Originally published in black and white by Games Workshop in 1983, Talisman is a classic fantasy board game with a rich history spanning over 40 years. Commonly compared to Monopoly, Talisman features an easy to learn and basic gameplay loop that makes it a great board game for beginners, despite its extremely randomized outcomes, hectic situations, and often longer-than-average play times.
Players choose from over 12 characters, all of which are classic fantasy classes, like the Wizard and Thief, and then the game begins. In it, two to six players battle it out to be the first to reach the Crown of Command in the center of the board and defeat the dragon, venturing through three main sections of the board: the outer, middle, and inner.
Throughout the game, you’ll have the opportunity to use over 100 different Adventure, Spell, or Talisman cards to gain the upper hand or screw with your opponents. You might even be able to turn one of them into a toad.
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The entire history of Talisman is vast and has many out-of-print versions and expansions, so this guide will focus solely on expansions and spin-offs that are more easily accessible.
The Base Game
Talisman: The Magical Quest Board Game 5th Edition
- Price: $59.99
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 12+
- Play Time: 60-90 minutes
Released in July 2024, the 5th Edition of the decades-spanning fantasy board game is the latest and most up-to-date version available. With the game’s rich history, it’s easy to get confused on which versions to pick up – don’t look on eBay, as 4th Editions can go for almost $150! Instead, pick up the 5th Edition, which offers the base game as well as the gameplay mechanic changes first introduced in the 3rd Edition. Additionally, compared to the 4th Edition, the newest edition of Talisman is a more streamlined, slightly less chaotic experience; the 5th Edition rulebook even mentions explicit changes with a symbol next to the rules blurbs. This version also comes with two fewer characters; it cuts the Bard and Druid.
Talisman Expansions
A very notable bummer is that the 5th Edition is not backwards compatible with the extensive library of 4th Edition expansions. But there's a new 5th Edition expansion available called Fate Beckons.
Talisman Alliances: Fate Beckons
- Price: $33.99
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 12+
- Play Time: 60-90 minutes
The first expansion for 5th Edition, Fate Beckons offers cooperative play for the first time in mainline Talisman history. Players must complete 5 Trials in order to win the game, and do so using over 50 new cards, tokens, and figures.
Talisman: Legendary Tales
- Price: $49.99
- Players: 1-6 players
- Age Range: 14+
- Play Time: 20-40 minutes
Not so much an expansion as it is a spin-off, Talisman: Legendary Tales is a story-focused adventure that has players working together to recover the five Talismans to thwart the evil that vies for control over the Crown of Command. Each of the five lost Talismans is recovered in their own unique adventures, and can be replayed as many times as possible to get the full experience. Great for beginners and those looking for quick-playing board games.
Talisman: Themed Versions
There are a few themed versions of Talisman, with Batman and Star Wars tie-ins out of print.
Talisman: Harry Potter
- Price: $59.99
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 11+
- Play Time: 90+ minutes
The gameplay mechanics are virtually unchanged from the 4th Edition here. The main draw is the Wizarding World setting, with amazing art and figures of fan favorite characters, like Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Dumbledore. Make your way to the center of the board to take on the Dark Lord Voldemort to win the game.
Talisman: Kingdom Hearts
- Price: $59.99
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 13+
- Play Time: 90+ minutes
This version also maintains the mechanics of the original game, and sees classic Kingdom Hearts characters like Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku battle their way through Heartless to reach the inner part of the board and seal the Door to Darkness.
Talisman Adventures RPG
Talisman Adventures: Core Rulebook
- Price: $35.94
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 13+
- Play Time: 2-4 hours
Essentially a DnD-like (and DnD-lite), the Talisman Adventures RPG Core Rulebook has everything you need to get started with the 3D6 ruleset: a breakdown of each character class, the lore, and, of course, how to play. Choose your class, ancestry, and skills as you set forth on your own unique Talisman adventure. You can find other RPG board games here.
Talisman Adventures: Myths and Monsters
- Price: $33.52
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 13+
- Play Time: 2-4 hours
The first expansion for the RPG experience adds an impressive amount of content, including bigger and badder enemies and bosses, as well as new events and festivals. This’ll surely add a lot of meat to the bare-ish bones of the starter book.
Talisman Adventures: Tales of The Dungeon
- Price: $22.11
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 13+
- Play Time: 2-4 hours
The next expansion is much darker in tone, and sees adventurers delving into the Glittering Caverns to confront the Lord of Darkness. This offers two new ancestries; minotaur and vampire, and two new classes; necromancer and tomb robber.
Talisman Adventures: Tales of the City
- Price: $16.60
- Players: 2-6 players
- Age Range: 13+
- Play Time: 2-4 hours
Finally, Tales of the City brings players to some of the seedier areas of the City. From shady goblins to pickpockets, this expansion adds plenty of new and unique story content to round out your adventure, as well as the new goblin ancestry and three new classes: alchemist, tinkerer, and gladiator.
Talisman Board Game Accessories
Talisman Board Game Organizer
- Price: $24.99
- See it at Amazon
If you’re in possession of the 4th Edition and its expansions, this organizer has everything you need to house the insane amount of cards, tokens, and figures all in one place.
Talisman Adventures RPG Game Master’s Kit
- Price: $9.99
- See it at Amazon
The perfect tool for those looking to DM your first campaign, this kit includes 24 pages of tips and expanded rules explanations, a four-panel screen used for reference while playing, more Fate tokens, and blank character sheets.
Talisman Adventures RPG – Premium Dice Pack
- Price: $15.60
- See it at Amazon
Includes six gorgeous 6-sided dice and a Talisman Adventures drawstring bag.
Talisman Adventures RPG – Accessory Pack
- Price: $9.97
- See it at Amazon
This set includes six more awesome D6, as well as 7 heavy light and dark Fate tokens.
Talisman Adventures RPG Playtest Guide
- Price: $6.99
- Players: 3-6 players
- Age Range: 13+
- Play Time: 2-4 hours
- See it at Amazon
A sort of proof of concept entry level appetizer, the playtest guide is great for those looking to dip their toes into their first RPG. Includes six characters and nine classes to choose from.
Drawstring Bag Bundle
- Price: $44.97
- See it at Amazon
Looking for a one-stop-shop and then some for all these accessories? Online retailer Fapeto has you covered. This bundle includes the Playtest Guide, Accessory Pack, and Game Maker’s Kit mentioned above, with a bonus 8x10in. drawstring bag to carry it all.
How to Play Talisman Online
- Digital: $52.99
- Physical: $29.97
This video game adaption of the board game classic is a faithful recreation, offering the same gameplay mechanics and rules, but with awesome 3D graphics and visuals that make the experience that much more immersive. The 40th Anniversary Collection includes all 13 of the 4th Edition expansions, from Blood Moon to the Nether Realm. The PS4 and PC versions include extra characters not available on Switch. Notably, the physical versions on PS4 and Nintendo Switch are not region-locked, but the expansions are.
The Bottom Line
Talisman is undeniably one of the most popular fantasy board games of our time, with a rich history of expansions and revisions spanning over 40 years. The streamlined ruleset of the 5th Edition makes learning it for the first time a breeze, and the updated fantasy art is worth the upgrade. And while many of the 4th Edition expansions are out of print and are either hard to find or expensive on the secondary market, the 5th Edition of the base game marks a perfect jumping on point for newcomers or those looking for a more laid back experience. The Talisman Adventures series of RPGs is a worthy, barebones competitor to DnD, and is great for budding DMs and players of all ages looking into trying out their first RPG.
Myles Obenza is a freelance commerce writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @Myles Obenza.
