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Game Info
Year
2024
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Description
The otherworldly artefacts known as Talismans have once more descended onto the mortal plane, signaling the dawn of a new era— and the need for a new ruler!
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.
—description from the publisher
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 2 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video k73d1z4sXCE
Rules Teach at 0:19 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 67249 · mention_pk 163212
Click to watch at 0:19 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Provides a co-op/solo experience for a game that previously lacked satisfying implementation of these modes.
- Introduces threat management as a core element, adding strategic depth.
- Simplifies character progression and leveling up.
- Offers more ways to spend resources like trophies.
- The custom rules are designed to be simple and not bog down the game.
- The host finds the design path promising and is having fun with it so far.
Cons
- The official Alliances expansion for co-op/solo was a major disappointment.
- The official Call of the Hunt expansion's one-vs-many mode was not desired.
- The custom rules are still a work in progress and require finessing.
- Some elements of the original game and expansions are not liked by the host.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Combat — Players engage in combat with enemies, where dice rolls are modified by character stats and abilities. Special character powers, like the Minotaur's stampede, can significantly alter combat outcomes.
- Doom track — Used from the Alliances expansion, this track moves down and reaching the last space signifies game over. Its values affect villains and the final confrontation.
- event cards — Removed from the main adventure deck and placed in a separate deck. These are drawn based on dice rolls and can have various positive or negative effects on players.
- Leveling up — Characters can increase their stats (like strength) by meeting certain conditions, such as defeating specific enemies or using collected trophies, which is a simplified system in these custom rules.
- Movement — Players roll a die for movement, with options to spend fate tokens to increase movement range. Character abilities can also influence how far or where they can move.
- Player Turn Structure — After each player's turn (or the solo player's turn), an event chart is rolled, influencing the game state with various outcomes like doom track movement, space closures, or villain spawns.
- Psychic Combat — A specific event can trigger a round of psychic combat with a set value, which players can attempt to prevent using resources like trophies or followers.
- Space Closures — Certain corner spaces in the outer or middle regions can become closed for a set number of turns as dictated by the event chart, restricting player movement.
- Trophy Collection and Usage — Trophies can be spent to ignore certain negative events, level up characters (e.g., strength), or potentially be used with companions and boons from other expansions.
- Villain Management — Villain cards from the Alliances expansion are used as threats that must be cleared before players can progress. They spawn on the board and must be managed.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Uh, in my review of the year 2025, I mentioned that the allianc's expansion for Talisman was my biggest disappointment.
- So, I started designing some of my own solo rules. And they're relatively simple.
- All villain enemies must be destroyed before any player can enter the portal of power.
- I think this brings you know Talisman more in line to what I would want from a cooperative or from a solo version.
- I wanted to give some additional things to spend trophies on, some additional ways to use the villains as trophies, some different ways to use the villains as kind of a threat management thing because I like threat management in a co-op game, and just add a little more choice, but not bog the game down with too many changes.
- So far I'm having a lot of fun with this very, very simple co-op/solo variant for Talisman Fifth Edition.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 2FgvySvgSPE
Playthrough at 0:03 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 66578 · mention_pk 162247
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- The cooperative 'Alliances mode' offers a different way to play Talisman.
- Characters have distinct abilities and starting spells that influence gameplay.
- Item and trophy systems allow for character progression.
- The game can be tense and challenging.
Cons
- The host made tactical mistakes due to misunderstanding rules or poor execution.
- Dice rolls heavily influence outcomes, leading to frustration.
- The 'Doom Tracker' or timer mechanic can feel punishing.
- The game can be lost due to close calls and small margins.
Thematic elements
- Adventure and questing in a fantasy world
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Combat — Characters engage in combat, with options for strength-based or psychic combat, and can use items and spells to gain advantages.
- Cooperative Goal — The primary objective is to bury two Talismans on specific locations and then defeat the Dragon at the Portal of Power.
- cooperative play — The 'Alliances mode' allows players to work together towards a common goal.
- item acquisition — Players can gain items through encounters and by trading trophies.
- Movement — Players roll dice to move their characters around the board.
- questing — Characters can undertake quests, such as those from the Warlock's Cave, to gain rewards like Talismans.
- Spell Casting — Characters can cast spells, with some characters starting with spells and having abilities related to spellcasting.
- Timer/Doom Tracker — A doom tracker or timer advances, increasing pressure and consequences as the game progresses.
- Trophy System — Defeating enemies grants trophies that can be traded in to increase character stats.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The Portal of Power will not open until two Talismans have been buried in the four corner locations.
- Every single time I play this game, I say I've got to be very careful on burying the second Talisman because as soon as you do, a timer starts kicking on even faster and you have limited turns to then win the game.
- Experts of the game are probably watching this back... and criticizing my every move saying everything that I'm doing wrong.
- Oops. Oops. Oops. Thankfully, my armor has saved me from making a mistake.
- Learn how to play the game. You can't attack enemies with psychic combat.
- I tried to attack a dragon with psychic combat and you can't. Yeah, silly daddy.
- I think we've lost. I think we've lost.
- Oh, so close again. But there were definitely a few I more than a few tactical mistakes that I made in this game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video vVwxpPyuU7E
Drive Thru Games Review at 0:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6919 · mention_pk 104657
Click to watch at 0:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Faster early progression and clearer board layouts
- High-quality components and minis for the price point
- Improved clarity on cards and board text compared to some editions
- Plans for co-op campaigns and future expansions add longevity
- Fate movement provides intentional, purposeful play
Cons
- Some card and board text remains hard to read due to small font
- Board art in this edition is not as strong as the fourth edition in the speaker’s view
- Long play time at higher player counts (four is sweet; six can be lengthy)
- Cones for tracking stats can be hard to distinguish at a glance
Thematic elements
- Heroic fantasy exploration and race-to-the-center quest with combat, magic, and encounters.
- A high-fantasy realm where players quest across a modular board to obtain a Talisman and reach the center to defeat a dragon.
- Quest-driven, encounter-forward progression with evolving board state and law of the card/space-driven adventures.
Comparison games
- Talisman Fourth Edition
- Relic
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Adventure deck encounters — Landing on spaces often triggers drawing from a large adventure deck with items, monsters, or events.
- Death/penalty rule change — Death is softened: you respawn at the Village with one life but keep your items (optional rule exists to reset completely).
- Fate tokens and rerolls — Fate can be spent to roll dice or reposition (within range) to improve outcomes or target specific spaces.
- Merchant and equipment deck — Players can buy armor, weapons, and items from merchant spaces to improve stats and carry capacity.
- Movement and dice-based progression — Roll a die to move across a large map, choosing direction and encountering spaces that draw cards and resolve encounters.
- Spell deck and casting — Spells can be acquired through craft checks and spell decks, usable on turns or against other players.
- Strength and Craft combat — Combat uses two main attributes: physical strength and craft (magical/intellectual) to resolve encounters with monsters or other players.
- Talisman/center reach endgame — Obtaining a Talisman unlocks access to the center ring, culminating in a dragon encounter to win the game.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- when you die in this game you basically just go back to the Village you reset to one hit point but you keep all your stuff
- the Fate movement thing... that's really cool
- these are some very nice Miniatures here
- it's a little bit more traditional ameritrash type of thing
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
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