I love examining new editions of classic games. Seeing what aspects of the game’s designers and developers see as “rough” or “underbaked” is absolutely fascinating to me. I find it especially fascinating because these newer editions only ever exist because of the popularity of the original title, meaning that these remakes / rereleases / etc. are making changes despite the success of the original. Enter Talisman 5th Edition. What changes does this edition make to the game, and how does this title from 1983 hold up today?
Gameplay Overview:
In Talisman, players will be rolling dice to move throughout the adventure setting of the board. On each space, players will either do the event printed on the space or have an encounter from the Adventure Deck. The Adventure Deck can have anything from free loot to a new event, to a monster to fight. Each monster in the deck lists either Strength or Craft. To defeat the monster, you must have a higher score in that category than the monster. This total is retrieved by rolling dice, and adding the category’s modifier that your character has. If you have a Strength of two and you roll a five, then your Strength for that attack is seven.
Play continues as players get more gear, spells, and followers. As players level up, they can move towards the center of the board. Once they have a Talisman, and feel they are powerful enough, they can take on the final gauntlet of the game. The first player to defeat the final boss of the board wins the game.
Game Experience:
Let me start off by saying that Talisman is 100% not a game for everyone. Some feel it is a Dungeons & Dragons version of Candyland, where players randomly move around a board with no agency. Some feel that its randomness leads to uninspired endings, where underdeveloped characters roll just well enough in combat to win the final gauntlet, and the character who is better suited to the final challenge loses due to bad die rolls. Some feel that the game’s random encounter, spell, and equipment decks take out any choice that the game could have, and the sense of adventure is missing due to any player agency.
If any of those opinions sound like you, then listen to yourself. If those opinions sound true, then they are true for you. There is nothing in this game that will blow your mind or shock you, and the game plays exactly as it looks on the surface. Talisman is a random game full of bad die rolls and even worse card draws.
But if you’re ok with the randomness, if you feel that an adventure through a harsh, mean world with overpowered weapons and spells sounds enthralling and different from most of the other games currently on the market, then do not hesitate! Pick up a copy of Talisman today. I’ve never played a game like Talisman, a game where, yes, the randomness of its systems determines your outcome, yet that randomness feels like the world is stacking up against you. The randomness never feels like the game is badly designed, but rather the world of Talisman is out to get you: where the emerging events of the game are the deciding factor of your victory, not the roll of a dice.
So, if you’re still with me and Talisman sounds like something you want to check out, then should the 5th edition be the edition for you?
For starters, there are some rule changes from earlier editions. And honestly, they all seemed to be aimed at making the game both more enjoyable, but also to actually add some agency to players. Instead of getting a random character, you choose the character you want to play. You can choose the alignment of your character at the start of the game. You can use the Fate tokens to make your die roll any number between 1 & 6. Plus, some of the spaces on the board were changed to make navigation around the board much simpler.
The other type of rule change is to dampen the harshness of the game. The Adventure Deck has fewer cards that make you lose a turn. Turning into a toad (yes, you read that right) lasts a shorter amount of time and has fewer negative effects to it. If you die, you effectively just lose gold and a turn. Carrying a Talisman (the item required for you to win the game) no longer takes up an Object slot.
Outside of rule changes, there were a few other changes to note. The board is much clearer to read, in my opinion than early editions; however, the artwork seems much less inspired. The overall production is gorgeous with high-quality components (for a mass production product) and even a functional insert. The minis each character has are quite detailed (again, for a mass production product). And for those of you who love older editions and their rules, there’s an Alternative Rules section in the back of the rulebook to bring back some of the harshness from earlier editions.
Final Thoughts:
As I said at the start, Talisman is not for everyone. Its randomness can really drive people away, and the overall lack of agency in the game isn’t helping either. But, if you are ok with going on a random adventure with some friends, yelling at the dice and draw deck, then there’s no finer adventure than Talisman 5th Edition. Partner that with the immaculate changes to this edition, the impressive production design, and the variety promised with future expansions, there has never been a better time to jump into Talisman.
Final Score: 4.5 Stars – Randomness has never felt so good.
Hits:
• Great production, great price
• Emergent sense of adventure
• Low rules, high replayability
Misses:
• Random, random, random
• Lackluster Adventure cards
• Small spell and equipment decks
