Talisman’s 5th edition is fine

Starting a session from Talisman: The Magic Quest Game always seems like a great idea at first. Who wouldn’t want to play a lazy, fantasy board game with their friends? What’s wrong with spending some time on what amounts to a Hyrule or Skyrim-inspired version of The game of life? Jump straight into four hours and you’ll barely be at the end of the game, and I can guarantee that someone (or maybe everyone) at the table will be carefully considering their life choices.

I’m pretty sure I’ve given up more games Talisman than I’ve completed over the years, which is why I met the news of the 5th edition release with extreme skepticism. Now that I’ve played a few rounds, I can confidently say that it plays faster than ever before – but it still drags on a bit too long.

Talisman puts you in the role of one of 12 standard fantasy characters such as priest, prophetess or warrior, each with their own special skills. Maybe you can seduce your enemies instead of fighting them; maybe you can use your wits in battle instead of your brawn; maybe you can cast a spell. Follow the largely linear path, gathering the right resources to advance to the next inward-facing circle of the map, and bashing your head against any walls that appear along the way. Lost all your health? Simply return to the village and start again, although the basic rules this time say that you get to keep all your equipment. Should you succeed in a challenging encounter in the final space of the game – known as the Crown of Command – you’ll emerge Talisman victorious.

That’s it. That’s the game.

For this 5th edition, TalismanThe rough edges have been taken off. For example, turning into a toad is more of a novelty here than a reason to pick your pimples with a potsherd. But for those who miss the sadism, those rough edges have been preserved and then wrapped up in the form of optional rules that you can implement yourself.

Regardless, the experience as a whole remains just as lackluster as the original. If you gave me all the board game options in the world – a Matrix-style armory, a featureless white space filled with nothing but row after row of every conceivable dice or card game in the world — I’d honestly choose Talisman almost last. That’s because I’m a grown man with plenty of better options.

On the other hand, I can see how kids could have a good time with this. But it’s important to understand that the manual, which clocks in at 30 pages, isn’t a great experience for kids. It bounces around a lot, spreads information out over multiple sections in ways that make it a bit confusing to read, and seems a bit lacking in discussing strategies for winning — or even advancing. So while the game says it’s rated for ages 12 and up, I think the difficulty level here is a bit higher than the average middle schooler can handle.

The product’s saving grace is a nine-minute how-to-play video that’s mentioned only once, on the front cover of the gameplay manual. Once you’ve digested that clip, the hefty tome becomes more of a glossary for looking up minutiae and edge cases. That how-to video is a remarkably efficient way to learn the game, but blink and you’ll miss it, because it exists only as a QR code smaller than a postage stamp printed right on the cover.

Talisman: The Magic Quest Game – 5th Edition is available in store and online for €59.99. It was reviewed using retail copy provided by Hasbro. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You may additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.