety (there are less cards in both games); on the other side, in Talisman you can't carry on a coordinated plan for a long time.

SolennelBern said:

Both games have wonderful expansions that greately increase the value of the game. The Expansion system for Runebound is really interesting and the game design proves excellent and up-to-date. Talisman is more nostalgic even though FFG put some meaningful changes and add-ons that changed the game we all knew from the 80s-90s.

My sensation is that you should go for Talisman; think about interaction and replayability and if those are major factors for you, then it's the right choice.

We play Talisman with up to eight people. So that is extra bang for your buck.

It is the best game I own, with the exception of Dungeons and dragons. It is always a completely different game, and believe it or not, people can win it, when it seems like they have no chance. Come back victories have even surprised the player who won. The community support is awesome, especially with Talisman Island.

It's a game I'll keep forever.

I finally made a move after work and bought Talisman! Looked like more fun and replayability than Runebound and I like game based on luck and dices, love the chaotic randomness!

Thanks for your replies everyone! I'm now off unpunching the game and reading the rules!

EDIT: Any mandatory expansions I should look for?

You should get the Reaper expansion. Its a great first Add on. It adds a Reaper character to the game which can be played by everyone in the game and also a lot of new adventure cards and spells.

I'd get the expansion in this order, based on my personal tastes:

1. Reaper
2. Sacred Pool
3. Dungeon
4. Highland
5. Frostmarch

Reaper and Sacred Pool adds a lot of cool new cards and features that greatly benefit the feel, flow and pace of the game. Out of the two "big" corner expansions I like Dungeon better, it's got more interesting content as opposed to the Highland expansion (which also has it's plusses, just not as many as the Dungeon, if you ask me), and it's also got a lot of my favorite playable characters.

So if you have a lot of cash to splurge and want to get say two small expansions and a big one, I'd recommend Reaper, Sacred Pool and Dungeon.

Talismaniac said:

Thanks Talismaniac! By your name I guess you're a big fan of the game!

I alerady ordered Sacred Pool from Amazon. Gonna go fetch The Reaper next week at my local boutique. After a few plays, a bigbox enpansion, probably The Dungeon, will be added. Will be enough to keep the game fresh!

OTHER Q: Would it play well with 2 players controlling 2 characters each? A 2 vs 2 game with the normal rules except that a player's characters would have a permanent alliance (can't attack each other). Having 4 minis on the board would add more PvP then having only 2...would it play well you think?

SolennelBern, I envy you your first Talisman experience. To think that you have not yet been cursed by a hag, diced with death, been turned into a slimy little toad, watched one of your loyal followers plunge into a chasm or seen a prized object blown away by the wind. These and hundreds of other exciting and annoying adventures await!

I've been playing since 1st Edition back in 1983. I agree with Talismaniac that The Reaper and The Sacred Pool are the best choice of expansions to buy first.

It would be great to hear about your first game and your thoughts.

Archdruid said:

Hahahh I love your post and i'm just even more thrilled about my first game, which should be next week. Unfortunately, my first game gonna be a 2-player one...maybe 3 if we have time so I hope I won't be disappointed with it because of that...

I'll sure report back after my first game!

SolennelBern said:

You're very welcome. And yes, I'm a huge fan of this game, been ever since the 2nd edition back in the day (even though I skipped the 3rd edition because it was kind of hard to come by at the time) and I'm loving the 4th edition with all its expansions. Expansions for the 2nd edition were even harder to get hold of when I first started playing it, so I just played that with nothing but the "main game". I guess you could say I'm making up for it now, I have all expansions for the revised 4th and don't plan on slowing down anytime soon. Well, now you know my life story.

Sacred Pool, Reaper and Dungeon should definitely satisfy you for the forseeable future, it's always tons of fun to experience all the new adventure cards, spells and characters that comes with each expansion. A word of warning though, at some point you will get that undeniable urge to get more and more expansions until you have them all. At least I did, haha.

I don't see why you couldn't play with two characters at once actually. I was thinking the same exact thing a couple of weeks or so, and although I prefer just concentrating on one character I suppose you could strategize for an additional character as well. Could be a good thing if you're playing 1 on 1 and want the game to go a little longer I'm sure. If you decide to try it out, let us know how it's working out for you.

And as Archdruid said, I'd also like to hear your initial thoughts on the game and expansions.

There is no problem playing multiple characters, though you do tend to favour one of the two characters. A bit of a house rule should be used if you do play this way. Either you have to attack every time, or not attack at all. This way you don't use the knowledge of spells to ensure easy victories.

Ok...I played my first game tonight, 3-players total.

First thing I must say: It was the best board game night I ever passed since a long time!

We played me, my room mate (who never played any board game in his life) and my bro. We started our first game with me as the Dwarf, my room mate as the Thief and my bro as the Sorceress. We played with The Reaper expansion!

1st game I won! After many turns of batling and casting and luck, I managed to get a Talisman and fight my way to the victory.

Second game, I can't remember which character we played but it was as much fun as the firts game.

Seriously, I think Talisman is the best game and most fun evening I soent since...I din't know...since a long time!

This game is THE GAME I was looking for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm expecting The Sacred Pool and The Frost Marsh this week. After that, i'm gonna get The Dungeon and thats gonna be it until The Dragon is released!

Thanks a lot for all your comments about this amazing agme that is Talisman! didn't even thought that we would enjoy this board game that much and i'm so thrilled that we did.

I'd play again RIGHT **** NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good night!!!!

PS.: I'm drunk like there's no tommorow!!!!!!

lol

SolennelBern said:

Don't let the high get you too excited. Talisman is a fantastic game, but there is a point in time when after you abuse the crap out of its play value, you need to do one of 3 things:

1. Take a break with other board games

2. Grab a new group of friends to play the game

3. Add your own material or fresh new rules you make up (be it cards, endings, etc.)

The problem with Talisman, is eventually you will start to recognize cards, which that recognition soon becomes memorization, and before you know it, you'll know every character, ending, and all 700+ cards down to a tee with all the expansions in play. This being said, Talisman will soon become more of a game of having fun, rather than playing it to declare a winner. In other words, once you know everything , you'll know all the strats, ways to win, and odds of a situation.

Games great, play often, but if "playing for fun" rather than "play to have fun and win" isn't your thing, mix things up a lot to avoid it based on the 3 things you can do. But hey, I still love the game like many fans still here, so enjoy it haha.

Tomoka said:

Pwahahahah you're dishearthening!!! I know it won't always be that way but for a first game of a newly bought boardgame, it was one of my best sessions ever. I aready own a lot of boardgames and they all get a little more boring over time, it's part of the process.

But for now, i'll enjoy Talisman a lot and for a long time and when it'll start to get boring, i'll switch to another one, maybe to come back to it later...as I did with all my other games.

SolennelBern, good to hear you had such a great time with your first few games, thanks for the report. More goodies await in the other sets.

Archdruid said:

Yeah, I received The Sacred Pool today. Gonna play surely a couple of times tihs week.

Love this game, exactly what I was looking for!