Talisman

The Magical Quest Game

Players: 2 to 6. Aged 9 to Adult
Duration: 90 minutes

By Ken Hay

Talisman is a game played in a mythical world of dragons and sorcery.

s a warrior, priest, wizard, or one of 11 other characters each with their own special powers, players must embark on a quest to find the magic Talisman.

This journey will be filled with danger: monsters, traps and evil magic are all waiting to defeat you. With skill and luck you will survive to find the greatest treasure of them all - the fabled Crown of Command. Only then will victory be yours.

This is the latest edition of the Talisman, the first been released in 1983. This edition is a copy of the orginal with a few minor changes, which balance out the play from the orginal.

The number of spells you can use has been limited. Characters gain 1 strength point for every 7 points of strength marked on enemy cards. Characters gain craft at the same ratio for enemy cards with craft.

The playing counters are plastic rather than the original cardboard. All though more sturdy these can be difficult to read the numbers printed on them. The character cards are larger and are more sturdy compared with the first edition.

I found the rulebook easy to understand and to follow.

The playing time for this game can be a bit longer for the first few games until players get to know the cards, but once known, 2 to 3 games can be played in an evening.

One advantage to the game is that until someone is at the Crown of Command another player can join in at any stage without being too handicapped (and I have seen a late starter win the game).

All in all this is a great family game, easy to play and easy to learn.

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