Talisman Boardgame Review (Fantast Flight 4th Ed)

There is indeed a new Talisman Boardgame.

I was quite excited that one of my friends got this for xmas this year, and I've had fond memories when I played this in the past about 20 years ago.

First: Playset

The new Talisman Boardgame is pretty well made. Although the plastic play pieces are not painted, the cards, gameboard and other game pieces are pretty well made. In fact, the plastic coins somehow sounds like coins when clinked together!

Game Contents (for Fantasy Flight Games Revised 4th Edition):

* 1 Large 6-fold Game Board (slightly revised)
* Revised 4th Edition Rulebook
* 14 Character Cards with matching plastic character figures
* 104 Adventure Cards
* 24 Spell Cards
* 28 Purchase Cards
* 4 Talisman Cards
* 4 Toad Cards with matching plastic toad figures
* 4 Alignment Cards
* 6 Six-sided Dice
* 120 (40 each) Strength, Craft, Life Counters (8 large and 32 small plastic cones in each set)
* 36 Fate Tokens (cardboard)
* 30 Gold Coins (plastic)


Game play

The game takes about 15 minutes to set up and about 3 hours to play. # of players is 2 - 6.

Talisman is a cult classic board game with a fantasy theme. There are 14 characters a player can control, from the heroic Warrior to the powerful Sorcerer. In this perilous adventure, play centers around the journey of these gallant heroes to find and claim the Crown of Command, a magical artifact with the power to destroy all rivals and make the bearer the true ruler of the kingdom. Only with strength, courage, wisdom and a few good dice rolls will players be able to survive the ultimate test and beat their opponents to victory.


Overall

I rather liked this game, and it does has lots of replayability. For about $50, this game is definitely worth it.

I give this game 7/10

-- Robin Low

Thunderstone Boardgame Review

Designer Mike Elliott
Artist Jason Engle
Publisher Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG)
Arclight
Edge Entertainment
Pegasus Spiele
Year Published 2009
# of Players 1 − 5
User Suggested # of Players Best with 3 players
Recommended with 1, 2, 3, 4 players
Playing Time 60 minutes
Mfg Suggested Ages 12 and up

Thunderstone is a fantasy deck-building game. Fight the evils of the dungeon to prove your worth. Gain powerful weaponry and level into new and mighty hero classes. Claim the best cards and survive to take the Thunderstone.

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The Game:

Thunderstone is a Deck Building Card game that is quite similar to Dominion. There are several modes of play and I just tried one last night.

Thunderstone basically is about a group adventurers entering a dungeon, fighting through a horde of monsters to get to the Thunderstone and thus ending the game. And before you can enter the dungeon, you have to be in the village to equip yourselves with the right equipment.

For anyone with collectible card gaming experience, this game will be easy to pick up. You have some cards which give you gold, some cards which give you attack points, some hero cards which attacks, some cards have additional to boost your hero's attacks, light, the monster cards have a defense you need to exceed, and more.

The game is much about deck building and card draws. Like any card game, having a consistent draw is very important, and cluttering the deck with unnecessary things is bad. To win, a clear strategy is important, and there is not a lot of luck involved as the decks can be optimized for the adventure as the game goes along.

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Gameplay:

The gameplay is pretty good actually. If you are a collectable card gamer, or you have played other card games, this game is very easy to pick up. Most of the time, a game of Thunderstone will take 30 minutes and about 15 minutes to set up, but sometimes when the randomness is bad, then it may take about 1 hour to complete.

Game is fun, and I would say great for 3 - 5 players.

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Replayability:

The game is very replayable. It is a different game every time you play as there are many variation of cards, and even better, variation of game play.

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Overall:

I feel that Alderac has done a good job testing the game. It is pretty well balanced with a 30 - 45 minute game play. To be good at the game, there are a few strategies you can build and it does get challenging and entertaining.

I would say that this is a great game to buy and play with a group of friends!

-- Robin Low