Hi folks,

I'm new to the world of Talisman, having had the game arrive barely two hours ago, but pretty much from the unboxing I'm sure this is a game I will come to love I bought it with the Frostmarch and Sacred Pool expansions, as they were the cheapest out there, and already I'm keen to get more. I'm going to give it the once over later, having seen a solo variant on BGG that I hope will cement the mechanics etc, then will be getting my first game in when I can coerce a friend over on Monday.

Anyhow, as a devoted Runebound fan, and an expansion obsessee, I'm wondering where to go next with this. Are there any recommended expansions to add on, or is it a case of just go for whatever takes my fancy?

And how come everyone seems to be expecting certain things to come up in future releases? I read a bit of the post about this upcoming City expansion, and there was a tone of "so it's this one they're going with next, then", as if there's a list somewhere that people can tick off. I know this is the 4th edition - did the previous three have massive runs, so it's just a case of seeing third edition (or earlier) expansions being revised and rereleased as compatible with the 4th edition base game?

Thanks for your time

Mark

Good choice on first expansions and if cost effectiveness is part of your remit, then The Reaper would be the best bet. Can't beat increasing the Adventure deck to dizzying heights!

As for a tick list, Revised 4th Edition is following the pattern (more or less) of 3rd Edition, which is the one with the corner boards. Those four corners were the Dungeon, Mountains, City and Forest. So far, we have Dungeon, Highlands, City and… who knows? The smaller expansions are released in between the big ones, with some old ideas and some new ones.

There are plenty of folk around who will give you an opinion for expansions to get and in which order. I will just say buy them all, then play with or without whatever you wish.

The Highland, and Dungeon boards were expansions in third and second edition, while the Dragon expansion takes elements from second and third edition expansion. Of course all these expansions involve new innovations unique to fourth edition.

Previous expansions yet to be rehashed include a city board, a forest board, and a futuristic Timescape realm.

As for which expansion you buy next - it's a matter of tastes. If you want new boards to explore with new, devoted adventure cards, get Dungeon or Highlands (the Dungeon has lots of monsters for leveling, while the highlands is full of trinkets and magic objects). The Bloodmoon and Reaper expansions add more cards to your main deck, and offer a non player character who roams the board and interacts with players (players share control of the NPC).

The Dragon expansion changes the game a lot, and you'll find you mostly end up drawing new Dragon adventure cards. This expansion is fun, but it tends to practically replace elements of the base game rather than enhancing them. I'd just buy them all!

Best of luck, and enjoy Talisman

The expansion system for Talisman is modular, as you get to choose which components you want to icorporate into the game. But then, adding expansions doesn't make the game heavier, or alters setup time in any way, so you may as well get them all.

My favorite are Reaper and Dragon.

Reaper doubles the adventure and spell card decks, introduces 4 new characters, and the Grim Reaper NPC, which player share control of to set back or kill off each other

The Dragon gives you a new two-sided overlay for the Inner Region(Domain of Dragons which is a buffed up version of the original Inner Region, and the Dragon Tower on its flipside), 6 new characters and rules for playing with the dragon tokens and dragon cards.This expansion is a blast, but we've found that it needs to be houseruled first, and then it becomes an absolute delight, unencumbered with upkeep.

Blood Moon is interesting, as it it introduces the Night/Day Cycle and gives you more than 100 adventure cards cards that play off of this new mechanic ,3 new characters and the Werewolf NPC, which all players share control of in much the same way as the Grim Reaper.

Thanks guys, that's all been really helpful! I think I'll get those smaller expansions first, then see about adding in the bigger ones once we've gotten a bit further with it.

Hey Spalanzi, fancy meetin' you here!

Talisman is a super-fun game and a nice breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the 'heavier' games I know you're into. Great for playing with kids, as well.

I'd say you have enough to go on for a while already, but if you're really keen on another expansion, I'd have to echo many of the others and say The Reaper… lots more adventure and spell cards, and who doesn't want to send Death after their friends?

One final point: if you intend to eventually get all the expansions (and ****, they're hard to resist!), you're going to need a MEGA table… like 44" across, just for the boards…

Or, if you're spatially constricted, demote the game to ground level. Sometimes, the floor is the most affordable table for board games.

We've had problems when adding more than one or two expansions. We started with the base game and even with 10 players it ran pretty fast. The small expansions (in the little boxes, like The Reaper) don't slow the game down and added some fun stuff (like sending the Reaper after other players). But, adding more expansions of the larger nature, like the Dungeon or the Highlands, slows the game down more and more as the players spread out more.

This was true even with fewer players in our group. The growth of power of a lot of the characters was slow. When we kept the game limited to just one major expansion per game it kept the speed up and allowed the game to move along faster.

I. J. Thompson said:

I do get around, yes

Thought I'd come back and wax lyrical about my first game last week. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At first it was kinda difficult to get going, I suppose because we were unfamiliar with the rules or whatever. There was actually a moment when we both seemed to look at each other with an almost "is that it?" attitude - it seemed to be really straightforward gameplay. But then bam! We were off, and after being turned into a toad twice and dying three times (though my buddy only became amphibious once, shame on him), we had tremendous fun with this game! I think I was expecting it to be more involved like Runebound or something. This is definitely a game that will be seeing the light of day more and more!

And yeah… I bought the Reaper. And the Highlands. And the Dungeon. Just waiting for the Dragon to be reprinted now I see what you mean about the table though, I think the floor is going to have to be my gaming place of choice for this game!

**** FFG, yet another reason to give them all my money!

I can see where all the sets in use will slow down a 6+ game, very down. It does for me and my wife, too, but we basically divide and conquer; she likes the shiny things in the Highlands, and I like getting my behind whupped in the Dungeon. I like Dragon cards much much more than her (shiny… dark things!).

We're too old to play easily on the floor (maybe a trapeeze or swing from the ceiling would help cover the distance?), but our table is long enough and almost wide enough for the boards, so we push our player areas more to the table where a board does not exist or either side of the table. Once we have the City, and eventually whatever will go on the opposite corner, we'll have to use the ends, or find a wider table, or enhance this one.

But when we play, which because of lots of weekend things, is only once a month, we go for a long game and mostly enjoy. Average game for us is around 5 hours, some have lasted 7 to 8, and usually half of the time, we just quit after someone was killed and didn't want to start over; we only win through the Crown/Final round about half the time. But we enjoy the tapestry of the game; how different places, strangers, etc 'color' the game by being in various and different locations in different games. Blood Moon adds so much with the day/night feature.

As stated before, we have a gentle-adventurers agreement to not really send the WW or Reaper against each other, but sometimes, you can't be so gentle in Talisman . . . .

A couple of key tips for making Talisman a fun game each time:

1.. Make sure you use the special abilities and unique strengths of each character you play with as effectively as possible.

2. We've found that his game is especially fun when you're taking risks. If you're not sure about the outcome of an encounter with another character but still have enough chances to win, without losing anything significant in case of defeat, attack your opponent. Defeating him may yield you a beneficial item from his inventory.

If you break out from the Outer Region early on by some lucky encounter , don't back out from the Middle Region, unless you're in dire straits. While The Middle Region is more dangerous, it can also be a lot more rewarding.

3. Use spells to set back and punish your opponent.Spells are strong, and using them effectively will give you a significant advantage in many situations.

4. Talisman is race game after all. Do not dawdle, trying to gain as many Craft or Strength points as possible.

Try to force the Portal of Power as soon as you have 10 Strength or Craft. This will also pressure your opponent to keep up the lag. The game is at its most fun when the race to the finish is close.

5.Use the Alternative Endings you have to vary the winning conditions/ end game from time to time.

6. While Talisman is sometimes described as a cut-throat race, do not play it competitively, with a serious intent to win. Play it for the fun journey towards the end.

zealot12 said:

Great points! I'd like to qualify that one, though. I'm no expert (I think I've had less than ten games), but I'm finding that while that rule holds true for 2-player games, the opposite seems to be true for games of 3 or more. It's fun to see (friendly) rivalries develop between two players, while player #3 breezes on by!

Yea, I guess. We only play 2-player games.(:

In 4. I meant: "give up the lag".What I meant was if your opponent sees that you're ready for the Inner Region, he may attempt to make an early break for the Portal of Power, and may even pull off a lucky underdog victory. With the right combination of spells and special abilities anything is possible.