Talisman: The Magical Quest Game, one of the OG dungeon crawlers, is back with a 5th edition release arriving on July 1. But Hasbro’s Avalon Hill imprint has more than just retro vibes on its mind. The company has also revealed Talisman: Alliances - Fate Beckons, an expansion arriving alongside the revamped board game. It will offer a cooperative mode of play for the first time in the franchise’s 41-year history.
“When we were thinking about 5th edition, we didn’t want to just reprint those old expansions and just recreate the existing content,” said strategic brand manager Patrick O’Rourke in a press briefing earlier this week. “We set out to explore ‘more.’ We wanted more game modes that could open the Talisman platform to more players and additional playstyles. And that’s why we created Talisman: Alliances.”
In a traditional game of Talisman, players take on the roles of adventurers in the style of fantasy role-playing games — classes such as fighter, wizard, cleric, and thief. They utilize special powers and abilities in their quest for a mighty MacGuffin called the Crown of Command. It’s a somewhat linear journey, and it often includes players fighting against one another. Alliances will upend that tradition by presenting players with a series of Trials that must be dealt with cooperatively, each one sealed inside a small cardboard box.
“Instead of claiming the Crown or Command for yourself to win,” said associate brand manager Cait Drouin, “you’ll bury the Talismans in places of power, unseal the Portal of Power, and then defeat the adversary together. So players will need to share resources and fate to work together to complete five Trials with some very exciting surprises along the way.”
While we don’t know for sure what’s inside the boxes, it does appear to be miniature of some kind. The back of the game box says you’ll “reveal unique mystery figures” as you go. So what are those figures? Our only clues are game materials that show a robed figure with a deer skull for a head; a conflagration with green-eyed monsters crawling out of it; a hero being pulled down by a mob; and a mysterious armored warrior holding a flag over a battlefield.
Avalon Hill stressed that Alliances is not a legacy-style game. Game designer Doug Hopkins stressed that there are no stickers, no writing on the game board, and no destroying of components.
“We’re [...] rolling out the experience to you one trial at a time,” Hopkins said. “You’ll get that thrill of when you complete the trial to unlock the next box and see what’s inside and then, of course, unlock the next trial so that hopefully you can watch the story unfold through multiple game sessions.”
FAQs
Talisman Alliances: Fate Beckons is an exciting expansion, because for the first time in the board game's 40-year history, Talisman will offer a cooperative mode for two to six players. The $34 expansion set includes new characters, adventure cards, and spells.
How many expansions are there for the Talisman board game? ›
Expansions. Three expansions were released and some extra characters were printed through White Dwarf magazine.
Will the Talisman 5th edition have expansions? ›
Highlights. Talisman 5th edition offers updated art, faster gameplay, and more diverse characters for both new and veteran players alike. Expansion for Talisman, Talisman Alliances: Fate Beckons, introduces cooperative play with trials for added challenge and replayability.
What is the Talisman board game about? ›
Classification. Theme: Talisman is an adventure board game set in a high fantasy medieval world. Players have 14 characters to choose from all based on role playing archetypes, such as heroes, wizards, villains, thieves, monsters, etc.
Is Talisman hard to play? ›
Playing Talisman is a mixed bag of fun, adventure, luck, frustration, grind, and character advancement. It is light enough for most people to play with relative ease, but does take 1.5 to 2 hours to play. So, this is not a quick game.
What is the objective of the talisman game? ›
In the base game, the main goal is to reach the Crown of Command in the centre of the board and then, by casting Command Spells, force the other characters out of the game.
How long does Talisman take to play? ›
The Talisman board game can last from 90 minutes to several hours and it is completely possible that no one wins or even makes it to the Crown of Command. It is a combination of semi-random moves and card draw. And one bad roll can undo all the work a player accomplishes.
Is Talisman based on Warhammer? ›
Talisman: The Horus Heresy is a digital board game based on the Talisman rule system and set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, during the cataclysmic events of the Horus Heresy.
What is the latest edition of Talisman? ›
In Talisman: The Magical Quest Game – 5th Edition, set forth on an epic adventure, racing to be the first to obtain a Talisman, reach the Crown of Command in the center of the board, and defeat the elder dragon to win.
Will there be a Talisman 3? ›
King confirmed that it was supposed to be a trilogy and that he had already worked out the framework for the third book in his head. He also said he hoped to write it with Peter Straub during next year. After reading this I emailed Peter who confirmed that the plan is to write the book next year.
The main difference between the two is that Origins is only played solo and gives you a series of quests to perform. Sometimes you're completely alone on the board during these quests; other times you may have one or more AI-controlled characters opposing you.
How does the dragon expansion work in Talisman? ›
When a Draconic Lord accumulates three dragon scales, he becomes the new Dragon King and one of his dragon scales is placed on the game board. Char- acters encountering a dragon scale on a space on the board must draw a Dragon Card instead of drawing from the regular Adventure deck.
Is Talisman a cooperative game? ›
It will offer a cooperative mode of play for the first time in the franchise's 41-year history.
When did Talisman 4th edition come out? ›
Talisman Fourth Edition
The fourth edition of Talisman was originally published by Black Industries, released in 2007. Fantasy Flight Games acquired the license when Black Industries ceased the publication of board games.
Is the Talisman ok for kids? ›
It is full of ugly scenes, fillthy words and violence. Eric White I would also have to say NO. There's a lot of violence and gore, plus a few creepy sexual insinuations regarding children during the hitchhiking portions of the story. I remember there being a fair amount of bad language as well.
Is talisman multiplayer? ›
Talisman is a multiplayer quest where players explore a land full of danger and adventure. Take turns to roll the dice, uncovering unique cards as you travel across the game board. Race to the center of the world as you increase your abilities and battle your rivals.
Are board games cooperative play? ›
Participants typically play against the game. Cooperative board games generally involve players joining forces against the game itself, and can be played without any player in the role of the opposition or Gamemaster. In Pandemic, for example, players work together to stop and cure different strains of diseases.
Is Talisman good with 2 players? ›
Team Talisman seems to work best with only 2 or 3 Players. Any more Players makes the play rather unwieldy. Limit each Team to 2 or 3 Characters.
What makes a game cooperative? ›
Cooperative games (co-op games) are a form of play or sport in which players work with one another in order to achieve a common objective. The goal of a co-op game is to reduce emphasis on competition and increase emphasis on the social aspects of play or sport.
